Supervisors Seek Limits on Who Can Get Welfare : Government: Board would be able to exclude the able-bodied and employable as well as legal immigrants. Critics say the move would double or triple the number of homeless.

In a vote marked by emotional debate on just how far Los Angeles County should go to aid its neediest residents, the Board of Supervisors moved Tuesday to seek broad authority to restrict the scope of the county’s general relief welfare program.

The actions were criticized by social welfare advocates as callous moves that could double or triple the homeless population in Los Angeles County.

The board is seeking authority from the state to rein in costs in several areas, including:

* Denying assistance to the able-bodied and those who are employable. The county’s Department of Public Social Services estimates that this restriction would save the county $128 million annually.

* Limiting able-bodied, employable adults from receiving assistance for more than 90 days a year and disqualifying people from aid for 60 days if they have failed to comply with program requirements.

* Seeking a clarification of the law to determine if the county can take into consideration the value of health plan benefits when calculating the cash portion of the grant.

* Requesting approval to deny county welfare aid to legal immigrants affected by welfare reforms being debated in Congress.

The supervisors delayed a vote on a more sweeping proposal to pursue state legislation that would allow for the dismantling of the welfare program entirely, saying they wanted more time to consider the implications of the action.

Still, Tuesday’s votes were clear signals that the supervisors--faced with the possibility of a staggering deficit in the next fiscal year--seem willing to consider massive overhauls of a range of county programs.

“We have never made these kinds of tough decisions in this county before, but now we’re coming to where the rubber meets the road,” Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said. “I’m not sure that I would ever vote to totally dismantle general relief. It’s a very hard call. But I believe as a decision-maker that I ought to have the maximum flexibility that I can have.”

Supervisor Gloria Molina opposed the actions, saying the board seemed intent on rushing headlong into decisions while paying little heed to the implications. She also accused her colleagues of putting a greater value on solving the county’s fiscal woes than on helping its residents.

“Let’s fight for people, let’s be advocates, let’s look for ways to resolve the problems,” argued Molina heatedly. “Let’s begin the process by being leaders instead of followers.”

She was supported by social welfare advocates, who argued that the county’s bid to change the general relief program could have devastating consequences.

“There are 50,000 to 80,000 homeless people on the streets of Los Angeles County now and you’re going to double or triple that in one fell swoop,” said Bob Erlenbusch, executive director of the Los Angeles County Coalition to End Homelessness.

The general relief program, which provides cash grants to adults who do not qualify for any other federally sponsored welfare assistance, has cost the county about $210 million this fiscal year and, with the sheriff and health services, is one of the largest uses of the county’s general fund.

Chief Administrative Officer Sally Reed estimates that the county faces a budget deficit of up to $1.2 billion in the 1995-96 fiscal year, and she says the board must consider severe reductions in the welfare program to avoid Draconian cuts in other departments.

Molina was the only supervisor to vote against all the general relief measures proposed Tuesday. She was joined by Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke in voting against the proposal to follow the federal government’s lead if it decides to deny welfare to many legal immigrants.

County officials estimate that the changes now before the U.S. Senate could, if approved, shift a huge portion of the welfare burden to county general relief programs and are seeking to position the county to deflect the blow.

“We cannot have the financial burden of all of these reforms dumped on us,” Yaroslavsky said.

Molina wondered what kind of effect the proposal might foreshadow for someone like her immigrant mother, if she lacked other means of support.

“As it stands today, we’re telling her that even though you’ve paid taxes, you don’t get our assistance,” Molina said.