Before they bred their way into a TV show, (now canceled), Jim Bob was a County Commissioner, so yes his 17 spawn at the time were being supported off the government tit.
Reminds me of the old nursery rhyme: "There were some people that lived in a shoe, they had so many kids, they couldn't stop the older brother from sexing his little sisters."
Ive never seen the show, or care to see the show etc, Ive read a bit about them , dont know much about their past, except she was married at 17 and doesn't prolong breast feeding her kids and they are all named with the letter "J"
I have no idea if they were on welfare and if they were they seem to find a way to get off of it, which is what welfare is suppose to be, a temporary system of support until you get on your feet.
So if they were on welfare and its obvious they got off then it worked the way it supposed to work
nothing sinister going on there viper, so if that is the case then this is a good case of how welfare is suppose to work.