BOSTON – A state watchdog agency’s study of information submitted to the state by welfare recipients found errors and eligibility concerns with an average annual cost to taxpayers of about $25 million per year. According to Inspector General Glenn Cunha’s report, dated on Wednesday and posted on his website but not widely released, investigators discovered potential eligibility concerns that...
Suzanne Bump
BOSTON – A state watchdog agency’s study of information submitted to the state by welfare recipients found errors and eligibility concerns with an average annual cost to taxpayers of about $25 million per year.
According to Inspector General Glenn Cunha’s report, dated on Wednesday and posted on his website but not widely released, investigators discovered potential eligibility concerns that could result in the termination of benefits in about 9 percent of the households receiving benefits under the program known as Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children and designed to provide assistance to the poorest residents of Massachusetts.
In mid-January state Auditor Suzanne M. Bump said examiners with the office’s Bureau of Special Investigations found evidence of $1,334,019 in fraudulently obtained public assistance benefits and services.
Bump said examiners completed 1,769 investigations in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 (July through September), identifying 246 people defrauding the state out of food stamps, health care benefits, public housing or cash assistance.
Based on a sample of active cases as of June 1, 2012, Cunha’s office found “substantial compliance in all of the eligibility categories” with one exception: none of the households with school-aged children complied with a school attendance verification requirement. The office also found “potential” eligibility errors in several areas, including undisclosed assets and employment income, missing residency verifications, participation in work programs, and citizenship or immigration status.
According to the inspector general, potential eligibility errors “are expected to be present” in about a third of households receiving benefits, based on extrapolations made from the sample examined.
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr on Thursday noted the report’s arrival on the heels of Gov. Deval Patrick’s call for higher taxes, feels and tolls and said in a statement that Cunha’s report “proves that there is still substantial work to be done to eliminate and prevent fraud, waste and abuse in our state’s welfare system.”
Tarr said, “It’s unacceptable that taxpayers would be asked to pay more while millions are being wasted. Equally unacceptable is the diversion of precious dollars intended to support those in need from people who deserve them to those who do not.”