Mixed Bag of Welfare Reforms

Gov. Pete Wilson, who says his main aim is to get people off welfare, has offered a mixed bag of welfare reform proposals. Some are good, but some are too punishing to children; Wilson should propose only fixes that could gain broad support.

One that makes sense would prohibit welfare checks from being sent to mothers who are 18 or younger. The young women would be required to live with a parent or a guardian; the checks would go to the person providing supervision.

Also forward-thinking is a proposed protection for young mothers against abusive or neglectful parents; the mothers would be referred to social workers who would determine whether they would be better off in foster care or in supervised independent living.

To encourage more fathers to take responsibility, Wilson would require all unmarried mothers to identify their children’s dad shortly after giving birth. A mandatory policy is definitely worth exploring, but troubling questions, including those of privacy rights, must be worked through first.

However, for all the good in his reform program, Wilson proposes yet another round of punishing cuts in welfare benefits. After years of reductions, his latest budget would reduce AFDC by 10%, and by an additional 15% after six months.

Long-term recipients would lose even more after two years. Such deep cuts would sentence many poor children to deprivation.

Wilson says his intent is not to punish but rather to reduce the fiscal burden of rising social costs. But wouldn’t punishment be the effect in urban counties like Los Angeles?

The governor also wants to shift 20% of welfare costs to counties in exchange for state assumption of 70% of county trial costs. That switch would net the state $240 million, but it would seem to be a bad deal in Los Angeles and other heavily populated counties. It could very well wind up imposing an unfair fiscal hardship on counties with large welfare populations.

Wilson rightly wants to switch the focus from education to getting a job in the state’s most ballyhooed program--GAIN (Greater Avenues to Independence). The welfare-to-work program is effective at giving participants skills that allow them to trade a welfare check for a paycheck. Refining the emphasis is smart as long as the governor gives people who are trying to better themselves adequate time to succeed.