[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 158 (Monday, November 10, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2302-E2303]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       THE WELFARE REFORM PROGRAM IS SUCCESSFUL IN SOUTH CAROLINA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FLOYD SPENCE

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Sunday, November 9, 1997

  Mr. SPENCE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report to my colleagues that 
the welfare reform that we have enacted is achieving the results that 
we intended in South Carolina. When I was in my district recently I met 
with Mr. Chester J. Tomson, Jr., who is the director for Orangeburg 
County of the South Carolina Department of Social Services [DSS]. 
During that meeting, and in a subsequent letter, Mr. Tomson relayed to 
me the success that he is experiencing in his County as a result of the 
welfare reform that was enacted by the Congress. Since the welfare 
reform initiative began in South Carolina, in January of 1996, the 
Orangeburg County DSS Office has placed 985 heads of households in full 
time employment at minimum wage. It is estimated by the staff of that 
Office that nearly 85 percent of those who were placed in jobs have 
stayed in that employment for at least 30 days

[[Page E2303]]

and that many have been employed for over 1 year.
  In regard to articles that have been published about fears that 
welfare reform would result in incidents of children having to be 
placed in foster care due to neglect, as well as for other causes 
associated with changes in the welfare system, those concerns have been 
shown to be unfounded in Orangeburg County. In January 1996, the intake 
rate for children in Orangeburg County averaged 35 to 40 cases per 
month, and the DSS Office there reports that this rate has not changed.
  According to the Orangeburg County DSS Office, most of the client 
families that they serve are headed by single parents who are female, 
with positions that have been traditionally held by females difficult 
to find there. In this County, which is the second largest 
geographically in the State, the unemployment rate is 10 percent, there 
is a high incidence of illiteracy, and there is no rural public 
transportation system. Yet, they are making inroads in helping their 
disadvantaged population to find work and improve their lives. I would 
like to take this opportunity to commend the staff of the Orangeburg 
County DSS on their dedication and wish them much continued success.

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