Radical Changes in Welfare Enacted in Massachusetts

Massachusetts Gov. William F. Weld on Friday signed into law one of the most sweeping welfare reform bills in the nation, cutting benefits and forcing some recipients to go back to work.

“This is not a political victory for anybody so much as it is a triumph for families and children who have been trapped on welfare. That’s what it’s all about,” Weld, who is considering running for President in 1996, said shortly after the signing.

The reforms will radically change one of the most generous welfare systems in the country. State Senate Minority Leader Brian Lees, a Republican, has called Massachusetts welfare the “Cadillac of all states.”

The bill was approved by the state House, 133 to 21, and the Senate, 31 to 3. The state now needs to get clearance from the federal government to implement the program. In the past, Washington has approved welfare changes in other states.

The bill would force able-bodied parents with children ages 6 and older to go to work within 60 days, either in private-sector jobs or in state-funded community service.

Officials said this would apply to about 18,400 people--more than 17% of the state’s overall welfare caseload of 104,000 families.

The bill would also set a two-year time limit on welfare payments for able-bodied adults, although the state could grant extensions under certain hardship cases.

Other major provisions would:

* Stop paying extra money to welfare mothers who have additional children, cutting $90 per month per additional child.

* Halt welfare checks for teen-age mothers who don’t finish high school and don’t live at home or a group home.

* Cut welfare checks for all able-bodied recipients by 2.75%, or about $15 a month. As a trade-off, welfare clients would be able to keep more of their earnings if they get low-wage jobs that don’t pay enough to get them off welfare.

* Reduce welfare checks for parents whose children frequently skip school.

One provision that won’t require federal approval will allow judges to force deadbeat parents to perform community service if they fail to pay child support.