South Dakota Welfare Plan Short on Options, Tribal Members Say Story-Date: 06:31 p.m. PST Sunday , July 20, 1997 South Dakota Welfare Plan Short on Options, Tribal Members Say BY KAY HUMPHREY, INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY, RAPID CITY, S.D. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News PINE RIDGE, S.D.--Jul. 21--South Dakota continues to refine it's welfare reform package, but many tribal members are skeptical of the plan since it provides few options for recipients. While the state had already passed a Temporary Assistance For Needy Families (TANF) plan, which replaced AFDC, to gain access to a nearly $22 million grant for administering the program, state officials are continuing to encourage the Sioux tribes to use their own program or enter into a joint program. Tribal leaders would get about $8.7 million for a jointly run tribal program. If the Oglala Sioux Tribe were to run its own program, it would receive about $3.2 million. However, the state officials continue to deny the tribes a state match even though it used reservation case statistics to justify the grant proposal. Instead, the state's governor vowed to try to help the tribes gain additional grant funds of their own. Many other states passed recent proposals on June 30, the eve of the deadline set by the federal government, but few of the plans excluded tribal members. Some states included education incentives and additional monies for transportation in their plans. Meanwhile, the state is sanctioning American Indian welfare recipients at nearly twice the rate of non-Indians, according to a report by the Oglala Sioux Tribe's executive committee. The increased rate isn't just on the reservation. American Indian welfare recipients in Rapid City are being sanctioned at a higher rate, the report said. One welfare recipient had her benefits cut by a social worker after failing to keep an appointment. Later, an advocate who had accompanied her to the Department of Social Services discovered the notice of the appointment was mailed the same day the client was expected to meet with the social service worker, the report said. During a recent public hearing conducted by state Welfare officials in Pine Ridge, Oglala Sioux tribal members voiced their outrage that the state didn't hold the public hearings at an earlier date and include the tribes in drafting the state's welfare plan. The only notice the state gave was in the form advertisements in the legal section of a newspaper asking for comments during a 90-day period. The tribal members also told state officials the program isn't being applied equitably and that many of the requirements are unrealistic. Everette Lone Hill, who spoke in Lakota, compared the state's welfare reform package to the Wound Knee Massacre. ``The victims here are the women and children,'' Mr. Lone Hill said. Mr. Lone Hill's cousin, Cecilia Fire Thunder, stood by to translate his comments in English, but before he was finished he was interrupted by a state worker who protested that they were at a disadvantage because they couldn't understand Lakota. ``Welfare reform has been coming for quite awhile. I'm disappointed our tribe didn't form a committee earlier. I really feel we were step children and we were considered last,'' said Ms. Fire Thunder. Emanuel Moran, a former school superintendent, voiced his frustration at a nation willing to spend money on the space program, but unwilling to take care of needy children. The educator, who grew up on the Oglala Sioux reservation and spent 37 years working with the needs of children, said money for education represents only 1.8 percent of the national budget. ``At the very least, they should be comfortable, safe and nurtured. Our children have no political action committee, no lobby and no union. Our children have only a few gentle warriors,'' Mr. Moran said. ``In this nation, every 53 minutes a child dies in poverty,'' he said. Mr. Moran pointed to more sobering statistics including that more than 2,000 children are born into poverty each day and 2,833 drop out of school. The lack of adequate child care was an issue that struck many of the residents close to home. A woman told the panel she knew of at least two mothers with children under four years old who must work in order to draw benefits, but the few certified child care providers on the are ``maxed out'', she said. Joblessness continues for many because they don't have transportation and resources for preparing for a job are limited. State officials said they could aid recipients who wish to move and social service workers will be given the authority to help with money for interview expenses and relocation, but tribal members gave the idea a chilly reception. Likening it to the relocation movement more than three decades ago when federal officials attempted to settle tribal members in urban areas. Tribal elders who are taking care of the children's children are frightened that they too will have to comply with the work requirement. One elderly woman, who hitch hiked for a mile and half before a passerby gave her a ride to the hearing, said she was concerned about her grandchildren and making ends meet. PORCUPINE, S.D.--MOTHER FACING NEW FEARS OF WELFARE REFORM'S LIMITS: Ce Ce Big Crow faces the same fears of many young mothers drawing welfare on the nation's reservations face. Her fears are further limitations. The 26-year-old mother of a toddler is only three hours away from having a college degree, but limited resources and an unfortunate chain of events lead to joblessness. The former college student, who is now working on a report on welfare reform to satisfy her final three credit hours, was working earlier this year. But a car accident destroyed her only means of transportation. Without insurance, she wasn't able to repair or buy another car nor did she have access to public transportation. Like many reservation communities, Ms. Big Crow's is miles away from many of the job sites. Walking to work isn't an option for many and even those who live near the small comunities on the reservation take risks walking along narrow roads. ``I would live in town, but you have to go where there is housing,'' she said. Those looking for housing on the reservation have a three to five year wait for housing. Ms. Big Crow was the middle child of three children raised by a single mother living on the reservation. Her mother worked minimum-wage jobs struggling to make ends meet. ``She was always last. Everything was always for the kids,'' she said. Their mother encouraged her children to go to college. She went to college at University of South Dakota and earned a 3.2 grade point average, but the grief of losing a sibling interrupted her education. She stayed out of school for a year. When she returned, she took a double load of college credits to make up for lost time. A short-lived relationship in college brought unwed motherhood. Ms. Big Crow now draws $250 a month in welfare payments which includes $100 for housing. She receives $230 in food stamps. Accessing help was a struggle after she lost her job. She found social service workers unreceptive to her needs when she appeared in their office with her little girl in tow. The social service worker, she said, objected to having her child in the office while she was filling out the necessary paperwork and indicated she would have to come back the following day. Ms. Big Crow said she told the state worker she would have to bring her child with her regardless of which day she filled out the paper work. After some resistance, the social worker then helped her. Hers isn't the only such story, several women in similar positions told state officials during a public hearing in Pine Ridge their social workers had been rude and unresponsive. Facing the doors of the social service offices is a daunting task and barriers are present even before they step through the doors. Approaching social service workers is difficult for many women who are feeling anguish and humiliation when they arrive at the offices, Ms. Big Crow said. ``I had heard horror stories, but I didn't think it could happen to me,'' she said. The young mother, who is expecting another child, said she has signed a personal responsibility statement. She is being required to go through vocational training even though she has nearly completed her college degree, registered with the state job service and began her own job search. Even if she is hired, Ms. Big Crow worries about how she will get to work and where her daughter Jamie will stay while she is at work. Ms. Big Crow, who wishes to teach one day, is reluctant to leave her with anyone she doesn't know. ``She's the apple of my eye. Our kids are important. We leave them eight hours a day and we can't afford to pay them (child care workers) very much,'' she said. Joblessness is high on the reservation because there are few opportunities even for those who are educated, she said. ``There are no new businesses. Those that come here are small businesses which bring few new jobs,'' she said. The young mother will graduate soon, but she still won't be certified to teach. She will have to take further course work in order to gain her certification. Ms. Big Crow is hoping to change the cycle that has plagued two generations of her family. She is hoping to help Jamie and her unborn child gain better opportunities. She is planning to go to graduate school for a master's in history. The state's proposal places too many limitations and allows too few exemptions, she said. ``It's hard to work around. I believe in self-sufficiency and personal responsibility, but we have treaties. It's the government's responsibility because they promised us that,'' she said. The program, she said, encourages dual workers which adds to family stresses. ``I think it's contradictory to the culture. Women raise the children. They give you very little money and it isn't fostering family values,'' Ms. Big Crow said. Meanwhile, she is bracing herself for the impact of the changes in the state's program. She will continue to look for a way to satisfy the state's work requirement unless she qualifies for a ``good cause'' exemption of lack for adequate child care or lack of transportation. ----- ON THE INTERNET: Visit Indian Country Today on the World Wide Web at http://www.indiancountry.com/ ----- (c) 1997, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. ------------------------------------------------------------