Mislabeling ADHD: Social Security Benefits, and a Fumbling Federal Government

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The liberal left Democrats love their entitlement programs. Their good intentions make them feel good inside, and it gets them permanent voting blocks, too. But as with most unconstitutional federal programs, the opportunity for fraud is incredible.

A federal program designed to provide monetary help to families of disabled children has opened up the opportunity for children to be misclassified as disabled so that their families can be eligible for checks of up to $700 a month.

The $10 billion-a-year Supplemental Security Income program, which was originally meant for families of children with such disabilities as Down syndrome or cerebral palsy, has long since expanded to cover such mental conditions as attention-deficit disorder. As the years have passed, the number of children that have qualified because of mental, learning, or behavioral disorders has increased exponentially.

Part of the increase may be due to the likelihood that the acknowledgment of certain mental disabilities may be on the increase, but it may be that as the economy worsens many poor families are looking to SSI less to defray expenses associated with a child’s disability than to help make ends meet more generally. In the end, it may very well all add up to fraud beyond the federal government's control.

Imagine that, a federal program rife with fraud. Who'd have thunk it?

Hence, the reason why programs like this are not within the constitutional authority of the federal government. Either, these families need to take care of their responsibilities themselves, use private charities, or if the States desire to have such programs it is allowed constitutionally at the local level (without any federal funding).

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Mislabeling kids as ADHD? Investigate federal rules - Boston Globe