Solutions Elusive For Welfare System

Amid a tremendous uproar about the potential cruelty of it all, Republican lawmakers are contemplating proposals to cut welfare benefits. Under a proposal in Washington state, teen mothers under age 18 could not obtain welfare. Older moms would lose welfare benefits after two years.

Meanwhile, a study unveiled this week finds that day care centers often fail to meet the needs of children.

So, if there already is a shortage of decent day care, what happens when the government cuts off the cash that enables welfare moms to stay home with their kids? They would have to enter the work force - and find day care. What sort of care would they find, and how would they afford it with a low-paying, entry-level job?

Does government have an obligation to provide day care at public expense, when it boots moms off the welfare rolls?

Or should government leave the moms and kids to fend for themselves as best they can, using grandmothers, uncles, friends or whomever to care for the kids while mom’s at work?

No one wants to be cruel to a kid. Yet who is reponsible for children? Government? The parents who bring them into the world? That is a painful question to raise, in a society that habitually has looked to government for answers.

The welfare reform movement recognizes that there are other parents to consider: Parents who do work, who send their youngsters to day-care facilities that are less than ideal. These parents pay taxes that enable other parents to stay home with their children and collect a welfare check.

How many children actually would be affected by the proposed two-year cutoff for welfare benefits? According to a report released today by the U.S. Census Bureau, the median length of time that someone stays on welfare is 10.4 months. The state of Washington has estimated the average stay on welfare at 22 months. Both statistics indicate that the proposed two-year limit is not as onerous as the heated rhetoric implies.

Here’s the real reason for anxiety: There are no perfect solutions. Day care is not an ideal setting. Neither are some homes with a stayat-home parent.

The government has had difficulty guaranteeing people an income. It’s no easier to guarantee quality day care.

Welfare reform is an effort to get away from guarantees and to shift responsibility. It’s up to parents to find jobs - and child care, too. Isn’t it? Are we willing to let them choose? Or does conscience require that the state keep stepping in when adults’ choices place children at risk?

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Webster/For the editorial board