Evening star., 1962-08-19
Relief for Disabled
To Be Investigated
Sudden Shifting
OF Cases Stirs
BWd's Interest

The explosive District We'll
fare Department investigation
will turn to a new category
Soon-the city's relief program
for the totally diSabled-it was
learned last night.
A recent sudden, accelerated
transfer of cases out of the
Departments general public
assistance program to the dis
abled category has aroused the
interest Of Senator Byrd, Dem
ocrat of West Virginia.
The investigation is sched-
uled for sometime this fall
as soon as investigators finish
projects they have already
started.
Case transfers took place
shortly before welfare investi-
gators, spanked by Senator
Byrd. began looking into gen.
eral assistance.
The Welfare Departments
annual report last year shows
4l8 cases we're transferred in
1861 into the totally disabled
program, which makes up
about 25 per cent of relief rolls.
Nearly this number were
transferred within a two-to-
three-month period this year,
it was learned.
The general public assistance
category does not receive Fed
eral aid money. The program
for totally disabled does draw
Federal matching funds.
When asked to comment.
Senator Byrd said the fact that
a new investigation has been
scheduled does not mean the
transfers should not have taken
place.
He said, however, that the
accelerated pace of transfers
does raise some questions which
should be answered.
Investigators of the Welfare
Department have completed a
sampling scrutiny of the city's
aid to dependent children pro-
gram. A study of the depart
ment's general assistance pro-
gram is to be completed shortly
Overhaul Scheduled
! Findings of cheating in sam,
pies taken so far have led Il
! a promise by the District Com
: missioners to overhaul th
= whole welfare program.
= The Commissioners met lal
d week with Welfare DirectC
n Gerard M. Shea and aides
begin drafting a revised pre-
gram expected to reflect guide
, lines set down by Senator Byrc
A second meeting is scheduled
for early this week.
The city must have its new
program ready for presentation
by September /, when the Sen
ator resumes his Senate Dis
trict budget subcommittee well
fare hearings.
The Commissioners are giving
top priority to development of
a work program for the job
less but able-bodied, it was re-
ported last night. Senator
Byrd is known to favor such a
program. which his State al
ready has adopted.
Tie Into Major Shift
Establishing a work-relief
operation would tie into a ma
jor welfare revision favored by
the Commissioners-expansion
of the city'S relief program to
families where the father is
able to work but jobleSs.
Welfare aid here now is lin
tied to children whose fathers
are dead, incapacitated or alb
sent from the home. A "man-in-
the-home" finding has been
one of the major factors in re-
lief cheating uncovered by the
investigation.
Under the work k-relief plan,
the children of any able-bodied
father who is out of work would
be eligible for welfare pay
ments. The father, however,
would have to take any job Of
fered him by the District.
A number of questions have
yet to be answered before the
Commissioners would be ready
to make a final decision on the
program. One is how the pro-
gram would be financed and
another is the question of just
how the jobs could be fur
niShed.