State must return food stamp money

INDIANAPOLIS -- The state must return money it collected as reimbursement from people to whom it gave too many food stamps, a federal judge ruled.\n"It's a great thing because food stamps are what these people rely on in order to eat," said Jackie Bowie Suess, an attorney for the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, which filed the class action lawsuit that led to the ruling.\n"Ten dollars means a lot to them, whereas it doesn't mean a lot to the state. It wasn't their fault they were overpaid," Suess said.\nU.S. District Chief Judge Larry McKinney on Tuesday ordered the state to cease several measures it had taken to recover overpayments, including reducing food stamp allotments, intercepting federal tax returns and taking federal pay or unemployment benefits from food stamp recipients.\nThe state had argued the collections are permissible under the 1996 federal food stamp law, which allowed agencies to correct overpayments by reducing monthly food stamp allowances.\nMatt Raibley, manager of the family support services section at the state Family and Social Services Administration, could not say Wednesday how much money the state has recovered or how many clients might be affected.\nIn September, 430,555 people in 179,331 families received an average of $198.76 in food stamps.\nThe Indiana Civil Liberties Union filed a class-action lawsuit in April 2001 on behalf of two food stamp recipients, claiming the state was violating federal law by recovering money for overpayments that were the state's mistakes.\nRegina Johnson of Indianapolis said the state collected $609 over the past few years by cutting her monthly food stamp allotment after saying she had been overpaid.\n"I had to go to pantries in the neighborhood trying to get food," said Johnson, a 35-year-old mother of three. "I asked them, 'Why are y'all taking my money?'"\nThe state was to mail letters by Jan. 7 informing people they can join the lawsuit. It also was to post notices at all county Offices of Family and Children