A recent report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has shown that almost $1 billion has been disbursed to families who do not qualify for the federal school lunch program. To qualify, families must be live at or below the (federal) poverty line. Education News.org reports:
The USDA has been found to have made multiple errors while certifying families for the program, allowing families in who did not qualify. In order to qualify, families lied about income, excluding the income of one parent in some cases, or family size.
In Wyoming alone, 34 applicants out of 442 investigated were found to not qualify for the program, and yet were enrolled. Wyoming received $14 million in federal funds for its free and reduced-price lunch program last year, and had 37% of its students receiving the services.
One applicant admitted that her child had filled out the application and she had merely signed it.
To help remedy the situation, the USDA has suggested states review school districts every three years instead of the current five, and Congress is collaborating with the department to implement an automatic enrollment system which, they claim, “would cut down on the errors currently being made.”
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IMAGE: USDA/Flickr
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