Kennedy Welfare Reform Would Reward States

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) proposed a welfare overhaul Tuesday that would reward states for developing programs to move the hard-core unemployed from welfare rolls into the work force.

The plan, based on Massachusetts’ Employment and Training Choices Program, was endorsed at a hearing of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee by black leaders and by Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis.

Kennedy, who chairs the committee, said his bill would provide bonuses to states that could show their training programs were moving the unemployed, especially those on relief rolls, into jobs.

Source of Money

Money for the program would come from existing federal job training programs and from savings to the federal government from reducing welfare rolls, Kennedy said.

“This bill is action where it is needed and when it is needed--now, before more families are needlessly consigned to years of destitution, dependency and despair,” Kennedy said.

He said Massachusetts’ program has brought work to thousands of families who otherwise would be on welfare for years and that several other states and localities have had success with similar efforts.

Saved $100 Million

“I think what we have demonstrated is that it is possible to break the cycle of long-term dependency,” Dukakis said. He said his state’s program, while initially expensive, has saved more than $100 million.

Dukakis said job training is not enough to get families off welfare. States, he said, also must assist recipients with transportation and child care and assure that medical benefits continue, even after they are hired by a private employer.

The Kennedy plan was endorsed by John E. Jacob, president of the National Urban League, and by Raul Yzaguirre, president of the National Council of La Raza, one of the nation’s major Latino groups.