Today Democratic gubernatorial candidate and state Sen. Vincent Sheheen called on Nikki Haley to tell the truth about the false jobs numbers coming out of her Department of Social Services after new reports and whistleblower information raised serious questions about the statistics the Governor repeatedly uses regarding the Welfare to Work program.
This is the second major scandal coming out of DSS recently after months of investigations showed the Haley administration gave wrong numbers and incorrect information to a Senate Subcommittee investigating children's deaths after DSS involvement.
"Nikki Haley's claims regarding jobs and welfare to work are not true, and new reports along with even more whistleblowers are surfacing each day to bring the truth to light," said Sen. Sheheen. "Taking a victory lap for spending more to make government work worse is shameful. Nikki Haley is bragging about the fact that she wasted taxpayer dollars to give contracts to her campaign contributors, and worst of all, she's campaigning on the numbers that she and her staff manipulated to cover up the truth of her unethical behavior. It's time for Nikki Haley to tell the truth."
BACKGROUND
Point One: Misleading Numbers
Memo from DSS sets very low standards for what counts as a job for SNAP recipients:
-"Any employment where the recipient is paid an hourly rate that is equal to or exceeds the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25 per hour; regardless of the number of hours worked per week." ["Economic Services E-News, March 17, 2014 page 1]
Accountability Report & Letter from DSS indicates lower numbers may come from "reclassification" and changes in the way they code "closed cases" rather than actual employment:
-The agency does not check with DEW to determine whether or not closed cases are losing their jobs and collecting unemployment benefits after some period of time. In addition, they were only tracking these folks for three months after landing a job. [Koller letter to Senators, December 10, 2012, Page 3, Question 3]
-Letter from DSS indicates that those who are supposedly moved off of benefits still fall below poverty level and qualify for SNAP assistance. [Koller letter to Senators, December 10, 2012, Page 4, Question 8].
Point Two: Privatization is less effective, more costly and contracting with Haley donors
DSS Accountability report shows Full-time jobs obtained by FI Employable recipients has decreased [Page 65, Graph #1].
SC Budget and Control Board document shows payments to Haley donors for JUMPP contracts.
Post & Courier investigation details contracts to Haley donors & less efficient production:
-"In this case, a move by DSS to contract with the private firms at a total cost of $13.7 million since 2012 is being questioned. By DSS's own standards, the program appeared to be doing well before the companies came aboard. [Post & Courier, 8/15/14]
-"ResCare's advocacy fund donated $1,000 in 2010 and $500 in 2011 to Gov. Nikki Haley's campaign. Maximus donated $3,500 in 2010 to the Republican Governors Association South Carolina PAC and $1,000 to Haley's campaign in 2011 before the contracts were awarded, according to state ethics commission filings. [Post & Courier, 8/15/14]
-"In 2012 and part of 2013, DSS referred 9,468 people on or applying to welfare-to-jobs, which is a nearly 10-year low, according to DSS data. It's also down from fiscal 2011, when the department helped almost 14,000 welfare recipients gain employment, a department best over the nearly 10-year span. [Post & Courier, 8/15/14]