Reynolds v. Giuliani
| Decision Date | 31 October 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. 06-0283-cv(L).,No. 06-0284-cv(CON).,06-0283-cv(L).,06-0284-cv(CON). |
| Parties | Lakisha REYNOLDS, on her own behalf and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Georgina Bonilla, on her own behalf and on behalf of all others similarly situated, April Smiley, on her own behalf and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Lue Garlick, on her own behalf and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Adriana Calabrese, on her own behalf and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Jenny Cuevas, on her own behalf and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Elston Richards, on his own behalf and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Rudolph GIULIANI, as Mayor of the City of New York, Jason Turner, as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Social Services, Brian J. Wing, as Commissioner of the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Barbara DeBuono, as Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health, Defendants-Appellants. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
Welfare Law Center, Inc., New York, New York; Yisroel Schulman, Constance P. Carden, Randal S. Jeffrey, New York Legal Assistance Group, New York, New York; Scott A. Rosenberg, Christopher D. Lamb, Hwan-Hui Helen Lee, The Legal Aid Society, Civil Division, New York, New York; Kenneth Rosenfeld, Mary Ellen Burns, Northern Manhattan Improvement Corp., New York, New York, of counsel), for Plaintiffs-Appellees.
Before: CARDAMONE, STRAUB, and WALLACE*, Circuit Judges.
Judge WALLACE concurs in a separate opinion.
Ordinarily the state and federal governments, under whose parallel jurisdiction we all live, rub along together pretty well. When they conflict, it is unlike when "ignorant armies clash by night" as Matthew Arnold famously phrased it. Instead there is forethought, policy considerations and, as here, legal argumentation. This appeal presents an occasion when the powers confided to the federal courts and those matters reserved to the states conflict. In the shift made ten years ago by Congress from an emphasis on welfare and food stamps to a focus on employment as a solution to long term poverty, the State of New York delegated the transition to the City of New York, but retained the power to supervise the City's administrator of its changing assistance programs. New York City responded to the new mandate by revamping its infrastructure and policies to encourage welfare applicants to find jobs. Undoubtedly, the reforms posed an enormous administrative challenge to the City.
In December 1998 seven welfare applicants (together with other class members where appropriate, plaintiffs or appellees) brought a putative class action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 on behalf of all New York City residents who have sought, are seeking or will seek to apply for food stamps, Medicaid or cash assistance at the City's job centers. The complaint was lodged against defendants Rudolph Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City and Jason Turner, former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Social Services (collectively City or city defendants), as well as Brian J. Wing, former Commissioner of the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, and Barbara DeBuono, former Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health (collectively state, state defendants or appellants), each in his or her official capacity. Plaintiffs alleged that the City engaged in unlawful conduct aimed to discourage and deter plaintiffs from obtaining benefits to which they were entitled and that the state failed to properly oversee and supervise the City's administration of assistance programs.
Almost seven years later, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Pauley, J.) awarded plaintiffs permanent injunctive relief, directing city defendants to comply with specified provisions of federal and state law and directing state defendants to supervise the City's adherence to the injunction. Initially all the defendants appealed the judgment, but the City withdrew its appeal prior to oral argument before this Court. We are left then with the state defendants' challenge to the district court's judgment. We agree with appellants' contention that the record before us does not support the imposition of liability on the state or warrant the issuance of a permanent injunction against it.
The Food Stamp Act, 7 U.S.C. § 2011 et seq., and the Medicaid Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1396 et seq., created cooperative federal-state programs aiming, respectively, to raise nutritional levels and furnish medical care to needy individuals. See 7 U.S.C. § 2011 (1999); 42 U.S.C. § 1396 (2003). The programs are implemented by state and local agencies under the aegis of the United States Department of Agriculture (food stamps) and the United States Department of Health and Human Services (Medicaid). 7 U.S.C. § 2020(a), (d) (1999); 42 U.S.C. §§ 1396, 1396c (2003).
In 1996 Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, 42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq. (2003) (Welfare Reform Act), and set in motion dramatic changes in the delivery of welfare benefits nationwide. Notably, the Welfare Reform Act introduced the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program with the express purpose of minimizing dependence on governmental benefits by promoting employment. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 601(a)(2), 602(a) (2003). The new program contained mandatory work requirements and time limits on eligibility for benefits. See, e.g., 42 U.S.C. § 602(a)(1)(A)(ii).
The New York City agency in charge of local implementation of food stamp, Medicaid and cash assistance programs is the Human Resources Administration (city agency). The city agency processed welfare applications at 31 income support centers until 1998, at which time it began to convert the income support centers into job centers in response to the new federal policy reflected in the Welfare Reform Act. The aptly named job centers encouraged applicants to find work and required them to undergo a rigorous application process, including interviews with financial and employment planners. Early evidence suggested a "culture of improper deterrence" prevailed at the newly converted job centers, which was reflected in a decline in the number of applicants who received benefits from a City facility after its conversion to a job center.
In the course of this litigation, the City audited 29 income support and job centers to assess their compliance with federal and state law (September 2000 audit). On the basis of the September 2000 audit and other performance measures, the district court determined city defendants violated various rights secured to plaintiffs by federal law in four ways.
First, the City failed to provide a significant portion of eligible applicants with expedited food stamps within the mandated period of seven days. See 7 U.S.C. § 2020(e)(9) (1999); 7 C.F.R. § 273.2(i)(3)(i) (2007). Second, although the City was required to make separate determinations with regard to applicants' eligibility for food stamps and Medicaid after their applications for cash assistance were denied, see 7 U.S.C. §§ 2014(b), 2020(i)(2) (1999); 7 C.F.R. § 273.2(b)(3) (2007); 42 U.S.C. § 1396a(a)(8) (2003); 42 C.F.R. §§ 435.906, 435.913 (2006), such determinations were made infrequently. Third, half of the withdrawn applicants audited were found to have been improperly withdrawn as a result of the City's mishandling of notices and records. See 42 C.F.R. § 435.913 (2006), 7 C.F.R. § 273.2(c)(6) (2007). Fourth, the City frequently failed to give adequate and complete notices to applicants regarding eligibility decisions, in violation of the plaintiffs' due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment and in violation of the regulations. See U.S. Const., amend. XIV, § 1; 7 C.F.R. § 273.10(g)(1) (2007); 42 C.F.R. §§ 435.911, 435.912 (2006).
The Food Stamp and Medicaid Acts authorize the states to vest local agencies with responsibility for day-to-day administration of these benefits programs. See 7 U.S.C. § 2012(n) (1999) (); 42 U.S.C. § 1396a(a)(5) (2003) (). The acts and their implementing regulations make participating states responsible for supervisory tasks, including the development of plans for statewide implementation of the programs, 7 U.S.C. § 2020(d); 42 U.S.C. § 1396a(a)(5), monitoring and evaluation of local agencies' performance, 7 C.F.R. § 275.5 (2007); 42 C.F.R. § 435.903(a) (2006), and corrective action to reduce deficiencies in local administration, 7 C.F.R. §§ 275.16-.19 (2007); 42 C.F.R. § 435.903(b) (2006).
New York State conducts its food stamp and Medicaid programs on a decentralized basis through 58 local services districts — one of which is New York City — under the supervision of the Office of Temporary Disability Assistance and the Department of Health. It is undisputed that both of these state agencies took numerous steps toward improving the City's administration of its benefits programs.
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