Welfare Reform Debate is a Smoke-Screen
By Duke Schempp, PEPP Executive Director
duke@pepp.org
February 23rd, 2003
Our Community faces major challenges due
to the massive budget cuts in Minnesota. We are struggling with the possibilities of
Cuts to Local Government Aid, which may result is the loss of essential police, fire and
community services. We have been informed that our state Independent Living Centers
have been eliminated in Governor Pawlenty's budget. This cut will put people with
disabilities out in the streets and back into the failing and un-funded institutions.
We are faced with the loss of day cares for working parents, to HeadStart busses,
local youth Initiatives, emergency food and medical programs, any emergency Assistance,
legal services and many other cuts which threaten our quality of life in our community.
Meanwhile, Governor Pawlenty and Commissioner Goodno have been focusing on reforming the already reformed Welfare Program. Their focus is on supplying low income families with low wage jobs, increased government bureaucracy, family caps and diet control. They also seem to be proud that they want to over regulate the lives of poor families and meanwhile cut the majority of all Human Service Programs.
It is serious, yet this effort is only an attempt to enrage the common and sensible Minnesotan to focus on the consumption of Candy Bars, while the real attention should be focused on saving our local government aid, higher education, Youth services and other essential programs that keep our community healthy. Kevin Goodno is simply dangling a Pay Day bar out for us to fall for the old "Bait and Switch" tactic.
Don't fall for it. Keep the pressure on our Legislators to make fair and prudent decisions as they balance the budget in Minnesota. Simply put, make it Fair. If it were truly fair, every Legislator and Government official would be monitored for their "Junk Food" consumption. after all, they would be purchasing their own food from their salaries, which after all is tax payer money.
Other views: Now is time for changes in welfare
Candy Bar, Candy Bar!
By Kevin
Goodno
The Forum - 02/23/2003
Gov. Tim
Pawlenty has clearly stated that he does not view his job as governor as just his
constitutional duty of balancing the budget; rather Gov. Pawlenty is about changing,
reforming and innovating state government and the way it operates to better serve the
people of Minnesota.
It is this commitment to innovation that is the genesis of the governor’s welfare
reform proposal. It emphasizes work-first, personal responsibility and program integrity.
In The Forum’s Feb. 9 editorial you acknowledged that most Minnesotans support work,
personal responsibility and self-sufficiency – all components of Gov. Pawlenty’s
initiative. The primary components of the program include a diversion program, 100 percent
sanctions for noncompliance and limiting the ability of recipients to purchase “junk
food” with taxpayer funding.
The diversion program requires applicants to have an employment plan and seek employment
for four months prior to being eligible for the Minnesota Family Investment Program.
However, during that period the recipient will be eligible for food assistance, medical
assistance, child care, and other assistance as determined by the caseworker. To be
effective, this approach does not require available jobs or high-paying jobs, but it does
require an effort from the recipient to try to find work and a willingness to take work
that is available and for which the recipient is qualified. The diversion also allows for
the early identification of a participant’s barriers to self-sufficiency so that
those barriers can be dealt with in a timely manner.
Under the 100 percent sanction provision, program participants are not penalized if jobs
are not available for which they are qualified. Only those who are not in compliance with
program requirements and remain in noncompliance for six months will be penalized through
the elimination of their cash grant. Even in this extreme case of noncompliance, the
recipient remains eligible for food assistance, medical assistance, child care assistance,
employment and training and housing assistance, if applicable.
Gov.
Pawlenty’s proposal does not “restrict” the amount of food assistance funds
available to the recipient the editorial suggests; but “restricts” what food
items can be purchased with taxpayer funds. The stated goal of the food assistance program
is to provide nutritious foods to low-income families. The Governor’s proposal to
limit the purchase of “junk food” with food assistance is consistent with this
goal and the public health response to the growing epidemic of obesity in America. This
proposal still allows people to buy pop or candy bars; but not with taxpayer-funded food
assistance.
Finally, the editorial suggested that now is not the time to proceed with these reforms.
This is exactly the time to proceed with moving people to work as quickly as possible.
Maintaining the status quo in our public assistance programs would not be responsive to
needs of the participants in the programs or to the state’s taxpayers. The time for
change is now.
Goodno is Minnesota’s Human Services commissioner. He is a former Moorhead attorney
and Republican state representative from Moorhead. He can be reached at Dhs.Communications@state.mn.us