ERIE TIMES NEWS Opinion: ….Perhaps you have never had to apply for welfare programs such as food stamps, Medicaid, small cash grants or housing assistance. But the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare also funds programs that serve those who have mental health problems, intellectual disabilities and drug and alcohol addictions. Such programs also serve families and youngsters supervised by the Erie County Office of Children and Youth. Money goes to nursing home care for the indigent and shelters for the homeless. In other words, the most vulnerable members of our society are being targeted by these cuts.
The Corbett administration proposes a 20 percent cut in welfare services, with money delivered in a block grant to counties. The idea is to make agencies more efficient by competing for funding, a concept that sounds admirable in theory. But many social service agencies are already overwhelmed with clients and scraping for dollars…
Many hardworking citizens resent it, rightly so, when people take advantage of the welfare system, but there are problems that we have no control over that can unravel family life. How many people wind up in the criminal justice system because they have untreated mental health problems or because they are substance abusers? Without treatment and prevention programs, how many more people will need services in the system?… (more)
