Food stamp fraud raising concerns in gov't offices

File - In this file photo taken Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010, an Electronic benefit Transfer card, food stamp recipients use to purchase food, is seen at the Sacramento County Economic Development Department in Sacramento, Calif. Food stamp recipients are ripping off the government for millions of dollars by illegally selling their benefit cards for cash _ sometimes even in the open, on eBay or Craigslist _ and then asking the government for replacement cards. The Agriculture Department is proposing new rules Thursday May 24, 2012 to curb the practice by giving states more power to investigate people who repeatedly claim to lose their benefit cards. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

File - In this file photo taken Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010, an Electronic benefit Transfer card, food stamp recipients use to purchase food, is seen at the Sacramento County Economic Development Department in Sacramento, Calif. Food stamp recipients are ripping off the government for millions of dollars by illegally selling their benefit cards for cash _ sometimes even in the open, on eBay or Craigslist _ and then asking the government for replacement cards. The Agriculture Department is proposing new rules Thursday May 24, 2012 to curb the practice by giving states more power to investigate people who repeatedly claim to lose their benefit cards. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Food stamp recipients are ripping off the government for millions of dollars by illegally selling their benefit cards for cash ? sometimes even in the open, on eBay or Craigslist ? and then asking the government for replacement cards.

The Agriculture Department wants to curb the practice by giving states more power to investigate people who repeatedly claim to lose their benefit cards.

It is proposing new rules Thursday that would allow states to demand formal explanations from people who seek replacement cards more than three times a year. Those who don't comply can be denied further cards.

"Up to this point, the state's hands have been tied unless they absolutely suspected fraudulent activity," said Kevin Concannon, the department's undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services.

Overall, food stamp fraud costs taxpayers about $750 million a year, or 1 percent of the $75 billion program that makes up the bulk of the department's total budget for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Most fraud occurs when unscrupulous retailers allow customers to turn in their benefits cards for lesser amounts of cash. But USDA officials are also concerned about people selling or trading cards in the open market, including through websites.

Last year, the department sent letters urging eBay and Craigslist to notify customers that it's illegal to buy and sell food stamps. USDA officials followed up last month, saying they are still getting complaints that people are using the websites to illegally market food stamps.

Both eBay and Craigslist have told the government they are actively reviewing their sites for illegal activity and would take down ads offering food stamp benefits for cash. The USDA also has warned Facebook and Twitter about the practice.

South Dakota, Oklahoma, Washington, D.C., Minnesota and Washington state have the highest percentage of recipients seeking four or more replacement cards over a year. But USDA officials said that doesn't necessarily indicate a high rate of fraud. All states are required by law to reissue lost or stolen cards to those who are eligible for benefits.

Wyoming, Idaho, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Alabama have the lowest percentage of households requesting four or more cards in a 12-month period.

In North Carolina, the state already issues warning letters to people who request four replacement cards in a year, letting them know that officials are monitoring them closely. Dean Simpson, chief of economic family services for the North Carolina Division of Social Services, said the new rules would give her state even more of a boost in curbing food stamp fraud.

"I think it would help with the trafficking and let individuals know they are being observed and watched," said Simpson, who oversees the state's distribution of food stamps.

More than 46 million people receive food stamps, nearly half of them children. The average monthly benefit is $132 per person.

Benefit cards work like debit cards, allowing users to swipe them for food purchases at some 231,000 stores around the country that are authorized to take part in the food stamp program. Once a card is reported lost or stolen, it can be disabled immediately. But the USDA does not require photo identification, since several members of a family, including children, may use the cards at different times.

Concannon stressed that the USDA wants to be sensitive to vulnerable people who may lose their cards for innocent reasons. While it may sound suspicious for someone to lose a card two or three times a year, food stamp recipients include many people who are homeless or have dementia or mental illness, he said.

"Our concern is that in many instances, it may point to a trafficking issue," he said.

Last year, about 850,000 people were investigated for possible food stamp fraud. About 2,000 stores were sanctioned for illegal conduct, and 1,200 stores were permanently removed from the food stamp program.

Large supermarkets are seldom involved in illegal activity, Concannon said. The vast majority of fraud is found in smaller shops and convenience stores.

The USDA is currently developing tougher sanctions and penalties for retailers engaging in food stamp fraud. It is also taking steps to make sure that people disqualified from the program for illegal activity are not able to use it again in other states.

Associated Press

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Adam Lambert's 'Trespassing' Makes No. 1 Debut, Becomes First Openly Gay Male Artist To Top Charts

Adam Lambert is making history this week by reportedly becoming the first openly gay male artist to top the Billboard album charts.

As Billboard's Keith Caulfield is reporting, Lambert snagged the No. 1 spot with his sophomore effort, "Trespassing," which sold 77,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Interestingly, it's a case of one "American Idol" alum replacing another, as Lambert's chart debut toppled Carrie Underwood's "Blown Away," which drops to No. 3.

Including Underwood, Lambert is the seventh "American Idol" finalist to reach No. 1, following Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry (of Daughtry) and Scotty McCreery, according to Billboard.

But Lambert's chart triumph is also historic, as it marks the first time an openly gay male performer accomplishes that feat. As AfterElton notes, "Other gay performers such as Elton John and George Michael have hit No. 1, but only before they came out, and they haven't managed that honor since."

Lambert seemingly acknowledged that accomplishment, tweeting, "Thank you to the Glamily for helping me make HISTORY!"

It's also been a challenging road for "Trespassing," which includes collaborations with Pharrell Williams, Dr. Luke, Nile Rodgers and Sam Sparro, among others. The album's first single, "Better Than I Know Myself," stalled at No. 76 on the Billboard singles chart after its December 2011 release. Co-written by Bruno Mars, second single "Never Close Our Eyes" should fare better.

Lambert told AOL Music the album's title was "figuratively" inspired by his own life. "I do feel like a trespasser, but not in a literal sense, because I don't think I've broken into any property recently," he said. "I'm pretty eccentric, and as far as the music industry is concerned, I feel like a bit of an outsider. There are times when I feel like I'm breaking new ground by breaking in."

View some other memorable Adam Lambert moments below:

• Adam Lambert Performs At His High School Graduation In 2000

• Adam Lambert Performs In 'The Ten Commandments' The Musical In

• Adam Lambert's 'American Idol' Audition

• Adam Lambert's Controversial 2009 AMA Performance

• A Compilation Of Adam Lambert's Best Moments On 'American Idol'

• Adam Lambert's 'It Gets Better' Video

• Adam Lambert's Newest Single, 'Better Than I Know Myself'

Earlier on HuffPost:

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US bank earnings rose this winter to 5-year high

WASHINGTON (AP) ? U.S. bank earnings rose in the first three months of the year to the highest level in nearly five years and the number of troubled banks fell for the fourth straight quarter.

The mostly positive first-quarter earnings released Thursday illustrate how far the banking industry has come since the 2008 financial crisis. Still, the report noted that many banks remain cautious about lending, a necessary driver of economic growth.

The report is "broadly in line with what we've seen in the economy as a whole," said Bert Ely, an independent banking analyst based in Alexandria, Va. "Sluggish improvement, but nonetheless improvement."

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said the banking industry earned $35.3 billion in the January-March period. That's up from $28.7 billion in the first quarter of 2011 and the highest level since the second quarter of 2007.

About 67 percent of U.S. banks reported improved earnings. Overall revenue increased from the first quarter of 2011, bolstered by higher profits from loans and fees on customers' bank accounts.

The news wasn't all good. Bank loans to consumers fell in most categories. Credit card loans and home mortgages were among those showing lower balances.

Acting FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg called the decrease in lending "disappointing, after we saw three quarters of growth last year."

Weakness in the housing market has weighed on broader lending, said James Chessen, chief economist of the American Bankers Association, the industry's biggest trade group.

"The overall lending volume for banks will continue to grow at a gradual pace until the housing market improves," Chessen said in a statement.

An exception is loans to commercial and industrial borrowers. Those rose about 14 percent from a year earlier and suggest businesses are expanding.

Banks with assets exceeding $10 billion accounted for most of the earnings growth in the January-March period. While they make up just 1.4 percent of U.S. banks, they accounted for about 81 percent of the earnings.

Those banks include Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. Most of them have recovered with help from federal bailout money and record-low borrowing rates.

The number of banks on the FDIC's confidential "problem" list fell in the first quarter to 772, or around 9.5 percent of all federally insured banks. That compares with 813 troubled banks in the fourth quarter.

The surge in first-quarter earnings follows the industry's most profitable year since 2006, a sign that many banks have put the 2008 financial crisis behind them. Still, last year's increase came largely because banks suffered fewer losses ? not because they took in more money.

The slow recovery, record-low interest rates and weak demand for loans left bank revenue mostly flat for the year.

Banks are starting to take in more money this year. The industry posted a 3 percent increase in revenue from a year earlier. It was only the second time in the last five quarters that revenue rose, the FDIC said.

And bank losses on loans declined in the January-March period to $21.8 billion ? the lowest level in four years.

Gruenberg said the overall financial health of the banking industry continues to show gradual improvement.

So far this year, 24 banks have failed. That's far below the 92 banks that shuttered last year and the 157 that closed in 2010 ? the most for one year since the height of the savings and loan crisis in 1992.

In the first quarter, fewer bank failures allowed the insurance fund to strengthen. The fund, which turned from deficit to positive in the second quarter of 2011, had a $15.3 billion balance as of March 31, according to the FDIC. That compares with $11.8 billion at the end of last year.

The FDIC is backed by the government, and its deposits are guaranteed up to $250,000 per account. Apart from its deposit insurance fund, the agency also has tens of billions in loss reserves.

Associated Press

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Business Travel Tips For The Avid Business Traveler ? Happy Mom ...

Companies everywhere are finding they need to travel more if they want to meet new customers and to capture new sources of business; the Internet has ensured that even tiny companies can have a customer base that is truly global! However, anyone who has spent a great deal of their time traveling for their business will tell you just how tiring it can be. There are some things you can do to reduce the amount of stress and fatigue that occurs and some interesting business travel tips and information that is supplied in this article.

Sometimes for instance, baggage goes missing; that is an unfortunate fact of travel and whilst it is distressing enough on a family holiday, on a business trip it can be disastrous. An easy remedy to this is to pack as much as possible that you absolutely must have for you meeting, in your hand luggage.

This means that even if your main luggage is lost your trip does not have to be wasted; your meeting can still take place despite any inconvenience that has been caused. As far as your main luggage is concerned, make sure you only pack just enough for the trip and this is probably the most useful business travel tip to bear in mind.

If you only take enough business clothes for the trip and then all that is left is some casual wear for the evenings, just two pairs of shoes, one casual, and one pair should be enough. All that is left once this is done is to include your toiletries and other business documentation that may be of use.

A way to save space and possibly take a smaller bag plus reduce any creases is to roll clothing up which takes up less room and a business travel tip well worth noting. To go one step further, if you want to ensure that even if food or drink are spilled on your clothes you won?t need them laundered; use dark colors which are also handy because creases don?t show as much.

If you are delayed for any reason then knowing you can freshen up prior to the meeting without the need for a shower can be a lifesaver, this is where those travel wipes come in very useful. If you only intend to be away for a couple of days, a normal charge for a cell phone and other electronic equipment may be enough but if the trip is longer you may need to take chargers with you.

Many business travelers now use the traveling time to do as much work as possible which then allows them some personal time to themselves after work which in turn reduces stress. Just plan ahead for your business travel using this guide and you will be in a position where whatever happens it will not affect your trip and once you have done this often enough it will all become second nature to you.

Business travel does not have to be all work and by using the business travel tips shown here, there should be time for rest and relaxation too.

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Author: Ray Lam
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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EVSC to Receive National Minds in the Making Grant | City-County ...

The Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation has been named as one of three recipients in the nation for the competitive Minds in the Making $140,000 grant to help further its efforts in developing high quality early childhood classes for pre-kindergarten aged students. This was originally announced last week at the Coalition for Community Schools National Forum ? where several EVSC administrators presented to the more than 1,500 in attendance.

Minds in the Making: The Science of Early Learning, was developed by the Families and Work Institute. It is a collaborative effort to share the science of early learning with the professionals who work with children and families. Minds in the Making has documented the science of early learning with children from birth to eight years old and focuses on what makes young children stay motivated and engaged in learning, and determines what are the essential skills children need. This grant ? which was also received in its first year by school districts in New York, Tulsa and Portland; and this year by Providence, RI, Hartford, Conn., and the EVSC ? is designed to help school districts further their early childhood goals.

?This funding will help us get to the core of our work,? said Cathlin Gray, associate superintendent of family, school, and community partnerships. ?It will help deepen the work we are doing with community schools, work hand-in-hand with Response to Intervention efforts ? and in general add to how we support the whole child.? This common framework will help everyone speak the same language of meeting student needs and preparing them for the workforce, Gray added.

The $140,000 EVSC will receive, distributed over a three-year period, will help the corporation build on the current early childhood alignment and strengthen instructional strategies in the elementary schools, reinforce priorities in the mental health services, engage families and encourage relevant course work for future teachers via higher education.

The early childhood initiatives in the EVSC are aligned and work in conjunction with EVSC Community Schools, 4C of Southern Indiana, Inc., the Early Childhood Development Coalition, and The Welborn Baptist Foundation.

EVSC will strengthen the approach of best practices through the entire school district by embedding the seven essential skills. According to research by Minds in the Making, these skills exhibit what every child needs in order to succeed. They are:

Seven Essential Skills

? Focus and Self Control: children need this skill in order to achieve their goals ? especially in a world that is filled with distractions and information overload. In involves paying attention, remembering the rules, thinking flexibly, and exercising self control.

? Perspective Taking: Perspective goes far beyond empathy ? it involves figuring out what others think and feel, and forms the basis of children understanding others? intentions. Children who can do this, are less likely to get involved in conflicts.

? Communicating: More than understanding language, speaking, reading, and writing ? it is the skill of determining what one wants to communicate and realizing h our our communications will be understood by others.

? Making Connections: This is the heart of learning ? figuring out what?s the same, what?s different and sorting these things in categories. It is those who can go beyond knowing information to using this information that will succeed.

? Critical Thinking: Critical thinking is the ongoing search for valid and reliable knowledge to guide beliefs, decisions and actions.

? Taking on Challenges: Life is full of stresses and challenges. Children who are willing to take on challenges (instead of avoiding them or simply coping with them) will do better in school and in life.

? Self-directed, Engaged Learning: It is through learning that everyone realizes their potential. As the world changes, so can we, as long as we continue to learn.

Funding will also be used for Master Facilitator Training in which education departments at the University of Southern Indiana, University of Evansville and Ivy Tech Community College will take part to help equip new teachers with the research on how children learn best.

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Certain Home Improvement Projects Are Best Left to a Professional ...

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By Hollis Figueroa

Enhancing the look or size of your home or handling repairs are good examples of home improvement. You can accomplish many things with minimal skills and financial investment. Reading these tips will give you a lot of good ideas about where to start. This should make it clear what you can do.

Landscaping is a very enduring home improvement. You can plant lovely flowers, bushes or vines with whimsical trellises and strategically place stepping stones about the yard. Nice landscaping feature make the house look great and make the home more valuable in case you ever want to sell.

Real estate agents know the best additions to give a home added value. They are knowledgeable as to what people desire when purchasing a home.

Consider accenting your niches by paining the back wall of your niche with a complementary color or using wallpaper to distinguish it. You can use a sample size can of paint in order to save yourself the cost of buying an entire gallon.

Use your outdoor space. Consider extending a living space into part of your backyard. This creates an idyllic outdoor environment for relaxing or cooking out with the family.

If your attic is huge, add a new dormer window to increase its usefulness. This will not only enhance the exterior of the home, but increase the square footage inside as well. It can also boost your living space and property value for a relatively low cost.

Organize your tools in a logical manner according to project type. For example, put your plumbing tools into one toolbox. An electrical toolbox could contain a variety of fuses, switches and a voltmeter. Using this organizational tip, you will be able to find what you are looking for with ease.

At least once a year, in the spring, be sure to take a close look at your roof, checking it for signs of damage. Besides obviously-damaged shingles, remove and replace any shingles that have blistered or begun to curl at the edges. Taking care of minor damage to your roof when you see it will prevent you from having to take care of major and expensive issues later.

If you are looking to reduce you energy costs, you could change your lighting system to operate on motion sensors. You can manually adjust the sensitivity of the light, as well as turn it on without engaging the motion sensor if you need to.

Turn off the plumbing if any home improvement projects will take place in the bathroom or kitchen. Whenever you are dealing with pipes, fittings, or fixtures, finding and turning the shutoff valve should be step number one. This will make sure you don?t flood your house.

The sharp edges of furniture can be a hazard for younger children. Pad the corners to prevent any injuries. Corner protectors can be purchased from a store, or foam tape could be used to pad these sharp edges on the furniture. Don?t forget to tape down any loose wires. This way you protect your children from potential hazards like accidental strangling while playing.

When you are fixing up a house that is to be sold, keep in mind that the appearance of the exterior is of primary importance, and should be addressed prior to dealing with items on the interior of the home. People can?t see the inner items, but the outside of the house is easy to see, so an ugly looking exterior will turn people off.

Some people may have some skills with home improvement, but true knowledge takes years of work and experience to gain. There will never be an end to the amount of things you could do to learn more about it and strengthen your skills. You can be successful at remodeling, and these tips should help you get there.

A long interest for roofing shingles technology has made sure that I?ll remain at the forefront of new innovations and progressegular contributor to blogs, websites and forums.

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IMA's Revamped Blog Highlights Critical Change Management ...

IMA?s re-vamped Implementing Organizational Changes at Speed blog discusses business-critical change management methodology issues that impact the ability of organizations to get full benefit realization for strategic changes including transformational change.

Lakewood, CO (PRWEB) May 23, 2012

Organizations will never know whether they have designed the right strategy if they can?t execute the change to full benefit realization. IMA?s (Implementation Management Associates) re-vamped blog, ?Implementing Organizational Changes at Speed,? discusses the critical change management methodology issues facing organizations that are making substantial investments in business changes like transformational change, new technology, restructuring, or mergers and acquisitions.

In all these cases, the change management methodology employed can potentially be the differentiating factor between a change that stalls out or fails completely, versus a change that achieves full benefit realization for the investment.

?Many executives fail to realize that there is no implementation or Return on Investment unless the organization achieves sustained adoption, meaning a sustained change in the behavior of employees. This blog discusses both the barriers and the accelerators to getting the sustained behavior change,? says Don Harrison, IMA President. Harrison continues, ?This is not a soft or squishy issue? it?s a business, bottom-line imperative to follow best practices on the human-side of the change.?

The blog focuses on these best practices, covering issues like how to generate active and durable sponsorship, identifying the right change agents, what is required to define the change properly, building readiness, communication, and reinforcement of the new behaviors. Each article provides the opportunity for access to downloadable resources that provide tactics and strategies that are practical and immediately useable.

Harrison notes, ?The difference between having a purposeful, planned change management methodology for implementation and one-off types of implementations can translate into enormous cost and time savings. Organizations that can implement at speed enjoy a huge competitive advantage.?

New articles are posted at least weekly and many of the topics are selected based on actual client issues. ?Our clients and consultants are working on large-scale changes in very complex global business environments. There are always issues on the human-side of these changes, and the blog enables us to address these relevant issues on a timely basis,? says Harrison.

Most recently, articles covered real-world strategic changes like role transformations, customer-centric business transformation, measuring the success of transformational change, and managing resistance.

?Enlightened executives are beginning to see that there is a difference between installing a change versus implementing the change,? concludes Harrison. In today?s world, a change management methodology must be practical and fit for purpose, with business-oriented tools that ensure that the end-goal of implementation is actually achieved.? The ?Implementing Organizational Changes at Speed Blog? is now a support for getting to that end-goal.????

Implementation Management Associates (IMA) is an international consulting practice that guides organizations through all types of organizational change implementations, applying a business-disciplined, structured approach to implementation management known as AIM (Accelerating Implementation Methodology.) The methodology offers a business-disciplined structured framework with practical tools, action learning programs, tactics and strategies for implementing strategic initiatives.

Paula Alsher
Implementation Management Associates
866-996-7788
Email Information

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