Welfare Reform: Act I

Throughout his presidential campaign, Jimmy Carter pledged he would reform the antiquated and anarchic welfare system run by the Federal Government. At his first Cabinet meeting, Carter ordered HEW Secretary Joseph Califano to get cracking on a solution. Califano quickly assembled a 32-member committee--composed of Administration, congressional, state and private experts--and set out to produce a plan by May 1. Last week, unable to get agreement on a single concept, Califano gave Carter four different approaches to the problem that were long on principle and short on detail. The President hopes to be able to choose one proposal, perhaps borrowing ideas from the others, before leaving for the London summit.

Carter's basic goal is to devise a welfare plan that is fair and compassionate toward those who cannot support themselves, while encouraging those who can work to get jobs. From the start, Carter has said that he would give no aid to someone who could work but refused to when given a good chance.

The HEW proposals suggest ways of improving and simplifying existing programs, or try to provide public service jobs for the poor. The most comprehensive plan--and the one Carter is expected to adopt in some form or other--is known as Consolidated Cash Assistance with Jobs. It would cover almost 34 million people who now get some form of federal public assistance, although drastically changing the way the help would be given. The proposal would continue some federal programs, such as child nutrition and old age assistance. But it would kill others, including food stamps and Aid for Families with Dependent Children. The plan would also simplify the intricate "means tests" now used to determine who is qualified for welfare.

Long Struggle. To replace everything that was swept away, the HEW plan would provide a sort of guaranteed income at a minimal level--somewhat like former President Nixon's Family Assistance Plan, which would have given cash grants to the unemployed and working poor. An urban family of four would have a basic cash benefit of $4,400 a figure 25% below the current poverty level as determined by the Federal Government. A single adult would get $2,250; a widow living with two children would receive $3,600. But there would be a catch: to receive aid, every adult deemed capable of working would have to look for a job. If unable to find one in 13 weeks, he or she would have to accept a job created by the Government, and put in 20 to 32 hours a week. Sample jobs that would be set up: janitorial work, road construction and office clerking. Pay would be at the prevailing minimum wage level, which is now $2.30 an hour. For every dollar made by an adult, the amount of welfare received by the household would be reduced by 500. For example, if the father in the four-member household was able to earn $2,000 a year, his family's federal payment would be reduced from $4,400 to $3,400. But his total income, of course, would be $5,400.

The plan has many unresolved complexities. It does not yet set the time when a mother would have to enter the work force--some experts suggest after the youngest child has turned six; others say twelve or 14. Drafters are still grappling too with the question of a head of family who will not work. The program will probably eliminate cash assistance for the laggard, but not for the spouse or children. States and localities would be free to adjust to the federal program as they saw fit, either maintaining or reducing their own plans.

Once Carter has considered all the problems and settled on an approach that he deems both simple and fair --characteristics that may be incompatible when dealing with the subject--he plans not to reveal the details of his proposed legislation until the fall. And when the debate in Congress on the welfare mess begins, it is likely to go on for a long, long time. Jimmy Carter's struggle to fulfill his campaign pledge is just beginning.

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