DATE: Saturday, October 18, 1997            TAG: 9710180356

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   55 lines

THOSE LEAVING WELFARE NEED TRANSPORTATION, BRAINSTORMERS AGREE

Public and private agencies could help people coming off welfare by transporting children to day-care sites and parents to jobs.

They could network to get the vans and seek volunteer drivers. And they could name one agency to coordinate the project.

That was the consensus of a brainstorming session Friday that brought together representatives of 14 nonprofit groups and five public agencies concerned about the future of welfare recipients. The United Way of South Hampton Roads sponsored the morning workshop, held in the city's Family Services building on 19th Street.

It was the third session in an ongoing series the United Way is conducting for the nonprofits it supports and public agencies involved in making welfare reform work in Norfolk.

Day care and jobs are vital for those trying to exit welfare, but the recipients must have a way to get there, panelists agreed.

``How can we make it less daunting?'' United Way executive director Mike Hughes asked four participants huddled on the subject to discuss transportation. ``One of the overarching issues to make it work is linking people to jobs and child care.''

``Is it the nonprofit sector's responsibility?'' questioned Joey Rothgery, manager of the Tidewater Chapter of the American Red Cross.

No one had an answer, but all agreed that what's available just doesn't cut it.

``The bus is not a good mode,'' said Paula Glover, accounts representative for Miller Home and Day Nursery in Portsmouth. She said some parents spend hours each day changing from one bus to another so they can get children to day care and themselves to work.

``It's a poor reflection on public transit in Hampton Roads,'' Rothgery said.

Grant money might pay for vans, or the vehicles might be donated by dealerships and others, said some.

Partnering with Tidewater Regional Transit and social services would help, as would finding one agency or entity that would coordinate the whole thing, they agreed.

They might even get vocational schools to do maintenance on the vehicles.

Despite the innovative ideas about transportation, questions remained:

What about liability? How much to pay drivers if they need to be hired? And who would foot the bill?

Small groups also brainstormed ideas on child care and jobs.

Hughes said one popular proposal on jobs was a reception/workshop for human resource officers of private companies where job requirements would be explained.

And day-care problems could be helped by extending hours of child-care centers and expanding family-based day care, he said.

Hughes said the next step in the ongoing series of workshop sessions is to prioritize solutions. KEYWORDS: WELFARE REFORM

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