FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-1025
October 20, 1997
No. HR-8
Congressman E. Clay Shaw, Jr., (R-FL), Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on issues related to protecting children from the prevalence and impacts of substance abuse on families receiving welfare. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, October 28, 1997, in room B-318 of the Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 3:00 p.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include representatives of the U.S. General Accounting Office, welfare and substance abuse experts, State welfare officials, and treatment providers. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
Last year, Congress passed, and President Clinton signed, the new welfare reform law (P.L. 104-193) that substantially changed the nation's major cash welfare program, now called the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. The new law established time limits on receipt of welfare benefits, set employment and training participation requirements, and authorized States to impose sanctions on recipients that fail to meet program expectations.
Researchers have identified substance abuse as a potential barrier to recipients' successfully transitioning from welfare to work. In addition, parental drug use has been linked to child abuse. Estimates of drug abuse among welfare recipients vary greatly by the type of drug, legal status, and the population studied. However, some assessments indicate that the use of illegal drugs is higher among welfare recipients than among the general population.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Shaw stated: "The Subcommittee wants to examine the incidence of drug use among welfare recipients and the potential impacts of drug use on children. We are particularly interested in substance abuse as a barrier to work and a factor in the placement of children into foster care. Changes in national welfare rules have led many States to reform their policies for assessing, referring, and treating drug users. It is time to examine what is known about the effectiveness of drug treatment and to identify promising approaches to helping welfare recipients overcome substance abuse problems. This hearing is part of our ongoing efforts to ensure that the far-reaching changes made by the welfare reform legislation continue to meet with success."
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit at least six (6) single-space legal-size copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format only, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Tuesday, November 11, 1997, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Human Resources office, room B-317 Rayburn House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. At the same time written statements are submitted to the Committee, witnesses are now requested to submit their statements on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.