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Show Utah Tops Average In Public Assistance Grants A comparison of public aid in Utah with that of other states shows Utah to be providing provid-ing higher than average grants to its public assistance recipients recip-ients despite lower than average financial resources. This analysis anal-ysis of public assistance trends was made by the Utah Foundation, Founda-tion, the private, non-profit tax research organization. According to the Foundation report, Utah has followed a policy pol-icy in recent years of providing public assistance only to those persons who are genuinely in need. This policy not only has safeguarded public assistance funds for those who are most in need, but has permitted cost-of-living increases to persons who are legitimately dependent upon public welfare. Major factors in limiting public pub-lic assistance to persons who are most in need, the report states, have been the lien law and property pro-perty restrictions for eligibility imposed by the Utah Legisut-ture Legisut-ture in 1947 and 1948, together with vigorous administrative policy in verifying need. The Utah Foundation study reveals that the number of old-age old-age assistance cases in Utah has declined by nearly 25 since the adoption of the lien law and property restrictions in 1947. On the other hand, the number of old-age assistance cases during dur-ing the same period increased by nearly 14 throughout the nation, by 17 in the Mountain States, and by 34 in those states not having a lien law. Utah's lien law was endorsed by a three to two vote of the people at the 1952 general elections. elec-tions. Utah Foundation estimates that the state would be spending spend-ing between $3.5 million and $5.3 million a year more for old-age assistance if Utah had followed the trends of these other states and maintained the present level of assistance pay-I pay-I ments. |