Bought my sister in laws car. She went into a nursing home and didn't have the ability or time to clean it out. In the trunk was a box of social security receipts. I looked through them and noticed the were for small amounts, not the minimum an adult would get. I mentioned it to a friend who is the my credit union president. I also mentioned that the sister in law worked for a local CASA agency as an advocate for children. He immediately replied, "Oh, those are dumb checks". I said what?????

It seems the local low income folks encourage their kids to act out. Get diagnosed with ADD, Tourettes, and other behavioral problems so they can collect a check each month. They seem to average a couple of hundred dollars each. First I'd heard of this.

I don't begrudge anyone in need getting some help but encouraging your kid to be a screw up for money is a new kind of low. I can only hope that most of the money went to real kids in need............

It might be Social Security Disability, not the same program (or funding) us old folks who have worked all our lives collect starting in our 60s.

I too have heard of younger (nowhere near 60) alcoholics and druggies collecting from this fund, but I do not have direct knowledge.

GAO: "Everywhere we look, we find waste and fraud."

I have known of this for a while, at least 10 years.

Nothing new. School teachers can tell you all about this program. Little fucks get sent to special ed and because of the profit motive they’ll never learn shit. The parents have no incentive for their kids to move on to something better.

100% of the kids in my wife's city school are on the Govt dime in some way shape or form and all have some "disability". Mathematically...what are the odds?

Called "crazy checks" here in the delta region of Arkansas and Mississippi. EVERY welfare mama's child here gets one. They are coached at the social security office on how to get it.

Yep, Crazy Checks here too.

While not perfect, there is a process to screen applicants for these funds. I believe it includes a review of medical and school records. Folks cannot show up and say my kid has a problem give me money. Most of the kids really do have problem. Also, the family must be below an income guideline.

My biggest beef is that the funds are intended to get the kids the help they need. Unfortunately, the parents ignore the kids and use the funds on important things like bigger TVs or newer cell phones. Opps, didn't mean to by cynical.

BTW, there is also a fraud division that acts on tips - so if you know of anyone that is receiving benefits they should not receive then turn them in.

Like dusty and chongo, I know it as "crazy money".

Back in the mid-'90s, I subscribed to a magazine called Worth, published by Fidelity Investments. Evey month, they had an interesting case study in something pertaining to money-not just the accumulation thereof.

Anyway, one month's story was about a woman in Florida that trained her kids to act retarded. There were pointed comments about how to coach kids during CPS meetings and such. Want to say even about training kids to defecate upon themselves. So yeah, it's a thing.

Also called 'Crazy Checks' here in Appalachia.

And yes, many do coach the kids around here to act crazy - they know all the symptoms to mimic and parents will make sure kid only works under the table, if at all. They also encourage them to drop out so they are less employable. If they have a history of being 'crazy' and have never had a legitimate job it makes it much easier for them to slide onto SSI when they hit adulthood. If they ever work a job (even fast food) and have their diploma or GED the SSA will make them get a job and deny their payments.

i should get that i am bat shit crazy i have been working steady for 33yrs paying for a house put my wife thru college and my daughter she graduates this year and i vote republican

Interestingly, around here they go after frauds on the state level aggressively. I serve a lot of warrants for obtain benefits by fraud. All of them seem to say the same thing. “I thought it would take a lot longer for them to catch me”

My sister-in-law works for the SSA in Massachusetts. The most common claim in 2017 (other than new retirees) was low-lifes feigning insanity, social disorders, head trauma resulting in craziness, etc.

And - the government doesn't blink an eye - pays it out every time.

"Crazy checks" here, too.

Many of my lower-end cases intersect with SSI fraud schemes. The system is insanely overburdened and it takes much more effort to deny benefits than to approve. According to an SSA worker, while you're writing up justification for a denial, other applications in your queue build and build and your supervisor (allegedly) kicks you in the 'nads about it sooner or later. So only the REALLY flagrant ones get caught. SSA OIG is small and has an endless supply of possible targets, so they prioritize the larger individual frauds (that have a better chance of being accepted for Federal prosecution) and "mills" that pump out medical support for BS disabilities, etc, which means the comparatively smaller fish swim forever.

Many of those multi-program fraud defendants (Section 8, Food Stamps, welfare cash assistance, and SSI) have more disposable income month-end than I do, thanks to entitlement largesse. Cross-thread drift: This is MANY multiples of the entire Federal employee payroll.