Row With State Threatens County Workfare Project

An ambitious workfare program that in theory could help 80,000 Los Angeles County residents get off welfare and obtain permanent jobs was clouded Thursday by a dispute between state and county officials over a county plan to “privatize” elements of the program.

The problem, state officials asserted, is that the county’s plan, while novel, may also be illegal.

As a result, it appeared that implementation of the Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) workfare program, originally scheduled to start next Monday, could face an indefinite delay.

At a sparsely attended hearing at the California Museum of Science and Industry, Democratic members of the joint legislative GAIN Oversight Committee voiced disgust over the county’s actions and the fact that no officials appeared at the committee hearing to offer testimony.

‘Irresistible Invitation’

Assemblywoman Delaine Eastin (D-Union City) said the committee would send county Chief Administrative Officer Richard B. Dixon “an irresistible invitation”--a subpoena--to ensure that he attends the committee’s next hearing, probably within the next two weeks.

“He doesn’t make the laws of California,” Eastin said. “We want to find out why Mr. Dixon somehow feels exempt from those laws.”

At the heart of the dispute is the Board of Supervisors’ decision two months ago to enter a $7.8-million, 11-month contract with Maximus Inc., a Virginia-based consulting firm, to provide case management work for GAIN.

At the hearing, high-ranking officials in the state’s Department of Health and Welfare and Department of Social Services said they could not approve the county’s plan as constituted because, under federal law, only government employees may judge whether participants may be eligible for public benefits. The officials said Maximus’ role must be revamped or state reimbursements will be withheld.

Competitive Bidding

Citing policies of Proposition A that require the county to contract out work whenever possible, the Republican-controlled county Board of Supervisors retained Maximus through a competitive bidding procedure. A year earlier, Maximus had been hired to train county employees to implement GAIN. Under the new contract, Maximus’ role would be broadened to include management of case workers.

A key dispute focuses on the meaning of the word discretionary. Gary Pettigrew, deputy secretary of the state Health and Welfare Department, said it was the state’s opinion that in case management work, only two facts may be considered not discretionary: a determination of a child’s age, and a determination of whether a woman is pregnant.

But in an interview, Ed Tanaka, director of the county’s welfare program, said county officials believe that many other judgments could be made legally by Maximus because of the detailed structure of the GAIN program. That program involves tests for participants and routing toward an array of programs, including job training, remedial education and classes in English as a second language.

At the hearing, Democratic members of the Legislature’s joint GAIN Oversight Committee sharply criticized the contract that would pay Maximus President David Mastran $238.19 an hour, for a total of $266,773. Another Maximus official, John Svahn, was compensated at $204.16, according to the contract.

Ties to GOP Suggested

Testimony from union representatives suggested that ties between Maximus and the Republican Party may have helped the firm obtain the lucrative contract. Before joining Maximus, Svahn held several posts in the Reagan Administration including that of commissioner of Social Security.

Mastran, the Maximus president, attended the hearing but left shortly after testimony began. In a telephone interview, Mastran said he left the hearing because “I didn’t think they were going to listen to what I had to say.”

The Maximus contract, Mastran asserted, “does not provide for any discretionary functions. From our perspective, these are ministerial duties. . . . Whatever discretion there is, we would defer to a county employee.”

Mastran dismissed suggestions that political ties may have helped his firm obtain the county contract. He pointed out that Pettigrew and another state official who oppose the Maximus contract are both appointees of Republican Gov. George Deukmejian.