Rollout of Indiana welfare changes halted
Source: By Francesca Jarosz, Heather Gillers, Tim Evans and Bill Ruthhart, Indianapolis Star (IN), July 31, 2008
.......... Byrd and other needy Hoosiers are being forced to wait too long for food stamp applications to be processed by a private contractor, according to federal officials who have ordered the state to stop the rollout of its welfare modernization project. The federal action represents a major blow to the controversial privatization effort that is one of the keystones of Gov. Mitch Daniels' first term. A similar privatization project in Texas was canceled last year, two years into the five-year project, amid similar problems.