Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Area Welfare Rolls Decrease; Nevada County Numbers Drop

Three years ago states in America were given the task of handling welfare reform in their own way.

The federal government provided funding, but it was up to the individual legislatures to decide how the money would be spent.

In Arkansas it was decided to establish a program for Transitional Employment Assistance, or the TEA program. Additionally, the Arkansas legislature mandated no person could be on welfare for more than 24 months during their lives, while living in the state.

This law, however, does not affect a person's ability to get food stamps, Medicaid or housing assistance.

The law did away with the old Aid for Dependent Children program and created the TEA program to take its place. For a change, this is a government program that has lived up to its billing.

The TEA program, according to Twyla Arnett, administrator of the Nevada County Department of Human Services, is geared to reduce welfare dependence by assisting able-bodied recipients to locate and retain employment.

In effect, for the first time in American history, welfare recipients are being encouraged to get jobs with incentives being offered for those who do.

The incentives include help with paying child care for up to three years, full Medicaid coverage for the family for a year, along with an employment and transportation bonus.

Arnett said each month a person gets TEA assistance counts against their two-year lifetime limit in Arkansas. The federal government allows a person to receive such aid up to five years. Individual states may set their limits lower, as Arkansas did, but can't go any higher than the five-year limit.

On the state level, each county's DHS office was given the task of making the program work.

So far, it has been a success. When the program began there were 35 time-limited TEA cases in Nevada County.

Now, there are 10 such cases, and none from the original 35. Arnett said the longest a family has been on the TEA list has been nine months.

Normally, she said, people are only on the list for four months before finding suitable employment.

The Nevada County DHS Office has not had to close a single case where a person used all 24 months of their lifetime assistance.

One of the first success stories, Arnett said, was a 30-year-old mother who had never worked. She was given one-on-one counseling and encouragement from her case manager and found a job.

The day she received her first paycheck, she returned to the DHS office to have a copy made to show her mother. "She was overjoyed," Arnett said, "and is still employed three years later and is off financial assistance."

At this time, she said, there are two single mothers who have decided to return to college and further their education. Both, Arnett added, are on the Dean's list.

The DHS, she said, helps them with transportation costs and child care. Once they complete their degree plan, they should be able to support their family.

Part of the reform mandated local TEA coalitions be formed to create and utilize community programs to prevent or limit the dependence on welfare programs.

The Nevada County TEA coalition has focused on teen pregnancy prevention and alcohol and drug abuse as its targets.

The coalition sponsored a teen summit at Prescott High School with more than 300 students attending. A group of teen parents, male and female, spoke, answered questions and told how their lives had changed after having babies.

In addition, the coalition has ben active in supporting other community programs such as the life skills conference and substance abuse programs.

The Boys to Men and Girls to Women mentor programs are also active in these areas.

The clerical staff at the NCDHS works to make the TEA program a success. It maintains a job bank of area job openings along with a clothing closet for those needing clothes for job interviews or so their children can attend school.

There are four TEA case managers, Beth Anderson, Corinna Booker, Peggy Holt and Cathy Kirkham. They have worked to serve the clients making the transition from welfare to work.

The DHS has tracked the employment of the TEA clients for a year after leaving the program. To date, about 75 percent have stayed employed for the entire year.

Nevada County's TEA program, Arnett said, is one of the most successful in the state.

A recent audit showed no deficiencies in the Nevada County program, with a 71 percent drop in the TEA payroll during the last three years being proof of its success.