U.S. Welfare Bill May Overtake Local Back-to-Work Efforts

A landmark federal welfare reform bill expected to reach the Senate today--the biggest overhaul of the nation’s social safety net in six decades--could overtake similar efforts in Ventura County to get recipients back to work.

The county is pushing to gain approval from the state Legislature for its plan, which seeks to reduce the number of welfare recipients by 20% every six months until a minimal number remain.

While the local impact of President Clinton’s Wednesday announcement that he would approve the Republicans’ latest welfare reform bill is unclear, county officials cautiously embraced national efforts to trim the number of people receiving public assistance.

Although a revamped federal system, which would limit welfare payments to five years and toughen work requirements for food stamp eligibility, is ultimately expected to be beneficial for the nation’s taxpayers and welfare recipients, Ventura County officials are trying to grapple with its immediate implications.

“It’s going to be a challenge,” said James Isom, director of the county’s Public Social Services Agency. “You’re talking about 60 years of social engineering, social programs that are going to be changed virtually overnight. . . . In the end the county could save money. The start-up could be the hard part and the costly part.”

Just how costly is unclear. But potentially the county might have to find an extra $20 million to $30 million because legal immigrants will not be eligible for services previously paid for by state and federal government programs, Isom said.

Instead, many could apply for general relief, which counties are required to provide for people who have nowhere else to turn. Also, the resulting financial hardship could cause social problems such as child abuse to skyrocket, which in turn would lead to further costs, Isom said.

But whether the federal reforms, which would require welfare recipients to work within two years of applying for benefits, would simply shift the burden of paying for welfare from one level of government to another depends on how it is implemented, Isom said.

Accomplished properly, the county may actually be ahead of others in California in dealing with the changes to the nation’s welfare system, state Sen. Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) said.

Wright wrote a bill that would create a three-year county pilot program intended to replace handouts with work through more effectively harnessing existing social services. Coincidentally, Helen Reburn, deputy director of the county’s social services agency, was in Sacramento on Wednesday lobbying for the bill, which seeks to create Partnerships to Restore Independence and Dignity through Employment (PRIDE).

With the federal impetus, the bill could receive swift passage through the Legislature and Ventura County could become a model within the state, Wright said.

“I think other counties will be watching to see what Ventura County does,” she said. “You do a model program to see where the flaws are . . . and then you go forward with a state program.”

Of course, Isom said, the federal action could possibly supersede--and effectively kill--the local initiative.

But despite the anxiety and unanswered questions, officials said they are ready to meet the challenge of overhauling the county’s welfare system.

“It’s a little overwhelming at this point,” said Ruth Irussi, who manages the county’s federally funded jobs program, called GAIN, or Greater Avenues for Independence. “We’ve talked and looked forward to welfare reform for a number of years. Now it looks like we may actually have to do it.”

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