11-29-2008, 03:09 AM
I've seen the food stamp program abused, and it really riles me to see a well dressed person checking out at a high-end market like Whole Foods with a cart full of trendy expensive food products and paying with food stamps. The main reason is that the social workers who manage the cases are completely overburdened. Its easy to blame the government, and social workers make easy targets but the truth is the case managers are underfunded and carrying such huge case loads that any real oversight is nearly impossible.
My ex was a case manager for senior and disabled services and according to policy her case load was supposed to be 60 to 70 clients. She typically had well over 100, sometimes over 120 active cases to work with. She was supposed to do site visits at least once a month, and that was only a small part of the job. Do the math. And, heaven help the social worker who lets someone slip through the cracks. I recall my ex bringing files home nearly every evening to try and keep up on the documentation. The same is true for the food stamp program. Its not that the people who try to manage the program are incompetent. They are woefully underfunded.
My ex was a case manager for senior and disabled services and according to policy her case load was supposed to be 60 to 70 clients. She typically had well over 100, sometimes over 120 active cases to work with. She was supposed to do site visits at least once a month, and that was only a small part of the job. Do the math. And, heaven help the social worker who lets someone slip through the cracks. I recall my ex bringing files home nearly every evening to try and keep up on the documentation. The same is true for the food stamp program. Its not that the people who try to manage the program are incompetent. They are woefully underfunded.