Welfare-to-work may take more time for some

Monday, Feb. 10, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A welfare advocate has urged state legislators not to automatically end public assistance payments to families who don't get jobs within two years.

Jon Sasser, state advocacy coordinator for Nevada Legal Services, said there must be exceptions for those who can't find employment.

In remarks prepared for the Senate Finance Committee and the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, Sasser said "the clock should not start ticking on the two-year time period" until the state provides services such as job training and child care.

In the past, there has been only enough money to finance a training program for about one-third of those on welfare.

Sasser, a member of a task force that studied welfare reform the past 18 months, said it "was unfair to the remaining two-thirds for whom funding was not available to start the 24-month clock."

In addition, he urged there be no cutoff of benefits after two years for a family in which the parent is within a few months of completing the job training. He said the task force favored extending the two-year limit to provide time to finish the training and seek work.

A study of those on welfare showed that 16 percent of the families need intensive assistance before becoming employable. And the average stay for these individuals on public assistance is 51 months.

He doubted this group would be ready for employment within two years. "Hypothetically, for example, a person with less than fifth-grade literacy, low IQ, poor self esteem, an unattractive physical appearance or some combination of the above might be giving it their best shot, but still fail," he said.

He said the task force felt it would be unfair to eliminate assistance payments to people who have in good faith tried to improve themselves.

Sasser said 31 percent of those on public assistance are currently employable and will need only a helping hand to get them into the work force, but the others will need more time and training.

He said it would be "punitive and unfair to the children in those homes to shove them off the steps when they are making a good-faith effort."

Gov. Bob Miller has adopted many of the suggestions of the welfare task force. These include requiring teen parents to reside with their parents or guardians and allow recipients to keep a greater share of the money they earn without the state grant being reduced.