Proposed Cap On Welfare Criticized

A few of the proposed changes by Gov. Phil Batt’s Welfare Reform Council would hurt rather than help recipients’ chances of rebuilding their lives, said participants at a Pocatello hearing.

The council has 42 ideas to tighten financial and personal responsibility requirements for welfare recipients.

The most heated exchanges concerned limiting welfare recipients to two years of cash assistance.

Mothers, counselors and other professionals said two years simply is not enough time for most people to rebound.

“Some of the most successful students come in at a very low educational level. I’m concerned two years will not be enough time for them to become gainfully employed,” said Margaret Jacobs, a teacher who helps those mothers become self-sufficient.

“Vocational programs take two years, and you have to have at least two years to get family wage-earning jobs,” counselor Julie Burns said.

Single mothers at the meeting, however, seemed to agree with the proposals that would increase personal commitment.

Brandy Ammon, a 17-year-old single mother who will graduate from Pocatello High School next year, said staying in school should be a requirement.

“I think I should earn it. I’m taking responsibility for my child, and staying in school should be a requirement,” Ammon said of several proposals that require recipient’s participation in education or job training.

Several speakers also agreed with a proposed rule that would require parents of teenage mothers to support their own children and their grandchildren until the mother turns 18 years old.

“It’s the parent’s responsibility to take care of their children, regardless of whether their children have children,” said one Job Opportunity and Basic Skills participant. JOBS is an Idaho State University program that trains people to enter the work force.

After the meeting, council members were split as to whether it would revisit the two-year cash issue.

Sen. Gordon Crow, R-Coeur d’Alene, said the panel will review all the changes but doubted the two-year plan would change before it reaches Batt.

But state Rep. Millie Flandro, D-Pocatello, said the testimony she heard definitely swayed her opinion.

The council is made up of a 15-member bipartisan panel of business, government and private citizen members.