Document text
Food stamp rules may change Would make getting benefits easier Wire and staff reports SALEM -- State welfare officials plan to change food stamp eligibility rules as welfare reform pushes more people into low-paying jobs that fail to cover even the most basic needs such as transportation and meals for their children. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which pays food-stamp benefits, has tentatively approved several waivers so Oregon can change the eligibility rules. The changes coincide with steps President Clinton ordered this summer to reverse a slide in the number of food-stamp recipients nationwide. The waivers, expected near the end of 1999, would reduce food-stamp recipients' paperwork while expanding some eligibility or benefits. Many families just can't eat nutritiously on their current benefits, said Michelle Wallace, a district manager at the North Salem office of the state Adult and Family Services Division. "We eat a lot of macaroni-and-cheese and Top Ramen," said Christine Burrage, a third-generation welfare recipient and mother of four. "The kids, thank God, are eligible for lunch and breakfast at school." Burrage recently was faced with risking her job or forfeiting her food stamps when her car began to break down. She had to get a more reliable vehicle if she wanted to keep her job as a data-entry clerk because her employer had a point system that docked her for being even a minute late. "I can't afford to have my car break down," Burrage said, so she traded in her 1987 Buick and got a 1996 Pontiac worth about $6,000. While commutes got easier, dinnertime got harder. Because the state must limit the value of a welfare recipient's car to $4,650, Burrage lost all of her food stamps. But the state plans to change that limit and and other rules so that "people don't have to choose between a nutritious diet and having a reliable car so they can go to work," said Jim Sellers, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Human Services. "The food stamp supplement is the difference between mom eating and mom not eating, or paying the utility bill or not," Wallace said. Two in five poor families who are eligible for food stamps actually receive them, according to White House statistics. In Jackson County, 14,345 people were receiving food stamps as of June 1999. "We're not concerned, in doing this, that we're going to see a swell of new people," said Jim Fong, AFS district manager for Jackson and Josephine counties. "By having this kind of flexibility you can actually help more people get a job or get better jobs," Fong said. "In the old model all you cared about was giving people benefits. In the new model we're trying to promote how to help people become self-sufficient." Eventually, Fong said, the department hopes to be able to link food stamp benefits with services such as job training and education to help people find jobs or find better jobs. One of the federal waivers would mean the value of a food-stamp recipient's first car would no longer affect eligibility. Another waiver would create a standard allowance for shelter costs such as rent and utilities, while a third waiver will allow a standard medical allowance for seniors and people with disabilities. The combined streamlining should help food-stamp recipients spend more time at work and less time at the food-stamp office, said Jim Neely, deputy administrator of the Adult and Family Services Division, which oversees food stamps and welfare. The federal government estimates the conditional waivers could mean an additional $50 million to $65 million in food stamps during the first five years. Last week, state officials met with the USDA to discuss possible strategies to cover the cost. Meanwhile, people such as Irina Perez, a food-stamp recipient who does data entry for a telemarketing company at $6.50 an hour, say they wish the federal rules were even more flexible. "If I make $2 extra than what I should, they'll cut your food stamps down," Perez said. "They're not being fair about them." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA