Local News in Brief : End of Cash Benefits to Addicts Weighed

Top state officials are studying a program that would cut off all cash benefits to drug- and alcohol-dependent welfare recipients who refuse to enter treatment programs.

Consideration of such a plan was revealed Friday by Health and Welfare Secretary Clifford Allenby at a Los Angeles hearing on the homeless called by the Little Hoover Commission, the permanent agency on government efficiency.

Those who refused treatment would receive shelter and food but no cash, Allenby said. The theory is that government has no obligation to sustain an addict’s habit in the form of general relief payments, Allenby said.

Such a move is one of several options being explored by state officials out of concern for inefficiency and waste in programs for the homeless, Allenby said.

Mismanagement of the estimated $500 million spent each year on the homeless in California--$60 million of that coming from the state--was the major focus of the commission hearing Friday. Several members suggested a new super-agency at the state level to provide accountability and efficiency for homeless aid programs.