Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 5, 1993 TAG: 9311050318
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV11 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
The number of food-stamp households in the city has more than doubled in recent years, while the administrative budget - about 80 percent from the state and 20 percent from the city - has remained almost flat. The department had to put two eligibility workers on the job, but only had funding for one.
Glass was in a bind. ``Obviously, one worker cannot handle 603 cases,'' she said. Her department couldn't spend money it didn't have, and she was reluctant to ask the city to increase its share of the burden.
Projections this summer indicated the breaking point wasn't far off. Repeated pleas to the state for more money - another $15,268 to make it through the fiscal year - fell on deaf ears.
Glass finally made the request in person.
Her persistence paid off Thursday, when the state authorized the additional money. But the subsidy doesn't necessarily mean the department's problems are over.
``They're far from over,'' said Welfare Board Chairman Doyle Barton. ``This just gets us out of another panic situation.'' Barton is looking at increased seasonal demands on fuel and housing assistance programs as cold weather looms. Pressure already is on in other programs, including Medicaid and Aid to Dependent Children. City welfare officials believe the crunch was caused in part by looser guidelines that now allow more students to apply for services, including food stamps and child day-care services.
Educational grants to students that are subject to federal regulations no longer are counted as income, Glass said. Thus, a student who gets a federal Pell grant and works 20 hours a week still may qualify for food stamps.
``More students are coming in than ever before,'' she said, predicting even larger numbers once word of the relaxed guidelines spreads.
More female college students with children also are taking advantage of day- care programs so they can attend classes, she said.
Meanwhile, there has been a rise in low-income, subsidized housing in Radford. The city has close to 500 units, adding to the demand on welfare and social services programs.
``You can see this in the number of cases transferred in,`` Glass said.
Large numbers of both students and subsidized housing units also were cited by city officials as major factors in census statistics showing Radford as having the highest poverty rate of any city in Virginia - 32.2 percent.
Barton also believes the city's frugality in staffing the Welfare and Social Services Department is now coming back to haunt it - as business picks up, there are no workers to pick up the slack.
The state should not penalize Radford for trying to keep down costs in the past, Barton said. And he firmly believes the city shouldn't have to cover the state's share of the costs as well as its own.
``The city can't go but just so far with what they've got,'' the former city councilman said.
Welfare officials also believe the city is being hamstrung in its efforts to make sure those getting benefits are actually eligible. ``The state is pressing us not to do home investigations. They're beating us over the head,'' Barton said. While he thinks most recipients are on the level, he believes some are ``using the system.''
Radford is not alone in seeing caseloads rise dramatically. Montgomery Social Services Director Dan Farris said layoffs in the area caused a rising demand on benefits programs in recent years. The food stamp caseload has gone up 12.5 percent over the past year, and 36 percent over the past decade, he said.
While his department's staff has been able to absorb the increases, he said his and other agencies have been getting the word to expect major cuts in state funding. ``I don't see how we can do more with less,'' he said.
Pulaski County Social Services Director Jim Wallace concurred.
He said his department has had to ``sacrifice quality for quantity,'' and hasn't done home visits in years.
Radford's Welfare Board will take the current situation into account when it presents the 1994-95 budget request to City Council next spring, Barton said.
Glass is not optimistic. ``We're the only agency that can't turn away anybody. There's no cap on this.''
by CNB