TexasCHLforum.com

Medicaid is handled at a state level with a federal backbone for coordination and funding, isn't it? Each state sets its own rules on who and how, right? In TX, the requirements are pretty stringent and onerous (as TAM described for unemployment). There's a maximum consecutive time frame as well as a maximum lifetime timeframe which are both pretty short, too.

We're talking about several different welfare programs which each run independently and a person must meet all the requirements for each program he receives benefits from. WIC, as an example, has a strict requirement for who is eligible. Once eligible, they require proof of ongoing well child check-ups and immunizations as well as quarterly education on subjects such as breastfeeding, cooking, choosing produce in the grocery store, and nutrition. Then the person must go to an appointment with the children every quarter and fill out forms, be weighed and measured, have the child's finger stuck to test iron levels, and have a face-to-face nutrition counseling session where they are re-qualified and their eligibility verified before they get the very small ration of food. If they breastfeed a baby, the baby gets little to no food but the mom gets some potted salmon or tuna that moms who get formula don't get. The food must be the cheapest available and includes no frivolties. There is a small amount of room for modification (tofu instead of cheese, for example) at the local level and a small amount of change allowed after a physician and a nutritionist order it (specialty formula, for example), but after that they say they are just a supplemental food source and unable to help further.

For a 2-5 year old child, this is the food they receive:
Milk (fat-free, 1/2%, 1%, or 2%): 3 gallons & 1 quart
Cheese: 1 pound
Cereal: 36 ounces
Juice (64 ounces fluid or 16 ounces frozen): 2 containers
Eggs: 1 dozen
Beans or Peanut Butter: 1 pound or 18 ounces
Fruits & Vegetables: $6.00
Whole Grains: 2 pounds

That's a lot of trouble to go through to get such little food.