Do we have the jobs needed to employ scores of welfare recipients needing work? Is there enough affordable, safe child care available in our communities so welfare recipients, mostly single women with children, can find and keep jobs? How does our community stand up in regards to the risk factors of welfare dependency? And what can we do to lessen those risks?

Specific information about these and other questions about welfare and welfare reform will be available at a series of public forums to be held in communities across Kansas.

The federal welfare reform law passed last summer will have significant ramifications for people in our communities as we deal with issues of poverty and jobs. Because of this, the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS) is hosting the public forums, which are open to all members of the community willing to seek answers to community problems.

On Tuesday, October 28 in Wellington, and on Wednesday, October 29 in Hutchinson and Newton, community forums on welfare reform will be held.

In Wellington, the Tuesday forum will be from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Raymond Frye Complex, 320 North Jefferson Avenue.

In Hutchinson, the Wednesday forum will be from 9 to 11 a.m. in the Blue Dragon Room in the Student Union of Hutchinson Community College, 1300 North Plum. Also on Wednesday in Newton, the forum will be from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Harvey County Community Room in the basement of the Harvey County Courthouse, 800 North Main.

The forums -- to be hosted by the agency's Hutchinson Area Director Gary Nelson -- will examine the new rules for operating welfare programs in Kansas and how these rules will impact our communities. Some of the changes include a 60-month lifetime limit on the receipt of cash assistance and the requirement for all adults on cash assistance to find work within two years.

Information specific to the seven-county Hutchinson SRS Area, which includes Rice, Reno, McPherson, Harvey, Kingman, Harper and Sumner counties, will be shared during the forums. This includes the number of people in the area now receiving public assistance, the amount of child care available now and needed in the future, information on jobs and job, training needs, and the level of risk locally for welfare dependency.

Connie Hubbell, commissioner of Income Support/Employment Preparation Services (IM/EPS) for SRS, or Candy Shively, deputy commissioner, will attend the forums. SRS specialists on welfare issues, including those with information about child care, job training programs, and child support, will also attend.

But the forum is not only about providing information. The purpose of the forums is also to ask for ideas and suggestions from community members on how to help end welfare dependency and put all our citizens on the road to the future. A combined community effort is our best hope for the future.

The key to successful reform of our state's public assistance system is community involvement.

Page Last Updated: May 29, 2001