NEW PROGRAM MAY HELP TO CUT WELFARE

Everybody talks about welfare reform, and occasionally something is done about it.

One aspect of welfare involves children whose parents are unable to provide for them, including parents who are divorced. In some instances one parent is given custody, while the other parent is ordered to pay child support. Too often neither parent is able to provide adequate financial support, and the child becomes eligible for welfare.

A new program called Parents' Fair Share seeks to address this situation. The aim of the program is to find ways to help parents become more financially able to support their children. This includes parents who don't have custody of their children, even parents who are behind in their child-support payments.

Parents' Fair Share began last month in Stoddard County and moved to Dunklin and Pemiscot counties this month. By next April the program is to be available in Scott and Cape Girardeau counties.

Helping welfare recipients acquire the skills and opportunities to increase their earning power is a good way to move them off the dole. In the case of parents who have been ordered to pay child support, getting out of the hole is the key. Such parents who enroll in Parents' Fair Share -- an entirely voluntary program -- are given a breather from garnisheed wages or possible jail time if they participate in the program. This doesn't mean they no longer have to pay. Child support is still a primary responsibility.

Learning responsibility is a key to Parents' Fair Share. Parents who enter the program are given help in assuming responsibility for their children, even if they live with a former spouse. Clearly, parents who have little or no regard for their children won't be good providers.

It is too early to judge how effective Parents' Fair Share will be. It is a good attempt to find ways to make parents financially responsible instead of relying on welfare to feed and clothe their children. It will take a year or so to assess the impact of the program. With any luck, there will be fewer children on welfare and more parents paying child support as a result of the program.