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Show Utahns Benefit From Federal Programs In 1961 Utah citizens received substantial support from the Federal Government through ser-vices ser-vices to advance health, Improve education for their children and broaden economic security. The many kinds of help to people peo-ple administered by the U.S. Department De-partment of Health, Education, and Welfare are directed in this area by Dr. Albert H. Rosenthal, the Department's regional director direc-tor for Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. In reviewing the Department's activities, Dr. Rosenthal stated: ."A development of historic importance im-portance in the welfare field oc-cured oc-cured on December 11, when Secretary Sec-retary of Health, Education, and Welfare Abraham Ribicoff, announced an-nounced the first phase of a program pro-gram to revitalize the Federal State welfare activities. The administrative actions ordered or-dered by Secretary Ribicoff, Dr. Rosenthal said, have two objectives: objec-tives: To help people on public assistance assume useful roles in society by achieving self-support and Independence, and to eliminate elimi-nate whatever abuses have crept into the welfare program since it began a quater of a century ago. New importance will be attched to services for the entire family to help them become self-supporting. To emphasize this approach, ap-proach, the name of the Federal Bureau of Public Assitance has been changed to the. Bureau of Family Services. . Of the major programs In operation op-eration in Utah, Dr. Rosenthal cited ci-ted the following allocation of funds, pointing out that the figures fig-ures cover calendar year 1961. ttntM i -1 , - - - j ......... . ,M.;a uj tr itvi jtri available, estamates have been t made. Welfare- During the year 7.472 men and women over age 65 received public pub-lic assistance payments amounting amount-ing to $6,961,000. Under the aid dependent children program, 16,-711 16,-711 children and their mothers or $6,663,000. Payments totaling $2,749,00 were made to 2,790 permanently per-manently disabled persons, and $181,000 to 191 blind persons. Under new amendments to the law. Federal aid was available for the first time in 1961 to dependent de-pendent children of unemployed parents ancf to States to help for foster family care for children removed re-moved from their homes because parents failed to provide properly for them. Social Security During the year 42,500 retired workers and their dependents received $34,368,000 in social security se-curity benefits, and 15,900 widows wid-ows and children of deceased workers received $11,436,000. Disability benefits totaling $2,220,000 were made to 2.700 men and women and their dependents Kesler T. Powell, Manager of the Provo District Social Security Office said that the 1961 amendments amend-ments to the Social Security Act allow optional retirement for men at age 62, increase the minimum insurance benefit paid to retired workers from $33 to $40 per month, relax requirements require-ments for Insurance eligibility, and increase benefits paid aged widows by 10 percent. The retire-ment retire-ment test was modified so that retired workers may increase their earnings on Jobs and have less of their social security payments pay-ments withheld. Children's Services During the year grants were made to Utah to support health and welfare programs for children. child-ren. Grants in the amount of $121,532 were made for Maternal and Child Health Services! $148,180 for Services for Crippled Children; and $135,876 for Child Welfare Services. A total of $405,588 was made available to support these programs. Education The Federal Governmcht provides pro-vides direct aid for school districts dis-tricts in which enrollment has Increased because of federal activity. ac-tivity. During the year, eligible school districts in Utah received grants of $1,682,966 for operation of schools, Including teachers' salaries, and $576,992 for school nationally to help eligible school districts. Congress extended this program pro-gram for 2 years, beginning July 1. 1961. During this time over $177 millon will be availiable nationally to help eligible school districts. Congress also extended the National Na-tional Defense Education Act for 2 years. During the year 922 students stu-dents in Utah attended college with the help of money borrowed under the student loan program and 44 students were awarded graduate fellowships. Institutions Institu-tions of higher learning were granted $577,322 for these programs. pro-grams. Altogether, the Federal Government Gov-ernment contributed $3,763,527 to help Improve education opportunities oppor-tunities in Utah. A variety of new approaches to better care for the chronically ill and aged will be made possible pos-sible through the Community Services and Facilities Act of 1961. The Act authorizes grants to community agencies to develop devel-op new and Improved home nurslnjf, home care, and other out-of-hospital services. The Act also raises the celling for grants to the States for the construction of nursing homes from $10 million mil-lion to $20 million annually. " Under the Hill-Burton program, pro-gram, five hospitals, musing homes, and other facilities In Utah were awafded $2,477,000 in Federal funds for construction. Their total cost in $15,535,000. The Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1961 pro-Vide pro-Vide the basis for a greatly stepped up program of waste treatment works construction and broadens the Federal Government's Gov-ernment's enforcement powers. During the year six grants totaling to-taling $783,216 were awarded in the State for the construction of waste treatment works. The estimated cost of these projects is $2,951388. During 1961 grants amounting to $213,242 were made to Utah to strengthen health programs, general health programs, mental health, cancer, heart disease, and tuberculosis control, and for the training of professional nurses. $540,000 was allocated for Indian health activities. The National Institutes of Health, principal research arm of the Public Health Service, awarded $1,973,362 for 112 research re-search piojects in Utah. Fellowships Fellow-ships totaling $273,019 were awarded to 28 fellows in two institutions, in-stitutions, and grants of $1,436,-786 $1,436,-786 were made to institutions for training projects. Vocational Rehabilitation During the year the Federal Government granted $303,404 for the basic support of Utah's rehabilitation re-habilitation program, and 536 handicapped men and women were successfully rehabilitated and returned to productive employment. em-ployment. Food, Drugs and Cosmetics Last year, throughout the Nation, Na-tion, more than 36,000 inspec- tions of food, drugs, and cosmetic cos-metic establishments were made by the Food and Drug Administration. Adminis-tration. Chemists analyzed over 46,000 samples to determine their compliance with the law, and foods seized in over 700 Federal Feder-al court actions totaled more than 10,700 tons. Surplus Property Under the Department's surplus property program. Federal personal per-sonal property with an acquisition acquisi-tion value of $3,554,694 and real property valued at $364,111 were made available to the State for educational purposes. |