People dealing with disabled family members and families with medical or transportation needs should top the hardship exemption list when state cash assistance ends this fall, community members said Tuesday.

Wednesday, August 23, 2000

People dealing with disabled family members and families with medical or transportation needs should top the hardship exemption list when state cash assistance ends this fall, community members said Tuesday.

The Lawrence County Department of Jobs and Family Services hosted the public meeting to seek input on criteria for the exemptions.

"It went well," family services director Buddy Martin said. "Now, we will go back and see what we can put in the plan."

Part of state welfare reform, Ohio Works First changed the former AFDC system to include a three-year time limit – a move aimed to help people find jobs and get off public assistance.

The first 63 county beneficiaries will hit their time limit Oct. 1, followed by 28 on Nov. 1 and 14 on Dec. 1.

State law allows the department to exempt 20 percent of its previous year’s caseload, in other words keep the payments going, but only if a family is considered in hardship, Martin said.

"We cannot write one that will hit every circumstance but we will write one that hits as many people as possible," he said at Tuesday’s meeting.

Many at the meeting – community residents both receiving and not receiving assistance – were concerned with families caring for disabled children or spouses.

Those cases should be considered a hardship and they should continue to receive cash assistance, they said.

Others felt medical need, continuing education, a natural disaster that affects the home, domestic violence situations, lack of transportation and homelessness should be considered when handing out exemptions.

Still more leveled criticism at the welfare system, saying more should be done to help families access technology, jobs or even home-based education.

But family services workers must deal now with the state-mandated time limits on the cash assistance and they can only exempt 20 percent, Martin said.

"We know we will not cover everyone but we will get as many as we possibly can," he said.

Food stamps or medical cards will not disappear because of the time limits, Martin said, answering other residents’ concerns.

What remains, then, is writing the criteria listing who qualifies for further assistance beyond their time limit, he said.

"Everything brought today up will be considered," Martin said, adding that the disability issue concerns him most.

"In fact, the draft plan we have is extremely liberal compared to other cases," he said. "One county in Ohio has no exemptions at all."

Once the county department and a community committee determines what the criteria should be, it will pass before county commissioners and ultimately be mailed to those who are nearing time limits, Martin said.

All that should happen within the next week to 10 days, he said.

County beneficiaries may discuss individual situations with their case workers, although beneficiaries have known about the time limits since first receiving assistance on the Welfare to Work program, Martin said.

About 70 percent of those found ways to get off the assistance, which means the program has been productive, he said.