THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 6, 1996 TAG: 9605060034
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MATTHEW BOWERS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Doctor's appointments. Blood transfusions. Chemotherapy. Surgery. Hospital stays.
Nichol Banks' 2-year-old son, Kassee, has a cancerous tumor above his right kidney. His medical needs kept the 17-year-old Green Run High School junior out of a lot of her classes last fall, she, her mother and her social worker said.
Nichol applied for homebound instruction, so she could continue studying on her own schedule with a tutor's help and be with her son while he fights his life-threatening condition, including spending nights with him in the hospital.
But there's this new thing called Learnfare, where the state can cut off welfare benefits to families whose school-age children aren't going to school.
Nichol's single mother, Starletta Banks, had moved here last year from Philadelphia to start anew after years on public assistance. Jobs didn't work out, and the family had been back on welfare.
While waiting to hear if Nichol could be taught at home, Banks received a letter from Social Services in February. Nichol's name had popped up on a school list of students missing too much school. It told Banks she was in danger of losing her Aid to Families With Dependent Children benefits for Nichol under Learnfare.
It was a case of strict state policy crashing headlong into real-life situation, abetted by poor communication.
``This is her baby,'' Banks said. ``We're talking life-or-death. This isn't like a common cold.''
``I didn't really think it was fair, because they didn't really know what was going on,'' Nichol said. ``If they have a really legitimate reason to stay out of school, I don't think they should take away their money.''
The Banks' social worker, Carolyn Tucker, said the paperwork for Nichol's homebound instruction didn't catch up to the school's truancy list.
Things were straightened out after some phone calls and doctors' and psychologists' letters, and the Banks weren't penalized. But the case points up some of the difficulties of implementing Learnfare, and the range of possible explanations for poor school attendance that social workers have to investigate.
Banks and her daughter say they agree in principle that, unless there's a good excuse, welfare children should be made to attend school or lose benefits.
``Because you have some parents out here who just don't care,'' Banks said. ``You have some children out here who just don't care. . . . If there's a family out here that just really doesn't care - I would hate to say it but `no,' take it from them. You're just using the system, you know?''
Tucker said that, while the number affected by Learnfare is small, she's seen some positive effects: parents trying harder, students working out more flexible schedules, families exploring other options, such as the Job Corps.
``So far, for the short period, I will have to say that yes, it has made several people go back'' to school, the social worker said.
But she added: ``For the most part, they know just how many days to skip without going on the list. . . . At least they're going some.''
Nichol hopes to have a career in business, and her mother said her grades have improved at home. Kassee is scheduled for another surgery Tuesday to remove his tumor. And Banks, who in March had trained for a clerk's job with 7-Eleven, had to give it up because the store she was assigned to was too far to travel without a car. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY C. KNAPP
Two-year-old Kassee Banks' medical problems have kept his mother,
Nichol, left, out of Green Run High School frequently. Warned that
her mother might lose some of her benefits, Nichol is back on track
with homebound instruction and improved grades.
KEYWORDS: LEARNFARE TRUANCY TAPS TRUANCY ACTION PLAN WELFARE
REFORM by CNB