The whole situation really pisses me off and I'll tell you why. It pisses me off because the bio's get the benefits and they are so selfish not to even help their own children with the benefits they are receiving illegally, in most cases. I mean the programs that are in place to help those with children who can't afford to do much more than minimal amounts, yet people are lying to get things because they don't want to get off their butts and get a job. Then because people take advantage of the system, the system gets "shut down" or decreased for those who really need the help.

Then us grands who have their children can't get help because we make too much? For heavens sakes, most grands are barely scraping by as it is and our lovely government claims we make too much... Pfffttt.

Ok, I guess I got THAT off my chest... LOL no but really it does make me reallllllly mad that our babies are often times going without because the bios don't or won't help out.

Maybe it's time for a Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Tea Party!!!

LOL... I was thinking the same thing... I also was sitting here and thinking that maybe we should all write letters to our President to voice our concerns and complaints....

Ironically, in my daughter's mail today (yes, I do read it, so I guess that makes me a federal law breaker), she has been awarded $436 in food stamps for her and her four children.

I wonder what would happen if I called the food stamp office and told them that she doesn't have custody of any of them? All that, plus $1,100 a month with NO living expenses and she had to ask me for money this weekend to buy "toiletries" and repay someone for gas.

Where is my money tree?

If I ever found out that my husband's daughter was still getting money for the three kids I'd turn her in in a heartbeat.

Sara,

I probably will, too, but after the last time I tried to "make it right" with a government agency, they made my life miserable, too. When I called to tell Medicaid that I had custody of my granddaughter and not my daughter, they cut off her insurance immediately, or so they said, and I had to start new paperwork to get my GD covered. Now after six weeks of waiting, they sent me a notice last week that I can't get state insurance for her because she is still covered by Medicaid.

I have been waiting all this time to take her in to get her checkups, which she is behind on because of bios not taking care of those things when they were due.

So why does Medicaid say they are going to cancel her and then not do it or reinstate it almost immediately. I have a feeling that DD called them and told them that she had custody again and they believed her.

I hate dealing with government agencies. If you lie to them, you get what you want; if you are honest, you get messed over.

I would definetly turn her in. I made sure my daughter lost her food stamp and cash card as soon as I got the kids. That is the main reason I filed to get benefits. I want to take away as much drug money as I can. That is also why I cooperate with the state for child support too (though I don't really get it). I want my daughter clean and would try anything to make that happen.

Flutter, your experience is yet another reason I can't even imagine the government handling ALL of our healthcare! YIKES, they'll mess it up so bad.

check with a social worker in your state. If you have an informal childcare arrangement, I think you can file for the child and since they have no income, they qualify for assistance. You would get food stamps for child's needs only. I keep telling you guys to go to your state website and look up counsel on aging (don't care if you're younger) as most states have a department for grandparents raising grandchildren and can refer you to the right agencies for help. We all need assistance with the government mumble jumble to get to the right place. If that does not work, let me know and I will see what I can find out.

CLS, one comment I would like to make is that it is not just "these girls" who get pregnant. The men are just as responsible, and most of THEM are not paying their child support. If they did, the mothers probably wouldn't qualify for aid. As far as saying the children get no benefits if the mothers OR the fathers test positive for drugs, I don't see how that is fair to the kids. In Texas, you get no aid from the government, except for Medicaid. Someone above said the mother was still getting her food card while in jail and giving it to someone else, and all you have to do is call anonymous fraud hotline to get that stopped. All of us are CHOOSING to take these children in, our flesh and blood. We don't have to do it. If it is too much of a burden for you, and you resent them and it makes you angry, you should definitely not have them. At the end of the year, we all get to claim them as dependents if they are with us for 6 months, right?

Oh, and I wanted to add that you wouldn't believe the nightmare I had trying to get my private health insurance to cover my daughter, a dependent's, pregnancy. Private insurance can be just as big a nightmare as anything the government already covers like Medicare and Medicaid. We are the only "advanced" country in the world that does not provide health care to all of their citizens, instead relying on the "thin the herd" mentality that the poor should die out. Thank goodness my grandchildren have Medicaid because that would be a REAL burden to us right now, paying for immunizations, ear infections, asthma, etc.

There are thousands of programs to take care of the poor. It is you and I who struggle for a living that cannot get benefits because we work and/or own a home. The plan being pushed on us now will not change things except to take away our choices. For every poor child there is a free clinic or emergency room who will treat the child. You cannot be turned away from an E.R. It is the law. If they are full to capacity, they can send you to another hospital or transfer you to a county hospital. The misconceptions on health care have not even been brought out. Believe me, I have done a lot of research for my second book and the poor are taken care of by the government. Of course, they must seek out the care and accept the care that is given. With private insurance, we have a choice in doctor, hospital, medications, etc. The plan being presented in Washington will only help the politicians.