The LePage administration has reversed a $7.8 million transfer of grant funds that ran afoul of federal law, after the BDN reported on the spending of federal welfare assistance dollars in June. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services used the funds in 2015 to pay for services for seniors and residents with disabilities […]
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Analysis: How Maine redirected millions meant to help poor families
Last summer, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services publicly touted plans to use more than $3 million in unspent federal welfare funds in an “innovative” way that would direct more money to services for elderly and disabled Mainers. The transfer, Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew said at the time, represented a “reprioritizing […]
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DHHS says Mainers made more money after going off food stamps
AUGUSTA — Making a moral case for Gov. Paul LePage’s welfare agenda, his administration released a report on Wednesday that touted income gains for people culled from Maine’s food stamp rolls. It revolves around the Republican governor’s 2014 move to reinstate federal work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents between the ages of 18 and 49. To receive food […]
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Maine welfare reform bill brings tighter scrutiny and stronger penalties
AUGUSTA — In an end-of-session compromise, a pair of Lewiston-Auburn state senators, a Democrat and a Republican, advanced legislation that tightens oversight and increases penalties for welfare recipients who abuse the system. Prior to Friday, the legislation, first offered by Sen. Nate Libby, D-Lewiston, and aimed at limiting purchases made with electronic benefit transfer cards […]
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Drug testing for welfare recipients off to slow start in Maine
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage hailed drug screenings for certain welfare recipients as a way to protect taxpayer dollars. But since the program was launched a few months ago, only a handful of recipients have been ordered to take tests and most people who have lost their assistance have done so because they failed to show […]
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Work waiver for some food stamp users passes Maine House
AUGUSTA — Maine’s Democratic-controlled House of Representatives backed a bill Wednesday to waive work requirements for some food stamp recipients, but the measure doesn’t appear to have enough support to survive a near certain veto from Republican Gov. Paul LePage. Since October, healthy adults without children have had to work at least 20 hours a week, […]
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Health committee Dems reject LePage’s call to drug test all TANF recipients
AUGUSTA — Democrats who hold a majority on the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee voted on Wednesday to reject a bill from Gov. Paul LePage to drug test everyone who receives cash benefits in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. LePage spokeswoman Adrienne Bennett said the vote indicates that Democrats are “not serious […]
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LePage wants to screen all TANF recipients for drugs
AUGUSTA — ’s plan to prevent anyone with a felony drug conviction from collecting cash welfare benefits advanced Monday in Augusta with a bill that would extend a program launched earlier this year. In January, LePage and his administration began administering drug tests on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families applicants who have had felony drug […]
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LePage presents plan to reduce Maine’s welfare cliff
AUGUSTA — A Gov. Paul LePage plan aimed at moving more Mainers from welfare to work by allowing them to more gradually transition from public support as they gain income got a lukewarm reception from an organization that advocates for the state’s poor Tuesday. During a news conference earlier in the day, LePage rolled out […]
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Maine reports that work requirements cut 9,300 recipients from food stamps
AUGUSTA — More than 9,000 Maine residents have been removed from the state’s food stamp program since Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s administration began enforcing work and volunteer requirements late last year, officials said. The number of people that have been dropped from the program has exceeded even the administration’s expectations. About 12,000 adults who aren’t disabled […]