Guest Column by Lynn Keltz
One of the biggest problems for people who must rely on support and services available through the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare funding is attitude.
The stigma of individuals who live in poverty and of people who are in mental health programs or substance abuse recovery or people who look or act “different” make it easier for people in power to convince the public and even the state Legislature that waste, fraud and abuse must exist in the DPW.
The DPW is the only department in Pennsylvania government that has been publicly targeted for investigation of waste, fraud and abuse.
It seems reasonable that unscrupulous practices also could occur in other state departments, so it is curious that only the DPW is being examined.
I suspect that the phrase “waste, fraud and abuse” was used to get public sympathy for budget cuts. Politicians seem to rely on age-old prejudices and stereotypes about the people needing public benefits to gain acceptance for DPW budget cuts.
This manipulation of people’s attitudes also helped achieve passage of the new welfare code law, Act 22.
The act takes away legislative oversight of this department for one year. It allows the secretary of public welfare to implement changes desired by the administration without transparent and participatory processes that have been established through many years.
Other state departments have not been given broad powers to make policy without regulation. Other departments are not subject to the same stigmas that surround the DPW and the people using its services and supports.
Cost savings might be achieved throughout state government by closely examining business practices and contract accountability.
It is easier, however, to do this where the public will buy into stereotypes and where people hurt by cuts won’t be helped by sophisticated lobbying firms.
Accusations of waste, fraud and abuse against only the poor and vulnerable imply that policymakers assume dishonesty in all people living in poverty, that all DPW program staff are incompetent and that there are thousands of people successfully pretending to have symptoms of mental illness or to have intellectual disabilities or physical disability needs so they can get services.
There might be errors made in DPW eligibility determinations for people participating in some programs. Providers of services might make billing mistakes. There might even be a few providers and individuals who intentionally commit fraud, and certainly this should be ferreted out.
It is doubtful, however, that this kind of activity will add up to the predicted millions of dollars expected to shave the size of the department’s budget.
There is a definite contrast between the governor’s creation of the Transportation Funding Advisory Committee to create a comprehensive, strategic proposal for addressing transportation funding needs versus the assignment of a fraud investigator to cut costs in the department addressing the needs of Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable residents.
It would be proactive and productive to create a similar commission, made up of users of services and other stakeholders, to study and develop creative ways to assure that children and adults living in poverty and people with a broad spectrum of disabilities receive the services and support needed to help them move ahead.
Most of us can accept that highways, bridges and public transportation need to be safe and well-maintained.
Many forget that real people need county, state and federal government funds to help them move ahead and sometimes to keep them safe.
It is the job of advocates to unite around the tough issues confronting governments and the people who rely on them.
We must examine and understand the rhetoric to demonstrate to our communities, policymakers and lawmakers that real people living next door, who vote and pay taxes, are truly and honestly in need of services and support.
We must work to eliminate stigma and to correct stereotypes about mental illness and about people who fall into poverty as they experience difficult times.
We appeal to our communities and to our policymakers to recognize when they are being influenced by negative attitudes and when they must step back from those oversimplified perceptions of the world to better understand the needs of Pennsylvania residents.
Lynn Keltz is executive director of the Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumers Association.
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