Milan Mama ......

Well, my latest case study was an eye-opener ... I learned about a whole new way to "use" the system ... and you are going to love this!

Milan Mama is the mother of four beautiful children by three different fathers.  She was married to two of the fathers which is pretty novel for the case studies I do. (They normally are not married to the dads. I digress....) Anyway, this lady is dynamic!  She's smart, cute as a button and honestly, a very good mom.  Her children are well behaved, respectful of her and looked healthy and happy.  She was involved in this case study because she was seeking custody of her 20 month old "god child".  The god child was the fifth child to a friend of hers.  Her friend was losing all of her five children (by three different fathers) and Milan Mama was stepping up to take in the child and so now she will have five children.

Well, Milan Mama and I began talking and I learned that she had just completed LVN (Licensed Vocational Nursing) training through Milan Institute and all she lacked was taking the state certification exam.  Wow! I offered .... this was great!  And I confirmed with her that LVN's make about $40,000/year and this was wonderful.  Well, while she agreed that this was great, she also explained that she really wanted to "do hair".  And so she was now registered in the Milan Institute Cosmetology program.  Hmmmm....I was thinking.

About that time her son ran in with the mail!  He was so excited because he "knew" that one of the letters contained a check because he could see the "green paper"!  "The case study interview had to stop", she explained because she needed to open the "green paper" envelope!!  The whole family stood around her in anticipation.  YES!  It was a check!!  A check for $4506!!  I learned that while she is enrolled in the cosmetology program she receives approximately $12,000 in grants during the 12 months --- paid to her as she completes hours.  She had just completed 900 hours of course work and thus the check had arrived!  This is a grant -- free money to her-- paid by the government through Milan Institute to cover her living expenses while she is enrolled in the government-paid cosmetology program.   Are you following me? Tax money is paying for her SECOND program at Milan (remember she just finished the LVN training) and paying her living expenses....all tax free!

So, this is how her finances sorted out for the 12 month period:

12 months of grant money (averaged over 12 months)            $1,000/month
Head of Household tax credit (she said about $6000+/yr)        $   500/month
Child Support - court ordered from three fathers                     $   562/month
Cash payments for "Hair Work" she does at home                  $    700/month
SNAP - Food Stamps                                                           $    862/month
Free Phone                                                                         $      50/month
Free Housing - 4 bedroom/2 bath townhome-Section 8            $1,200/month
                                Total cash and benefits per month         $ 4,874/month

Now, don't forget the whole family is on Medicaid and her children get free breakfast and lunch at school as well.

WOW!  I wouldn't take the exam for my LVN license either ..... this would mean she has to work for a living and make only $40,000/year and pay her own rent, pay for her own phone, pay for her own townhome .... she would be CRAZY to get a job!

Just more of our tax dollars at work.