Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, December 6, 1994                   TAG: 9412060104
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

ALLEN WELFARE PLAN WOULD LIMIT BENEFITS, REQUIRE WORK

The plan, which Allen will unveil Dec. 15, goes beyond a handful of tough measures enacted by the Democrat-controlled General Assembly last year and promises to be a central issue in the legislative session that begins in five weeks.

At least one key Allen administration official said Monday that she thinks welfare reform will skate through the legislature.

``I expect this to be the most noncontroversial piece of legislation before the General Assembly this year,'' said Kay Coles James, Allen's secretary of Health and Human Services. ``Everybody thinks we should reform welfare.''

Lt. Gov. Don Beyer, a Democrat who led a two-year study of welfare reform, said he likes what he has seen so far.

``They have gone farther than we have,'' Beyer said, ``and I think it's basically a positive direction.''

Nationwide, Democrats and Republicans alike have seized the notion of overhauling a system that has ensnared the underclass in a cycle of dependency.

Allen is following a national GOP prescription that calls for prodding people off welfare rolls by curtailing benefits that some perceive as a disincentive to gainful employment.

Last year, the General Assembly took the first step toward welfare reform by approving a pilot program that imposed a two-year limit on benefits and stipulated that mothers on assistance could not get more benefits by having more children.

Allen would incorporate those proposals - which have yet to be implemented - into his proposal, which also calls for:

Requiring those who receive food stamps, Aid to Families with Dependent Children and other benefits to work up to 32 hours a week in a private-sector job or for a nonprofit agency.

Terminating benefits for parents if their teen-age children do not attend school.

Requiring unwed teen mothers to live at home and continue school if they receive benefits.

Mandating paternity tests before unwed mothers get benefits.

Allowing unwed mothers to keep certain benefits if they wed.

Turning over the collection of child-support payments to private companies and denying hunting and fishing licenses to delinquent fathers.

The outline of the Allen plan is contained in an application for waivers from federal welfare-eligibility guidelines.

Allen administration officials estimate that welfare reform could save $80 million over the next five years, the largest savings coming from the termination of benefits after two years.

The Allen proposal would make no major, up-front investment in job training, day care or other government services to help welfare recipients make the transition to gainful employment.

No budget figures are available, but James said she foresees no major increase in state-sponsored day care, even though thousands of welfare recipients would need someone to look after their children while they fulfilled their mandatory work requirements.

James said that welfare recipients would have to fend for themselves with the help of family, friends, churches and schools.

Beyer cautioned that Allen administration officials may be fooling themselves about short-term costs.

``There are significant savings down the road; but to be realistic about it, someone has to take care of those kids,'' Beyer said.

``Affordability for day care is a huge problem,'' he added. ``Affordability is an issue for middle-class families, much less for women on AFDC.''