A botched computer system implementation has led to persistent delays in getting food and healthcare to low-income residents and may cost the state millions of dollars and access to future federal funding.

The problem was raised at a legislative hearing yesterday, after a state auditor issued a report criticizing the contract. The commissioner in charge of the program refused to testify, citing ongoing negotiations.

“These are families that are going needlessly hungry or being denied essential healthcare,” said Raymond J. Castro, senior policy analyst for New Jersey Policy Perspective.

The Department of Human Services’ handling of the $118 million contract for the Consolidated Assistance Support System (CASS) has also drawn scrutiny from State Auditor Stephen M. Eells, who has questioned why officials didn’t act sooner on the contract, or write into it provisions that would allow the state to recoup damages from the failure to complete the contracted work.

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