Fraud in the Chicago Public Schools’ free and reduced lunch program is system wide, the CPS Inspector General concluded in a report released Monday.
CBS 2 and the Better Government Association first disclosed how CPS employees were gaming the $175 million program meant for poor children.
Now a report shows parents are playing the same games at taxpayer expense.
To qualify for a free or reduced lunch, parents have to fill out an application stating their family income and the number of household members.
The inspector general reviewed of 1,000 cases of children enrolled in the program and reported “an astonishing 707 recipients — nearly 71 percent — had their benefits decreased” because of violations by parents.
“This overwhelmingly suggests that the fraud problem pervades the entire application process,” the report said. ...More HERE
