Among the policy changes: reinstating asset limits for people seeking food benefits; requiring people who report they are self-employed to submit tax returns; improving data communication among all state departments; and creating a fraud prevention task force.
"We don't want to in any way keep people from getting assistance that is warranted, that they're legitimately qualified for, that they need at the time, but that shouldn't be our overriding focal point," Walker said. "It should be on hitting that balance...and making sure we're good stewards of taxpayer dollars."
Walker's announcement comes in the wake of recent Journal Sentinel investigations that uncovered how regulators fail to verify actual income when applicants claim to be self-employed or make no money. That failure opens the door to fraud in every taxpayer-supported assistance program in the state.
