Posted on 06/26/2002 12:59:09 AM PDT by sarcasm
State welfare workers too often withhold key information about benefits from clients and aren't doing enough to help those who don't speak English, a new study has found.
The survey of 13 welfare offices in King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties found that policies the Department of Social and Health Services launched more than a year ago to improve services are not always followed by frontline workers.
"It's critical for families in crisis that they get equal access," said Jon Gould, deputy director of the Children's Alliance, which released the 37-page report yesterday.
"Caseworker discretion shouldn't govern whether a family walks out of the office with certain services or not."
DSHS official Michael Masten, who oversees welfare offices, said the report highlighted flaws the state already knows about and is working hard to fix.
The study did find that DSHS is getting better at asking welfare recipients to fill out customer comment cards, and is providing more standardized written information rather than office-by-office interpretations of benefits, Gould said.
But almost all the welfare offices got low marks when it came to offering translated written information to non-English-speaking clients, he said.
Some offices kept key information behind the counter, forcing new clients to ask for translated brochures.
The Auburn welfare office, which serves clients who speak 20 different languages, does not employ any bilingual staff, the report said.
But Masten said DSHS is trying to serve non-English-speaking clients, and has translated brochures into seven languages. And offices that lack bilingual staff use translators, he said.
Another concern raised by the study is that welfare workers varied widely in how much information they gave clients about benefits, Gould said.
The study blamed that problem on welfare reform, saying workers have been under pressure to move people off cash assistance as quickly as possible.
As a result, some workers push welfare recipients to take low-paying jobs rather than offering them job training or post-secondary education that will keep them on caseloads longer, Gould said.
Washington launched its WorkFirst welfare experiment in 1997, requiring all welfare recipients to work at least part time and placing a five-year limit on cash benefits.
Welfare rolls have dropped dramatically against the backdrop of a booming economy, from 90,200 in July 1997 to about 56,011 two months ago.
Auburn resident Janet Gudenau said her welfare worker has repeatedly pressured her to take minimum-wage jobs instead of pursuing job training.
"A lot of it is about power and control," said Gudenau, who is a single parent raising three children.
"They only tell you about what they think you deserve, not what you are entitled to."
After discovering she could not support her family on low-wage jobs, Gudenau followed a friend's advice and enrolled in a computer-training program.
She hopes to find a job soon to help put her through community college.
The yearlong study was conducted by visiting welfare offices twice, interviewing office administrators, questioning clients and welfare advocates, and analyzing office data, such as processing times for benefits.
The study recommends that DSHS improve its services by monitoring the way workers treat clients, providing more staff, increasing resources to non-English-speaking clients, and ensuring that key information about all benefits is posted on office walls and handed to every new family.
America, love it or LEAVE it.
Freep this immigration petition
How come she thinks she is "entitled to" get job training while living off my money?
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