Colorado changes welfare rule, increasing benefits and costing taxpayers

Colorado changes welfare rule, increasing benefits and costing taxpayers « Watchdog.org
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families is six month less temporary in Colorado — and likely more expensive to taxpayers — after a state Department of Human Services rule change last year, a Watchdog.org investigation found.
The change has counties certifying a welfare recipients’ eligibility to receive benefits twice a year, records show.
Previously, the full recertification was annual but recipients would submit monthly status reports to ensure they qualified for benefits and received the correct amount.
The new rule dropped the monthly status checks and required modifications to benefits in the six month period only if the recipient was due more — not less — money, records show.
After the change went into effect July 2013, counties have seen an increase in the number of people collecting welfare, and the state set a 24-month expenditure record in June for Colorado Works, which is what the state calls its TANF program, state records show.