The Indiana automated eligibility system enhanced the state’s already well-developed diversion apparatus, turbo-charging what must be seen as a remarkably efficient machine for denying applications. By narrowing the gate for public benefits and raising the penalties for noncompliance, it achieved stunning welfare roll reductions. Even under the hybrid system and during the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression, drops in the state’s TANF caseload continued to outpace national averages. As poverty in Indiana increased, caseloads dropped. When the governor signed the contract with
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