In a letter sent to state leaders and legislators, the department said it failed to file the paperwork to make a budget cut permanent. Under law, it now has to revert to amounts paid before the 2011 Legislature slashed the program’s cash.
“This is a serious oversight, particularly during these extraordinarily tight financial times,” said David Stillman, the department’s Economic Services Administration assistant secretary, in a statement. “We will take appropriate disciplinary action after we investigate the actions of those responsible for failing to file the permanent rule.”
DSHS said it postponed filing the paperwork to make the cuts permanent because of potential additional reductions out of Olympia. But the final paperwork was never filed.
The extra payments, ranging from $27 to $69, will be sent to the 34,000 recipients of the Disability Lifeline program to cover a portion of July and all of August and September.
Sen. Joe Zarelli, the Senate Republican’s lead budget negotiator, said the total impact may be as much as $5 million. The Ridgefield lawmaker said legislators were “wishy washy” about Disability Lifeline’s budget cuts during the session and understands the oversight.
But he said DSHS will have to absorb the extra cost.
Democratic lawmakers were not immediately available for comment Wednesday.
The department said in the letter that it’s analyzing caseloads and fiscal data to determine the impact of the error and potential budget shortfall.
The Disability Lifeline program, as it exists now, will be phased out Oct. 31 as part of the budget cuts agreed upon by lawmakers during the last legislative session.
Ending the cash grants will save the state about $100 million in the next two-year budget. Another $80 million of savings comes from reduced workloads.
Lawmakers also tinkered with the department’s housing vouchers and created an assistance program for pregnant women, the disabled and the elderly.
With budget problems deepening, state leaders are expected to convene this fall for a special legislative session where they may consider further cuts to Disability Lifeline recipients. For now, 19,000 clients are still scheduled to get some services after Oct. 31.
The program has already been cut twice in the last two years.
The Olympian contributed to this report.
