New state funding would help parents stay in jobs

The clock is ticking for California welfare recipients. Federal law requires that 227,500 find jobs next year. Real progress on that front would make winners of both the former recipients and the state, providing a better economic future for families and lower government welfare costs.

The key is to keep people in stable jobs, not bouncing on and off the dole as discouragement increases on all sides. One big piece of the puzzle is training in both job skills and the social skills needed to succeed in the workplace. Another is ensuring the availability of jobs, which thanks to the robust economy is looking more possible now. But while welfare mothers and a few fathers get the chance, and a push, to enter the workplace, of at least equal importance is decent and accessible child care, the kind that allows a parent to be reliable on the job because the children are in reliable hands.

Gov. Pete Wilson gets credit on the child care issue for his handling of an unexpected state surplus. He proposes to spend nearly $300 million in addition to the already budgeted $1 billion in state and federal funds for child care. The total would pay for 430,000 subsidized child care slots.

There is no partisan debate in Sacramento over the importance of child care to welfare reform. There are philosophical differences, over such questions as how long should a new mother on welfare stay home with her child. The governor wants 12 weeks, arguing that welfare mothers should be treated the same as working mothers, who typically qualify for only 12 weeks of maternity leave after childbirth. Democrats would allow welfare mothers to stay home for the first year. With the shortage of infant care and the high cost, which averages $600 a month per baby, allowing a mother to stay home with her baby until age 1 seems reasonable, at least for now.

Democrats and Republicans also differ over how much, if anything, a parent should contribute to help pay for the subsidized care. Many Democrats argue that the parent should pay nothing because the state would incur a high cost in collecting a small fee from the beneficiary. Wilson supports fully subsidized care for two years, after which the parent would pay the full amount. Free care, however, could continue a sense of entitlement that encourages dependency. A minimal payment would teach responsibility.

Wilson should combine his worthy plan with a proposal in the Legislature to increase oversight of state child care programs by the Department of Education rather than the overworked Department of Social Services. This could give youngsters a better chance of entering school ready to learn.

In California, 1.8 million children depend on welfare. More than half are expected to need care when welfare reform requires their parents to work. The state should guarantee it.