Cash payments to 105 Lawrence County families on public assistance will end this fall under the state’s new three-year limit.

Friday, August 11, 2000

Cash payments to 105 Lawrence County families on public assistance will end this fall under the state’s new three-year limit.

And local human services officials want the public’s opinion about who receives exemptions.

An input meeting will be Aug. 22 at 10 a.m. at Ohio University Southern Campus’s Bowman Auditorium.

"You can have lots of public meetings but this meeting does mean something," said Buddy Martin, director of Lawrence County Department of Jobs and Family Services, formerly Department of Human Services.

"We want to discuss hardship exemptions for those with benefits running out," Martin said. "We want to follow what the community wants."

Families receiving Ohio Works First payments – what used to be called Aid to Families with Dependent Children, or AFDC – get cash assistance based on family size. They also receive a medical card and food stamps.

A part of state welfare reform, Ohio Works First changed the AFDC system to include a time limit. The move was aimed to help people find jobs and get off public assistance.

The first 63 county beneficiaries will hit their time limit Oct. 1, followed by 28 on Nov. 1 and 14 on Dec. 1, Martin said.

All have met Ohio Works First obligations, meaning each week they participated in an employment activity, whether that was building a resume, putting in job applications or taking classes, Martin said.

State law allows the department to exempt 20 percent of its previous year’s caseload if a family is considered in hardship.

Now, Martin wants the public to help the department decide what hardship means, he said.

Is it caring for a sick or disabled child, or someone who has tried to find a job for five years but can’t, he asked.

Medical cards and food stamps will remain available to those going off the Ohio Works First. But when the cash benefits run out, the community will be exposed to many more people needing assistance at food banks and other charities, Martin said.

Everybody’s deserving, but there is only a set number of exemptions – continuing cash assistance – that can be given, he said.

The point of this month’s meeting is to let everybody help decide what types of cases get exemptions, Martin said.

The Ohio Works First program is working, however, he added.

The assistance group receiving public funds numbered 1,877 in October 1997. This month, the group numbers only 541.

About 70 percent have gotten off public assistance and the majority of those have found jobs, Martin said.