Advocates behind a class-action lawsuit related to Massachusetts’s struggling food assistance system say Gov. Maura Healey’s closeout supplemental budget, filed days later, does not go far enough to address the Department of Transitional Assistance’s staffing and access problems.
The proposal includes $26.6 million to retain 78 new DTA employees hired this year and hire 10 more, as well as about $15 million for technology improvements and additional staff support to improve payment accuracy and meet new federal requirements.
The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute filed the lawsuit Sept. 21 in Suffolk Superior Court, accusing DTA of unlawfully terminating or reducing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for residents who could not reach a caseworker through the agency’s assistance line. The 19-page complaint says the line automatically disconnected 74% to 81% of incoming calls on average during the first six months of 2026…