WaPo takes deep dive into DCPS residency fraud

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone on one of these threads posted an anecdote about a kid who was in DCPS but then didn’t qualify for DC TAG. So I went to look for the requirements. OSSE runs that verification too. Tax filers have to provide a certified tax form, and there is an electronic system to do it (DCOne App?). If you are not a tax filer, you have to supply a statement of other benefits (TANF, etc.), bill/pay stub, AND successfully file a FAFSA.

So, there is already a more stringent system at OSSE that has accommodations for low income non-filers.

Can we bring that to scale for schools? That benefit (12k) is worth more than the 10k DCTAG.


https://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/2018-19%20DCOneApp%20Checklist.pdf

Sounds like a good point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone on one of these threads posted an anecdote about a kid who was in DCPS but then didn’t qualify for DC TAG. So I went to look for the requirements. OSSE runs that verification too. Tax filers have to provide a certified tax form, and there is an electronic system to do it (DCOne App?). If you are not a tax filer, you have to supply a statement of other benefits (TANF, etc.), bill/pay stub, AND successfully file a FAFSA.

So, there is already a more stringent system at OSSE that has accommodations for low income non-filers.

Can we bring that to scale for schools? That benefit (12k) is worth more than the 10k DCTAG.


https://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/2018-19%20DCOneApp%20Checklist.pdf

Well, you can't require the parents to file a FAFSA for K-12. So if someone claims to be a non-filer, how are the enforceable restrictions any more than under the current system? I mean, a non-filer who receives no public benefits submits only a bill or a pay stub, or both . . . but apparently non-residents are able to get DC bills in their names and/or change their pay stub address for one pay period, right?

I agree that we need to crack down on the proof of residency, I'm just not sure if this will help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Count them, and charge VA and MD. Reciprocity, not freeloading. Identify a handful of schools that are eligible for out of state kids
Cap the eligible AGI of the parents -- limit it to those making $120k or less, depending on the number of kids. Limit it only to DC city employees. Any number of ways to make this a good policy for recruitment and retention of City workers to lower-paying jobs.

Oh please. Anyone making a $100,000 or more at a city job can find a decent place to live in DC if they choose. They are making an economic choice to get a bigger house by luving in the suburbs, but it’s not that they “can’t afford” DC.

"Oh, please" (my god, you are rude). Take a gander at the real.estate page. There is no way you can find safe housing with 3 bedrooms in DC on 100k a year and feed your 2-3 kids. What is your definition of decent?

Please note that the family in question here had TWO adults earning $100K plus. I'm confident one can find safe housing on $200K a year.

OR, they could choose to use that money to buy in PG or MoCo and actually use the schools where they live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone on one of these threads posted an anecdote about a kid who was in DCPS but then didn’t qualify for DC TAG. So I went to look for the requirements. OSSE runs that verification too. Tax filers have to provide a certified tax form, and there is an electronic system to do it (DCOne App?). If you are not a tax filer, you have to supply a statement of other benefits (TANF, etc.), bill/pay stub, AND successfully file a FAFSA.

So, there is already a more stringent system at OSSE that has accommodations for low income non-filers.

Can we bring that to scale for schools? That benefit (12k) is worth more than the 10k DCTAG.


https://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/2018-19%20DCOneApp%20Checklist.pdf

Well, you can't require the parents to file a FAFSA for K-12. So if someone claims to be a non-filer, how are the enforceable restrictions any more than under the current system? I mean, a non-filer who receives no public benefits submits only a bill or a pay stub, or both . . . but apparently non-residents are able to get DC bills in their names and/or change their pay stub address for one pay period, right?

I agree that we need to crack down on the proof of residency, I'm just not sure if this will help.

It's order of operations -- if you are a tax filer, you do not have the option of providing other documents. Only non-filers can use other documents, and one of those other documents must be a one of the following:

12-month (Jan – Dec 2017) TANF/SNAP/Food Stamp Statement
12-month (Jan – Dec 2017) Child Support Document
12-month (Jan – Dec 2017) Retirement/Annuity Document
12-month (Jan – Dec 2017) Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) or Social Security Income (SSI)
12-month (Jan – Dec 2017) Unemployment Benefits or Worker’s Compensation Disability
Ward of Court Letter (dated for 2018)

No one can apply with paystub alone, so I do think it is an improvement. In order to scam with bills/paystubs, you also have to scam that you are not a tax filer with one of the docs above, which is a higher bar. Agree K-12 won't have a FAFSA!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone on one of these threads posted an anecdote about a kid who was in DCPS but then didn’t qualify for DC TAG. So I went to look for the requirements. OSSE runs that verification too. Tax filers have to provide a certified tax form, and there is an electronic system to do it (DCOne App?). If you are not a tax filer, you have to supply a statement of other benefits (TANF, etc.), bill/pay stub, AND successfully file a FAFSA.

So, there is already a more stringent system at OSSE that has accommodations for low income non-filers.

Can we bring that to scale for schools? That benefit (12k) is worth more than the 10k DCTAG.


https://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/2018-19%20DCOneApp%20Checklist.pdf

yes, excellent point, but note that the 12K comes from DC budget and TAG is federally funded. TAG may be more restrictive to meet federal grant requirements whereas DC has budget oversight of its per pupil allocation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone on one of these threads posted an anecdote about a kid who was in DCPS but then didn’t qualify for DC TAG. So I went to look for the requirements. OSSE runs that verification too. Tax filers have to provide a certified tax form, and there is an electronic system to do it (DCOne App?). If you are not a tax filer, you have to supply a statement of other benefits (TANF, etc.), bill/pay stub, AND successfully file a FAFSA.

So, there is already a more stringent system at OSSE that has accommodations for low income non-filers.

Can we bring that to scale for schools? That benefit (12k) is worth more than the 10k DCTAG.


https://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/2018-19%20DCOneApp%20Checklist.pdf

yes, excellent point, but note that the 12K comes from DC budget and TAG is federally funded. TAG may be more restrictive to meet federal grant requirements whereas DC has budget oversight of its per pupil allocation.

But surely DC could align its residency verification practices with the more restrictive TAG requirements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone on one of these threads posted an anecdote about a kid who was in DCPS but then didn’t qualify for DC TAG. So I went to look for the requirements. OSSE runs that verification too. Tax filers have to provide a certified tax form, and there is an electronic system to do it (DCOne App?). If you are not a tax filer, you have to supply a statement of other benefits (TANF, etc.), bill/pay stub, AND successfully file a FAFSA.

So, there is already a more stringent system at OSSE that has accommodations for low income non-filers.

Can we bring that to scale for schools? That benefit (12k) is worth more than the 10k DCTAG.


https://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/2018-19%20DCOneApp%20Checklist.pdf

yes, excellent point, but note that the 12K comes from DC budget and TAG is federally funded. TAG may be more restrictive to meet federal grant requirements whereas DC has budget oversight of its per pupil allocation.

But surely DC could align its residency verification practices with the more restrictive TAG requirements.

....but they don't want to. And we now know the reasons why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone on one of these threads posted an anecdote about a kid who was in DCPS but then didn’t qualify for DC TAG. So I went to look for the requirements. OSSE runs that verification too. Tax filers have to provide a certified tax form, and there is an electronic system to do it (DCOne App?). If you are not a tax filer, you have to supply a statement of other benefits (TANF, etc.), bill/pay stub, AND successfully file a FAFSA.

So, there is already a more stringent system at OSSE that has accommodations for low income non-filers.

Can we bring that to scale for schools? That benefit (12k) is worth more than the 10k DCTAG.


https://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/2018-19%20DCOneApp%20Checklist.pdf

yes, excellent point, but note that the 12K comes from DC budget and TAG is federally funded. TAG may be more restrictive to meet federal grant requirements whereas DC has budget oversight of its per pupil allocation.

But surely DC could align its residency verification practices with the more restrictive TAG requirements.

of course, but they may not be required to do so for the funds to exist. Doesn't mean they shouldn't align with better and more comprehensive approach for obvious reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Count them, and charge VA and MD. Reciprocity, not freeloading. Identify a handful of schools that are eligible for out of state kids
Cap the eligible AGI of the parents -- limit it to those making $120k or less, depending on the number of kids. Limit it only to DC city employees. Any number of ways to make this a good policy for recruitment and retention of City workers to lower-paying jobs.

Oh please. Anyone making a $100,000 or more at a city job can find a decent place to live in DC if they choose. They are making an economic choice to get a bigger house by luving in the suburbs, but it’s not that they “can’t afford” DC.

I am not suggesting those people should be accommodated - have an income cap to prevent such families from getting the benefit. That may also be an outlier (or one of a few extreme examples).
We rarely develop policies based on one or two anecdotal examples (I hope). We need more data on who is doing this and why, and all the relevant demographics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone on one of these threads posted an anecdote about a kid who was in DCPS but then didn’t qualify for DC TAG. So I went to look for the requirements. OSSE runs that verification too. Tax filers have to provide a certified tax form, and there is an electronic system to do it (DCOne App?). If you are not a tax filer, you have to supply a statement of other benefits (TANF, etc.), bill/pay stub, AND successfully file a FAFSA.

So, there is already a more stringent system at OSSE that has accommodations for low income non-filers.

Can we bring that to scale for schools? That benefit (12k) is worth more than the 10k DCTAG.


https://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/2018-19%20DCOneApp%20Checklist.pdf

yes, excellent point, but note that the 12K comes from DC budget and TAG is federally funded. TAG may be more restrictive to meet federal grant requirements whereas DC has budget oversight of its per pupil allocation.

This would not go down well with the "Ward 9 community."
But surely DC could align its residency verification practices with the more restrictive TAG requirements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone on one of these threads posted an anecdote about a kid who was in DCPS but then didn’t qualify for DC TAG. So I went to look for the requirements. OSSE runs that verification too. Tax filers have to provide a certified tax form, and there is an electronic system to do it (DCOne App?). If you are not a tax filer, you have to supply a statement of other benefits (TANF, etc.), bill/pay stub, AND successfully file a FAFSA.

So, there is already a more stringent system at OSSE that has accommodations for low income non-filers.

Can we bring that to scale for schools? That benefit (12k) is worth more than the 10k DCTAG.


https://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/2018-19%20DCOneApp%20Checklist.pdf

yes, excellent point, but note that the 12K comes from DC budget and TAG is federally funded. TAG may be more restrictive to meet federal grant requirements whereas DC has budget oversight of its per pupil allocation.

This would not go down well with the "Ward 9 community."
But surely DC could align its residency verification practices with the more restrictive TAG requirements.

This would not go down well with the "Ward 9 community."

[Anonymous]

as cute as I am sure it was when the 3rd grader asked which Ward Landover was in, this is the same story with different players once again.

the outrage when the 5th grader who took cocaine to Thomson Elementary school was not a DC resident, Friendship signing day ceremony and all of the out of state cars, when all of the football playoff games got cancelled b/c all of the teams had ineligible players on them (living in Maryland).

Enough!

[Anonymous]

“Ward 9” is an actual term on some DC govt. forms. I work in a branch of education in DC and was shocked to see “Ward 9” as a choice in a drop down menu, used to define residency of foster children who are DC residents but placed in Md or Va.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“Ward 9” is an actual term on some DC govt. forms. I work in a branch of education in DC and was shocked to see “Ward 9” as a choice in a drop down menu, used to define residency of foster children who are DC residents but placed in Md or Va.

And these children are entitled to attend DC schools, even if they live with a foster parent in MD or DC.

[Anonymous]

If the fraud investigator decides to take a look at the list of OOB at Deal, s/he would have work enough for years.