William Langan 
July 30, 1996 
William T. Langan Of West Pittston, Died Tuesday At The Highland Manor Nursing 
& Convalescent Center, Exeter.

7 Charged In Harveys Lake Brawl 
Dispute Over Open Beer 
Bottle Allegedly Triggered Fight

Wednesday, July 31, 1996 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





No one wants to end welfare more than those caught in its grip &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 One suspects that most of those congressmen in Washington or legislators in &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Harrisburg and most other states who have been rushing this year to reform
welfare, have never met the people being served or studied the programs being
offered themOne basis for that suspicion lies in the dissertation by John J.
Shalansky of the Hazleton area for which he was awarded the degree of Doctor
of Social Welfare this spring by the City University of New York. His
painstaking, heavily documented, and very readable research is based on case
studies he did of 18 welfare recipients in the Wyoming Valley. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Among other things, it gives the lie to many of the basic claims being made
to support those alleged reforms. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Just as significant, however, it also indicates that the Pennsylvania
Department of Welfare and the Luzerne County Human Resources Development
Department need to do a better job of informing the public about the work they
are doing to help those in need get the kind of employment that makes them
self-supporting. Their's is the road to real reform. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dr. Shalansky's dissertation is titled "Working Our Way Off Welfare; A Case
Study of Participants in Pennsylvania's Single Point of Contact Program
(SPOC)." The aspect of SPOC covered in his study is one that sees education as
the most important missing ingredient in enabling a welfare recipient to get a
decent job, and keep it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The 18 individuals he chose for his study ranged in age from 18 to 32 with
a median age of 21. They seemed to be, on initial meeting, the least likely to
succeed in this venture. None of them had completed high school. Of the two
men and 16 women in the group, all but one were custodial parents. Fourteen
were never married, three were separated from their spouses, and one was
married. Indeed, it was teenage pregnancy that caused most of the women to
drop out of high school. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But, to qualify for the program, each had to seek out the SPOC
representative and volunteer for it. Each was required to accept what is a
very specific, demanding level of attendance and performance to remain in the
program. That each had to demonstrate the initiative and to make the
commitment says much about the myth that those on welfare prefer to sit at
home and collect rather than do anything that would make them self-supporting. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In fact, initial interviews by Dr. Shalansky with the 18 revealed a uniform
sense of shame and unhappiness at being on welfare. They suffered a lack of
self-respect and felt they were "looked down upon" by all others -- from their
case managers to everyone else with whom they had contact. In a sad sense,
they were "damaged goods." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 All of them also believed that education was the answer to getting off
welfare, getting a job, and becoming "somebody." All indicated they so much
wanted to do this that they would accept any hardship to succeed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Even when, as the program progressed, the members began to find the demands
outside of their studies were greater (and sometimes these became
overwhelming) than they had imagined, none lost faith in the value of a better
education. When they failed, it was for reasons that seemed to be beyond their
ability to resolve -- whether it was a realization or fear that their child
was too young for day care, or for loss of transportation, or because of
prolonged illness, or other unexpected challenges. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 True, the results were far less than the 18 had hoped for at the beginning.
All but two of them did win the equivalency of a high school diploma. When it
came to the required internship that is intended to acclimate them to
dependable work habits, three more dropped out -- mostly because their
particular internships involved dead end, "go-fer" jobs that they found more
discouraging than quitting SPOC and striking out on their own. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 One sobering fact of life they quickly learned is that as a rule the job
market pays no more for a worker with only a high school diploma than it pays
for a worker without one. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As of last fall, seven had gone on to LCCC. Of these, one graduated and one
was still a student. The rest had dropped out for reasons that ranged from
lost faith in their ability to handle the studies, to injuries received in an
accident, to moving out of the area. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 However, seven of the 18 had jobs. One of them, who completed only her high
school requirements, actually had two jobs -- but, both of them were for
minimal wages at fast-food restaurants. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dr. Shalansky's study also pointed to some problems in the administration
of the SPOC program which, if corrected, are likely to substantially increase
the program's effectiveness. For example, the case managers are overburdened
with too many cases for them to be able to give the individual attention that
is essential in this program. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But, in sum, his research found that even the seemingly most hopeless were
inspired by the access SPOC gave them to the education that could get them out
of welfare and into a decent and lasting job. Given what is being heard from
Washington and Harrisburg, that is surprisingly good news. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tom Bigler is professor of communications at Wilkes University and a Times
Leader columnist. His column appears Wednesday and Sunday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

No One Wants To End Welfare More Than Those Caught In Its Grip 
One Suspects That Most Of Those Congressmen In Washington Or Legislators In 
Harrisburg And Most Other States Who Have Been Rushing This Year To Reform 
Welfare, Have Never Met The People Being Served Or Studied The Programs Being 
Offered Them.