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Show Tuesday, September 23, 1990 The Daily Herald, Provo, Utah Eearnfar ': C4 Lifestyle Is it punishment or promise for the poor? in teens whose families are on welfare? school attendance Does Wisconsin program really increase evicted because of this," said Pat DeLessio, attorney for Legal Action of Wisconsin, which has represented about 300 families sanctioned. "They can't buy clothing for their kids. They run out of By SHARON COHEN Associated Press Writer It's - that MILWAUKEE (AP) experiment in education an of- or fers promise for the poor punishment and pain. Learnfare, the only statewide program in the nation that ties benefits of welfare families to their teens' school attendance, has been praised, panned and put to a court test, leading to a partial ban. Though Learnfare has a simple focus keeping kids in school it stirs thorny debate about some issues: the role of government, the responsibility of parents, the rights of the poor. 1 ,.-. - t- 4 - Learnfare, the only statewide program in the nation that ties benefits of welfare families to their teens' school attendance, has been praised, panned and put to a court test, leading to a partial ban. .. hot-butt- learnfare allows the state of Wisconsin to cut a family's monthly Aid To Families Of Dependent Children check if a teenager has more than two unex-cuse- d absences a month. A mother of two, for instance, can lose $77 of her $517 monthly check, and sometimes more. Learnfare's boosters, including Gov. Tommy Thompson, say this cornerstone of Wisconsin's welfare reform package is the first step toward cracking the cycle of poverty. "The goal Is to get these teenagers back in school so they won't need welfare in the future," said Diane Waller, director of the Office of Welfare Reform. "Without a high school education, their ci.ance to ever be as adults is very limited." U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan has praised the program's goals; his agency has approved Wisconsin's request to expand it to younger children, but the state says there will be no monetary penalties. The state has plenty of success " , V? ' v In a July decision stemming from the suit, U.S. District Judge Terence T. Evans ordered Learnfare suspended in Milwaukee County, citing administrative errors. While its goals are worthy, a irv, : they have to go to food food, he said, welfare families "should not be made homeless and hungry in the name of social experimen- pantries." Beyond that, some claim it just doesn't work. "Some kids are r xmm w . w 1 .jmu 1., . Pamela Cooper, right, with daughter, Antonla and mother Doris Woods, contends family's benefits were cut in the Milwaukee, Wis. Learnfare Program although she was legitimately ill. teen parents attending because of Learnfare. But opponents, including church and community groups and par- who kicked "If we can stop this cycle when drugs, returned to school and they are younger and give them graduated, teen mothers who careers ... they won't have this write the governor saying they terrible situation by the time now have a future for their chil- they're 36 and grandmothers still dren, hundreds of dropouts in trying to pursue their education," alternative programs, all courtesy said Kathy head of an alternative school for of Learnfare. the truant Harrell-Pattersc- ents, say Learnfare penalizes k those living a meager existence. "We have families who've been have been imposed penalties there. In June, a state audit found "significant weaknesses" in the way Learnfare is run, citing paperwork errors causing some people to be unfairly penalized. Some have branded Learnfare an administrative nightmare, but state proponents insist it works well everywhere but in Milwaukee County. "The people can argue about how many and what percent ... (but) Learnfare is getting kids back in school," said Miss Waller. "There's no question about it." contending the Learnfare program violates constitutional check-to-chec- n, However, Evans also said he would lift the ban if changes were made to improve the system monitoring absences in Milwaukee's public schools, where the board has opposed the program. About 48 percent of 27,000 students ages 13 to 19 subject to Learnfare live in Milwaukee of the County; some three-fourt- about welfare. They say, 'I don't care if my mother gets cut off or not,' " said Pamela Cooper, 17, who contends her family's benefits were cut when she was legitimately ill. "Some people got kids who just won't listen. They just won't go to school." Others complain it smacks of discrimination. "What are they doing to keep the children not on welfare in school? Not a damn thing," said Dennis Fengier, whose family has been repeatedly sanctioned because of what he says are recordkeeping errors. His wife, Geneal's, assessment? "Learnfare they don't learn and it's not fair," she said. The Fengiers are among six Milwaukee families named as suit plaintiffs in a class-actio- n AP Laserphoto stories: tation." big-head- rights. 'Working Mother lists 75 firms that are th e best for workinq women NEW YORK (AP) -- Here are the companies identified by Working Mother magazine as the best employers for women: Aetna Life & Casualty, Hartford, 75 Conn. Allstate Insurance, Northbrook, 111. America West Airlines, Phoenix, Ariz. American Bankers Insurance Group, Miami. American Express, New York. AT&T, New York. Arthur Anderson & Co., Chicago. Apple Computer, Cupertino, Cal- if. Atlantic Richfield Co., Ixs Bellcore, Livingston, N.J. Beth Israel Hospital, Boston. The Bureau of National Affairs, Washington. Leo Burnett, Chicago. CMP Publications, Manhasset, N.Y. Campbell Soup Co., Camden, N.J. Champion International, Stamford, Conn. Citicorp, New York. Con Edison, New York. Corning Inc., Corning, N.Y. Digital Equipment, Mass. Dominion Va. it o, olis. INDEECO, St. Louis. IBM, Purchase, N.Y. Johnson & Johnson, New Bruns- Calif. General Mills, Minneapolis. Grieco Bros. (Southwick clothes), Lawrence, Mass. Group 243, Ann Arbor, Mich. G.T. Water Products Inc., Moor-par- k, Calif. Hallmark, Kansas City, Mo. John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co., Boston. Hechinger, Landover, Md. Hewitt Associates, Lincolnshire, Maynard, Bankshares, Roche, Nutley, N.J. HBO, New York. IDS Financial Services, MinneapHoffmann-L- a Fel-PrSkokie, 111. Gannett, Arlington, Va. Genentech Inc., San Francisco, 111. Roanoke, Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopu- - qo of a nger; let on -- Ann Racine, Sons, Lancaster Laboratories, Lancas- ter, Pa. Lincoln National Corp., Wayne, Ind. Little Tikes, Hudson, Ohio. Lost Arrow, Ventura, Calif. Fort Lourdes Hospital, Binghamton, Conn. United States Hosiery Corpora- tion, Lincolnton, N.C. ;Unum, Portland, Maine. U.S. West, Englewood, Colo. Warner-Lamber- t, Morris Plains, N.J. Wegmans, Rochester, N.Y. Fargo & Co., San Francis- - Wells co. Institute, Cary, N.C. South Shore Bank, Chicago. Xerox, Stamford, Conn. by Cathy Guisewita AS ENUlRONfllENTfll AWARENESS WHAT RISES, WE PAUSE TD ASK WHAT IT IS THAT MOWS PEOPLE Wlt RfllMfOREST WUV A6REEIN& THAT 00ES IT TAKE 0AV EARTH fr HAS TO BE CONE fflORE ? ? ONE ONE SPECIAL? 010HI BROCHURE WORE MORE ONE ? OR IS IT 8l, SOMETHING INTAN&- I- RECY- personal force.... CLING n VWVN I TO THEMSELVES. 5 TIMES CREATORS L.A. I'm SOflETWES THE WORK- INGS Of SOfflE AORE l DOING- Z Trammell Crow Co., Dallas. The Travelers Corp., Hartford, Ohio. SAS N.Y. 5MPIY Landers & & Syntex, Palo Alto, Calif. Tenneco, Houston. catiiy i Dear Ann Landers: I would like to share a bit of personal experience with "Corpus Christi" who was angered by the way her father's new wife controls his personal affairs: Do yourself a favor and GET OVER IT! My parents divorced after 43 maryears of a riage. Everyone in the family knew their relationship was awful, but it didn't prepare us for the venom that erupted during the divorce proceedings or the battles that took place over the property settlement. Though my parents live in a state where the normal division is 5050, my mother chose to fight to make sure "that woman" my didn't get any father's mistress of it After almost three years in the courts, they blew a ridiculous amount of money on lawyers and inflicted wounds that will never heal. What a tragedy to have wasted all that time and energy on petty tilings that happened almost 50 years ago. They wrecked family relationships by playing child against parent and sibling against sibling for an estate that was quite modest to say the least. My father is retired now. He and his girlfriend live fairly well on a disability cheek, Social Security and a modest sum he inherited frprQ his father. My mother has less;- though she did put some money in the bank recently from the sale of her parents' home. What they have is theirs and, as I have told them both, in very plain language, they can do with it what they want. They can burn it, sell it or give it away. I don't want anything. It doesn't bother me one iota that Pops bought his girlfriend a new house with what could have been my inheritance. Granted, it is not always easy to keep my mouth shut. As with alcoholism cr drug abuse, staying uninvolved in a dysfunctional family is an ongoing battle. I realize, however, that for the sake of my owd peace of mind, I must do it. Se,; Corpus Christi, let go of your ariyer and get on with your life. Your father is doing just that, and he is doing it with HIS money, not yours. Sign me Doing Fine in D.C. Icar D.C: You sound like my khul of girl, a terrific role model for '.people in your spot Thanks for an excellent letter. Dear Ann Landers: You recently provided advice about the use of wick, N.J. S.C. Johnson Wis. Steelcase, Grand Rapids, Mich. Stride Rite, Cambridge, Mass. MNC Financial, Baltimore. Marriott, Washington. Catherine McAuley Health System, Ann Arbor, Mich. Merck & Co., Rahway, N.J. 3M, St. Paul, Minn. Morrison & Foerster, San Francisco. NCNB, Charlotte, N.C. Official Airline Guides, Oak Brook, 111. Oracle, Redwood Shores, Calif. Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance, Hartford, Conn. Pitney Bowes, Stamford, Conn. Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, los, Boston. Dow Chemical, Midland, Mich. Du Pont, Wilmington, Del. BE&K, Birmingham, Ala. . L I r Ml i i f T m IS SHE. Am vim have Wl been sm- H6 WITH HER BESIDES emm J"V fjra-r:::- MDWR ??.'.' H SYNDICATE electrical products near water. At the Consumer Product Safety Commission, we know that electricity and water don't mix. At least 17 people a year, mostly young children, are electrocuted when a hair dryer falls into a bathtub. In addition to your suggestion to disconnect appliances in the bathroom, an inexpensive device designed to prevent these deaths is now available. It is called a GFCI (ground-faul- the outlet. It will protect against electrocution from any electrical appliance and should be used in kitchens, garages and outdoor receptacles, as well as in bathrooms. Thank you, Ann Landers, for providing a valuable public service and helping reduce preventable electrocution deaths. Jones-Smit- U.S. Con- sumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, D.C. circuit interrupter) t Jacqueline chairman, Dear Jacqueline and can be purchased from hardware and electrical supply stores. The GFCI comes either as a portable adapter for plugging into an outlet or as a replacement for Jones-Smit- Thanks for the information. My readers should be aware that this lifesaving gadget can be purchased for as little as $15 in most stores. PRESENTS 7: 4 -- if.' . tV.Tl. AttentidLim,f9ra&rder "Kb SUED Michelle Lundell, Learning Disabilities Specialist Children with ADD or "hyperactive" traits are a challenge to parents and teachers. Implement techniques and coping skills that effectively deal with overly active children. September 27 - Thursday - 7 p.m. Provo Library PERC Center, Lower SouthWest Entrance 425 West Center, Provo For more information about our programs, please call (801) 225-280- 0. s T |