AUGUSTA — Maine gambling winners will be banned from receiving food stamps according to a new Department of Health and Human Services rule. DHHS has been mulling the rule change since 2015, when the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting revealed that nearly 3,700 public assistance recipients won $22 million in lottery prizes since 2010, a […]
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Portland grocer maintains innocence in food stamp fraud investigation
PORTLAND — The attorney for a Maine business owner accused of food stamp fraud says he should be afforded the “time-honored American tradition of the presumption of innocence.” Republican Gov. Paul LePage on Monday called attention to a federal investigation into allegations that the man pocketed thousands under a cash-back scheme involving food stamps. An […]
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Maine Equal Justice Partners questions new Maine welfare-to-work rules
AUGUSTA — The state’s efforts to revise Maine’s welfare-to-work rules are drawing critique from a legal aid group. Maine Equal Justice Partners said some of the rules proposed by the state Department of Health and Human Services conflict with state and federal law. The group is urging the state to continue allowing cash benefits recipients […]
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Maine reverses transfer of grant funds to comply with federal law
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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Maine proposal would require welfare recipients to accept job offers
AUGUSTA — Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s administration is proposing a requirement that welfare recipients accept job offers as long as they pay minimum wage or more. The propose requirement of job training participants is in line with approaches in other states including California and Pennsylvania. The rule would also give welfare recipients more money for […]
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Gov. Paul LePage defends hiring welfare contractor
AUGUSTA — Republican Gov. Paul LePage says he doesn’t understand the “hoopla” over his administration’s plan to privatize a $62.5 million welfare program in Maine. Maine State Employees Association President Ramona Welton said Tuesday that 51 jobs are jeopardized by the governor’s plan for a New York nonprofit to run Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. But […]
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Gov. Paul LePage plans to privatize Maine’s welfare programs
AUGUSTA — Republican Gov. Paul LePage wants to turn over the administration of Maine’s $62.5 million welfare program to a New York City-based nonprofit that’s faced a dozen state and federal lawsuits since 2013. Fedcap Rehabilitation Services acknowledges its recent litigation in its bid proposal to Maine officials while also describing its accomplishments. Since 2013, […]
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Gov. Paul LePage backs Madawaska’s plan to drug test welfare recipients
PORTLAND — Gov. Paul LePage is getting behind a Maine town’s decision to consider new rules that would tie some welfare benefits to random drug testing. Officials in Madawaska are vetting new rules that would apply to the state’s General Assistance program, which is run by the state and provides money for things like food […]
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Gov. Paul LePage, AG Janet Mills spar over welfare fraud
AUGUSTA — Republican Gov. Paul LePage is calling for more action on welfare fraud by Democratic Attorney General Janet Mills, who says the administration has denied requests for another fraud prosecutor. LePage in a release said less than half of the welfare fraud cases presented to Mills in 2015 has been prosecuted, and nearly 50 […]
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Madawaska considers drug testing welfare recipients
MADAWASKA — Officials in a northern Maine town are considering a plan to require all welfare recipients to pass random drug tests to qualify. Madawaska’s new rules would apply to the state’s General Assistance program, which is run by the state and provides money for things like housing and food. WLBZ-TV reports the subject will […]