Women’s Soccer enjoys 2-1 exhibition win over Racers
 It was an impressive season-opening display for the University of Evansville women’s soccer team on Thursday evening as the Purple Aces dealt preseason Ohio Valley favorites Murray State a 2-1 exhibition defeat at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
“We showed some good stuff today, but we were exposed at times with things that we need to work on,†UE head coach Krista McKendree said. “That’s what you want out of these games. Hopefully, we’ll leave here with some positives and things that we can build on going forward.â€
The win, which saw the defending Missouri Valley tournament champion Aces come-from-behind, comes just one week into preseason preparations for UE, which will open its 2016 regular season campaign at Xavier on Aug. 19. The next home game for the Aces will be one week later as Cincinnati will pay a visit to campus on Aug. 26.
Despite spending the early part of the game on the front foot, it would be the Racers who drew first blood with a well-worked goal as Harriet Witchers and Taylor Richerson linked up on the right side of the 18-yard box before laying it off for Madalyn Germann’s opening tally in the 25th minute.
Colleen Dierkes supplied the answer 15 minutes later with strike from just outside the box to level the affair in the 40th minute.
“I found an opening and took a shot,†Dierkes explained. “It was a great ball in from Jordin [Campbell] initially, and I just really wanted to get back even after the first goal because I didn’t feel like I was on my mark. I wanted to make sure that I could get the goal back and tie it up.
From there, Murray State would have its opportunities going forward in the second half, but the Aces seemed to rack up the chances, thanks in large part to the return of Montana Portenier after missing last season due to injury.
“We know what she’s capable of,†McKendree said of Portenier. “Our newcomers are learning how to play with her. They’re learning her strengths, and she’s learning the strengths of those around her. We’re going to create chances in games, and we have to make sure that we take advantage of those opportunities.â€
Portenier’s most frequent collaborator down the right flank in the second half seemed to be Sara Osinski, who ultimately broke through for the game-winning goal in the 75th minute with a long-distance strike of her own.
“Last season, we started off slow before having a great ending,†Dierkes said. “Being a senior this year, I feel like we need to be able to come out and show people that even though we lost those seniors, we’re still a good team. I’m happy we were able to come into this game and get the victory to show for all the hard work that we’ve been putting in during two-a-days this preseason.â€
The Aces will be back in action with another exhibition contest at Eastern Illinois on Sunday. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.
It’s Time For City Council To Start Challenging The City Deficient Spending Practices
It’s Time For City Council To Start Challenging The City Deficient Spending Practices
The political circus at City Council budget hearings for 2017 have begun.  We enjoy watching Finance Chairman Dan McGinn, President Missy Mosby,  Vice President  Jonathan Weaver and City Controller Russ Lloyd Jr do a “balancing act†with past due bills, advancement on future revenue and proposed tax increases they insist are “negligibleâ€.
In the current 2017 budget hearings we are waiting for members of City Council to start challenging the city deficient spending practices and do a better job in questioning the continued waste of our hard earned tax dollars by the Winnecke administration. Â We have become more concerned about the City’s finances with each passing City Council meeting,
For over a year we suspected that the city finances were in bad shape. Â Last week City Council Finance Chairman Dan McGinn disclosed that the city finances are indeed in bad shape.
Some Evansville residents are already struggling to hold on to their homes, buy medications, pay ever increasing utility bills, and put food on the table.  Young families are scraping  to save money  for a down payment on a home to put down roots in a city that presently doesn’t have an over abundance of good-paying jobs.
We have been saying for many months that the  City of Evansville Employee Health care funding is in trouble and a day of reconvening is near.   City Council is now telling us that Evansville is expected to have more income tax revenue than in previous years, but council leaders want to cut extraneous funding to reflect a sharp increase in Employee Health costs for city employees.  The City’s Employee Health care plan for its employees is changing next year saving the city about $3.6 million. The cost savings to the city will increase the employees’ deductibles and out-of-pocket expense.
The Mayor’s office budgeted $301,000 for nonprofits in 2017 and council leadership seemed in agreement.  We are now hearing that City Council President Missy Mosby, D-2nd Ward has alleged that she’s being inundated with calls from  city employees upset with the proposed changes to the 2017 Employee Health care plan. We wonder where in the world Ms Mosby has been for the last several years when she and fellow Council members voted for every spending request the Mayor submitted.
Its time that Council make some tough choices in order to balance the budget, like laying some employees off, no pay increases for city council, and city employees together with department heads and  the Mayor’s staff for 2017.  Of course,  delay the expansion on new exhibits for the Zoo,  eliminating the funding of “political pork barrel” projects, make major reduction to city grants given to area not-for-profits, make cuts to sports grants, suspension of capital projects requested by department heads,  put a freeze on hiring new employees for 2017,  cut the proposed 2017 city budget by 2%. across the board and address the Employee Health care funding problems head on.
The most important ingredient that we believe has been missing from the discussion about how to stretch the budget is simple; the city administration and the Council needs to adherence to the principle that requires transparency and a willingness to be innovative in order to promote local government efficiencies.
Finally, it looks like former City Council member and Chairman of the Budget Committee John Friend CPA warning that major budget problems will be facing Council in 2017 was spot on!
FOOTNOTE: The new slogan for City Council is ‘PENGUINS OVER CITY EMPLOYEES HEALTH INSURANCE”?
IS IT TRUE AUGUST 12, 2016
IS IT TRUE we can’t wait for the City of Evansville Council members start giving their doom and gloom reasons why they should pass Dan McGinn’s resolution to reduce the percentage of the HOMESTEAD TAX CREDIT for the 2017 budget year?
IS IT TRUE that City Controller Russ Lloyd Jr reported that the General Fund had $3.9 million as of June 30, 2016? Â …if he would had properly paid back the unauthorized disbursement from the Riverboat Fund in the amount of $12.5 million the General Fund would be negative by $8.4 million?
IS IT TRUE its alleged in 2016 that City Controller Russ Lloyd Jr failed to transfer $7.5 million from the General Fund into the Employee Hospitalization Fund which caused that fund to be negative by $7.5 million as of June 30, 2016?  …if this allegation is correct we wonder what the balance of this account was at the end  of 2016?
IS IT TRUE we wonder why members of City Council aren’t talking about making some serious budget cuts in order to help balance the proposed 2017 budget?
IS IT TRUE one thing that City Council members don’t want the public to know is that the City of Evansville received around $2 million dollars from the State because of an increase in the LOCAL OPTION INCOME TAX for 2016?  …we hope the City put this financial windfall from the State into the “Rainey Day Fund”?
IS IT TRUE we left the current ‘READERS POLLL” question up for a couple extra days in order to make a point? Â …we hope City Council members will finally get the message that the homeowners of this community are strongly opposed to the resolution that reduces the HOMESTEAD TAX CREDIT percentage to help pay for Council bad spending habits during 2016?
IS IT TRUE it looks like the election promise made by candidates for City Council that they are going to be a fiscal watchdog is down the tube?  …don’t you just like it when political types run for re-election as a right wing fiscal conservative and turn out to be a left wing tax and spend liberal?
IS IT TRUE its obvious during the 2016 budget year that Mayor Winnecke got everything he wanted from council ?  …it looks like our current City Council will continue to give Mayor Winnecke everything he wants in the proposed 2017 budget?
IS IT TRUEÂ we predict that City Council will give approvals for some expenses capital projects for 2017? Â …don’t be surprised that additional funds will given to phase in SpotShooter, Roberts Park, a South American Penguin exhibit at Mesker Park Zoo, a new Aquatic Center located on the North end of town? Â …we hope when Council give permission to fund these projects they will also put money in the budget for upkeep of these new endeavors?
IS IT TRUE one would expect after last year city election we would have at least one strong independent thinking and fiscally conservative person on council? …these are the kind of results you get when only 7 percent of people turnout to vote?
IS IT TRUE we urge you to go to the link of the Vanderburgh County Food Inspection Report For 8-11-16 in todays edition?
IS IT TRUE we would like to thank the staff at the City Clerk office for their excellent cooperation in sending us information we request in a timely manner?
FOOTNOTE:  “IS IT TRUE†will be posted next Monday.
Todays READERS POLL question is: Do you support Councilman Dan McGinn’s Homestead Tax Credit resolution that reduces the percentages of our tax credits?
Please take time and read our newest feature articles entitled “ AUGUST BIRTHDAYS, HOT JOBS†and “LOCAL SPORTS†posted in our sections.
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NEWS FROM TV CHANNEL 44
Changes Could Come to Evansville Electronic Message Sign Ordinance
The amendment to the city zoning code will eliminate a few steps in the process if city council gives the ‘ok.’
“What we try to do is make the permitting process a little bit easier,†said Ron London, Evansville Area Plan Commissioner.
Churches, schools and hospitals are considered special use groups.
Under the current ordinance these groups would have to go through many steps to get approval for an electronic message sign to be allowed on their property.
“They would have to go through the rezoning process, they would have to go through the area plan commission and then through city council,†said London. “And then they would have to go through the board of zoning appeals to get the special use approve for the electronic message board.â€
With the amendment approved by the area plan commission, those groups will only have to go to the board of zoning appeals to get it approved.
The board also put a restriction of three seconds on the amount of time between messages on signs smaller than 12 inches in overall height.
“We wanted to make sure there was enough time between messages where it wouldn’t come out to be more of a flashing sign,†said London.
The amendment will have to pass city council before it’s in the books.
What Happens to Developmentally Disabled as Parents Age, Die?
What Happens to Developmentally Disabled as Parents Age, Die?
by JEN FIFIELD for STATELINE/PEW TRUST
ROCKVILLE, Md. — Ever since she was 4, when a caregiver force-fed her with a spoon, Caroline Munro has not let anyone feed her but her mother.
The 22-year-old has cerebral palsy and an intellectual disability. She doesn’t speak and functions at a preschool level. Her mother, Beth Munro, feeds her with a fork or her hand.
As Beth ages — she’ll be 68 in October — she wonders who will care for Caroline when she’s no longer around. But she may never know. Caroline is on a Maryland waiting list for additional Medicaid services for the disabled. The list is thousands of names long, and as in many states, names often stay on it until a caregiver falls ill or dies.
About 860,000 people over 60 nationwide are in Beth’s place, caring for someone with intellectual or developmental disabilities in their home. And many are waiting, sometimes for years, for state-provided Medicaid help for their disabled child, sister or brother, such as placement in a group home, day services, or transportation or employment programs. If they can’t afford to pay for these services on their own, under the federal-state Medicaid system, their relative could end up in an institution.
As the number of older caregivers grows, and their need for help becomes more dire, a few states have passed laws to give older caregivers a chance to help decide where, and how, the person they care for will live. Tennessee passed a law in 2015 to ensure that anyone with an intellectual disability and a caregiver over 80 got the services they needed, and this year the state expanded the law to those with caretakers over 75. And in 2014, Connecticut passed a similar law that is helping about 120 people with a caregiver over 70.
But the waiting lists for needed services in these states and many others are still thousands of names long. In recent years, states such as Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania have put money into their budgets to try to chip away at the lists, and they get federal matching dollars to help pay for it. Some states are prioritizing people with urgent needs, while others are prioritizing students as they age out of school.
Yet advocates for people with disabilities, such as Nicole Jorwic, director of rights policy at The Arc, a national nonprofit, say there needs to be a federal fix.
“Something that pumps money into the system,†Jorwic said. “And that’s just not going to happen in the current climate in Congress.â€
In Maryland, Beth Munro realizes that unless she becomes seriously ill or dies, her daughter might not be placed in a group home.
“I’ve worked really hard at the issue over the years,†Beth said, “and you get nowhere.â€
First Generation
This generation of caregivers over 60 watched over decades as the U.S. grew more understanding and inclusive of people with disabilities. A movement swept the country in the 1970s and ’80s to deinstitutionalize people with disabilities. And for decades now, most people with disabilities who receive Medicaid help have been cared for at home by family members.
In 2013, spending for community- and home-based services surpassed spending for large institutions, such as mental hospitals and nursing homes, for the first time. By that time, 14 states no longer had any large state-run institutions for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, and many others had only a few, according to University of Colorado research.
The move to deinstitutionalize care has provided care that is more personalized while also saving states money. Average costs for care in a state-run institution, in 2013, ranged from about $129,000 a year in Arizona to about $603,000 in New York, while the average state costs of community-based services nationally is $43,000, according to the University of Colorado.
What this has left, though, is fewer residential options, and lengthening waiting lists. About 198,000 people were waiting for home- or community-based services in the 34 states that reported data in 2013, according to University of Minnesota research. The longest waiting lists were in Ohio (41,500), Illinois (23,000) and Florida (22,400).
Some states don’t keep waiting lists. In California, people with intellectual or developmental disabilities qualify for the services they need under a state-run health system. This means they should be getting the services they need.
But April Lopez, chairwoman of California’s State Council on Developmental Disabilities, said that’s not always the case there. Some services aren’t available when you need them, she said. The state’s reimbursement rate is so low, she said, it discourages doctors and health centers from providing services.
If states aren’t able to provide services for everyone, they should focus on providing more support for family caregivers, such as high-quality case management and respite services, said Susan Parish, director of the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy at Brandeis University in Massachusetts.
With medical, technological and public health advances, people with disabilities are living longer than before, Parish said. And with family size shrinking over the years, fewer siblings are around to assume care of their brother or sister as their parents age.
Caregivers need help transitioning out of their role — finding the person with disabilities a place to live, money, benefits and a new guardian, Parish said.
“I’ve worked with several parents who said they’ve hoped their son or daughter would die before they did because they don’t feel there are supports out there,†she said.
Some Steps in Some States
Beth Munro said she has felt that way, at times. She said she has been caring for Caroline on her own since she was 9 months old. Caroline has a brother and sister, but they live out of state and Beth doesn’t want them to have to take over her role. Caroline’s cerebral palsy affects both of her arms and legs. She is dependent for all of her care and can’t be left alone.
But her laugh is full of life, and she laughs often. Her mother says she is generally a happy person. She is in a day program with other adults with disabilities, and they often go out into the community, like to a nature center or to the movies.
Under Maryland law, people with intellectual or developmental disabilities who are transitioning out of the school system at age 21 receive some services. Yet 7,600 people on the waiting list in Maryland either have no services or need more.
Last year, Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, added $3 million to the budget, which served about 120 people who were deemed to be in crisis, and added $3.5 million this year for the same purpose.
This has been a bright spot in a decadeslong fight by the Maryland affiliate of The Arc to educate people and get more funding, said Cristine Marchand, its executive director.
In the past, the organization would suggest a new tax in the state to cover the expenses — a tax on snacks or telecommunications — and each time the governor at the time would take the money and use it for something else, Marchand said.
Whether a state makes progress addressing the issue has less to do with the political party in power and more to do with how much officials know about the issue, or how much influence advocates have, said Bernard Simons, Maryland’s deputy secretary for developmental disabilities.
Simons has worked in similar jobs in five other states and he said it’s the same wherever he goes — parents dying or getting sick, and children left with no plan in place.
States, including Maryland, need to be planning more, he said, instead of just reacting to emergencies.
In Pennsylvania, which has one of the largest waiting lists — about 13,800 people — Republican state Rep. Thomas Murt said he has several bills pending in the Legislature that would collect money specifically to provide services for the people on the list using different taxes, including on natural gas, tobacco, and vaping.
Like Maryland, Pennsylvania provides services for students transitioning out of school — about 700 a year. But sometimes it takes an older caregiver falling ill to get help, Murt said. “If another state is doing a better job, I think we should take a look at what they’re doing.â€
Courts have ordered some states to provide more community-based services.
Virginia is making big changes to how it serves people with disabilities because of a 2011 settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, which found that the state was needlessly keeping people in institutions and failing to provide enough community-based alternatives.
The state agreed to close down four of its five large institutions and serve 4,170 new people with community-based supports by 2021.
Helping Elderly Caregivers First
In Tennessee, The Arc Tennessee, an affiliate of the national group, pushed the Legislature to help older caregivers.
And, because these people have gone without the state’s help for so long, the Legislature wanted to help, said state Rep. Bob Ramsey, a Republican who advocated for the state’s new law.
“I felt it really appropriate for us to do something to give them some relief and some assurance that they weren’t going to have children, loved ones or friends that were assigned to institutions,†Ramsey said.
About 6,000 people are on the state’s waiting list, but that’s only people with intellectual disabilities. Before this year, a person with a developmental disability but not an intellectual disability did not qualify for services. But the state is making changes. As of July 1, people with intellectual or developmental disabilities qualify for services under the state-run health system, as they do in California.
The state plans to provide new home- or community-based services to 1,700 people — compared to the 100 or 200 people it has been helping in recent years — on the waiting list this budget year, according to a spokeswoman, Sarah Tanksley.
Hope for an ‘Active Life’
In Maryland, Beth Munro has struggled for years to care for her daughter on her own. She said it’s tough to find the strength to lift her daughter in and out of the bathtub every night.
But later this month, she’ll be getting extra help. The state just approved 35 hours of in-home services for her, including for bath time.
Still, she hopes her daughter can move into a group home soon, so she can start to learn to live without her mother and do the kinds of things she likes, such as sewing, taking photos and dancing in her wheelchair — with help from others.
“That’s the main thing,†Beth said. “Not only that she’s well taken care of, but that she has an active life, doing things that she likes to do.â€
Intoxicated Motorist Leads Deputies on Early Morning Chase
Intoxicated Motorist Leads Deputies on Early Morning Chase
Shortly before 2:00 AM on Thursday, August 11, 2016, Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s deputies were in the area of Allens Lane and Grove Street investigating a narcotics complaint. While in the area the deputies noticed a light colored Ford Taurus parked strangely in the middle of the roadway. After spotting the presence of the deputies, the driver fled at a high rate of speed with two other occupants inside the vehicle.
The suspect vehicle was traveling so fast that it was seen ramping the railroad crossing on Allens lane just east of Grove Street. Deputies gave chase and pursued for nearly five miles before the suspect finally pulled over in front of the Academy for Innovative Studies (AIS) at 2319 Stringtown Rd.
During the course of the pursuit, stop sticks were effectively deployed on two seperate occasions, once by the Evansville Police Department and a second time by the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office. This contributed to the driver pulling over due to several of the vehicle’s tires being deflated.
The driver and two passengers were taken into custody without incident and were transported to the Sheriff’s Command Post for questioning. The subsequent investigation resulted in the arrest of the driver, Kelton Casteel (20 years old), for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, resisting law enforcement in a vehicle, reckless driving, operating a vehicle with a suspended driver’s license, minor consumption, and an unrelated warrant. The passengers, whom were both 20 years of age, were each issued a summons to appear in court for minor consumption of alcohol and were released from custody.
DRIVER: Kelton Casteel, 20, of Evansville
Vectren Reminds Customers to Call Before You Dig
Vectren Reminds Customers to Call Before You Dig
by Natalie Hedde
Evansville, Ind. – In an effort to remind residents to dial 8-1-1 before digging, Aug. 11 has been designated National Call Before You Dig awareness day. Not only does it ensure the safety of all involved, but it is the law to inform local utility companies regarding the intent to dig at least two full days prior by calling the national 811 free service. After telling the 811 operator where the digging will take place and the type of work involved, the approximate location of buried lines, pipes and cables will be marked.
Throughout 2015, Vectren Energy Delivery (Vectren) responded to roughly 1,000 damages to underground lines and pipes. Striking a single line can cause injury, repair costs, fines and inconvenient outages. Installing a mailbox, building a deck, planting a tree and laying a patio are all examples of digging projects that need a call to 811 before starting.
The depth of utility lines can vary for a number of reasons, such as erosion, previous digging projects, and uneven surfaces. Utility lines need to be properly marked because even when digging only a few inches, the risk of striking an underground utility line still exists.
“Calling 811 is easy, free and can ultimately save a life,†said Mike Roeder, Vectren’s vice president of government affairs and president of Vectren-North. “Failure to call before digging results in more than 60,000 unintentional hits annually across the U.S. We hope by educating our customers, together we can keep one another safe while driving that statistic down.â€
For more details, visit www.vectren.com or www.Indiana811.org.
About Vectren
Vectren Corporation (NYSE: VVC) is an energy holding company headquartered in Evansville, Ind. Vectren’s energy delivery subsidiaries provide gas and/or electricity to more than 1 million customers in adjoining service territories that cover nearly two-thirds of Indiana and about 20 percent of Ohio, primarily in the west-central area. Vectren’s nonutility subsidiaries and affiliates currently offer energy-related products and services to customers throughout the U.S. These include infrastructure services and energy services. To learn more about Vectren, visit www.vectren.com.
More States Lift Welfare Restrictions For Drug Felons
More States Lift Welfare Restrictions For Drug Felons
STATELINE/PEW TRUST BY TERESA WILTZ
ATLANTA-Twenty years after a federal law blocked people with felony drug convictions from receiving welfare or food stamps, more states are loosening those restrictions — or waiving them entirely.
In April, Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, signed a criminal justice reform bill that lifted the ban on food stamps for drug felons in Georgia. Alaska followed suit in July, although applicants must prove they are complying with parole and are in treatment for substance abuse. And in Delaware, a bill to lift cash assistance restrictions for drug felons passed out of committee in June. The legislative session ended before the bill could be put to a vote.
The changes come amid broader efforts in Washington and many states to reform drug policies and criminal justice approaches. And they reflect a growing consensus that helping people when they are released from prison can increase the chances that they don’t end up going back.
People who have been incarcerated need a leg up to successfully re-enter the community, says Roberta Meyers of the Legal Action Center, a nonprofit that fights discrimination against people who have been in prison, have substance abuse issues or have AIDS.
“Most have a hard time getting a job and initially need to rely on public assistance. And food is a basic primary way they need help,†Meyers said.
The federal ban was established in 1996, a product of the tough policies of the “war on drugs†and sweeping welfare reform that restricted recipients to no more than five years of government assistance in most states and required most recipients to work, do community service or enroll in vocational training.
It prohibits those convicted of felony drug crimes — but not other felonies — from receiving food stamps and cash assistance, but states have the option of relaxing those rules.
Today just seven states — Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia — still have full bans on drug felons receiving food stamps. A proposal to lift the food stamp ban failed to advance in the Nebraska Legislature in March.
States have been more reluctant to lift their restrictions on cash assistance, known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; but at least 11 states and the District of Columbia have done so, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Despite the movement to loosen the ban, some critics object to making the change at a time when states are being forced to slash their budgets.
“States should be looking for ways to shrink the welfare rolls and tighten eligibility requirements to families legitimately working to get back on their feet,†said Texas state Rep. Matt Rinaldi, a Republican who last year voted against lifting the state’s food stamps ban. “Expanding welfare benefits to convicted drug dealers and drug felons is a giant leap in the wrong direction.â€
But Georgia state Rep. Rich Golick, a Republican who supported lifting the ban in his state, said the ban didn’t make sense on a number of levels.
“You had individuals who were coming out of the system convicted of a violent crime who had the eligibility to apply for food stamps whereas someone who went in on a drug charge, including possession, didn’t have that ability.
“You’re increasing the chances that they may reoffend because they don’t have the ability to make ends meet. Doesn’t this go against what we’re trying to achieve as they re-enter society?â€
Loosening the Restrictions
About half a million people in the U.S. are incarcerated with a felony drug conviction. Most are not high-level drug dealers and have no prior criminal record for a violent offense, according to a 2015 report by the Sentencing Project, which advocates against racial disparities in sentencing and for alternatives to incarceration.
Sixteen percent of people in state prisons are being held on felony drug offenses; in federal prisons that number is close to half, according to the report.
Proponents of lifting the restrictions say the bans target poor people and minorities and drive people further into poverty, sending them in and out of federal and state prisons. A 2013 study by the Yale School of Medicine found that 91 percent of people recently released from prison didn’t have reliable access to food.
“One of the best ways that someone can move on after they’ve been released from prison is their ability to eat and take care of themselves,†said Marissa McCall Dodson of the Southern Center for Human Rights.
As states grapple with reducing their burgeoning prison populations, many are looking for ways to help former inmates as they return home.
“A lot of legislatures are starting to see it’s not beneficial to have these flat bans and indefinite restrictions imposed on people,†Meyers of the Legal Action Center said.
By 2001, eight states and the District of Columbia had completely opted out of the food stamps and cash assistance bans, while another 20 states had modified them, according to the Sentencing Project.
Last year, Texas removed its blanket food stamps ban, while Alabama eliminated its food stamps and cash assistance bans.
More rural states are less likely to lift the bans, because they aren’t as affected by large numbers of people with drug records being released into their communities, Meyers said. “The struggle is very different from urban centers if they’re moving back to rural towns where everyone knows them.â€
Today, about a dozen states still ban felons from receiving welfare payments. About half of all states have modified the ban in some way.
At least four states — Maine, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — have recently modified the cash assistance ban to require those with a drug record to undergo drug testing in order to receive cash assistance, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“There are higher hurdles to clear†to lift cash assistance bans, said Nicole Porter, director of advocacy for the Sentencing Project. “And that’s more about welfare and anti-welfare sentiment in this country.â€
This year, several bills that would have lifted the cash assistance ban failed in the Virginia House and Senate. In May, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have allowed childless drug offenders to receive cash assistance amounting to $140 a month. (Former offenders with children are eligible for cash assistance.) Christie said he was open to compromise if the bill was amended to exclude former drug dealers from receiving assistance.
Change in Georgia
Georgia has the country’s highest correctional control rate — that is, the share of people who are either incarcerated or on parole or probation. Each year, about 10,400 people are released from state custody with drug felonies, according to the state Department of Corrections.
Before the ban was lifted, approximately 555 Georgia residents were denied food stamps each month because of a drug felony, according to a report by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI), a nonpartisan research group, and the Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew also funds Stateline). Their children and anyone else in their household could receive benefits.
And each year, because of the ban, the state was losing as much as $10.4 million in federal food stamps, the study found. The federal government pays for food stamps through block grants to the states but splits the administrative costs with states.
“Once legislators understood that these are federal dollars that we are ignoring — that was a big selling point in modifying the food stamps ban,†said Melissa Johnson, senior policy analyst for the GBPI.
Doug Ammar, executive director of the Georgia Justice Project, a legal services nonprofit that lobbied to lift the welfare restrictions, recalls an elderly client who applied for benefits a few years back. The man, who’d served time for a drug conviction in the ’60s, moved a few miles across from the state line, from Florida to Georgia, and found that his change of address meant he could no longer receive food stamps.
“That [drug] record can haunt you and have real-life implications. It’s a lifetime of punishment,†Ammar said. “How long should your brush with the law impact you and your family?â€