Bullock's response to DHS officials' casual shrug-off of the food program as "small potatoes" sums up the real consequence of hundreds of thousands of available meals being kept from the mouths of growing children. "A penny's worth of government fraud or misuse is not acceptable," he says. "It's a double-edge sword because it wastes tax dollars and cheats those in real need."
Indeed, among those most concerned about the allegations of fraud in CACFP are the sponsors who actually feed the children they claim to feed. They're concerned that the food frauds could taint their actions and end up harming a program that, if used properly, can be of considerable help to the poor.
Carol and Hurt Porter, operators of the nonprofit organization Kid Care, are two such food providers. The Porters support themselves and their two children through their USDA contract as a sponsoring organization for CACFP, and for more than five years they have overseen the meal preparation of 80 day home providers. Carol Porter has kept a sterling record with DHS, and the USDA regularly calls on her to speak around Texas to potential sponsors and food providers.
Porter is aware of the many problems with CACFP in Harris County. "If I chose to make [the food program] my personal gain, I certainly could," she says. "It is a gold mine if I choose it to be. It can be a lucrative venture. I know of some operators with 600, 700 or even 1,000 homes."
Porter says she has recommended that state and federal agencies give sponsors greater leverage in booting out dishonest home providers. She and a staff member make at least three unannounced visits a year at the homes they oversee. "It would be a better program if once we see fraud we could cut it off at the knees," she says. "But you have to go through so much bureaucracy to eliminate participants." Porter adds that lax guidelines and requirements allow virtually anyone to qualify as a program sponsor. "Everybody who fills out an application should not be a contractor. It could be a very effective program, but it starts with the integrity of the contractors."
Gladys Goffney, the attorney for Sabrina Carter -- the first provider asked to start refunding some money to the government -- finds that she agrees with much that people such as Porter and politicians such as Bullock have to say. But she's angry that her client, whom she describes as the small fish in the pond, has to take the punishment for sponsors, and for the state and federal governments, which failed and continue to fail to stand watch over the millions of dollars flowing through the program. Adds Goffney, a taxpayer, "I want to know who is responsible for this. Because I think somebody owes me money."
This summer, we may find out just who owes what to whom. Senate hearings are scheduled to begin later this month.
