Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 18, 1995 TAG: 9502210013
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: JIM SHULER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Both the House and Senate budget bills restore funds for school drop-out prevention, building maintenance and enrollment loss payments and provide full funding of K-3 class size programs and technology grants.
Legislators have restored funds for Virginia Tech faculty salary increases, classified employee salary increases, and local social service employees pay plan, pending the governor's approval. In addition, the House has approved a bill to preserve accumulated sick leave for classified state employees.
In capital improvements for Virginia Tech, the House and Senate have approved my budget amendment for Jamerson Hall renovation ($4.7 million) and the Bioconverter for infectious waste disposal ($1.7 million). The House has also approved my budget amendment for $12.5 million, while the Senate has approved $10.2 million for Cooperative Extension and Agricultural Research Stations. The House and Senate Conference Committee will resolve the final amount restored to Cooperative Extension.
The House and Senate have fully restored aid to local libraries ($3.1 million) and ($918,000) for local arts. Full restoration for mental health, mental retardation, and substance abuse services ($6 million) has passed the House and Senate. The House and Senate have approved $5.6 million for the Department of Youth and Family Services for juvenile crime control.
One last major piece of legislation moving toward passage is welfare reform. There have been two plans to reform the system: one a strengthened version of last year's legislation and the other supported by the Allen administration. Last year, the legislature reformed the welfare system by putting a two-year limit on Aid to Families with Dependent Children. The first year would provide intensive counseling and job training. If the recipient had not found work at the end of that year, he or she would be employed by the state for one year on "workfare." Exceptions would be made if young parents are in school or in job training programs. After the second year, AFDC benefits would end and the welfare recipient must have a job and be self-sufficient. Most significantly, the plan denies benefits for additional children born while the family is receiving AFDC.
The governor signed this bill last year. It was scheduled to go into effect July 1, 1994, but Allen did not request necessary federal waivers until November 1994. We have now lost seven months of welfare reform experience in Virginia. In the meantime the administration is fashioning its own welfare reform. Both plans are similar and have the same goal - to radically change our welfare system by moving people from welfare to the workforce.
The package the House endorsed:
Provides that unwed mothers under 18 live with a parent to receive benefits.
Requires a mother to identify the father of her child within six months to receive benefits.
Expands welfare payments to needy two-parent families to eliminate the marriage penalty and to encourage families to stay together.
Provides emergency grants for exceptional cases to keep families from having to go on welfare.
This plan, supported by the House and Senate, is both realistic and socially effective and is based upon individual responsibility and self-sufficiency. At the same time, it aims at protecting children while their parents seek employment.
To reach Del. Shuler, call (804) 786-6310 or write to him at House of Delegates, P.O. Box 406, Richmond, Va., 23203.
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1995
by CNB