AUSTIN – Advocates for the poor said Monday that they hope a class-action lawsuit spurs swift repair of the state's system for screening Texans for social programs.

Last month, more than half of new food stamp applications from metropolitan Dallas and Houston languished beyond a 30-day processing deadline required by law. Statewide, one-third weren't handled in timely fashion last month, according to a suit filed in U.S. District Court in Austin late Friday.

The Texas Legal Services Center and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice brought the suit on behalf of Irving residents Stacy Howard and Linda Thornberg and all poor Texans seeking food stamps.

Howard and Thornberg applied for food stamps more than two months ago but still haven't been interviewed by the state Health and Human Services Commission, the suit says.

Commission spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman blamed the recession and disruptions caused by Hurricane Ike. Applicants for Medicaid and food stamps, and to a lesser extent cash assistance, have overwhelmed the state's walk-in offices and privately run call centers, despite a hiring campaign, she said.

"We're drinking from a fire hose right now," Goodman said.

But Bruce Bower, deputy director of Texas Legal Services Center, said it's unacceptable for nearly 60,000 households a month to be applying for food stamps in desperation, and not receive prompt word on whether they qualify.

"The law is clear. You have time frames in which to certify people. And they are not doing that," he said of the commission.

Celia Hagert, a nutrition policy expert with the Center for Public Policy Priorities, an advocate for low- and middle-income Texans, said a poor economy can't be blamed for the system's current woes. It fell far short of federal timeliness standards, starting more than three years ago, she said.

"This is something we could have and should have prepared for," Hagert said. "The Legislature had very good information on unemployment. They knew things would get worse before they got better, and they didn't do enough."

Hagert and some other advocates are calling for renewing children's Medicaid cards and most food stamp recipients' eligibility every year, rather than every six months. They also want the state to ease limits on how valuable a recipient's vehicle and other assets can be, and to institute a crash program to bring the state eligibility workforce close to the 10,400 employees of a decade ago.

The commission has added 700 workers in the last year, but figures supplied by Goodman show a monthly average of 7,400 workers on the system's payroll this fiscal year.

Hagert said workloads have doubled in 10 years to at least 750 cases per worker – up from 351 in 1999.

"I hope that pressure from the lawsuit makes the Legislature pay attention and brings about those needed changes as quickly as they can be implemented," she said.

Bower said he wouldn't presume to spell out remedies and has asked U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks only to make the state obey federal laws requiring a decision on eligibility within 30 days – or seven days, in "expedited" cases involving families without money for food or rent.

Lawmakers this year gave the commission leeway to request 656 new eligibility workers this fall. Goodman said it will seek the necessary approval by Gov. Rick Perry, Comptroller Susan Combs and the Legislative Budget Board, a group of 10 key lawmakers who closely track the budget.

The state's food stamp rolls have swelled by 11 percent over the past year, to 2.8 million. In Dallas County, there are 256,000 recipients, up 10 percent from August 2008.