THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 30, 1996 TAG: 9603300273
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MATTHEW BOWERS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 113 lines
Social workers in Northern Virginia's Prince William County say they're looking forward to the state's welfare-to-work reforms. Excited, even. Excited about helping people find jobs, not just benefits.
But excitement won't pay the bills, they say. And that could mean a snag in Virginia's welfare-reform efforts.
On Monday, when the stringent new work requirements for those on public assistance reach the Washington-area localities, Prince William officials promise only to do what they can.
Ricardo Perez, the 20-year director of Prince William County Social Services, said his agency might not have enough money. His primary concern: a projected $200,000 increase in the local share of day-care expenses for clients who'll be required, as they still draw welfare checks, to take classes or work in subsidized jobs or community service.
If his money runs out, he'll stop converting cases to the new system, Perez said.
``We're committed to the program, but also we have a responsibility not to exceed our budget,'' Perez said. ``I hope we don't get to that `rock and a hard place.' ''
Social Services officials in South Hampton Roads are watching closely.
Northern Virginia, the state's most populous, urban and ethnically diverse region, is much more like South Hampton Roads than the rural, less-populous center of the state where welfare reform began last July. And if the law stays as is, South Hampton Roads will be making the same changes - and facing similar challenges - on April 1, 1998.
``I think any sane, responsible administrator in the area of welfare reform is looking ahead,'' said Suzanne Puryear, director of Norfolk's Division of Social Services. ``Clearly, we'll try and learn whatever we can from the experiences of other localities.''
Still, two years can be a long time in political and government circles. There'll be a new governor by 1998, and a new state budget, and possibly new priorities. There could be a new president and Congress. The state and national economies could change drastically.
Puryear said all this makes it difficult to forecast the financial impact of welfare reform on Norfolk and surrounding cities.
``We have our seat belts fastened,'' she said.
In Prince William County, Social Services Director Perez and his staff watched what happened in the first welfare-reform localities, and from that projected that their 10 percent share for child-care payments to clients will double, for an added expense of $200,000.
``To find $200,000 in our budget, I'm going to have to cut some other things,'' Perez said.
Prince William County has about 2,000 families on public assistance, and about 1,000 to 1,200 will be required to participate in the new program, as well as half of the 200 new clients who apply for benefits each month. The new work requirements apply to able-bodied people with children older than 18 months.
Under the new requirements, they'll have 90 days to find a job and get off welfare, or they'll be placed in subsidized jobs or perform community service in exchange for their benefits checks. Cash welfare payments will end after two years, but they still can receive medical and child-care benefits for another year.
The state is requiring localities to completely implement the new requirements - get the clocks running on benefits - within six months. Perez said he's warned state officials that might not be possible.
``We will keep within our budget, that part we know,'' Perez said. ``And it's possible we'll convert our cases and remain within our budget. The problem is, this is a new program, and there's not a lot to go on.
``I think we're in a conflict over that right now with the state. Because we have said it's not a matter of commitment to the program or commitment to the folks (on welfare), but it is a budget constraint. Their position is they don't have any additional funding to provide to Prince William County. . . . Their concern is that we convert cases within the six-month time frame.''
Martin D. Brown, a state Social Services spokesman, said that welfare reform has been ``fully funded'' by the General Assembly, and called Prince William County's concerns one of the challenges every locality faces in tight budget times.
He declined to discuss what might happen if Prince William County slowed or halted its welfare-reform changes but said the state was working with county officials to find more local money, if needed.
Prince William's Perez said he'll take it month-by-month.
He's planning to convert the families with older children first, ``trying to conserve our day-care money.''
In the meantime, he hopes more welfare recipients will see the looming changes and reduce his caseload by finding jobs on their own ahead of time. And he's scouring his budget for money that could be transferred if needed.
If not, the law forbids him from exceeding his budget. He'll have to stop things and go begging to state and county officials.
``We hope that doesn't come to pass,'' Perez said.
In Norfolk, social workers also hope in two years they'll have far fewer than the more than 5,200 families now on public assistance.
For almost three years, Social Services staff dealing with the poor have handled both eligibility and employment services, setting them up with benefits but also pushing them to get ready for jobs. Recipients have to sign ``self-sufficiency plans'' with sanctions - cuts in benefits - for violations of the agreements, such as not attending class.
The Norfolk welfare caseload has dropped 18 percent since the joint eligibility-employment workers have been used, exceeding state and national decreases that usually accompany a healthy economy, Puryear said.
``What that does is, it begins to change the cultures of how benefits are distributed,'' she said.
But those left on the welfare rolls increasingly will be the more-complicated cases - parents with higher numbers of young children, people with fewer work and literacy skills.
``The job gets tougher and tougher the deeper into the caseload we go,'' she said.
KEYWORDS: WELFARE REFORM VIRGINIA by CNB