PRINCETON, W.Va. — Gov. Patrick Morrisey continues to call for more policing of where the school clothing voucher funding is going.
The vouchers are handed out through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families — TANF — program. Morrisey put out a detailed graphic on social media Wednesday afternoon, highlighting concerns that money given through the voucher program was untraceable.
The graphic reported that 49.5-percent of funding through the School Clothing Allowance were “ATM cash withdrawals,” and therefore difficult to track whether or not the money was actually being used for clothes.
Morrisey claimed Tuesday that the money was being used to buy “beer and cigarettes.” The next day, the governor doubled down in Princeton as he wrapped up his tour of southern West Virginia water infrastructure.
The “ATM cash withdrawals” totaled $5.45 million last fiscal year, according to Morrisey. He said those numbers came from the Department of Human Services and independent contractors.
“That raises significant issues, because we can’t verify what’s being spent on clothing. Period,” Morrisey said. “That’s a huge problem.”
Morrisey said that he’s extremely concerned about whether the funding is being properly used.
“Am I here to tell you that everything done is improper? No,” Morrisey said. “What I’m telling you, though, is that there are no constraints — none whatsoever — on that 50 percent. I find that troubling, and here’s why: I’d like to have more kids have access to the clothing voucher and make sure that the money is going for clothing.”
These new revelations have come to light after Morrisey’s administration came under fire. The administration delayed program registration 20 days this year, then closed down applications after only one week. According to Morrisey’s Communications Director Lars Delseide, that was because applications were “extraordinarily high, and the available funding was exhausted before the application period ended.”
Morrisey said he learned the 50-percent ATM withdrawal figure on Tuesday evening before a town hall meeting in Oceana. His comments about beer and cigarettes came earlier that day in Huntington.
More than 50,000 children rely upon the school clothing voucher program.
State Senator Mike Oliverio, R-Monongalia, said it’s poor timing for this deliberation.
“The best way to handle it is with good communication with the legislature, particularly the finance chairs,” Oliverio said on MetroNews “Talkline” Wednesday. “I think that’s maybe where we’re having a little bit of a breakdown here, when the governor literally went door-to-door, asking people to vote against the (house) finance chair (Vernon Criss). I think that’s creating some of this problem.”
Registration was closed last week for the school clothing voucher program. That happened ahead of the state’s Sales Tax Holiday last weekend, which waives taxes for select back-to-school items.
Oliverio said that severely impacted needy families who relied on that weekend to shop.
“When you cut off these funds in July, what you have done to these families is you have said, ‘hey, we have this Sales Tax Holiday, the first days of August, but we’re not going to give you the voucher money to spend during the most efficient days of the year to be buying these items; when you’re not having to pay the West Virginia Consumer Sales Tax,'” Oliverio said.
Morrisey’s graphic stated that 46 percent of the clothing vouchers were used at store registers last year, and another 4.5 percent utilized through online purchases. Morrisey called for control over all of the funding.
“Half the moneys, we have no earthly idea where it’s going to,” Morrisey said. “When you have no earthly idea where the money is going to, it leads to potential abuse. That’s a problem. So, what we need to do is make sure that the precious dollars are spent in a way that’s better traceable and ensures that kids get the clothing they need.’
The program isn’t going to stay the same going forward, the governor said.
“We’re very open to how we may change this,” Morrisey said. “Because we are going to change this. I’m not going to accept this going forward. I want to have the opportunity to talk to the legislature; we’re going to look at ways to make sure they’re maximizing the money that goes for kids’ clothes.”