THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 21, 1995 TAG: 9503210292
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARGARET EDDS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
Gov. George F. Allen signed into law Monday what he called the nation's most sweeping welfare reform, but state officials said Virginians will have to wait for details about who will be affected and how soon.
About 9,000 of the state's 74,000 recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children will probably be included this year in the first phase of the welfare-to-work program, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kay Coles James said.
Specifics about who they are, what jobs will be offered them and how the plan will be phased in statewide over the next four years are still being worked out by social services officials and others, she said.
``At this point in time, everything is an estimate,'' James said, noting that timetables discussed during the recent General Assembly session were merely proposals. ``There are no firm plans.''
Surrounded by a bipartisan group of lawmakers who helped craft the bill, Allen praised it as ``one of the most tough, principled, comprehensive and pro-family welfare reform measures in our entire nation.''
Seconds before the signing in a packed Newport News City Council chamber, a member of the NAACP rose and denounced the measure: ``We're walking out in protest. We wish you would come with us.'' About a dozen people followed him, joining a small group outside the city offices.
Protesters complained that thousands of AFDC recipients affected by the bill may find themselves destitute and without jobs when most benefits are cut off after two years.
``Not one part of the bill is good enough to justify all the punitive aspects of the bill,'' said Linda Byrd-Harden, executive director of the Virginia NAACP.
Among the bill's provisions:
An estimated 49,000 eligible AFDC recipients will have to start working in private- or public-sector jobs within 90 days of entering the program. The plan will take effect July 1 if the federal government approves it, and will be phased in statewide by July 1999.
The state will assist mothers with child care and transportation during a two-year period, after which AFDC benefits will be cut off for two years. If the recipient elects to get a third year of child care and travel aid, AFDC won't be reinstated for three years.
Meanwhile, extra cash payments for children born to mothers on AFDC will be eliminated. The state will beef up efforts to get support from fathers. Welfare mothers will get to keep more assets, and certain benefits will be extended to two-parent families.
The plan does not affect food stamps, public housing programs or Medicaid.
While most states are toughening their welfare laws, only Virginia and Massachusetts have approved plans so broadly ending AFDC benefits. Wisconsin has approved a plan abolishing AFDC entirely in a few years.
Last winter, when the Allen plan was unveiled, James and others recommended that localities with the lowest unemployment rates - including Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Roanoke County - enter the program first. Those with the highest would enter last.
But on Monday, James said a task force that she heads wants to hear from local directors of social services, welfare recipients, legislators and others before adopting a plan.
A group has been meeting twice a week to develop a list of jobs for those who must start work this year, she said. If the bill takes effect July 1, the first group of recipients must start working by Oct. 1.
In a public housing project that Allen toured before the signing, residents expressed anxiety about the reform.
``People is scared about what's going to happen, what's going to happen to their children,'' said Laura Huffaker, 43, who spent several years on AFDC before taking a $4.25-an-hour job as a Head Start worker. ``With the layoffs at the (Newport News) shipyard, the layoffs at NASA, how is it going to be possible to put all these people to work?''
But Huffaker added, ``I know there are things that need to be reformed. It's not working the way it is.''
Allen played down a statement issued Sunday by the nation's Roman Catholic bishops arguing that welfare reform could lead to increased abortions. He said, ``I'm not going to get dragged into whatever these preachers or priests are talking about.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
NEW STATE LAW
A two-year limit is set for able-bodied people getting Aid to
Families with Dependent Children benefits, with a third year of
transition benefits available. During that time, able-bodied
recipients must accept a private sector, public sector or
state-subsidized job or perform community service.
Unmarried mothers under 18 must be enrolled in school.
Additional benefits are denied for having a baby while on welfare.
NOT AFFECTED: Food stamps, public housing programs or Medicaid.
by CNB