Evening star., 1962-10-07
WELFARE
S Welfare Aids Probe
Luxury Item Buying

/0
say they can't. That's silly.
Using a laundromat is more
expensive over the long haul
than buying a washer on time"
Another collector who has
worked for three fiYrns and
also didn't wish to be identified
said:
These people aren't pigs or
animals. They have to live.
They should be taught to buy
and plan. CaSeworkers should
help them live right. I don't
think people on assistance
should buy too much, but an
account Of as much as $50,
with payments of IS or $40 a
month, isn't too much"
Sales Push Blamed
"A lot Of time the trouble
| lies with the statesmen. They
push things. Some crooked
statesmen even put things on
their bills they never bought.
A salesman can get as much
as is per cent of the sales he
makes"
The public assistance grant
includes some money for cloth
ing and incidentals, but none
for furniture.
A mother with one child
would receive a grant of $125
a month that would include SIT
for clothing and $5 for Incl
dentals. A mother with five
children ranging from 7 to 16
years of age would get 1921 a
month that would include $36
for clothing and 1922 for IN
cidentals. Money for furniture
has to be wrung out Of the
food, clothing or incidental
money.
Mr.. Meckler asserts, I'D well
come the chance to work with
the department. Many of the
recipients weren't buying luxury
items. They we're buying hide
a-beds, living room suites, ia
bles, lamps and baby strollers.
Social workers could help them
budget for these purchases. But
I can never even get a social
worker to answer my calls"
Budget Quiz is Key
Disclosures of the records at
the Montgomery County credit
firm pushed the panic button
for both welfare's staff and
relief recipients.
They came in the midst Of
hearings on the welfare budget
before Senator Byrd, Democrat
of West Virginia, and chairman
of the Senate District Appro-
priations Subcommittee.
The jumping off points for
the hearings and the budget
that eventually involved from
them were the finding of two
special Investigations ordered
by Senator Byrd last year to-
uncover possible cheaters on
relief rolls. These showed that
81 per cent of a sample of Aid
to Dependent Children cases
and 78 per cent of General
Public Assistance cases inves-
tigated were ineligible.
The panic button was pushed
because the main thing at issue
in the credit buying quiz also
was dominant in the special
investigations.
Seek Source of Funds
It is the question of outside
resources of recipients drawing
checks from the public fund
while secretly getting money
from another source, perhaps
a man, perhaps a job.
Senator Byrd has asked the
department to make still an
other investigation, this time
of 2 per cent of the Aid to the
Permanently and Totally Dis
abled caseload.
The Senate has approved a
new welfare budget that pro-
vides more social workers and |
a vastly increased investigative
force. In its report, the Sem
ate Appropriations Committee
notes that one of the reasons
for recommending a jump in
the investigative force from 81
to 154 is to allow welfare's Of
flee of Investigations and Col
lections ito conduct investiga-
tions Of welfare recipients ex-
tensive credit-buying as has
been recently disclosed"
Asked to comment on pos
sible extension of the credit
investigation, Welfare Director
Gerard M. Shea said, 1--WE can
only do one thing at time. OF
course, we're concerned about
the whole situation. We have
not ruled out following up on
the situation as soon as man
power is available.
High Pressure Cited
II have asked for a final re-
port on the investigation stem
ming from the loan firms