Privatization of ASPIRE

This in depth analysis of the privatization of children's programs is taken from our friends over at the blog Maine Parents.

As one will see, privatization creates layers upon layers of administration services which are completely unnecessary, complete with rampant fraud, waste and abuse, where the programs and services fail to meet any benchmarks.

The contracts are secret, there are no avenues to file complaints or report fraud, and if there were, these contracts are non-profit, meaning, there are no options for external audit, investigation, license revocation, suspension, exclusion, prosecution or recovery of federal dollars.

This is what "stripping civil rights" looks like, except we are not privileged to see the maximized revenue or the campaign contributions, thereof.

Privatization of ASPIRE

There has been a bit of recent controversy around Governor LePage and DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew's decision to privatize Maine's ASPIRE program which is currently administered by DHHS.

• If privatization is so great, why won’t the LePage administration share information?
• LePage ensures that sound policy won’t get in the way of welfare privatization agenda
• Under LePage administration, state work being funneled to private sector

ASPIRE (Additional Support for People in Retraining and Employment) is a program that parents who apply for DHHS issued welfare benefits such as SNAP, Mainecare or TANF must participate in as a condition of their receiving benefits.  In theory, it is a good program with a goal of helping welfare recipients to become self-sufficient by providing them with education and job training opportunities.  In practice however, it is a waste of time for anybody who applies for the program after the first or second month of the new year when the funding runs out.  Therefore participation in the program for most is nothing more than attending a morning long orientation, filling out the paperwork only to be told there isn't enough funding for to actually get anything out of it.

Privatization of this program would essentially mean that it would be administered by a private outside organization rather than DHHS, in this case a New York City-based nonprofit called Fedcap Rehabilitation Services.

As I said before, there has been a lot of controversy around this decision.  First of all, there is a lack of transparency regarding the process of how this particular agency got the contract.  Second the chosen agency is apparently not without it's own issues including lawsuits and discrimination complaints which the critics are surely jumping on.

While I understand the concern regarding the privatization of state services that some may have, I am not opposed to it in this particular case.   After all, in the hands of DHHS, ( a state agency known for misspending federal dollars designated for poor children as a matter of policy )  ASPIRE has been an utter failure.  Perhaps a different agency running it could prove to be more successful.  That said, the state has been privatizing child welfare services for years with millions of dollars in contracts to outside agencies such as Opportunity Alliance, Youth Alternatives or Spurwink just to name a few.  Some of these contracts have proven to be successful.  Some have not.  

The fact is that privatization of social service and child welfare programs is nothing new in around here.  I'm sure there are at least one or two agencies right here in Maine that would be just as well suited for the job and that the state already has experience in dealing with.      

I do take issue with the secrecy around granting these contracts that the LePage administration tends to practice.  I think that the people of Maine have the right to know where their money is going.    

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