The Economics Section - Page A1
0ctober 12, 1996 GOODBYE WELFARE STATE!
by Staff Writers, Daily Republican Newspaper
WASHINGTON DESK - A dramatic departure from 40 years of welfare law happened on Monday when the welfare refom law took effect as president Clintonsigned the measure into law.
The Economics Institute of Sacramento reported on Friday that a number of State's have already found the new law difficult to apply at the state and regional levels.
For example, the State of Alaska is already trying to determine the law's precise effect on the old definition of the 'work' that will affect some welfare recipients like Alaska's Native Americans who have been accustomed to working in part-time subsistence occupations.
In the State of Kentucky, officials are worried that grocery store owners in theeastern coal industry region will be so crippled that food stamp and welfare benefits in the local economy may cause a regional economic collapse.
ver in Colorado, the problem is geography: Booming ski areas offer job opportunities for welfare recipients, but the nearest affordable housing is 100 miles away.
There are 11 states which have by Friday submitted implementing plans to the federal government. Other states may not be able to generate their plans for several months.
The White House said that President Clinton has approved two plans, one for Michigan's and the other for Wisconsin. The Wisconsin proposal will require virtually every adult on its welfare rolls to hold down a job was controversial when first submitted, but the passage of the welfare law two months ago gave states almost unlimited authority to design their own programs so long as they meet the federal law's tough new mandates.
Some states with completed plans will receive an annual payment from the federal government effective today, and by acting quickly these states ensure they will receive the largest amount possible. The clock also starts ticking for welfare recipients in those states, marking the beginning of a five-year lifetime limit on benefits.
In their effort to meet the law's first deadline - getting 25 percent of their caseloads into jobs a year from today - many states plan to stick with the experimental welfare reform plans they've already been testing under waivers from the federal government. The law allows them to continue these programs, but does not exempt from complying with new work requirements and other tough mandates.
In most cases, complying with the law's work requirements will mean expanding these programs or adjusting those that aren't successful. And the trick will be matching their programs to the precise language in the new law.
In the State of Arkansas, officials are developing welfare services that could tailored to the characteristics of different areas of the state. "In the Northwest we might not spend time setting up community service jobs, but in eastern Arkansas, where the unemployment is highest, we might," said Gordon H. Page, deputy director of human services.
Under the new law, states also can decide whether to limit benefits to less than five years, and whether to deny cash assistance and Medicaid to noncitizens. But that raises a new fear among state officials that, if they are more generous than their neighbors, they will become a magnet for the poor.
Probably the most profound challenges facing states, is how to handle legal and illegal immigrants.The new law denies many benefits to residents who are not citizens. California has nearly 40% of the approximately 1.5 million noncitizens who receive federal assistance, and New York, Texas, Florida, New Jersey and Illinois have most of the rest. State officials are concerned that the loss of benefits will undermine local economies in many areas.
The State of Oklahoma's director of human services, George A. Miller, is concerned because the law penalizes states that do not move a sufficient proportion of their welfare recipients into jobs, and because the new law allows Indian tribes to run their own welfare systems.
Miller said he worries that if the more than three dozen Indian tribes in his state want to operate their own programs, but fail to meet work requirements, the state will lose federal funds.'They're not accountable to us'he said.
The New law will be particularly challenging in inner cities across the country. Federal statistics show that in Detroit nearly 70% of children are on welfare at some point during the year; the figure is nearly 60% in Philadelphia.