Ontario Community Newspapers

Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 4 Aug 1998, p. 10

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ust 4, 1998 Area team uses variety of approaches Heard it al e fsrn GOODS on page 9 tno r,-riminal iienn.rhh andi Mr Pravsnes- must prove the suspects understood al along that they must divulge everything. If there is insufficient proof of crimiùnai fraud, investigators can still pursue cheaters tbrougb the General Welfare Assistance Act. People wbo don't declare al the facts up-front must retum Use oves-- payment owed Halton Region. If still on welfare, Uey have to shell out a maximum 10 per cent of Ueir monthiy entitiement. 'The bottom line for us is that we want to do (our job) very quickly to get the money back," said Mr. Psaysner. Mr. Waller explained that judges are now handing down short jail sentences of 30 10 90 days. One recent case saw a cheater go away for 18 montbs. Peanuts in rice bails Consumners with peanut allergies are was-ned not to est sesame rice bails manu- factus-ed by Golden Happiness Frozen Foods. The products, which are sold in 750 gsam and 230 pram packages, contain peanuts. That information is not declared on Use label. Thse manufacturer is recalling thse prod- uct, which is distributed in Ontario. There bas been one reposted case of illness. Consumes-s may return packages to the point of puschase. Thse Canadian Food Inspection Agency is monitoring Ue effec- tiveness of Use recall. to effect change, sa- By HOWARD MOZEL Special to The Champion While Haton's Eligibility Review Program hasn't got the sane ring to it as welfare fraud squad, tbis regional initiative is a tight-knit, efficient team in every sense of the word. Headed by Joanne Bree, the group's goal is savings - any way it can achieve them. Ibis includes getting fanilies off the welfare roll and back to work. Faiing that, the team's job is to identify compliance problems and moot out the cheats and the liars: Tracey Ferguson, for example, is responsible for pursuing ail terminated cases witb outstanding overpayments. Cas-olyn Schoenfeldt conducts file audits on entire caseloads and individual files - usually long-terni recipients - to determine policy compliance and sometimes fraud. icorne support worker Judy Green helps recipients fulfill their obligation to pursue other financial support to which tliey may be enitled. Dino Days coming to Halton museum Most kids can't get enough of dinosaurs, so they should be in for a treat beginning Tliursday, Aug. 13 as 'Dino Days' it the Halton Reg*ion Museum in Kelso Conservation Aiea. Thanks to the Royal Ontario Museum, a 60-foot long Dinosaur Museumobile will be visiting tirough Tuesday, Aug. 18. WaIk through the sights and sounds of the huge creatures that wandered the earth 70 màllion years ago. On top of that, visitors can build a dinosaur from real bones at tse Halton Region Museum, watch dinosaur movies and play dinosaur ganses. On Saturday, Aug. 15 'Dino Days' features the Doug Barr Children's Show, featsring Mr. Barr's well-known song, Thbe Dinosaur Chomp.' Mr. Bas-r will performn 45 minute shows at 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Ail seats ase $5. For reservations, call 875-2200. Kelso is off Town Line (Tremaine Road, north of Steeles Avenue). AI *ONII ON G M.A.R.C.H. *Water Fumace Systems - Gas Propane and *Heat Pumps - Air. Ground Electric Fumaces & Water Sources - High Efficiency Air Fiters *Central & Room Air & Humidifiera 785 Main Street East 876-1138 (Seràce) 875-2700 (Sles) ve taxpayer money Investigation and preparalsoîl for the prosesotsin ot wetfaire fr-anc is the last resort, a job wbicb falîs to retired Halton Regional Police Staff Sgt. Ted Waller and 17-year social services vetes-an Nick Praysner. The local teani is far fmm natone. They are an extension of a far-flung net- work linked by a pmovincial welfare fraud contmol database whicb collates Use flow of reports from across Ontario and is accessed by every welfare office. Thes-e is also the a pmovincial hotline, leads fromn caseworkers, calîs fmom sus- picious citizens and more. Thmough Use United Council on Welfare Fraud, inter-jurisdictional ba-ries continue to fall and Halton bas solved cases with links as far away as Florids and Texas. After ahl, fs-sud and misrepresentation are not limited to the municipality which pays recipients and ofien crosses regional, pmovincial and international boundaries. Tises-e is no shortsge of information," says Ms-. Waller, wbo explained tips often come fmom hard-wos-king individuals who psy taxes and are anges-ed by abuse. "They have no ps-oblemrs calling us." Sometimes, says Ms-. Waller, a casewo-ke- bas noUsing but Useis- "guI feel- ing" - such as a client's expensive clotising or jewel-y - 10 wamn of poten- tial pmoblems. Upon investigation, undeclared bsnk accounts and businesses are often uncovered. "We encourage people to wos-k and be self-employed, but Usere is a dual responsibility," said Ms-. Waller. "The client bas 10 understand it is a two-way street." Tise teamn easily pays for itself. lIn 1996 tbe investigation of 326 of Halton's 2,000 welfare cases resulted in the tenninstion of 71 and estimated savings of $706,095. That samne year, 587 case file seviews, tbis-d-party reimbursements and oves-payment recovery s-esulted in tbe repossession of $755,645. Pmogsam expenses were only $1 82,603 an the net savings wes-e more than $1 .2 million. Ms-. Ps-aysner ssys their focus is 10 change people' s situations fmmi depen- dency to self-sufficiency. hItise meantime, il is up 10 clients t0 abide by Use responsibilities that come witis applying for welfare and being bonest when declaring ail income and assets. "Declare everytising and we'll determine wbat's exempt," says Ms-. Praysner. Tises-e are anme cases wisese it yields Use teamn no joy 10 catch recipients but given tise number of opportunities 10 tell Use ts-utb, tbey quickly wear out thei- welcome by Use time tbey reach Ms-. Waller and Ms-. Ps-aysne-. "iThe majority of cases that arrive at us, Use sympatby level bas died down," sald Ms-. Waller. Centml AI. Comdit"i. 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