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By KATHLEEN CHAPMAN
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Six Department of Children and Families employees who applied for disaster food stamps after Hurricane Wilma may have lied to get the payments, according to a state report released this week.
Of 449 aid workers who applied, a total of 20 were paid the wrong amounts, reviewers found. A wider [...]

By KATHLEEN CHAPMAN
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Florida’s rate of food stamp payment mistakes in recent months was the worst in the country, according to a federal official.
The state approved the wrong payment amount in 9.37 percent of cases sampled from October 2005 to January 2006.
Some of the mistakes were fraud or people who were accidentally [...]

While investigating Florida’s disaster food stamp program after Hurricane Wilma, I tracked down internal memos and e-mails, called dozens of workers and heard from many who worried that affluent people were taking advantage of a program meant for the poor. The resulting stories showed how lax oversight made it nearly impossible for the state to [...]

By KATHLEEN CHAPMAN
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Three state employees knowingly provided false information in order to qualify for disaster food stamps after Hurricane Wilma and another misused her position by accepting applications at her church, according to reports released Monday.
The disaster program managed by the Florida Department of Children and Families was meant to help [...]