The Harris County Distict Attorney's Office Welfare Fraud division needs to change its policy.
I have mentioned before that the Harris County District Attorney's Office is changing drastically next year. Administratively, many changes have already been made. Murray Newman has commented about the changes in his blog. Moreover, fellow Houston Criminal Attorney, Mark Bennett, posted the new flow chart in the comments section. Many more changes are rumored to be coming early next year. I hope that one of the newest changes that need to be made are how the Welfare Fraud division handles their cases. Carl Hobbs, one of the most tenured prosecutors at the DA's office, has been the head of this division since I have been a lawyer. While I enjoy Carl as a person I dislike how his policies have not shifted in years. During these hard financial times the DA's office needs to re-evaluate if further crippling defendants is just. Typically, the person charged with welfare fraud is as follows: single mom, three to four children, limited education, and struggling financially for years. The struggling mother is receiving welfare and finds a part time job for a while that assists her with paying the bills, but does not get her head above water. Later, when she reports to the welfare office she fails to report that she has found a new job. Finally, a random investigation by the welfare office discovers her omission and charges are filed.
While I do not condone what the single mother does, other options should be available to her. For example, the welfare fraud division has a steadfast rule that they will only offer felony deferred adjudication or a misdemeanor time served offer if the poor mother pays back the funds she was over paid, within forty days. The welfare fraud division never considers a dismissal of the charges or a misdemeanor deferred adjudication if the money is paid back sooner. They need to see that justice would be better served if they offered some other options. They should have a standard policy of contacting the potential defendant to inform them that they have thirty days to pay back the money before criminal charges are filed. If charges are filed they should give them the opportunity to get a misdemeanor deferred adjudication. The welfare fraud division needs to see that the children are the ones being hurt by having their mother receive a conviction for theft or being on deferred adjudication for a felony. The theft conviction would eliminate a lot of job opportunities for her. Moreover, a felony deferred adjudication is not a conviction, but that means that for a minimum of two years she would be on probation, and must wait longer before she is eligible for a motion for non disclosure.
As i was reading the above story. I find myself saying this is a terrible and crul discision. A felony would defenitely crush a single mother dream of becoming someone recognizable making a change in someones life and to give her children a better future. After all everyone makes mistakes, and as far as the story goes her good intentions of later on reporting her employed wages were there. She is no criminal and this is definitely going to be a very difficult situation. No one is ever going to believe in her. Everyone deserves a second chance, especially in a case like this.
I was a mother of 4 children and pregnant with the fifth child at the age of 24. When my husband decided to leave the children and I. I got married to him at the age of 16 and never worked as was agreed by both of us; so that the children can have a better up briging. As a home maker I didn't have experience doing very much. It was so hard to get a job; so I had to apply for Foodstamps. After about 4 months of getting assitance I finanly got a job as a nurses aide. Even though I didn't make enough money the DPHS would have taken more then 60% of the food stamps. I would have money to pay some of the bills that were piling up but not very much to feed the children. To make matters worse my childrens father lost his job so he couldn't help me. I decided not to tell them about my job at the renewal for more services. Just so that I can save up enough foodstamps to get off assistance in 6 months.
That was the biggest mistake of my life. They found out and by that time I had recieved about $1800 over what I should have because of my new over worked and under payed job.!! I am now facing felony fraud charges. It has been more then 3 yrs since I got off assistance and it caught up to me. While I was in nursing school they did a criminal back ground check before I was able to start clinicals and they found out I had a warrant. I had to drop out of school go back to the town that this happened in. Turn myself in and bond out. No job no school and I don't know what the future will bring for me. My husband and now are back together. Yes he grow up, but not at low cost. He is in Korea in the military able to bring us there with him but we can't go because I have legal issue pending.
Now my life is in the hands of these people. People who don't know the story and how I got these charges brought against me. All they will see is a criminal.
Yes I am fully to blame but I was not being a criminal or even trying to get over on life. I was thinking like a mother that knew her children needed to eat. I wish I could go back and change what I have done. I wish I could pay the money back and move on with my life.
I wish I could have a chance to make this right.
the law is the law, they know it when they singed up there for they are completly to blame if everyone had pitty on every person who did something wrong what would this world be like, it has to stop somewhere and sometime!
How do you report someone for welfare fraud? It seems that fairly innocent people like Brenda are always the ones to get busted while other people who know how to "work the system" are untouched.
i am a single parent,and i hd a theft case as well,i owed 6,500.00 dollars to department of human services,i was not right,but i quite agree with brenda,am not a criminal,we all have done things we should'nt have and think later,but thank god i was able to pay back all the money in 11months, i was given 3years prob.and completed evey thing in 10months.and was given early termination.so brenda keep your head up,keeping praying.he did it for me,he"ll do it for you....