If this hypothetical “mom” who can successfully “work the system” is not accepting TANF, then the gubment will not try establish paternity and/or summon the dad to court to establish child support (for “aid reimbursement”). Accepting Federal food aid in the form of an EBT card (fka “food stamps”) does not trigger “aid reimbursement.” Married or unmarried parents living together can avail themselves of EBT cards, Section 8 and TANF if they are eligible.
I don’t see how the mom can be a FT student and be 100% mentally or physically disabled at the same time but perhaps the two gubment databases (Federal student aid and the SSD system) do not “talk” to each other. Her child care at school is not “free” unless she is on TANF (if she was on TANF, the kids’ dad would have already been sued for child support by the gubment). So, she (or the dad) has to pay to have any young kids watched while she is in class (unless he can watch them).
Utilities are NEVER FREE, folks! A low-income cell phone service (NOT smartphone) is $18.31 mo, I believe, and a low income landline phone is about $8.31 mo (with a .15 min charge for long-distance). Low income households get utilities (gas and elec) at a 20% discount and that is FAR from “free.” Water and sewer are mandated charges and are not discounted. It is possible that this scamming mom’s LL (the dad?) pays her water and sewer bill. She doesn’t live within 100 miles of the coast and probably not in CA at all if her Section 8 award is $900 for a 3-bdrm home and she pays nothing out of her pocket for rent!. She rents the kids’ dad’s home in KS … or if it is actually in CA, the kid’s dad bought a smallish older home in Delhi (Merced County) situated among a horsefly breeding ground outside a dusty avocado grove or same in Lodi (adjacent to the rumbling SR-99 and freight train tracks).
If the dad is actually providing her and the kids a “decent” ($350K+) 3 br home in CA for the mom and kids to live in exchange for the mom’s $900 mo section 8 award ONLY and the home should actually rent for $1900 mo, then that $1000 month savings off the market rent would be considered a monthly child support payment by the court (as would the amounts of her paid water and sewer bills if the dad wouldn’t pay them for a “market-rate” tenant). The rent difference and any water/sewer bills he is covering every month would count towards any CS awarded to the mom if she should later decide to file for child support.
This is so because the dad could rent his property to a market-rate tenant for $1900 month but instead is using it to provide shelter for his kids for $900 month. This is legal, as is renting a property from a friend or relative using a Section 8 voucher and each single parent claiming one kid on their tax returns.
And with a $21,600 income and one kid, this mom (and her one kid she is claiming) are only eligible for Medi-Cal. Her income is too low to get an “Obamacare subsidy.”
If any of ya’ll want to try this life, more power to you! I hope this theoretical “scammer mom” makes it all the way thru college (considering her “total disability status”) and is able to graduate. This mom can’t have it both ways and is basically stuck and trapped until such time as she graduates college and gets a good job in spite of her “disability” … or both kids leave home … whichever happens first.
