Maryland is finally speeding up food benefits approvals — but will it last?

Maryland is tackling stubborn delays in processing applications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and last month the state said it got close to federal compliance for the first time in almost a decade. The state’s Department of Human Services has been plagued by chronic processing delays for years, through multiple administrations — a violation of state and federal requirements that leaves thousands of eligible Maryland families without benefits.