PANEL HEARING FOCUSES ON REFORMS IN WELFARE

SIKESTON -- Several state legislators examining the opportunities for welfare reform were urged Thursday to work for local flexibility and coordination of services, provide greater incentives for low-income people to work rather than stay on welfare, and recognize that moving people from welfare to jobs takes time.

At the second of four public hearings being held this week around Missouri by an interim Joint Committee on Welfare Reform, lawmakers were praised for their efforts in dealing with the issue and were given suggestions on how to improve the system by those who testified at the hearing in Sikeston.

Sen. Jerry Howard, D-Dexter, chaired the meeting in the absence of committee chairman, Sen. Jim Mathewson, D-Sedalia, whose plane was fogged in at Jefferson City. Another hearing was planned Thursday night in St. Louis and today the committee meets in Kansas City.

Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, is also a member of the panel and is scheduled to participate in today's hearing at Kansas City. Also attending from the 10-member committee were Reps. James Graham, R-Fredericktown, and Gloria Weber, D-St. Louis. Rep. Mary Kasten, R-Cape Girardeau, is not a member of the committee but she attended the hearing testified.

The committee held its first hearing on Tuesday and will have recommendations for the session of the General Assembly than convenes in January.

"We are here to improve the system and to find ways to improve delivery," explained Howard. "We understand we can't do away with welfare, but we want to find the best ways we can to empower people to try and become self sufficient."

Mary McBride of Cape Girardeau, executive director of the Private Industry Council that has federal funds to place low-income people in jobs, said progress is being made in the system. In particular, she said that Adult Basic Education has grown considerably in recent years, with classes offered during the day as well as at night.

"The holes in the net for serving clients are either filling up or becoming smaller in size," said McBride.

"I think you need to allow for local flexibility; there is a lot that needs to be done at the state level, but you need to keep local flexibility in mind."

She stressed the importance of "nurturing" people who are receiving job training and not to be surprised if individuals fail in their first few employment attempts. McBride said one study showed that welfare recipients generally failed in three jobs before they got one they stayed with.

In the case of the SEMO Private Industry Council, McBride said 63 percent of the people they placed in jobs over the age of 22 were still employed 13 weeks later; for those under that age, the average was 40 percent after 13 weeks.

McBride suggested that rather than offer disincentives for welfare recipients, state officials should look at more incentives to help them get off welfare.

Phil Page of Fredericktown, president of Cap America, which provides 270 jobs, said he faced high turnover at his plant partially because welfare benefits were about as good as working for his company at an average wage of $5.75 an hour.

Said Page: "The welfare system we have basically competes with entry level jobs. It is often easier for people to stay at home than take on an entry level job."

Page said one of the reasons is that when people take jobs they have to bear the costs of child care and lose other benefits, so they end up with less money working than on welfare.

He also suggested that some type of day care system be available for workers who are in entry level jobs, either through a provided service or by offering incentives to companies to provide it.

Page suggested centralizing offices of employment security, welfare, and job training in one place so problems can be dealt with at one time. He also recommended that a county board be organized with some jurisdiction over the agencies that deal with welfare.

Donna Pinkerton, who works with the Division of Family Services office in Poplar Bluff, described the Missouri Futures program, which helps take people from welfare to employment.

Pinkerton told the story of one woman who came to her about four years ago with eight children, a seventh-grade education and no experience working outside the home. She wanted to become a nurse, and after hard work to complete a GED and enter college, she will earn a nursing degree next spring.

Pinkerton said the story of that woman shows what could be done with proper help and support, yet it also shows "changes do not occur overnight."

She explained that the Futures program, begun in 1990, helps develop a work ethic in people, self esteem and work experience. Pinkerton told the committee it is not fair to say everyone on welfare does not want an opportunity to work.

"There are a lot of lives that have been changed by this program," she said.

David Humes, mayor of Hayti Heights, outlined some of the problems with welfare programs in Pemiscot County, especially with the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program.

"If you are on AFDC and get a job, you are punished," said Humes. He suggested that some kind of plan be developed so that health insurance would continue for a while after people leave AFDC.

Jim Link of the Missouri Association of Community Action urged a focus on the working poor so that support systems are maintained to avoid going back on public assistance. He also proposed that a comprehensive case management plan be developed that includes an emphasis on the family.

"We need a full range of support and need systems to meet all the needs of a family," said Link.

Sister Mary Frances Reis of Pemiscot County told the committee "collaboration is the key to any welfare reform."

Among her suggestions were alternative education programs for high school dropouts, boot camps for young offenders, an emphasis on the Parents as Teachers Program, and a renewed focus on family in the educational system.

Most of all, Reis said, the Bootheel needs jobs to get people off welfare. "Creating jobs in the Bootheel area should be addressed in any welfare reform bill we want to work," said Reis.

She echoed the sentiment of several speakers and committee members that the current welfare system "promotes dishonesty and hopelessness."