"Assistance"

I am not afraid to admit that I am a single mother that needs help taking care of my son. I have food stamps, CAPS, income based living, Aiden is on WellCare...

You have to jump through a lot of hoops to get all that shit.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a letter in the mail saying I was up for my annual review for CAPS (day care assistance). I did all my paper work, got all the required documents, and HAND delivered everything the day it was due. After that, I went about my business as usual.

I got a call today while I was in class from my case worker. She said there was some problems with my review. First, the four paystubs I'm required to turn in included a $0.15 raise. You HAVE to turn in the four most recent and, apparently, the first two I was making $8.60 and the next two I was making $8.75. She said that made it so she couldn't include the first two. Since I didn't turn in "four" paystubs, she had to log into her magical computer system that tells her all the secrets of the world (and yet, I still have to fill out pages and pages of paperwork...don't get it) and went all the way back to January. She then took an average of all my hours I've worked this year so far (okay...) and came up with 28 hours. In December, they sent out a letter saying you must work at least 30 hours a week. I know that, I said. But you only work 28 hours, she said. I said that it wasn't true but okay, I'm in school. Oh, but that's the next problem, she said.

My 18 hours of school doesn't count. Why, you ask? Because I go to a university and I'm working on a college degree. Make sense to you? No? Good, we're together on this then. I told my case worker that I didn't understand. She said that the only way it could be counted would be if I went to a technical college or was taking GED classes. Oooooookaaaaaay...

I pointed out that I am taking these classes to get my degree in management so that I could become a manager at my current place of employment. She said, "It doesn't matter, it's a university." Slow blink? Yeah, I did too. I told her I can't afford to pay for my son to go to daycare. She said, "I understand that." You do? Really? Coulda fooled me.

Of course I cried. A lot. Because I am a single mom that can't afford to take care of my son who is my life. I am trying to better myself so I can give him a better life. I am working my ass off for him. I am giving up precious time WITH him FOR him. Do I blame him? Not at all. He doesn't even know we're suffering and have been since the day I found out I was pregnant with him.

What makes me so mad about this is I am trying to get OFF welfare by going to these classes and working as much as I do (which is well over 30 hours a week but the average fucked up my time). What I don't understand is why can women who OBVIOUSLY aren't trying to get off welfare, in fact, are very happy ON welfare, get EVERY fucking program out there? How can women walk into the DFCS office with their Coach purses and fake nails and Baby Phat clothes and no one bats an eye? Their job IS staying on welfare.

How the FUCK is that "assistance" for the needy?