DATE: Thursday, July 31, 1997               TAG: 9707310004

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: Another View 

TYPE: Opinion 

SOURCE: BY KAY C. JAMES 

                                            LENGTH:   92 lines

WELFARE REFORM: TRUE COMPASSION IS NOT MORE GOVERNMENT

With the implementation of federal welfare reform, several articles and editorials have appeared about welfare at the national and state levels. One recent article, by Dow Chamberlain, an anti-poverty activist, began by noting that the poor will always be with us but that we should continue to strive to improve their condition. People of compassion everywhere would like to eliminate poverty, but a more achievable approach is to help as many individuals as possible escape it while providing a safety net to those trapped there. Virginia's efforts to reform welfare do just this and should serve as a model for the nation. However, our job is far from over.

Over the past six decades, government has assumed many of the responsibilities that we, as citizens, are expected to carry. The ascendancy of welfare was never intended to provide permanent incomes for the poor, replacing the traditional sources of charity (e.g., family, church and neighborhood groups) with the destructive paternal control of the government. It was implemented for those, as the title of the new federal welfare block grant - Temporary Assistance to Needy Families - suggests, who need short-term assistance until they are able to become self-sufficient.

In 1995, Virginia's failed and complicated welfare system was replaced with a common-sense reform that was both compassionate and fiscally sound. The new laws specify the role and extent of government assistance, as well as the personal responsibility required of every welfare recipient. However, the reforms we implemented in Virginia will not work without the substantial involvement of nongovernmental organizations - families, churches, civic organizations and charities working alongside government.

Communities like Culpeper are a great example of how meaningful reform should work. As we noted in the 1994 Report of the Empowerment Commission, ``Only by mobilizing all sectors of our community will we succeed in restoring the promise of progress to all Virginians.'' Culpeper has not looked solely to the government for the solution to poverty in its community. Its citizens realized the importance of communitywide planning, and brought all the pieces together in a concerted effort to break the devastating cycle of government dependency. Indeed, the private/public partnership that is working to help individuals become self-sufficient has had many other positive effects in creating a healthy community in Culpeper.

In his article, Dow Chamberlain suggested that Virginia's efforts still endanger children. His solution: further government growth and regulations in four areas by the next governor and legislature; adult education; job readiness; child care; and transportation.

Reforms are working precisely because these four principles were already a part of Virginia's comprehensive welfare initiative. I believe that education reform is essential for welfare reform. Real freedom from poverty comes when individuals have the ability to compete for private-sector jobs. Until our schools produce high school graduates who can read, write, speak and think clearly enough to become viable candidates in the job market, we can never truly ensure self-sufficiency. This is one reason why the governor's emphasis on English, science, mathematics and history and his efforts to improve academic standards are so critical. In addition, we must redouble our efforts in adult literacy programs.

We do need job-readiness programs - not job training - to help people in their transition from welfare to work, and these programs should be linked to success rates. Unfortunately, job-training programs have become cash cows for a number of public and private organizations that balance their books through government handouts. Earlier this year, for example, the District of Columbia acknowledged that it had spent $11 million in federal funds to assist 1,079 people in finding jobs and $7.3 million on a job-training program that never trained a single recipient!

Child care and transportation are two other issues that Virginia's law specifically addresses. Recipients attempting to move off welfare rolls are still eligible to receive food stamps, health care, child care and transportation vouchers during their transition. In crafting new welfare laws, we allowed for the expenses that coincide with working - for example, the limit for saving for a car was increased and child care was guaranteed for every working recipient. Beyond government assistance, however, it was our expectation that community, religious and charitable organizations would assist in these efforts. To this end, we convened a summit of church and nonprofit leaders to discuss ways in which these groups could work with government to maximize the number of families helped to self-sufficiency.

We should not be misled by the notion that more government spending equals more compassion. Compassion must be translated into action by individuals and communities. Government does play an important role, but the sole responsibility cannot rest upon local social services offices. Welfare reform is more than just a restoration to a sensible and just system; it is a clarion call for citizens to step forward in compassion, citizenship, community action and charity. So the next time you think about welfare, ask yourself what you are doing to truly help those who are less fortunate. MEMO: Kay C. James is dean of the School of Government at Regent

University in Virginia Beach. She previously served as Virginia's

secretary of Health and Human Resources, associate director of the White

House Office of National Drug Control Policy and assistant secretary of

the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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