The decision to close the Iola office of the Department for Children and Families means 1,924 clients will be expected to seek services in Chanute.
That’s more than an inconvenience.
A large share of those people are disabled or poor and don’t own reliable transportation.
“No problem,” says the state. They can access pertinent information over the internet.
That would be fine, except many of these people don’t have easy access to a computer or are knowledgeable about how to navigate government forms. That’s why a local presence is vital. Real people — not a computer terminal — are what they need to get help.
But Iola will still be an “access point,” they say.
That’s government talk for nothing doing.
When the Garnett office closed in 2012, the “answer” was to place DCF pamphlets in the foyer of the public health department.
It’s all about saving, not serving. Cutting, not caring.
DCF OFFICIALS cite a reduction in client numbers for closing the office.
That would be because the state has cut cash assistance (welfare) by one-third during the administration of Gov. Sam Brownback. In 2011, families could receive assistance for up to four years. In 2015, that was reduced to three years. In 2016, the lifetime limit for welfare in Kansas was reduced to two years.
“It’s encouraging people to get back into the workforce sooner,” Brownback disingenuously justified as he signed the bill.
Those hurt the worst are children. The number of families that receive cash assistance has fallen from about 26,000 in 2011 to 8,500.
And no, their parents have not miraculously found jobs.
