Welfare Reform Bill Zips Through House

The first piece of Gov. Phil Batt’s welfare reform package zipped through the Idaho House on Thursday on a 65-1 vote.

The measure, which allows the state to pay for worker’s compensation benefits for welfare recipients who are doing on-the-job training, now goes to the governor for his signature.

It is the first of eight bills designed to change Idaho’s welfare system into a temporary program that pushes recipients to become self-sufficient. All welfare recipients would be required to work or learn basic job skills, including mothers of small children.

The state will provide child care.

The welfare reform program also includes a two-year, lifetime limit on cash benefits in most cases; requires grandparents on both sides to support their minor children’s babies; and steps up penalties for refusal to pay child support or comply with visitation orders.