In 2013, Governor Sam Brownback sought to divert millions of federal dollars set aside for the Temporary Assistance of Needy Families (TANF) and devoted the funds to a literacy program run by an outside company, with Republicans saying that providing kids an opportunity at an extra literacy program outside of the school systems would accomplish.. look, I have no idea because the children were not the reason why these families were needy, and obviously were not going to go to work the next day to drag their families out of poverty.
Still, it made sense to Republicans to try and re-invent school learning programs through a private entity. Now, years later we learn that the Brownback Administration knew the company hired had been burning funds that could have helped those families — and it wasn’t about educating students.
From The Topeka Capital Journal:
The Kansas Department for Children and Families announced Friday it was severing ties with a company that administers early literacy programs for public schools, citing financial problems uncovered but not disclosed under the administration of former Gov. Sam Brownback.
DCF said the Brownback administration initiated but didn’t finalize the audit into Hysell & Wagner, which administers the Reading Roadmap program. DCF internal auditors determined the company incorrectly claimed and was paid $2.3 million between February 2014 and December 2015.
So what was the magic behind this Republican diversion of funds tagged for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families? According to KCUR:
When Brownback took office in January 2011, almost 39,000 Kansans received TANF, according to the Kansas Department for Children and Families, which administers the program.
By September 2016, that number had fallen nearly 70 percent, to about 12,000: 3,000 adults and 9,000 children who represent about 0.4 percent of the state’s population. The average TANF benefit for each family is about $260 a month.
Brownback’s administration has spearheaded a number of TANF restrictions that he says are aimed at breaking “cycles of dependency” on government programs and encouraging work instead.
By engaging strong restrictions on TANF funds, as well as changing the time a person could be on unemployment, the state was able to claim lowered unemployment — fewer people eligible for the status — while diverting funds meant to the families to corporate entities that they believed would benefit the state. The release of this information today certainly can be answered by “what did they do with the money”
From The Topeka Capital Journal:
“The Department for Children and Families is committed to ensuring that recipients of federal and state funds are spending those funds efficiently,” Howard said. “After reviewing the results of a DCF audit and despite heightened oversight during the first six months of 2019, it’s clear that Hysell & Wagner is falling short of this basic standard.”
The DCF investigation revealed the company used Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, funds for bloated salaries and expenses, as well as 38 trips between Kansas and CEO residences in Washington, D.C., and San Diego from July 2018 to June 2019. The company’s owners received $216,000 in direct expenses, and more than $607,000 was designated in the grant as guaranteed payments that would go to the owners to cover indirect expenses.
Let’s face it. Nothing says Republican responsibility like sending money specifically allocated for families in need and spending it on bloated salaries, plane flights to Washington DC and San Diego. While states try to crack down on those in poverty using food stamps on steak and lobster, their cronies are using the exact same funds to, well, book nice flights and overpay themselves.
As a Lindsborg farmer I know says: Republicans Reward Wealth. Democrats Reward Work.
And for a company that managed to grift a few million dollars out of Kansas, a Democratic governor decided the work simply wasn’t worth it.