SEMO GETS GRANTS FOR TRANSPORTATION

Southeast Missouri State University will receive $1 million in state and federal grants to organize welfare-to-work transportation services in the region.

A federal grant will provide $518,635 to help fund the services. The state is providing the rest of the funding.

The federal grant is part of $2.5 million in federal money that Missouri will receive to provide welfare-to-work transportation services in the state. The grants will be administered by the Missouri Department of Transportation.

"A critical part of moving people off of welfare and helping them become self sufficient is ensuring transportation to and from their jobs," said MoDOT Director Henry Hungerbeeler.

Southeast will coordinate the project in a seven-county area with assistance from area social service agencies, the Southeast Missouri Private Industry Council and area transportation providers.

The project will expand transit services provided by 11 transportation providers in Cape Girardeau, Scott, Stoddard, Mississippi, New Madrid, Dunklin and Pemiscot counties.

The expanded services will be geared to provide welfare recipients with transportation so they can secure job training, go to work and get their children to day care.'

The program could be running by September.

"The university is not providing any transportation. We are the contractor," said Dr. Paul Keys, dean of the College of Health and Human Services at Southeast.

Keys said state officials view the Southeast plan as a model for Missouri.

Keys has been a key player in the development of the university's Bootheel Initiative, an effort to help get families in the region off the welfare rolls. The transportation project is part of the Bootheel Initiative.

Kelley Transportation, which operates the taxi service in Cape Girardeau, is involved in the program. So too are a number of other transportation providers, including the various county transit services in the Bootheel that provide transportation for the elderly.

John Reed coordinates the Bootheel Initiative. He said the money will be used by the transportation providers to buy more vehicles, hire new drivers and pay operational costs for the expanded services.

The program will include training and hiring welfare recipients for jobs as transit drivers, he said.

"Most of the providers have already tentatively established routes," said Reed.

Primarily, the routes would go from residential areas to major employment centers.

Locally, transportation routes are planned from Cape Girardeau to Jackson and from Delta to Cape Girardeau, among others.

Reed said the taxi coupon system already in place in Cape Girardeau will be utilized as part of the welfare-to-work transportation program.

In Dunklin County, transportation routes would be established to Kennett employers as well as the Adult Basic Education Center and the Dunklin County Vocational-Technical School.

In New Madrid County, transportation would be provided from Portageville to Caruthersville so welfare recipients can get off public assistance and secure jobs at Casino Aztar and the Pemiscot County Memorial Hospital.

In Scott County, transportation routes would serve Sikeston and a number of other communities, including Oran, Benton, Morley and Chaffee.

In Stoddard County, transportation would be provided to adult basic education centers in Dexter and Advance. Other routes also would be set up to serve those seeking to find work or get to work.

In Pemiscot County, transportation routes would serve Caruthersville, Hayti and other communities. Routes would extend to Blytheville, Ark., and Dyersburg, Tenn.

In Mississippi County, transportation would be provided between East Prairie, Charleston and other towns. Transportation also would be provided to jobs in Cairo, Ill., and Wickliffe, Ky.

"One of the major problems in rural areas is people have no way to go from point A to point B," he said.

Many of those on welfare don't have cars or dependable transportation, making it difficult for them to hold jobs," said Reed.

"People say, `We want to work but we can't get to the employer,'" he said.

Eligibility will be determined by the Missouri Division of Family Services.

The goal is to serve about 15 percent of Southeast Missouri's welfare families.

The project isn't designed to be a free ride, said Reed.

Once the families get on their feet, they will be asked to pay part of the cost of their transportation through sliding-scale fees.

Reed said the program will operate out of the Bootheel Education Center at Malden. He said there will be a massive publicity campaign mounted to inform the public about the program.