
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, September 18, 1995                   TAG: 9509180103
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WELFARE RULES COULD HURT THE CHILDREN

``How are you going to deal on the local level with the welfare reform that Gov. Allen has proposed? A lot of children will be affected if the parents cannot find work or are not properly trained for work.''

Mary Baumgardner, Lynchburg

The background:

Virginia's sweeping welfare reform plan requires recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children to work within 90 days or lose their benefits. The plan limits welfare participation to two years. It forces unmarried mothers under 18 to stay in school and live with a parent or adult guardian to receive benefits. It also forces unmarried fathers under 18 to stay in school or be liable for child support.

Critics say it will be difficult and expensive to qualify some welfare recipients for existing jobs. They also point to the added taxpayer cost of providing child care so welfare parents can work.

The General Assembly's role:

The General Assembly approved welfare reform last session and it became effective July 1. Bedford and Bedford County are among the pilot localities implementing the plan.

The answers:

The question was directed to the candidates for the state Senate seat that covers Bedford, Bedford County, Amherst County and Lynchburg.

Barbara Coleman (D): ``This is an added burden to business and social institutions. It's robbing Peter to pay Paul. In the end, we're going to have to do something, because the children are the ones who are going to end up suffering.

"To me, this legislation is based on stereotypes rather than research, and it's bad legislation. The research shows most people don't want to be on welfare ... I don't know where they're getting this picture of welfare people waiting to get their checks and buy cigarettes, of people who don't want to work. I don't think that's a true picture of the majority of people.

"The ones I know and teach are proud people who want to work but who have a lot more barriers and constraints to becoming a productive member of the economy than lack of will power."

Del. Steve Newman (R): ``I would say that we must have true welfare reform. The current system is the most cruel system I know. We have produced generation after generation of dependents, and we have robbed their hope of the American Dream. Virginia has made a positive move toward getting the training and the support needed to move people from dependence to independence. We need to continue on that path and never return to the cruel old days of welfare.

"We're going to help them get the training. That's in the bill. We're also going to help with day care; but the fact is, if someone is an able-bodied individual, they will be required to work. If you're not an able-bodied individual, there will still be help for you.

"I think churches and civic organizations have always been very generous in helping, and they will be again, I'm sure. However, there should not be a welfare plan that is taken over by a church program instead. We should let people know that if they are able-bodied they should work, and compassionate people will help those who can't work."

Also on the record:

Newman voted for the welfare-reform plan.

What other candidates say:

Almost all Democrats joined Republicans in voting for the welfare plan backed by Gov. George Allen. Nevertheless, Allen has complained that Democrats weren't sufficiently enthusiastic about his proposals, saying that's a reason Virginians should elect a Republican legislature. Allen has singled out House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell of Roanoke County, who is opposed by Trixie Averill. Cranwell retorts that he pushed through a Democratic version of welfare reform a year earlier, which the Allen administration delayed in implementing.

Some Democrats were reluctant to back Allen's proposal this year, fearing some of its provisions were "mean-spirited." Cranwell assured those Democrats that if the program turned out to be "more mean than tough," he would "rectify" the situation next year.

Got a question for the candidates? Send it to Citizens' Agenda, The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke 24010, or fax it to 981-3346 or e-mail dyanceyinfi.net. Please include your name, address, daytime phone number and specify which candidates your question is for.

Keywords:
POLITICS

by CNB