Ohio Ends Plan To Collect Old Welfare Overpayments

Ohio has decided to kill its plan to collect welfare overpayments dating back to as far as 1985. Job and Family Services department director Michael Colbert said Thursday the plan impacts a "very vulnerable population" that doesn't need this as public policy right now. He said the department would go back to its former policy of only collecting debts up to 10 years old. Ohio had changed that policy in late 2010 to match the federal practice of not placing any time limit on how far back the government can go to collect extra money that was paid accidentally. Colbert said Ohio would only go after overpayments that were fraudulent instead of overpaid by mistake.