Suggest changes to improve welfare system

1. Creating a Medicaid buy-in program so that people can pay for Medicaid on a sliding scale, rather than risking losing their benefits if they find work and go above the threshold for receiving Medicaid;

2. using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds to increase benefit levels that haven't been increased since the 1980s, so that a single person won't have to live on $315 a month in public assistance; and

3. increasing the minimum wage from its current $5.15/hour (or a little more than $10,000 a year), so that people getting jobs receive a living wage and don't need aid to survive.

Joseph Buttigieg stated that the two critical needs are helping people who need long-term assistance and making things easier for families who are leaving welfare.

He echoed Mr. Hamilton's suggestions for increasing benefits and added several more changes to the list:

1. "There needs to be some adequate program in place for people who are unable to work" because of mental or physical disabilities, he stated. "There's no provision for that right now." He advised "front-end detection" to determine what persons with disabilities need and how they can be helped to support themselves.

2. A better infrastructure for those who are transitioning from welfare to work, so that people who must go to food pantries and shelters can get the help they need. "You're not going to create overnight a situation where people are working and are making ends meet," Mr. Buttigieg noted.

3. Ways of making work more rewarding so that those who find work aren't living in poverty, and have adequate child care and affordable housing.

(KB)

(05-17-01)