Welfare waste

BOSTON, Mass. (AP) - The state Inspector General says as much as $25 million in welfare benefits are handed out annually in Massachusetts to recipients who have failed to prove their eligibility.

A report, focused on families with children, estimated that almost 10 percent of the more than 51,000 families on welfare are able to collect benefits from the Department of Transitional Assistance without having to provide the proper documentation.

The report found that some welfare recipients have jobs; fail to provide adequate proof of residency; fail to provide evidence of citizenship; and fail to provide proof a child is theirs.

DTA Commissioner Daniel Curley tells the Boston Herald the agency has already set up new ways to verify employment and Social Security records, and said the agency's integrity unit recovers millions each year.