Many families getting state aid facing deadline for jobs

Wednesday, Dec. 1, 1999 | 11:29 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Nevada families receiving public assistance are taking it seriously that they had better get a job before losing their welfare payments starting Jan. 1.

The state Welfare Division estimates 263 families will be disqualified from receiving benefits in January because the time limit for monthly welfare checks expires. That's down from the 347 families the division predicted in October.

"People are realizing the time limit is real. A lot of families felt the rules may be changed," Mike Willden, deputy welfare administrator, said Tuesday.

"More and more people are getting into training programs or jobs," he said.

A federal law limits a person's welfare benefits to five years. Nevada law says a family can receive Temporary Assistance to Needy Families for two years. The family then must go off public assistance for at least 12 months. Eligibility then reopens for another 24 months.

The first deadline is Jan. 1. In October the division estimated another 150 to 200 families a month would become ineligible for benefits starting in February. That has now been revised downward to 75 to 100 a month.

Willden said the estimates are "worst case scenarios." Some of the people will be allowed to remain on the assistance rolls for six months while they are in a training program if the division thinks they will benefit the client.

Others will continue receiving grants if they have specific hardships, such as disability, illness, having a child under 1 year old, being a caretaker over the age 60 or a non-needy caretaker of children on cash assistance.

Each family applying for a hardship exemption will learn by late December whether they can continue on public assistance.

The average monthly welfare grant for a family of three is $348.

"The reason for the 24-month limit was to underscore the importance of getting a job and concurrently protecting Nevada citizens from mistakenly using up their lifetime limits (five years) all at once, given the reality bad things can happen twice in one's lifetime," Welfare Administrator Myla Florence said.

"With the many employment, training and work-related support services Nevada has worked hard to furnish welfare recipients, the large majority have been successful in the job market," Florence said.

The January date is not the first deadline welfare recipients have faced. In January 1999 families on aid for the two previous years had to be working or in an approved work activity or face sanctions as required by the federal welfare reform law. Nevada families did well, Florence said. Only 34 families were adversely affected by not preparing themselves to enter the work force.