There is a lot of misinformation in this thread. To give you an example, I have a kid with profound intellectual disability. We are high income, but she is already eligible for Medicaid under a waiver for kids with disabilities. Now, there isn’t enough funding for this, so she is on an insanely long waitlist, but she is eligible. When she is 18, she will immediately qualify. Your cousin could have a mental health issue that qualifies her. You have no idea.

So, once my kid is 18, I will likely be paying for her food with SNAP and her healthcare through Medicaid, while she lives in my nice house and I drive a nice car. You can debate whether this is the right answer from a public policy perspective, but under current rules, she will qualify.

From my perspective, money is fungible and so by using those benefits, I can pay for other therapies, etc that are not funded for her. The reality is that even making more than $500k a year, we will never have enough money for her 24/7 care for the 40 plus years she could live after we die. Eventually, she will end up in a Medicaid funded facility.

No

Would you rather have your cousin be homeless? You suck, OP.

So your plan is to make sure the children lose their health insurance? Obviously your cousin cannot afford that on one restaurant shift a week.

With family like this who needs enemies.

Hang your head in shame, OP. You are the worst of the worst.

Anonymous wrote:I would guess almost all moms applying for these programs are living with their parents with room & board covered by them. Otherwise they’d all be homeless right?

Not true. Not true at all.

You can still receive WIC, SNAP and Medicaid for your kids while working, even full time. Most of them are working, but earning just enough to cover rent and utilities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are they abusing the system? You said they have little income. They can live wherever they want. She’s a single mom. She very well could need these benefits. What am I missing?

She barely works, has no expenses and is 100% dependent on parents. How is this legal?

If you want to know how it's legal, GOOGLE IT. So simple.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What? How is this welfare abuse OP? It sounds like your cousin is not a dependent, they have minor children, and they have very limited income. What is it that you want? For them to be homeless, too?

You suck, OP.

Of course it’s abuse. It would be like putting $0 as family income on the FAFSA to get pell grants.

No it's not. There are different policies for SNAP, which are different for Medicaid, which are different for WIC.

OP, I used to work for social services determining eligibility for these benefits. Your cousin and her children are a separate household from her parents. They do NOT need to report her parents income for eligibility. And working one day per week isn't likely to affect her eligibility for benefits.

Also, when applying for SNAP, you're asked about "management." If you say you don't work, how do you pay your bills? This is where people explain things like, they work under the table (and that income factors in to your eligibility), or they live with their parents so they don't pay rent.

Note: different states have different rules, so you'd need to look up policies for your state.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are they abusing the system? You said they have little income. They can live wherever they want. She’s a single mom. She very well could need these benefits. What am I missing?

She barely works, has no expenses and is 100% dependent on parents. How is this legal?

No, she would be 100% dependent on her parents but she has assistance. They are providing housing. You just said she has aid for food and medical.

Are you thinking that no one who lives with relatives should be allowed to receive government assistance? That unless family members want to also support someone 100% financially they should not allow them to live in their home?

Seriously, OP, what is going on? Are you struggling financially? Why on earth would you begrudge her this?

Anonymous wrote:A cousin of my mine (who is a single parent) lives with their parents in their $2M home rent-free. Cousin works once a week at a restaurant where they get paid mostly in cash tips.

I know for a fact that and their parents have conspired for cousin first to get WIC and then EBT, Medicaid and daycare vouchers. I know this because cousin openly talks about in extended family group chats, my parents mention it repeatedly and cousin has told me when I’ve been at their parents house. Cousin has almost no reported income.

I almost never think such benefits are being abused, but in this case, I am almost certain they are. Is there anywhere to report this? I’m infuriated.

You suck. You would begrudge your cousin’s children benefits to which they are likely entitled, and that will improve their health care and their food security, because you sit high and mighty thinking they are scamming.

You are likely wrong about that. Even if your cousin’s parents are wealthy, if your cousin is 18+ (or 21 in some states), the parents are not legally responsible relatives. Their resources and income do not count in her budget. In fact, they could charge her rent, which would make her eligible for more benefits than she is currently.

I would guess almost all moms applying for these programs are living with their parents with room & board covered by them. Otherwise they’d all be homeless right?

Anonymous wrote:How are they abusing the system? You said they have little income. They can live wherever they want. She’s a single mom. She very well could need these benefits. What am I missing?

Just that OP is so green with jealousy that she can't separate feelings from facts.

OP, now do the Department of Defense's 1.73 TRILLION DOLLARS in budget. That would be a legitimate beef. Lots of money wasted. Social benefits are usually not wasted - they serve to help the ones who cannot help themselves. Maybe your cousin will get training, and find a job. Maybe she can never find one due to her issues, and this money is necessary so she's not entirely supported by her parents, apart from the roof over her head.

So jealous. So nasty. It's better to be understanding and compassionate. Lowers your blood pressure.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are they abusing the system? You said they have little income. They can live wherever they want. She’s a single mom. She very well could need these benefits. What am I missing?

She barely works, has no expenses and is 100% dependent on parents. How is this legal?

Why should parents pay for an adult child? This is what taxes are for. Don’t like it? Vote R.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are they abusing the system? You said they have little income. They can live wherever they want. She’s a single mom. She very well could need these benefits. What am I missing?

She barely works, has no expenses and is 100% dependent on parents. How is this legal?

NP. Do you have a job? How do I report you to your superiors for being this unbelievably stupid