I realize government is fueled by apathy and paperwork, but this isn't workers sitting around doing nothing and barraging applicants with forms...everything abo

I realize government is fueled by apathy and paperwork, but this isn't workers sitting around doing nothing and barraging applicants with forms...everything about this system suggests the opposite-- social workers are incentivized to actively kick people off the books. It's a cost center, not a revenue generator. How many times a year does any other agency need copies of your children's birth certificates or social security cards? How many times a year does the DMV need to schedule phone interviews with you to ask the exact same questions you answered on the application and in every subsequent interview? This is actual work they're having to do, and lots of it. When you go to file your taxes, how often is the only channel available to you a fax machine, the receiving end of which is always conveniently out of paper? Not to mention the hundred pages (in the case of Medicaid) you're expected to shove through it at $.10 a page, since who the hell has a landline or fax machine at home anymore. There's no number you can call, no email you can write, no mail ever reaches their office and anything hand-delivered ends up languishing in the inbox under the desk. You can physically go to the office and spend all day in the waiting room, only to be told "we're working on it." They're completely inaccessible. Every time they demand your attention, it's an opportunity for them to say you failed to respond...the consequences of which are always immediate termination. Anybody who's played the rebate or health insurance games should recognize how this works. Both systems are designed to minimize payouts by disqualifying as many applicants as possible. But again, hopefully California is different, and I'm glad to see people get utility out of this service. It's just sad that it's necessary in the first place.