can a homeschooling family ask for state assistance?

[amyjeans]

Is this possible?
Once placed under the thumb of state assistance, has the autonomy gone by the wayside?
Will the state dictate: go to public school? Get vax? get a job? go to daycare?
basically what rights are given up when as a taxpayer, one needs help financially, with food, clothing, etc but wishes to continue homeschooling?
any input would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

[raelize]

i have 2 friends who hsed and got help from the state. one had her kids on the state insurance and got WIC, another just got WIC and food stamps. and the one who got state insurance didn't have any issues with the vaxing. i mean, maybe the suggested it, but i KNOW she didn't do it. i think that you can continue with your doctor as long as they take the state insurance.

and i don't think the gave my other friend any issues at all with WIC or food stamps.
i mean, here in MD i know that it eats up your day when you have to get your appointment, but, they don't tell you how to live.

[425lisamarie]

It's frustrating. I live in WA state and every public district has a "homeschool alternative center." You have a teacher you must have contact with and have some "proof" on paper but you are still the in charge learning coach. I have considered this and next semester plan on filing a variance for another district because they have the best teachers and give the parents more rights/freedom. You get a certain dollar amount per year to spend on curriculum provided it's non religious based.

[SandyBeachBums]

In WA State you can get food assistance, WIC, and insurance for children and pregnant women. You can't get cash aid because they require you are working or actively looking for a job.

I'm not sure about the last posters understanding of WA State HS laws. I don't know how that applies to the OP. I am only required to turn in a form to my local district. There is no alternative center in all districts. I do belong to CVA. They required I fill out an out of district form. I get all non-religious curriculum and some supplies paid for, as well as PE classes.

all this to say, these have helped give us a better quality of life for our children. I haven't felt threatened. I haven't been made to VAX my children. But, honestly some have been vaxed a bit before we decided to stop vaxing. We were not pressured into those by our insurance at the time. We just had decided they were fine then. Other circumstances have given us some concern. We just say we are still undecided. I have signed a form with our current Ped.

I don't know how other states do things. But, this state has been wonderful.

[4evermom]

In PA for food stamps, both parents must be seeking employment and aren't allowed to turn down job offers. Not that you can't homeschool with both parents working but it does make it difficult. Maybe some areas are stricter than others about that because I've heard of people happily homeschooling, getting food stamps, and not seeking employment.

[zebrachick83]

It definitely depends on the state. Here in GA, it's not that strict. We received WIC for two years and I wasn't working at all. We were homeschooling and that was no issue. It was just a pain to go to the WIC office with the kids. We got food stamps for a little while and I was working from home at the time, but it wasn't a requirement for me to work. But, while we were on both programs, my husband was working full time, so that may have made it easier for us to meet the requirements.

[amyjeans]

thanks for your input- I am just conerned with any state aid, CEAP, WIC, Food Stamps, etc and its CT.
Not looking for carriculum assistance- but basic human needs.
Once you put yourself out there and ask for help, are you subject to the scrutiny and regulations of the state? kwim?

[celestialdreamer]

It really depends on your location. We are in WA and have hit a rough spot financially so the kids are on state insurance. We qualify for food stamps and WIC but we are not using them. There was no issue with me being home with young children or homeschooling at all. In WA it is income based for those services, they don't even count assets like a car, etc. Other places it can be much more strict.

Vaxes are not an issue at all here. If you have state laws that allow philosophical exemptions then there is no issue. Even with my kids on state insurance it has not changed their healthcare or my rights to choose their care.

I also agree that the pp that mentioned WA homeschooling is mistaken. You are absolutely not required in this state to be part of a school district. You can do CVA or whatever and technically that means you are public schoolers, but many people do not. WA homeschool laws are actually fairly lenient.

[kittywitty]

Well, here in IL it does not dictate anything. We've been on WIC, we currently have medicaid, and the issue would never come up for food shelter or clothing assistance-we used to donate to both of those.

We get little reminders about when vaxes are "due" but no enforcement. WIC is a federal program and vaxes are absolutely not required-search for threads on here to find the statement on vaccines via WIC to print out and take with you if you are worried.

[425lisamarie]

Sorry my kids were talking to me while I was typing I ddin't proof read....

I don't mean you MUST be a part of a school system, I mean it is an option but you technically are not "home schooling." I just meant to say it's the only way I know of that gives you state funding and have your kids learning at home.

I was thinking you were wondering if there is a way to get assistance with schooling.

[kittie313]

I'm in Ohio and we have medicaid and food stamps, and my kids are homeschooled. I got some hostility in July when I broke down and went to apply for the food stamps because I'm not working, the case worker's opinion was that I should put my kids in school and daycare so that I could get a job. Then I handed her my college class schedule and she quit talking about that and just acted grumpy without saying that I need to be working. I don't know if they require both parents working or not for food stamps, but we've almost always had the insurance and WIC for the kids and I've worked maybe 6 months in the past 7 1/2 years. I'm not proud of it and look forward to the day I finish school myself so I can start looking for work within my field and tell them that we no longer need the assistance. But I also know a lot of people in my dh's family who are on all assistance and neither parent works more than one of the parents having a part time job and all kids in public school, so I'm guessing that you don't have to be working to get aid in my state.

[shoefairy3]

schooling and assistance dont have anything to do with the other here in Nebraska.

[craft_media_hero]

Do you mean food or other assistance or assistance with buying homeschool supplies?

In my experience, homeschooling has never factored into whether we qualified for food stamps, WIC, or . . . whatever the one is where they help you weather-proof and all that.

However, I did get hawk-eyed at a Medicaid appointment when I brought my hs-er with me, and the worker asked her some pointed questions that I thought were inappropriate.

[lach]

Are you not following the laws and regulations of the state you live in?

For example, are you in a state that requires you to register your children with the districts as homeschoolers, but you haven't done that because you prefer to remain "off the grid"?

If you are actually breaking laws, then yes I would imagine that applying for aid would greatly increase your chances of appearing on someone's radar. Definitely not a guarantee (I think that most employees who deal with assistance don't actually have a ton of free time to randomly check up on everyone who comes their way), but I would imagine that, yes, it would increase your chances of being found out.

However, I don't know of any states where homeschooling, not vaxing, etc are illegal. But if you're actually breaking laws, then that's another matter.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

In PA you don't have to be working or looking for work as long as you have a child/children under 5. Ds is only 3 so I haven't really hit the point where he will eligible for public school but either going or not (depends depends depends on so many things )

It looks from your sig like you have littlies I would think it shouldn't be an issue if some of the older ones are homeschooled

[amyjeans]

thanks for your input!

[amyjeans]

new question: what does assistance do to your credit and ability to obtain and/or remain in a job? like a sales job? Can employers discriminate against a person because they have applied for state or federal aid? If there is documentation either way-anywhere?
thanks again.

[4evermom]

Originally Posted by amyjeans

new question: what does assistance do to your credit and ability to obtain and/or remain in a job? like a sales job? Can employers discriminate against a person because they have applied for state or federal aid? If there is documentation either way-anywhere?
thanks again.

I highly doubt that info is available to prospective employers... I do know that my dh got grilled at a job interview about how he survived during a long period of unemployment. I think they were just feeling out honesty and whether he was a risk for stealing from the workplace (camera store - lots of tiny expensive things). I think I've heard of places running credit checks on prospective employees for that reason. We weren't on any assistance except state insurance for ds. I don't see how anyone would have access to that info. A quick google search has everyone saying there is no link between food stamps and credit, either.

[rjruiz_415]

We homeschool in California. We have been on WIC and some sort of state medical insurance for the children (either medi-cal or healthy families) since I was pg with DS 6 years ago. We also started recieveing food stamps this past August, but those will be ending this month. As far as I know, in CA you might not get cash aid if you children are not enrolled in school, but you might be able to say h/sing is school... not sure.

[AngelBee]

I believe in MN it is not a problem. Looking into it right now actually.

Good luck