S.M. v. Department of Human Services

── S.M. v. Department of Human Services ── Court: New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division Date: May 22, 2026 Category: General RECORD IMPOUNDED NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited . R. 1:36-3. SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-2773-23 S.M.,1 Petitioner-Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, DIVISION OF FAMILY DEVELOPMENT, Respondent-Respondent, and OCEAN COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES, Respondent. _____________________________ Submitted April 20, 2026 – Decided May 22, 2026 Before Judges Sabatino and Walcott-Henderson. On appeal from the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Family Development, Docket No. C092417015. 1 We use initials to protect the petitioner's privacy interests. R. 1:38-3(f)(4).  S.M., self-represented appellant. Jennifer Davenport, Attorney General, attorney for respondent (Sookie Bae-Park, Assistant Attorney General, of counsel; Laura N. Morson, Deputy Attorney General, on the brief). PER CURIAM Petitioner S.M., a self-represented litigant, appeals from a final agency decision of the Department of Human Services, Division of Family Development ("DFD"), adopting the initial decision of Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") Dean J. Buono, finding S.M. received an overpayment of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ("SNAP") benefits in the amount of $24,264.2 S.M. challenges DFD's determination, alleging various constitutional due process and substantive flaws in the hearing before the ALJ and the Board's reliance on the ALJ's initial determination. Discerning no abuse of discretion or legal error by the Board, whose decision is supported by amply evidence in the record, we affirm. 2 The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program was established by Congress in 1964, "to safeguard the health and well-being of the Nation's population by raising levels of nutrition among low-income households." 7 U.S.C. § 2011; N.J.A.C. 10:87-1.1. SNAP benefit eligibility is limited to households "whose incomes and other financial resources, held singly or in joint ownership, are determined to be a substantial limiting factor in permitting them to obtain a more nutritious diet." 7 U.S.C. § 2014(a). A-2773-23 2  I. The following relevant facts are largely undisputed. This matter stems from the Ocean County Board of Social Services' ("OCBSS") determination that petitioner received an overpayment of SNAP benefits in the amount of $24,264. Petitioner first applied and was approved for SNAP benefits in May 2017, requiring her to complete financial information about her household income . Petitioner resides in the same household with her husband, S.L., and is a recipient of monthly benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA"). S.M. submitted applications for SNAP benefits annually, which required her to update her household income and, relevant to these proceedings, between March 2017 and March 2019, S.M. reported S.L.'s VA benefits at $1,635 per month.3 According to the DFD, S.M. continued to report that income until May 2020 when she claimed that S.L.'s benefits had increased to $1,728. Three months later, however, S.M. reported that S.L.'s income had in fact decreased to $1,644, approximately ten dollars more than it wa