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FULL TEXT OF BOHN V. KOLLER COMPLAINT--HAWAII FOOD STAMP CASE

Click here to view the full text of Bohn v. Koller, the Hawaii case that has apparently caused some concern about South Carolina Governor Haley's appointee for Director of DSS. While we believe that this matter should be taken seriously by the State of Hawaii, it is hardly something that should cause concern in South Carolina unless the General Assembly is planning to underfund DSS, thereby interfering with the ability of DSS to comply with federal mandates.

While this case should not be cause for panic in South Carolina, it does provide yet another reason that the South Carolina General Assembly should cease the practice of making DSS (and other state agencies) funnel money to NGO's for non-core, non-mandated programs when it is not complying with federal mandates such as--say it with us--creating a New Hire Reporting Registry.

A recent post on FITSNews reveals that Governor Haley's newly appointed DSS Director Lillian Koller left "her agency in Hawaii facing a federal lawsuit over tardy food stamp distribution to needy families." The implication is that South Carolina may be headed down the same path it has has been on for the last fourteen or so years regarding incompetent or ineffective DSS Directors. And the comments to the post are even more critical of DSS. However, before South Carolina runs Ms. Koller out of town on a rail, we say give her a chance; we think that her overall record in Hawaii is cause for optimism and that she may prove to be Governor Haley's best appointment.

As partial support for our optimism, we call everyone's attention to the State Child Support Collection Box Scores for FY 2009. Unlike South Carolina, Hawaii has actually been decreasing child support arrearages, decreasing the number of welfare recipients, and increasing the amount of child support collected.

We certainly do not mean to suggest either that our elected officials should be inviting federal lawsuits or that federal lawsuits are to be taken lightly. However, the fact of the matter is that the Hawaii Legislature may not have allocated sufficient funds for Ms. Koller's Department to comply with federal mandates. Moreover, we note that the referenced lawsuit is equitable in nature and that it is seeking to force Hawaii to comply with federal law rather than seeking either fines or monetary damages. In this respect, this lawsuit is nothing like federal lawsuits against South Carolina that have resulted in over $80,0000,000 in fines with more to come.

Ms. Koller is both an attorney and award-winning public official with a history of getting things done. We believe she will be able to quickly identify the causes of the historical mismanagement of DSS, most particularly mismanagement of the Child Support Enforcement Division. And we hope that both the public and the South Carolina General Assembly will reserve judgment until she has had a reasonable opportunity to evaluate her staff, set priorities, and develop remedial policies. After all, the Mess at DSS was not created overnight and will take some time to rectify.