By Greg. R. Lawson

Introduction

In his recently released budget blueprint, Ohio Governor John Kasich has proposed regulatory and programmatic changes designed to “help Ohioans move up and out of poverty” and into employability. Ohio, like many other states, has seen its welfare rolls expand while its labor force declines, so reforms are needed to curb welfare expansion and revitalize the work force.

Maine Governor Paul LePage is among state executives leading the charge to empower their less fortunate citizens through rolling back problematic government programs that too often breed dependency. LePage has made welfare fraud issues and work requirements for assistance programs centerpieces of his Administration. LePage’s policies are designed to ensure that resources are better targeted to reach those with the most need while avoiding misuse that keeps individuals trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty. Ohio has been ahead of Maine when dealing with a variety of these issues but can still build on Maine’s efforts and continue to reform its own system to create more liberty and less government dependency.

Governor LePage’s Reforms

Welfare reforms critical to Maine’s development include:

• Requiring drug testing for anyone receiving TANF Program cash assistance who had a previous drug conviction, and connecting likely drug users with assistance to get clean;[1]
   
• Tracking and blocking the use of TANF cash benefits, especially electronic bene t cards (EBT), at locations such as casinos or liquor stores;
   
• Beginning a pilot program that includes a photo ID on EBT cards to reduce fraud;[2]
   
• Hiring additional fraud investigators;
   
• Enhanced coordination between the Maine Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Education to get those on Food Stamps employed more rapidly.

Ohio has already embraced several other reforms including the re-implementation of work requirements for the food stamp program[3] and placing a five-year cap on TANF assistance.

TANF Drug Testing

Efforts for requiring TANF cash recipients to undergo some form of drug testing are not unique to Maine. According to the National Conference on State Legislatures (NCSL), 18 states in 2014 introduced or had carryover bills that would require some form of drug testing for welfare applicants.[4] In the past, however, such requirements have faced a variety of court challenges. The rules under the Maine plan, approved in January, will require TANF applicants to be screened if they have a felony conviction (within the last 20 years) and fail a predictive questionnaire aimed at determining the likelihood of continued drug use.[5] The restriction of the drug testing policy to those with previous convictions likely inoculates the policy from courtroom losses. Those applicants that fail or that refuse to take the test are given the option of enrolling in a drug prevention program in order to maintain the welfare benefits. Maine is joining the ranks of states such as Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin in requiring those with drug convictions to submit to drug testing as a condition for receiving benefits.[6]

Tracking and Blocking Impermissible EBT Card TANF Transactions

In 2012, Governor LePage signed legislation that limited what could be purchased with TANF funds that are loaded onto an EBT card. That legislation specifically banned the use of the cards at casinos, adult clubs, and stores where more than 50 percent of the revenue comes from the sale of alcohol.[7] The LePage Administration, during the current legislative session, is now looking to tighten the rules surrounding the use of TANF funds on the cards even further. Maine’s reform measures include prohibiting the out-of-state use of TANF benefits, and a ban on purchasing alcohol and cigarettes with TANF dollars. These reforms will help reassure taxpayers that the welfare benefits for which they pay are being used appropriately and providing essential needs.

Using a Photo ID on EBT Card to Reduce Fraud

Beginning in April 2014, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) began a pilot program to include photo identification on EBT cards. The program was expanded that summer and by April of this year Maine expects photo IDs will be available on EBT cards throughout the state.[8] Maine joins Massachusetts and Missouri in adding photo IDs to their EBT cards in an effort to limit the fraudulent use of EBT cards funded with government benefits.[9]

Hiring Additional Fraud Investigators

In 2010, before Governor LePage took office, Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services Fraud Investigation and Recovery Unit saw a mere ten fraud-related cases. In 2012, under the LePage Administration, that unit handled 45 fraud cases. And in 2013, the Administration hired eight additional investigators to help with the caseload and fight welfare and public benefits fraud.[10]

Enhanced Job Training Coordination for Food Stamp Recipients

The DHHS and the Department of Labor (DOL) began enrolling participants in a pilot employment and training program in April 2014. The program includes up to three months of job search training and other support designed to find jobs for food stamp recipients. During the three-month program, case managers refer participants to interviews, education programs, and a variety of workshops designed to improve interviewing skills and write résumés. Maine initially offered these services in two DOL Career Centers and will now be expanding to two more centers in 2015.[11]

Conclusion

Ohio’s Auditor of State, Dave Yost, addressed the issue of food stamp fraud soon after his election in 2010. Yost’s attention to the issue prompted policy changes at the Department of Job and Family Services, but more work remains to be done in administering the state’s welfare benefits.[12] Welfare reform will continue to be an important issue as Ohio wrestles with a large food stamp population and a labor force that lost nearly 150,000 persons between 2010 and 2012.[13] Ohio can benefit from Maine’s recent efforts. Targeted drug testing, adding photo IDs to EBT cards, and rigorously investigating welfare fraud can bolster public confidence that benefits are appropriately given to those most in need. Coordinating work training programs, a central tenet of Governor Kasich’s new budget, will also help move Ohioans from government assistance programs back into the work force and make them more self-sufficient. As the Kasich Administration and the General Assembly continue to explore positive reforms, they would do well to remember that government programs are not the only solution to the poverty problem, and that the for-profit and non-profit sectors can be valuable partners in providing job training and education for Ohio’s less fortunate. The LePage Administration has shown courage and resolve in reforming his state’s welfare programs, and Ohio would be wise to learn from Maine’s example.

1. Paul LePage, “State of the State-2015,” Office of the Governor, February 3, 2015, accessed January 29, 2015, http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=Gov_Speeches&id=636878&v=article2011

2. Ibid.

3. Gov. Kasich did not seek a blanket waiver of federal food stamp program work requirements in 2013. He only sought a waiver for 16 counties with higher unemployment rate than the national average.

4. “Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients and Public Assistance,” National Conference of State Legislatures, accessed January 30, 2015, http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/drug-testing-and-public-assistance.aspx

5. Mario Moretto, “With AG’s Approval, LePage Administration to Start Drug Testing Some Welfare Applicants,” Bangor (ME) Daily News, January 14, 2015, accessed February 20, 2015, http://bangordailynews.com/2015/01/14/politics/with-ags-approval-lepage- administration-set-to-start-drug-testing-some-welfare-applicants/

6. “Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients and Public Assistance,” National Conference of State Legislatures, accessed January 30, 2015, http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/drug-testing-and-public-assistance.aspx

7. Kevin Miller, “Rooting Out EBT Fraud More Complex than it Seems,” The Portland (OR) Press Herald, January 12, 2015, accessed January 30, 2015, http://www.pressherald.com/2014/01/12/rooting_out_ebt_fraud_more_complex_than_it_seems_/

8. Steven Robinson, “Photo ID on Maine EBT Cards to Begin April 28,” The Maine Wire, April 18, 2015, accessed January 31, 2015, http://www.themainewire.com/2014/04/photo-id-maine-ebt-cards-april-28/

9. “Restrictions on Use of Public Assistance Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Cards,” National Conference of State Legislatures, accessed February 4, 2015, http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/ebt-electronic-benefit-transfer-card-restrictions-for-public-assistance.aspx

10. Associated Press, “LePage: Prosecution of Welfare Fraud Up in Maine,” The Portland Herald Press, September 10, 2013, accessed January 31, 2015 http://www.pressherald.com/2013/09/10/lepage-prosecution-of-welfare-fraud-up-in-maine/

11. “Food Supplement and Training Program Plan – FFY 2015,”The Maine Department of Health and Human Services, http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/ofi/services/snap/documents/FSET-CSSP-Approved-by-FNS.DOC

12. “Food Stamp Fraud,” Ohio Auditor of State, accessed January 31, 2015 https://ohioauditor.gov/initiatives/foodstampfraud.html

13. “Labor Force Update – November 2014,”The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, accessed February 2, 2015 http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org/uploads/files/11-14%20Labor%20Force%20Rolling%20Update.pdf