How Much do Poor Kids Matter Compared to Corporations and the Rich?

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How Much do Poor Kids Matter Compared to Corporations and the Rich?

InsideCapitolDome
I’ve written about the terrible proposal that Governor Kitzhaber put before the legislature that would slash assistance to poor families with children.

How Much do Poor Kids Matter Compared to Corporations and the Rich?

I’ve written about the terrible proposal that Governor Kitzhaber put before the legislature that would slash assistance to poor families with children. The legislature hasn’t made final decisions yet on the cuts, but the Oregon Department of Human Services, taking its cue from bills moving forward, has nevertheless started revving up the chainsaws aimed at very poor families with children.

On June 2, the Department filed a “temporary” rule — a rule that goes into effect immediately without a notice and comment period — announcing that a host of services will end on June 30. I am reprinting the items in the temporary rule below.

You don’t have to be conversant in public assistance-speak to realize that the bottom line is that poor children don’t matter as much as corporations and the rich.

The following activities and services specific to case plans will end on June 30:

  • Adult Basic Education
  • Community Service Program
  • Drug and alcohol services
  • English as a second language
  • Family Support and Connections
  • High school or GED Completion
  • Initial job search and Job Search
  • Job Skills Training
  • Life Skills
  • Medical services
  • Mental Health Services
  • Micro-enterprise
  • On-the-job training
  • Program Entry
  • Providing child care services to a Community Service Program participant
  • Rehabilitation activities
  • Retention Services
  • Services to families served by Child Welfare
  • Sheltered or supported work
  • Social Security Application process

Stabilization, intervention and other activities, including

  • Child health and development
  • Crisis intervention
  • Domestic violence services
  • Family stability activity
  • Vocational training
  • Work experience
  • Work supplementation

Payments made on behalf of an individual participating in one or more activities or services:

  • Support Services
  • Pre-TANF Program
  • Temporary Assistance for Domestic Violence Survivors Program
  • Transition Services

The Department of Human Services isn’t waiting for hearings by aggrieved clients to cut people off, because the new rules state, “Support services ended under this rule are not continued after June 30, 2011 regardless of whether a hearing request is submitted or pending.”

While the program that protects Oregon’s most vulnerable children faces a big budget ax, the subsidy program that enriches Hollywood moguls (who create only temporary jobs) and rich Oregonians looks like it’s going to get extended and possibly expanded. That’s right, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program gets whacked, but the Timeless Assistance for Non-needy Filmmakers program might very well get a boost. Add to that other subsidies for corporations and rich Oregonians that are still in play and that the legislature may very well approve, and you have to ask “how much do poor kids matter compared to corporations and the rich?”

 


This blog post was originally published on www.blueoregon.com on June 5, 2011. The original post can be found at http://www.blueoregon.com/2011/06/do-poor-kids-matter/.

OCPP

OCPP

Written by staff at the Oregon Center for Public Policy.
Chuck Sheketoff

Chuck Sheketoff

Chuck Sheketoff is a founder of the Oregon Center for Public Policy and former Executive Director. Incorporated in 1995, the Center was launched with Chuck as its first executive director after Chuck received the "public interest pioneer award" from the Stern Family Fund in September, 1997. Prior to starting the Center, Chuck lobbied the Oregon legislature on tax policies and on human services programs' policies and budgets on behalf of legal aid clients (1992 to 1996) and the low-income clients of the Oregon Law Center (1997).

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