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there are requirements and time limits to state aid....and a cap for benefits. Call your local DHHS office and they will be more than happy to personally explain that. OR is it easier to just promote the myth????? I think so.
Maine has a 5 year limit but doesn't inforce it (as of 2 years ago). I have had more exposer to people on welfare then I would "think" most else on this forum. IMO it is very much abused. It has become a significant part of Maine's economy. TONS of jobs depend on it.
Maine has a 5 year limit but doesn't inforce it (as of 2 years ago). I have had more exposer to people on welfare then I would "think" most else on this forum. IMO it is very much abused. It has become a significant part of Maine's economy. TONS of jobs depend on it.
for the past 7 years, and up until a week ago, I worked for a program that worked with ONLY limited income families/individuals- in their homes, out in the community, within groups at housing complexes- plenty of exposure there (and I am NOT talking about the Deer Isle Smile this time..lol..). In 7 years, I never met a so-called Welfare Queen*, or saw ANYONE living high on the hog from their windfall of food stamps and/or TANF, regardless of immigration status...
* not that you said that, flycessna, but I have heard it repeatedly from others about how bountiful life is once a person qualifies for welfare- I have yet to see that in reality...
for the past 7 years, and up until a week ago, I worked for a program that worked with ONLY limited income families/individuals- in their homes, out in the community, within groups at housing complexes- plenty of exposure there (and I am NOT talking about the Deer Isle Smile this time..lol..). In 7 years, I never met a so-called Welfare Queen*, or saw ANYONE living high on the hog from their windfall of food stamps and/or TANF, regardless of immigration status...
* not that you said that, flycessna, but I have heard it repeatedly from others about how bountiful life is once a person qualifies for welfare- I have yet to see that in reality...
It depends on our own definition of a welfare queen...IMO If You've had one child that your not capable of raising so your forced to get social services to help you while you either educate yourself or gain skills so that you can eventually go to work...I guess I can except that..but once you have another child and still do not have the means of supporting that child forget it! Your abusing the system. And yes I have seen Many Many Many welfare queens.
And
I can only guess that it's in the context you deal with an individual....being on the service end where you are helping them and trying to improve their quality of life you probably had a more agreeable person in front of you...they really know how to play the system.
but the issue is this---there is a cap on monthly benefits regardless of number of children, AND the mother of those children (or father!), if she/he is receiving TANF (support $) is REQUIRED to have a job or be in school. Furthermore, you are only allowed a LIFETIME benefit of TANF for 5 years. So, how do these people beat the system? You're saying they do....how?
I worked for the first 10 years of my career as case worker and supervisor in Public Welfare with families receiving AFDC. Of course there were some who abused the system but the vast majority were women who had very little oppurtunity or vision and were living in anything but Queenly circumstances. I felt badly for the young girls who grew up in a family on welfare and who repeated the cycle by getting pregnant as a teen ager and getting trapped in a repetition of her own life experience. Entitlement mentality is ugly and a trap, but not because it affords people a fortune and a rich lifestyle...but because it drains away hope and vision and oppurtunity.
Maine has a 5 year limit but doesn't inforce it (as of 2 years ago). I have had more exposer to people on welfare then I would "think" most else on this forum. IMO it is very much abused. It has become a significant part of Maine's economy. TONS of jobs depend on it.
(Maybe it would be better to start a new thread about welfare in Maine, but that's up to Cornerguy...)
There is a 60 month cap on TANF (cash) benefits to ADULT participants, but not on food stamps or MaineCare. After 60 months of aid from TANF, the adult will no longer recieve any cash benefit- the benefit will be awarded only to the minor children, not to the adult. There are some other issues that come in, such as the number of violations the adult commited, as well as a clause that indicates acceptable reasons (Good Cause) that an adult might continue to recieve that benefit (which includes issues such as domestic violence, child care, and a few others..).
If anyone wants to look at the facts... http://www.mejp.org/PDF/tanf_facts.pdf (broken link)
Myth: Maine’s TANF benefits are too generous and encourage people to move to Maine
from other states. Fact: Maine’s maximum monthly TANF benefit is the very lowest in New England. Maine’s
maximum benefit for a family of three is $485/month, which is only 34% of the poverty level
($1431/month). Even when food stamps are added, TANF families reach only 65% of the
poverty level.
Data from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services clearly illustrates that
people are not moving to Maine for our benefits. DHHS compiled data about the relocation
patterns of people receiving assistance from TANF, Food Stamps and MaineCare. It found:
• Less than 1 percent of all 2006 recipients came to Maine from another state.
• From October 2002 – October 2006, nearly six times as many aid recipients left Maine
each month as the number who moved here.
• Of those who had come from elsewhere, nearly one-third had Social Security numbers
issued in Maine. This suggests that a large number of these individuals were originally
from Maine and were simply coming home.
• Finally, there was no significant difference in migration patterns between aid recipients
and the rest of the population. People receiving assistance generally came to Maine from
the very same states in the same percentages as the rest of the population. If people really
were looking for more generous benefits we'd expect a different pattern - a greater
proportion would be coming from states with lower benefit amounts.
**** Myth: There’s a lot of fraud in the welfare system—people are getting benefits even when
they don’t qualify.Fact: Actual fraud is found in only about 2/10th of 1% of all TANF cases—that means that
99.8% of families do not commit fraud. There are strict eligibility requirements that families
must meet in order to qualify for TANF benefits. Eligibility is reviewed every six months and
families must report any change in circumstances within 10 days. The Department verifies
information about income and assets by computer checks with other government agencies such
as the Department of Labor, bank accounts and access to other public benefits like Social
Security. Myth: Once on welfare, always on welfare. Lots of families go on welfare and stay on for
years and years.
Fact: Less than 1/10th of 1% of all families who received TANF at the beginning of the program
in 1996 continue to receive it today. The average length of time that Maine families stay on
TANF is 21 months.
If you actually know "many, many, many" people that are living well while on welfare, I would say that you have found all of those 0.20% of people that are committing fraud in order to recieve benefits- and you should turn them in. There is enough stigma attached to the very act of applying (and recieving) welfare benefits, even if you qualify and need it, that I think it's important to weed out the fraudulent ones that only add to that stigma.
I have no idea if refugees have a seperate government benefit for being a refugee (all of my useless knowledge is limited to programs and services managed by DHS, not laws and services related to immigration benefits..), but as for the usual circuit of welfare benefits, they are held to the same rules and conditions as any other applicant- they are not given some golden ticket to abuse welfare benefits for as long as they want to simply because they are immigrants, just as they don't for anyone...
DeerIsle, many many kudos to you for such a wonderful post!! When I can rep again you are first on my list!!
(and to you nay sayers--it's not because she's a ya-ya...or because I agree....it's the factual information she provided. although the other two items are worthy of reps as well )
(Maybe it would be better to start a new thread about welfare in Maine, but that's up to Cornerguy...)
There is a 60 month cap on TANF (cash) benefits to ADULT participants, but not on food stamps or MaineCare. After 60 months of aid from TANF, the adult will no longer recieve any cash benefit- the benefit will be awarded only to the minor children, not to the adult. There are some other issues that come in, such as the number of violations the adult commited, as well as a clause that indicates acceptable reasons (Good Cause) that an adult might continue to recieve that benefit (which includes issues such as domestic violence, child care, and a few others..).
If anyone wants to look at the facts... http://www.mejp.org/PDF/tanf_facts.pdf (broken link)
Myth: Maine’s TANF benefits are too generous and encourage people to move to Maine
from other states. Fact: Maine’s maximum monthly TANF benefit is the very lowest in New England. Maine’s
maximum benefit for a family of three is $485/month, which is only 34% of the poverty level
($1431/month). Even when food stamps are added, TANF families reach only 65% of the
poverty level.
Data from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services clearly illustrates that
people are not moving to Maine for our benefits. DHHS compiled data about the relocation
patterns of people receiving assistance from TANF, Food Stamps and MaineCare. It found:
• Less than 1 percent of all 2006 recipients came to Maine from another state.
• From October 2002 – October 2006, nearly six times as many aid recipients left Maine
each month as the number who moved here.
• Of those who had come from elsewhere, nearly one-third had Social Security numbers
issued in Maine. This suggests that a large number of these individuals were originally
from Maine and were simply coming home.
• Finally, there was no significant difference in migration patterns between aid recipients
and the rest of the population. People receiving assistance generally came to Maine from
the very same states in the same percentages as the rest of the population. If people really
were looking for more generous benefits we'd expect a different pattern - a greater
proportion would be coming from states with lower benefit amounts.
**** Myth: There’s a lot of fraud in the welfare system—people are getting benefits even when
they don’t qualify.Fact: Actual fraud is found in only about 2/10th of 1% of all TANF cases—that means that
99.8% of families do not commit fraud. There are strict eligibility requirements that families
must meet in order to qualify for TANF benefits. Eligibility is reviewed every six months and
families must report any change in circumstances within 10 days. The Department verifies
information about income and assets by computer checks with other government agencies such
as the Department of Labor, bank accounts and access to other public benefits like Social
Security. Myth: Once on welfare, always on welfare. Lots of families go on welfare and stay on for
years and years.
Fact: Less than 1/10th of 1% of all families who received TANF at the beginning of the program
in 1996 continue to receive it today. The average length of time that Maine families stay on
TANF is 21 months.
If you actually know "many, many, many" people that are living well while on welfare, I would say that you have found all of those 0.20% of people that are committing fraud in order to recieve benefits- and you should turn them in. There is enough stigma attached to the very act of applying (and recieving) welfare benefits, even if you qualify and need it, that I think it's important to weed out the fraudulent ones that only add to that stigma.
I have no idea if refugees have a seperate government benefit for being a refugee (all of my useless knowledge is limited to programs and services managed by DHS, not laws and services related to immigration benefits..), but as for the usual circuit of welfare benefits, they are held to the same rules and conditions as any other applicant- they are not given some golden ticket to abuse welfare benefits for as long as they want to simply because they are immigrants, just as they don't for anyone...
I never said I saw Many Many Many people living "well" on welfare...What I said was I have seen many many many welfare queens. I did not know Queen also meant living well (if that’s what you inferred).
I do not think Maine's out of control spending has everything to do with it's (IMO) defunct welfare system. But I also do not believe every stat that I read. I have known quite a few people that have come from Ma. welfare to Maine's welfare because they felt it afforded them a better quality of life. I do know that Maine has one of the highest percentage of people on Medicaid. IMO there are many facets of welfare that the costs are not easily traced. Ie. added police to deal with the social issues more associated with lower income people, Lower property values, lack of demographics to support strong employment opportunities, the cycle of welfare with children growing up in poverty, added teachers, ect ect ect. Not to mention programs that IMO are nothing but a form of government welfare like dirigo, and all the non profit agencies to support a welfare state. My father grew up poor....really poor as I could imagine there are many people on this forum that may have been or consider themselves to be poor. Poor today is much different then Poor 40 years ago but it is not a lifestyle I would relish even with government assistance.
How do you (non-specific you) even know who is receiveing benefits and what they are receiving, and how that ads in with their other forms of income? Some people who qualify for MaineCare also receive a ridiculous amount of food stamps (I've seen quite a few who get less than $15/month), or no food stamps at all.) Some people recieve TANF and no food stamps, some recieve food stamps but no TANF, some that qualify for $15/mo in food stamps really only apply so that they will then be able/qualified/designated/poor enough to apply for fuel assistance, etc..- the combinations are endless... But if you are not their case worker or close confidante, and they don't wear their "I LIVE ON YOUR TAXES" shirts every day, how the heck can you know who is receiving what benefits and whether or not if they are committing fraud?
Not all single parents receive welfare, and I would guess that not all immigrants do, either...
edit/add: And as far as the term "Welfare Queen", (I believe) it is most usually referring to those women who fradulently receive excessive welfare benefits (either through multiple aliases, claims in multiple states, ficticious children, or other big whopping lies), not just for those women who are recieving any benefits. I do remember one case (only because of the given name of the offender...it's kind of ironic..) in which a woman, Queen Esther Lastname, claimed close to 60 kids for benefits. As bad as it is that this woman set out to intentionally fraud the welfare programs (and she did end up in prison..), I think it's worse that someone, somewhere, didn't catch that until she had recieved more than a quarter mill in benefits.. (This was not in Maine, though- just to clarify..)
Last edited by deerislesmile; 12-05-2007 at 09:46 AM..
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