Public Social Services

Re "Smart Food Stamp Reforms," editorial, June 18: The Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services agrees that families who apply for food stamps should be allowed to keep one dependable car to assist them in securing and retaining employment. However, we must reject The Times' call for the elimination of fingerprinting as a welfare fraud deterrent. AB 231 would also eliminate fingerprinting in two cash assistance programs, CalWORKS and General Relief, where the incentive for fraud is much greater than it is for food stamps.

Los Angeles County spent $390,000 last year to send a million pieces of mail, essentially to itself. Much of it was then sorted by workers and, after awhile, sent to the shredder. County supervisors this week called it a cumbersome and costly exercise in futility, born of a federal requirement that the county send letters to the 1 million or so residents who receive food stamps. Because tens of thousands of those recipients are homeless, however, there are few places to send their mail.

Los Angeles County's 75,000 welfare recipients are being required to submit to fingerprinting under a controversial new computerized identification system designed to prevent welfare fraud. But the $9.6-million system has identified only two cases of intentional fraud during the first four months that Public Social Services officials have required fingerprint data.

Los Angeles County supervisors took steps this week to hire an independent auditing firm to conduct a sweeping review of the troubled Department of Children and Family Services. The proposed review, set for a vote at next week's Board of Supervisors meeting, follows a report Sunday in The Times about the suicide of Montebello fifth-grader Jorge Tarin . The 11-year-old hanged himself in his mother's room June 8, just hours after a social worker was sent to the home to determine whether Jorge's threats of suicide at school that day were serious.

Perhaps Bob Porter was best known for his yearly Christmas tree giveaway to families who could not afford a tree. The continuation of this endeavor will be a living memorial to him in years to come. Less well known but maybe more important was the advocacy role Bob Porter played within the disability community. His persistence in obtaining services for other men and women while managing his own severe medical needs made him a role model for self-advocacy. His participation in the activities of the Committee for the Rights of the Disabled, a storefront advocacy organization on Pico Boulevard, was but a microcosm of Bob Porter's impact.

Los Angeles County supervisors took steps this week to hire an independent auditing firm to conduct a sweeping review of the troubled Department of Children and Family Services. The proposed review, set for a vote at next week's Board of Supervisors meeting, follows a report Sunday in The Times about the suicide of Montebello fifth-grader Jorge Tarin . The 11-year-old hanged himself in his mother's room June 8, just hours after a social worker was sent to the home to determine whether Jorge's threats of suicide at school that day were serious.

"Cost of Welfare Compliance Put at $1.6 Million" (June 5) mentioned a contract awarded by L.A. County in the late 1980s to privatize a portion of its welfare services. Your article states the contract with Maximus was "widely held to be a failure." Nothing could be further from the truth. During our five years of operation, Maximus faithfully served the county and its welfare population. In a 1993 letter, Eddy S. Tanaka, previous director of the Department of Public Social Services, expressed his "sincere appreciation for the excellent job Maximus has done in providing case management for the Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN)

Recently, The Times reported that Los Angeles County paid attorneys very well for the service of fighting increases in General Relief benefits. And now, The Times reports that Gov. Wilson would like to transfer more health and welfare programs to the counties (April 25). How can we trust counties to administer these programs in a responsible manner when counties such as Los Angeles spend tax funds on combatting legitimate, fundamental improvements in programs that are already under the county's jurisdiction?

On behalf of United Way and the more than 300 health and human service agencies and partners we support, I thank you for your Dec. 25 editorial, "Giving for All Seasons." The message was right on target with its description of how the recession has stretched community service agencies to their limits. One point that I would like to clarify is that the $12-million shortfall you mentioned was for our 1990-91 campaign year. The current 1991-92 campaign is on schedule to meet its goal of $88 million.

Reacting to a welfare fraud arrest reported on Dec. 31, a letter writer (Jan. 7) asked if there was a welfare fraud hotline to call. The answer is an emphatic yes. Anyone can call We-Tip toll free at (800) 87-FRAUD or (800) 78-CRIME or the Los Angeles County central fraud hotline at (213) 749-4266 to report welfare fraud. Callers to We-Tip or the county fraud hotline can request a reward and can remain anonymous. While many administrative procedures and systems are in place to prevent and detect welfare fraud, tips from the public are also an important way to identify criminals who are taking advantage of programs set up to help the less fortunate who legitimately need assistance.

Re "Smart Food Stamp Reforms," editorial, June 18: The Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services agrees that families who apply for food stamps should be allowed to keep one dependable car to assist them in securing and retaining employment. However, we must reject The Times' call for the elimination of fingerprinting as a welfare fraud deterrent. AB 231 would also eliminate fingerprinting in two cash assistance programs, CalWORKS and General Relief, where the incentive for fraud is much greater than it is for food stamps.

Re "Post-Welfare Jobs No Cure for Poverty, Study Finds," Sept. 7: The Welfare Reform Act of 1996 was passed in response to many years of training programs that proved to be ineffective and perpetuated the cycle of poverty. Studies showed that education and training alone did not work in promoting self-sufficiency. Los Angeles County took the lead nationally in implementing welfare-to-work programs. In the last four years, over 200,000 individuals on cash assistance got jobs. In May 2000, the average entry-level wage for these individuals was $7.34 an hour.

At the request of union leaders, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday postponed action for two weeks on a controversial proposal to contract with a private company to handle welfare-to-work cases at eight offices in the San Fernando and Antelope valleys. Leaders and members of the Service Employees International Union, Local 660, strongly opposed the proposal to contract with Maximus Inc., rather than continuing to use county workers to help welfare recipients find jobs.

Attorneys for four legal aid agencies intend to file a complaint today against Los Angeles County's welfare-to-work program that claims people who don't speak English are denied access to a full range of services, including job training. The complaint alleges that the county's Department of Public Social Services violated the civil rights of an undetermined number of welfare recipients by denying them an equal opportunity to participate and succeed in a program that is supposed to wean them from federal assistance.

Re "Target Welfare Fraud," editorial, July 6: Rather than recommend hiring an outside consultant to pursue the grand jury's recommendations on pursuing welfare fraud, what about holding L.A. County supervisors responsible for the poor performance? How often have we heard our elected officials promise to wring waste and abuse out of government programs? The supervisors have a chance to do this by allocating the resources needed to properly administer a fraud prevention program. It would seem apparent that a well-staffed office could pay for itself through the savings it generates in eliminating fraud.

Reacting to a welfare fraud arrest reported on Dec. 31, a letter writer (Jan. 7) asked if there was a welfare fraud hotline to call. The answer is an emphatic yes. Anyone can call We-Tip toll free at (800) 87-FRAUD or (800) 78-CRIME or the Los Angeles County central fraud hotline at (213) 749-4266 to report welfare fraud. Callers to We-Tip or the county fraud hotline can request a reward and can remain anonymous. While many administrative procedures and systems are in place to prevent and detect welfare fraud, tips from the public are also an important way to identify criminals who are taking advantage of programs set up to help the less fortunate who legitimately need assistance.

The Rose Institute study (June 3) alleging that the cost to deliver one dollar of welfare benefits increased from 19 cents in 1977-78 to 34 cents in 1995-96 is fatally flawed and a grave disservice at a time when public debate is vitally needed to reform our welfare system. The authors have taken the most simplistic approach possible by comparing county budget documents for 1977-78 to those for 1995-96 and in doing so have contorted the findings. For example, in the intervening 18 years, the county has changed its accounting practices.

At the request of union leaders, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday postponed action for two weeks on a controversial proposal to contract with a private company to handle welfare-to-work cases at eight offices in the San Fernando and Antelope valleys. Leaders and members of the Service Employees International Union, Local 660, strongly opposed the proposal to contract with Maximus Inc., rather than continuing to use county workers to help welfare recipients find jobs.

"Cost of Welfare Compliance Put at $1.6 Million" (June 5) mentioned a contract awarded by L.A. County in the late 1980s to privatize a portion of its welfare services. Your article states the contract with Maximus was "widely held to be a failure." Nothing could be further from the truth. During our five years of operation, Maximus faithfully served the county and its welfare population. In a 1993 letter, Eddy S. Tanaka, previous director of the Department of Public Social Services, expressed his "sincere appreciation for the excellent job Maximus has done in providing case management for the Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN)