Reply to Do wrap-around resources, 3 free meals, after-school activities, etc. move the needle?

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Reply to "Do wrap-around resources, 3 free meals, after-school activities, etc. move the needle?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Caveat: I am one of the few conservatives in MoCo. Yet, I cannot deny a child food when they are hungry. It is a sad reality that there are some recipients of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) that sell their EBT cards "food stamps" for cash to unidentified third-parties or trade the funds for drugs. In cases like these, their children are the ones that end up recieving little-to-no food because their parents are exploiting the system. In other cases, the parents end up using the funds to support new boyfriends/ girlfriends/ family members that are ineligible to apply for their own assistance because they are otherwise disqualified. Again, the children are the ones who end up suffering.

What we need to do is change the law, so that this is not happening at such a great frequency. In 2011, FL enacted their drug testing policy for people applying for assistance. In short, every person that was applying would have to pay for a drug test. If the drug test came back as negative, then the state would refund them the cost of the test with the first assistance payment. If the person tested positive and the applying party had minor dependents, the state would release the funds to a responsible person who could pass a drug test.

Understandably, FL is not a great model for much of anything because Lord knows we all read about the crazy shit that only seems to happen in FL. Yet, they have seen positive results with this policy, which led the way for others to make similar policies in their states. Yet, Maryland is incapable of holding people accountable. They enable the bad choices and bad actions of many residents on assistance. Again, the children are the ones that suffer. So until there is a real change in policy, we are forced to supplement the diets of children.

Is it a little irksome that people are essentially double-dipping into food assistance (getting welfare and children are fed)? Yes. Nevertheless, have you heard a poor child's stomach rumble so loudly because they have not eaten all weekend (besides a bag of Cheetos)? It is heartbreaking. I used to complain at great length about older children in no costume on Halloween, until someone said to me, "maybe they cannot afford a costume and maybe that full-size snickers bar is the only thing they are going to eat until tomorrow when they go to school."

Not only are the children undeniably hungry, but in many cases they do not know when they will eat again. Stress and hunger are two important factors that lead to poor performance in schools, which cause children to fall behind. When children fall behind, they may stop attending or become distracting in general education classrooms (where your own child may be trying to learn how to multiply or diagram a sentence). If they stop attending, then it is likely that other negative consequences will occur, such as pregnancy, making criminal choices, or engaging in other self-harming activity, like experimenting with drugs. The cycle continues and they become that shitty parent unable to take care of their children, which means you have to do that for them. The other option is that they end up in jail and we pay for their food and lodging in prison.

So as a conservative, I am all in favor of giving economically disadvantaged students their  meals at school and supplementing the cost of an after-school activity if it dwindles the chances of them becoming a parasite on society for the rest of their natural lives. [/quote]

I feel similarly to you. It's hard because the kids are the ones who suffer. Ultimately I would like to see parents be parents and not the government be their parents. I've witnessed firsthand abuse of the system. It is so prevalent and it's sickening. The teacher who said that her   Students mom was getting manicures every week while signed up for the angel tree, but happens all the time.  I would love to see a system where I need your help and the abusers were kicked out  or reprimanded so that they will stop abusing the system.

( on a sidenote, I'm impressed at how civil this discussion has been.)[/quote]

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