Leave No Child Behind -- Just Don't Feed 'Em

Excerpts from The New York Times:

"President Bush's budget proposes new eligibility requirements that would make it more difficult for low-income families to obtain a range of government benefits, from tax credits to school lunches."

"Arguing that much of the federal money intended for poor people is diverted through error and fraud, the administration wants to require families to supply more proof of their income and living arrangements before they can qualify for aid."

"Critics, including some local officials, said today that the extra steps would deter eligible poor people from applying for needed assistance."

"The Bush budget would also replace one of the largest federal housing programs with a block grant to states, which could redirect some of the money away from working poor people in cities. Mr. Bush said he wanted to shift money and responsibility for this and other social welfare programs, including Medicaid, to the states."

"Diana Gonzalez-Sumpter, the food service director in Morenci, said that parents had made honest mistakes in some cases. A few families, she said, had deliberately understated their income. Ms. Gonzalez-Sumpter said she supported the verification requirements because she had "strong feelings about the stewardship of public funds." But she said that the requirements deterred some eligible people, including immigrants, from applying for benefits."

"The Bush proposal could impose time-consuming new duties on school employees in large school districts. 'It would be a nightmare for us,' said Nadine L. Mann, director of operations for the child nutrition programs in East Baton Rouge Parish, La., which serves 44,000 lunches a day to schoolchildren."

"Barry D. Sackin, vice president of the American School Food Service Association, whose members run feeding programs, said the Bush plan "would turn us into accountants and
auditors and take us away from what we should be doing: serving nutritious meals to children.'"

© Copyright 2003 Keith Jameson. Last update: 2/5/2003; 11:01:58 AM.