Legislative and Administrative Changes To Improve Verification of Welfare Recipients' Income Could Save Hundreds of Millions

Gao ID: HRD-82-9 January 14, 1982

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the manner in which income and asset information is used and verified by administering agencies to determine eligibility for federal assistance programs which provide benefits to needy individuals and families.

GAO found that: (1) underreporting of income and assets by recipients of benefits from needs-based programs, whether deliberate or otherwise, results in millions of improper payments each year; (2) current verification requirements and practices are not adequate to prevent such payments; (3) verification requirements vary widely, but generally are vague or overly restrictive; (4) some federal laws and regulations preclude the use of information which, if available, would enhance the verification process.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Joseph F. Delfico Team: General Accounting Office: Human Resources Division Phone: (202) 512-7215


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