Reddit mentions of Myth of the Welfare Queen: A Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist's Portrait of Women on the Line

For easy reading, follow links for source data:
http://www.junkland.net/2012/01/8-myths-about-welfare-queens-debunked.html

And a famous book on the subject:
http://www.amazon.com/Myth-Welfare-Queen-Prize-Winning-Journalists/dp/0684840065

Of course! Dialogue is how we are best able to challenge each other! So important in our field. I tend to get wordy, so I’m approaching this in bullets to spare you something that isn’t digestible. (also, just FYI, I’ve worked with similar populations in residential settings so I totally get the frustration. There is a lot to be said about how our MH system, for e.g. has institutionalized people and created a culture of learned dependence. Totally relevant here but probably based stuck to the side and saved for a different post. I chose to NOT stay in this field because of what I assume are the same things leading you to this situation.)

1. I have to push back on need vs. want. I agree that there is a difference here, but I don’t agree that this is the approach to understand what is happening with these folks. We, as outsiders, really can’t determine what someone else’s needs and wants are. We may perceive it as not that important (a want) but to the person themselves they do NEED that item or service. Again needs vs. wants, without collaboration from the client, is a values judgement. Just saying this to be mindful of it as you work with these more challenging residents. They’ll pick up on that judgement. If they do ‘need’ the service that seems optional, you want to understand why that is perceived as a need. IME there is always something there once you start peeling away the layers. When you understand what is there, then you can start looking at strategies to help. Maybe they really do need what they ask for, maybe there are other more ‘legitimate’ ways of getting that help which you could assist them with. The conversation needs to start with them, and not you.
   
   
2. In terms of the resident you have, I can tell you have a handful! First I want to point out a few observations
   a. We learn to exaggerate our needs to get the services that we legitimately do need. I have had to coach clients to embellish their disability for certain services they are eligible for (and need) because otherwise we would need to deal with the lengthy appeals process. Folks who minimize their needs suffer. SO we as a society has created this situation – and your residents sounds like she is being very smart in figuring out how to manage it.
   b. She has a disability, there isn’t a question about that. Maybe she exaggerates the symptoms but let me point something else out. What does she have to gain for throwing out meds and not using her scooter? Don’t know what her disability is, what is clear is that she NOT being treatment compliant. She isn’t taking her meds (and they aren’t the fun kind to sell so no reason to exaggerate to get meds to throw out). She isn’t using the aids she needs, etc. I would be concerned about her taking care of herself. IME many people with degenerative issues avoid accepting that. Consider the possibility that both is true. She knows what she needs and exaggerates it to get what she is eligible for – but also is clearly not taking care of herself, and maybe has some ambivalence about what her care should be. This isn’t fraud. At best it is survival and at worst it is a woman who is sick and not taking care of herself. The sort of exception is selling Ensure. Technically this might be something should could get in trouble with – but why would you hurt someone who is trying to get by? Selling Ensure, for e.g. is VERY common. Our public benefit system is horrid and fails to address people’s needs. We don’t receive enough SNAP, PA, etc. People are barely surviving under the poverty. When we, as a society, do this to people – how can we then penalize them for trying to make the best of it and survive a little better off of nothing? Also, Ensure is $$$$ and I’m sure that the person she sells it to is getting a deal. Good. Again we give people nothing to survive on, let them try and make the best of it.
   
   My main point is that you can support this client, and get her help, without doing something you find unethical. To do this, though you need to move past you own mishegas associated with clients such as this resident. Your scenario describes, to me, a person in need of support. Your role is not to determine if she should qualify, or if she is needy enough for a service. It sounds like she could use an aid, and that you should continue to provide supportive, client centered, and judgement free services to her.
   
   
3. Ah this also makes sense. Welp, she tried, and it didn’t work ;-) I hope that dealing with that isn’t on you then. That really is a management issue to decide if they wish to enforce their own rrules. If so, great. If not, don’t sweat it – nothing you can do and not worth the ulcer. In the realm of messed up things, trust me, it could be VERY worse. I live in a city with a housing crisis and have had this come up with single people in 3-4 bedroom homes. They get angry when they need to pay more rent for the rooms – but refuse to downsize. I get it, but it can be INCREDIBLY frustrating from the outside.
   
   
4. The welfare queen is a myth. I would recommend reading more about it and thinking about the implications. Our jobs are not o be gatekeepers deciding who is worthy of services or needy enough. Our jobs are not to decide if you deserve what you are asking or investigate your circumstances to catch you in a lie and report you. Our job is to walk alongside you, follow your lead, and to the best of our ability help you manage, achieve, and thrive. A few quick reads: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/09/welfare-queen-myth/501470/ https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Welfare-Queen-Prize-Winning-Journalists/dp/0684840065 The myth of the welfare queen was based on one woman, and let me tell you, with confidence, she is far from a typical occurrence. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2013/12/linda_taylor_welfare_queen_ronald_reagan_made_her_a_notorious_american_villain.html If we have a .01% chance of coming across someone like this, is that reason enough to treat all of our clients suspiciously? Doing so is probably one of the many reasons that our field is fairly ineffective. Clients don’t trust us, because social workers treat them as criminals, and then the social workers blame them for not doing what they want. Really it is the social workers’ job to assess and engage.
   
   
5. I mean this is the absolute kindness, and most honest way possible. Given the lense with which you see your clients, it might be time to consider a different line of work. I don’t mean leave social work – but find something in a different population, with a different type of task. When you have these feelings towards your clients, at best you stop being effective. At worst you are causing harm. I can tell from your thoughtfulness throughout this thread that you are a smart and balanced person. It is ok to decide that a certain environment or population is not right for you and that you need to find somewhere else that is a better fit. Sometimes, once you are farther away from this situation you can more easily understand what was going on without being held down by your own feelings and viewpoints. As I said earlier – I’ve been there and the best thing you can do when you realize you can’t provide equal services to all your clients is to find a different setting where you can. It is a hard thing to tell yourself, but doing so is what makes someone a great social worker.
   
   edit: for some reason the formatting keeps renumbering the last 3 items - should be 3-5 ;-)

It depends on how you define "welfare queen". The general definition most people will agree on is that these are people who manage to live a very comfortable life by committing welfare fraud. The image conjured by users of the term is also people of color, single mothers, with multiple children by different fathers.

Given the breadth of scope that welfare must necessarily have, it's a certainty that welfare fraud does in fact occur. I imagine a dedicated individual could probably find one or more examples of people who have managed to game social programs to live comfortably without other sources of income.

However, it's also not as common as people would have you believe. There's actually a book by a Pulitzer prize winner called Myth of the Welfare Queen that does a fair job of dismantling the idea that welfare recipients are commonly "scamming" anyone, or even that they live a comfortable life.

Any welfare program will have to balance the cost of limiting fraud with the cost of accepting that some fraud will occur. The key is to find the "sweet spot" where you don't spend more on enforcement than the value of the fraud you prevent.

The "Welfare Queen" rhetoric tries to make the case that welfare abuses are common, but there is no evidence to back this claim. Statistics on welfare fraud are very difficult to come by, in part because the penalty if you're caught committing such fraud is prison time.

I suggest checking out this book by David Zucchino, because what you said is utter bullshit.

http://www.amazon.com/MYTH-WELFARE-QUEEN-PRIZE-WINNING-JOURNALISTS/dp/0684840065
http://womenslawproject.wordpress.com/2010/11/02/debunking-the-myth-of-the-%E2%80%9Cwelfare-queen%E2%80%9D-who-actually-receives-tanf-benefits/
http://www.anitra.net/homelessness/columns/anitra/eightmyths.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare_queen

google. 0.22 secs

That's dependent on where the person lives and what resources he has. For you, it's simple to get on the internet and use a credit card to buy rice, beans, lentils, etc. But, for many people, that's not an option.

And, don't forget that time is valuable, too. The price of food isn't just in what you're charged at the checkout counter; you also need to factor in how long it takes to get the food. Would you take the bus across town and walk for eighteen blocks to get a meal that saves only pennies in nominal cost but costs you many dollars in lost income?

I highly recommend The Myth of the Welfare Queen by David Zucchino. It might help you get an idea of why choices that seem wasteful to you might actually make sense if you were in their shoes.