Good program needs to be kept going
Critics of "big" government, coming from various sides of the political spectrum, cite the inability or unwillingness of bureaucracies to live within their means as the major cause of swollen budgets and higher taxes.
Because of that, perhaps my confusion as a new secretary of a large state agency can be understood, if not forgiven, when my )) first attempt to bring a program under fiscal control is blocked by a legislative committee and greeted by "shame on you" editorials in The Sun and The Evening Sun.
The program in question is child care -- sometimes referred to as day care -- unquestionably one of the more crucial services provided by the Department of Human Resources.
Far from being a luxury, it is essential to efforts to move parents off welfare and into work and to keep the "working poor" working. It is also a valuable tool in assisting teen parents to complete education and relieving some pressure points of parents who neglect or abuse their children.
It is important that the spotlight being thrown across this program not fail to show how successful it has been under the leadership of Governor William Donald Schaefer.
In 1988, approximately 8,000 children were receiving child care services throughout the state at a cost of under $20 million. In 1994, 25,000 children receive care at a cost of $65 million.
Because of the increased commitment of funds and the ambitious range of coverage, Working Mother magazine has for two years running lauded Maryland as one of the top 10 states in the nation for child care.
So what's the problem? If something is this good, why not make more of the same? Because government cannot provide everything for everybody, nor should it. Because programs should not grow without checks and balances.
For the past two fiscal years Governor Schaefer has "saved" child care through emergency appropriations. That practice cannot continue.
For next year, we project a deficit that could reach $14 million due to the growth of the population of children in the child care age group, the growth of Project Independence (Maryland's federally mandated program to move people off welfare into jobs) and welfare reform.
There are solutions which would not affect the majority of the children currently being served. Those solutions were presented the Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review committee -- proposals which would allow some of the 4,000 children currently on our waiting list to receive benefits while weaning those whose parents are earning in excess of $21,000 off the system.
Currently we serve parents who earn up to $31,000. In addition, we think it is not unreasonable to ask parents and relatives receiving free child care who can afford to share some of the cost.
These are changes which must be made, regardless of whether they are made now or next year. But the longer we wait, the costlier it becomes.
The governor has come to the rescue in the past, and his commitment is genuine. However, it is our responsibility and that of the legislature to set in place the controls which will keep this program from becoming a burden so great that it collapses under its own weight.
Luther W. Starnes
Baltimore
C7 The writer is Maryland's human resources secretary.
Love of the game
How long is everyone going to keep moaning about the baseball strike, the hockey lockout, a possible basketball strike, etc.?
If you can't stand the darkness, light a candle. I invite anyone wanting to enjoy good sports to come watch the soccer games sponsored by the IHM/Loch Raven Recreation Council or any of the other local sports leagues for kids and adults.
Not only is the action fast and furious, but if you want to experience the thrill of sports you can participate by being a coach or referee.
During the summer, while everyone was waiting for the end of the baseball strike, I had the pleasure of coaching one of the local travel baseball teams for kids.
Not only did I get to see the beauties of all the little league baseball fields in the county, but I got to pretend I was Johnny Oates, manager par excellence. Nothing at Camden Yards could match it.
Sports are meant for participation. Get off your duffs and get involved. I guarantee you won't miss the multi-million dollar players when you are involved with kids who really do play for the love of the game.
Harold Franklin
Towson
MTO research
As a policy analyst who hopes her work may contribute toward the solution of public problems, I was pleased to see a general reference to my research in "An opportune move for the poor" (Oct. 3) by Barbara Samuels and Susan Goering.
However, I want to make certain that my research results are not misconstrued. Although it is highly plausible that neighborhood conditions affect the lives of residents in various ways, research findings to date are inconsistent and inconclusive.
By far, the strongest evidence on this topic comes from studies of the Gautreaux program in Chicago (also discussed on that day's Other Voices page). But methodological flaws make researchers like me wary of the overwhelmingly positive results.
These remarks should not be misinterpreted as lack of support for the Moving to Opportunity program. On the contrary, it is precisely because scientific evidence on neighborhood effects is lacking that a carefully designed demonstration and research program like MTO makes sense.
How can we hope to address pressing social problems if we don't understand the effects -- both positive and negative -- of potential remedies?
Sandra J. Newman
Baltimore
The writer is associate director for research and research professor at the Institute for Policy Studies of the Johns Hopkins University.
Own destiny
Your Oct. 2 article, "Effect on U.S. uncertain if GATT isn't adopted," clearly did state what will happen if it is adopted.
Professor Gerard Adams cavalierly states that ". . . it may cost jobs in very specific industries in very specific locations. There's no getting around that."
Would he be so cavalier, if his job was endangered? America has lost too many jobs on the altar of world economic theories.
The trend to turn so much of our nation's leadership over to
international forces such as the United Nations, World Trade Organization and others scares me.
I remember what happened when the Soviet Union blocked our efforts to act in our best interests in the U.N., and when Third World nations formed a voting bloc and made a mockery of us.
I saw what fools we became in Somalia, when the U.N. got more involved. Let's be good world neighbors, but let's stop turning control of our destiny over to others.
Allan C. Stover
Ellicott City
Good headlines
The Oct. 10 story, "Schmoke warns landlords: Fix it or city will raze it," makes good headlines but fails to get to the root of Baltimore's problem.
The real problem is in the second paragraph: "The number of vacant homes has increased from 5,500 to 7,700 in the past six years . . ." The question is why?
Mayor Kurt Schmoke is upset about how the "absentee landlords" are treating Baltimore's neighborhoods. He should really be upset with his housing department and its failure to enforce existing regulations.
Why is Housing Commissioner Daniel P. Henson III only now going to start stepping up prosecutions and why only on absentee landlords? How about the residents who allow trash to accumulate in their yards, in the backs of houses and in front of their homes?
All who have rental units in the city are required to pay at least a $15 fee to the city and register their property.
If Baltimore City has to pay to demolish a abandoned property and the property owner has another property in the city, it should have a lien placed against it to reimburse the taxpayers for the cost of demolition.
So far, Mr. Henson seems no more effective than the man he replaced, Robert Hearn.
It's time for the city to look for someone who is interested in preserving what is still good in Baltimore instead of waiting until it is too late and the only solution is destruction.
Charles D. Connelly
Baltimore
An end to all addictions
Given the definition of addiction in your article on caffeine, I am wondering if food and water, along with sex, shouldn't be classified as addictive.
Perhaps some eager-beaver psychologists can do a study (at tax-payer expense, of course) and find a way of doing without these items.
Just think of it: no more diets, no more malnourished people, no more obese people, no more skinny people.
3' No more people, no more addictions.
P. Frank Mazzucchi
Baltimore