EDITORIAL: Welfare in Indiana
Source: Courier Press (IN), July 23, 2008
Even before Indiana privatized its welfare application process a year ago, the system was plagued with problems. It was one of the motivations driving Gov. Mitch Daniels' decision to contract with a private vendor to modernize the application process for food stamps, Medicaid and other programs for 1.1 million Hoosiers.
....... Welfare is a government entitlement program, one intended to give a boost to people who need assistance. And that seems a task best carried out by people backed up by computers rather than computers backed up by people. Granted, those people should be better trained with better tools than the state was offering before privatization arrived. Alas, Indiana is committed for now to going forward with its private contractors' automated system.