Volunteers Expected to Play Role in Welfare Reform

Moving thousands of men and women off Ventura County welfare rolls will take more than pats on the back, words of encouragement or even good jobs.

County officials are counting on a dedicated bank of volunteers to fill the gaps that government simply cannot.

“Government can’t do it by itself,” said Betty Krause, who coordinates volunteers through the county’s Workforce Development Department. “Unless we’re out there waving the flag saying we need help, people are going to be sitting around grumbling, saying ‘Why isn’t it working?’ ”

Drawing on two common themes running through federal government, county officials plan to use volunteerism to power what they describe as a unique approach to sweeping federal welfare reform legislation passed last year.

They’re looking for churches, service clubs, corporations, community college students and the public to play a large role in the effort to move thousands off the county welfare rolls and into the work force.

Some might give welfare recipients rides to work, act as mentors, help in job hunts or teach proper grooming. Others could teach basic literacy and math skills, baby-sit, even donate old cars that college students will repair and credit unions will lease at affordable rates.

“I think if it works for us, it can work for the entire nation,” said Shawna Atchison, a 32-year-old Ventura woman who donated more than 2,000 hours of her time in the past 1 1/2 years to charitable efforts.

“By doing nothing, it’s not going to change anything,” she said. “It’s going to make the situation worse.”

The push for volunteerism follows last month’s nationwide conference on the subject, and comes as state lawmakers work to craft a state law implementing federal welfare reform mandates.

The federal measure, passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton, eliminates the nation’s Aid to Families with Dependent Children program and replaces it with annual lump sum payments to states, which then will administer their own programs.

But county officials here are not content to wait until the Legislature passes its welfare reform law.

By July 1, the county will open the doors of a one-stop pilot program in south Oxnard, an effort designed to help 150 welfare recipients become self-sufficient. The program will be based out of the state Economic Development Department at 5th Street and Ventura Boulevard, and will draw together an array of state and county agencies.

“We want to hit the ground running,” said Randall Feltman, the county’s deputy director of welfare reform implementation. “We will go faster, we think, than the other counties, many of whom have not talked of volunteers at all.”

County officials said they are confident that residents, especially those in the religious community, will want to donate their time to helping the indigent.

“It’s part of the social doctrine of these churches,” Supervisor John K. Flynn said. “This is a Christian obligation, a Christian duty to help people.”

Flynn pointed to a tiny library branch in El Rio, where volunteers have helped keep the library open 40 hours a week, instead of the 14 hours the county supports.

But running a reference desk is not the same as working with society’s poorest residents.

Carolyn Forrester, who manages volunteers for a similar program in Nevada’s Clark County, said residents are willing to work with the indigent but often can’t give enough time.

“If you’re expecting volunteers to drive welfare people every day to work, that ain’t going to work,” Forrester said. “The average volunteer gives four hours a week.”

Ventura County’s program is intended as a testing ground for the welfare reform plans, learning what works and what doesn’t. Meanwhile, officials will adjust the pilot program to comply with state law and expand it countywide by January, when the state law is expected to take effect.

The plan is not to simply supplant the old welfare system with a new one, Feltman said. Rather, the idea is to match clients on a case-by-case basis with the job-seeking services and social services they’ll need to become self-sufficient.

The county has beaten this path before, when flood waters roiled through the Ventura River in winter 1995, sweeping dozens of longtime homeless camps out to sea.

Officials in the city of Ventura refused to allow the homeless to move back into the river bottom, instead working with county officials--including Feltman--to craft an award-winning homeless relocation program designed to help those displaced become self-sufficient.

But while officials tout the success of that effort, it involved only about 200 people. Welfare reform looks to serve thousands.

“It’s going to be very interesting as it unfolds,” Feltman said. “We’re talking about a totally different culture and approach for these families. Right now, it’s an agency that completes the necessary eligibility paperwork to provide a check. We’re going to become a more comprehensive community organization, designed to help families, mainly women with children, become financially self-sufficient.”

And no one expects the answers, or the jobs, to come easily.

There are roughly 10,000 families on AFDC in Ventura County, most of whom are single women with children. The number translates to 28,000 people--17,000 of whom are children--dependent on the government for their income, county social services officials said.

The county’s plan will be to assess each case and link every welfare recipient with the right agency, program or volunteer to find the necessary help.

Barbara Fitzgerald, the county’s interim director of the Public Social Services Agency, said the volunteer program will have to be carefully sculpted to be sure volunteers are reliable, trained and matched with roles they can handle.

Volunteers will not be left on their own, officials said. They’ll be able to tap into the expertise of case management workers, be reimbursed for gasoline expenses and covered under the county’s liability insurance.

“There are many places in there for volunteers to fit in,” Feltman said. “The challenge is to present it to the community in a way that will encourage people to participate.”

A local survey of current welfare recipients displayed the gamut of social problems that officials and volunteers will face in helping these people become self-sufficient. Hundreds of clients have alcohol and drug addictions, mental and physical health problems, poor attitudes about work and self-esteem issues.

But the most common barriers were child care, transportation and a lack of job skills, said Craig Ichinose, senior researcher in the county’s welfare department. About half displayed problems with day care and job training, while four out of 10 have problems finding adequate transportation.

“What we’re really talking about is moms and kids,” said Helen Reburn-, deputy director of county’s Public Social Services Agency. “Moms needing to get a job and a safe, appropriate place for their kids.”

Beyond providing such services as child care and transportation, the public’s involvement could also enhance the program by making welfare reform a community project, not just a government problem.

“I’m convinced by bringing the public in, the welfare reform plan will work, because we’ll have the support of the public,” said Betty Krause of the county’s Workforce Development Department. “They will have invested time and effort themselves.”