Kansas doesn’t expect penalties over November payout of food program benefits

TOPEKA — The federal government shutdown threatened food program benefits for 180,000 Kansans, and near daily guidance from courts left state leaders unsure about November payments.

On Nov. 7, the state of Kansas paid out November benefits in full to all Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients, after days of back-and-forth filings in lawsuits that first indicated 50% of November benefits should be paid and then a miscalculation increases that amount to 66% of benefits.