I know the system is being abused, but can't for the life of me figure out how it is being done. Most people I know have to jump through all kinds of hoops to get any kind of assistance, of course they are also honest, law-abiding citizens that just need a temporary bit of assistance.
Around here one of the big things is to be sure not to marry, but just shack up together while keeping his or her place of official residence at their parents house.
Looks REAL good on the tax returns when they ask for proof of destitution, frees up a lot of cash for non-essentials like beer and cigarettes, ATV’s, and a million other things that most would never be able to have and still support a family.
People of our (assuming) generation don’t even plan or think like young couples now, they have it down to a science.
WIC, food stamps, school lunches, state paid health care for minors, they know exactly how to milk it all by the time they are in their late teens.
Its guidelines do not require schools to verify the parental income of students who enroll. The process to qualify for a free lunch comes down to parents self-reporting their income on a form that is turned in to their local school. Federal free-lunch program administrators argue that the program has little potential for abuse because “the worst that happens is a kid gets a free lunch.”
This federal support comes in the form of a cash reimbursement for each meal served. The 2008-09 school year basic federal reimbursement rates are:
Free Lunches $2.57
Reduced Price Lunches $2.17
Paid Lunches $0.24
In our school system, all you have to do is show ONE pay stub that will put you below the allowed income. Some people use a pay stub with unpaid vacation days, unpaid sick days, etc. You’re supposed to notify the school corporation if your income changes from that pay stub, but no one ever checks up on it.
Kind of like our “21st Century Scholars” program. If you meet the income requirement at ANY time during your child’s middle school years, your child/children are guaranteed a free ride to any college in the state. It doesn’t matter what your income is at the time your child is ready to attend college, as long as you met the requirement in middle school. Kids whose parents are pulling in 100+k/year are attending college for free.
It’s complete and utter bullcrap. I apologized to the boy for his “no-good” father who had the gall to work his butt off our entire marriage to keep us above the poverty level. ;)
The more kids these schools can jam onto the free lunch program, the more money they get for 'technology'.
L