The Census, 300 Partners, and ACORN

Has there been to much emphasis on the role ACORN will play in the Census? What about the other 299 groups? Who are they?

What role (hiring, managing, firing) are these groups helping with and how much are they being paid? Is this a new kind of 'pass-through' money for some people?

I read in a few places that the "United States Census Bureau" (Rahm Emanual?) has asked for states to disregard income from 'temporary' employment with the Census

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Delaware received a request from the United States Census Bureau asking that income from temporary census employment be excluded. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is encouraging states to exclude the earned income of temporary census workers for purposes of eligibility. Doing so would mean that temporary income from census employment would not result in recipients losing access to medical assistance. The exclusion of this income will allow the Census Bureau to hire people to work in the neighborhoods in which they live to ensure the workforce reflects the diversity of the United States population.

Quote

As background, DMMA notes that income from temporary census workers is currently disregarded for purposes of the Food Supplement, TANF, and Child Subsidy programs. CMS is encouraging states to adopt a disregard for the Medicaid and CHIP programs. DMMA is honoring the CMS solicitation by explicitly adopting regulations making income received by temporary census workers “non-countable”.

http://regulations.delaware.gov/register/may2009/final/12%20DE%20Reg%201416%2005-01-09.htm

What is temporary? Could someone work for say three years with the Census and continue to get welfare, food stamps, housing, and Medicaid? Someone working the same kind of temporary job with say a 'temp' agency, would not qualify for Medicaid or lose benefits? Why doesn't it spell out the time length for temporary?

Where are the income limits for this temporary work? Could someone with the census work a 40 hour week, 20 hours of overtime for say three years and continue to receive benefits?

@ $14 an hour, that's $980 a week. $50,960 for 52 weeks. (maybe not everyone will work that hard, but I believe it's possible - will there be any analysis of the true 'cost' of the census?)

What about benefits? The best. An additional welfare check for expenses, food stamps, healthcare included, housing, and any number of other benefits.

How many working families get that kind of a deal? How many can work and have their income disregarded?

How many working families would like to have $50,000 of their income disregarded for financial aid applications?

Is the census and the partnership program just an excuse to 'pass through' more money?

Money and advantages that aren't available to everyone?

Will the temporary census workers have to pay taxes? Or, is there some kind of tax loophole in the budget or recovery act that gives these folks 'tax free' money.

jmho & questions