State, Department of Health & Social Services, Division of Public Assistance v. Gross

OPINION

MAASSEN, Justice.

I. INTRODUCTION

An applicant for federal disability benefits applied for state benefits that are intended to provide basic assistance while the federal application is pending. The Division of Pub-lie Assistance-the division of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services that administers the state program 1 -denied these interim benefits, relying on a subset of the criteria that the Social Security Administration uses to determine eligibility for federal benefits. The superior court reversed this decision, holding that Alaska law required the Department to apply…