`i Want To Make The Best Of It.' 
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Accident Victim Listed `critical'

By Staff and Wire Reports
 Saturday, January 04, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





HARRISBURG -- Sweeping welfare reforms affecting thousands of Luzerne
County residents will begin taking effect in March, a state official announced
Friday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The changes aim to get people off welfare and onto the employment rolls
while tightening eligibility guidelines. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Nick Volpetti, director of the Luzerne County Assistance Office, said he
does not know what impact welfare reform will have in Luzerne County.
According to November statistics: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 25,235 residents -- 11,916 households -- receive food stamps. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 38,198 residents have incomes low enough to qualify for medical assistance,
but they might not all be on Medicaid now. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 8,428 residents receive cash assistance through the Aid to Families with
Dependent Children program. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The county assistance office is part of the state Department of Public
Welfare. On Friday, Public Welfare Secretary Feather O. Houstoun announced her
agency has begun to mail more than 1,700 copies of the state's welfare reform
plan to human service providers, government agencies and community
organizations. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The plan, which outlines how Pennsylvania will implement new state and
federal welfare laws, will be submitted to the federal government on Jan. 17.
But the plan itself will not take effect until March 3. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In August, the federal government eliminated the 61-year-old Aid to
Families with Dependent Children program -- the state and federally funded
welfare program that provides cash assistance to about 550,000 women and
children in Pennsylvania. Instead, the federal government will provide states
with time-limited, cash assistance block grants known as the Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families program. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Houstoun said Act 35, the state welfare law Gov. Tom Ridge signed last May,
will serve as the blueprint for how Pennsylvania enacts both state and federal
welfare reforms. Act 35 promotes self-sufficiency through work. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 To help welfare recipients become self-sufficient, the governor has
increased spending for state welfare job-training by $19.5 million or 70
percent, and day care and other support services by $52.7 million, or 139
percent. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It clearly will take individuals and organizations working together to
help those on welfare gain self-sufficiency," Houstoun said. "Those same
individuals and organizations should have ample opportunity to comment on our
plans and help shape the future of welfare programs here in Pennsylvania." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For Pennsylvania to receive a $719 million federal block grant, the
Department of Public Welfare must submit a state plan, conduct a 45-day public
comment period, and then begin the plan by March 3. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "While we intend to start the new welfare program on March 3 to maximize
our federal funding, the new law allows us to amend our state plan four times
each year," Houstoun said. "We certainly intend to avail ourselves of that
opportunity as pertinent public input is received." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In addition to mailing the plan to key agencies, the department will have
the document available Monday at its 104 county assistance offices across the
state. The Luzerne County office is at 85 E. Union St., Wilkes-Barre. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At least six public forums will be conducted to receive comment on the plan
over the next several weeks. The dates and locations of the forums will be
announced later. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Individuals interested in submitting comments should write: TANF State Plan
Comments, Attn. Patricia H. O'Neal, Director, Bureau of Policy, Office of
Income Maintenance, Room 431 Health and Welfare Building, P.O. Box 2675,
Harrisburg, Pa., 17105. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The plan also will be posted on the state's Internet home page early next
week at http://www.state.pa (choose Department of Public Welfare/Deputy
Secretary of Income Maintenance). &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Statewide Welfare Reform Targeted For March Thousands In Luzerne County Will Be Affected, But Head Of Assistance Office Unsure Of Exact Degree