BOSTON (AP) — State officials say they are trying to confirm the addresses of 19,000 welfare recipients in Massachusetts after voter registration information mailed to their listed addresses last summer were returned as undeliverable.
The Department of Transitional Assistance contacted 477,000 welfare recipients who were on their books from June 2011 to May 2012, after settling a voter-rights lawsuit.
The agency told the Boston Herald in a statement that is trying to contact its clients to ensure that they are still living in Massachusetts and therefore eligible to collect benefits from the state. If they have moved out of state, they are not eligible.
Some who did not confirm their addresses have already been stripped of benefits.
Critics of the agency say it’s more proof that it needs reform.
