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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 1996)
Welfare reform to take time %flr jJp Hjfr iij jMmfi By Erin Gibson Staff Reporter The federal welfare reform bill passed by President Clinton in Au gust will be one more bureaucratic headache for Nebraskans beginning Dec. 1, said Lt. Gov. Kim Robak. The law£reated new federal re quirements for record-keeping that will burden the state, Robak said. Because of new time limits on ben efits, she keep track ceived welfare in rest of their lives. “We’re sledgehammer, Dan Cillessen, administrator of public assistance for Nebraska, said it will cost more than $2 million for the state to modify data collection systems to conform with federal requirements. The Nebraska Department of Social Services currently keeps records on welfare recipients for three years, he said. Under die new federal law, the state will keep records for about 38 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 require able-bodied welfare recipients to work in return for benefits. Under this law, recipients can not receive benefits for more than 8 no i181 sss tjgesr! a We need to recognize that the average person is on assistance for about 13 months. It's not like a person will say, IWhoo! Tve got another five years.999 Dan Cillessen Nebraska public assistance administrator "s*.., > . • . v . ^ five years. But, in spite of the expensive record-keeping required to imple ment the new law, time limits on benefits will not affect many wel fare recipients, Cillessen said. “We need to recognize that the average person is on assistance for about 13 months,” he said. “It’s not like a person will say, ‘Whoo! I’ve got another five years.’” And 26 percent of all Nebras kans on welfare are not capable of employment and are exempt from time limits, he said. This figure in cludes children and Nebraskans with severe disabilities, he said. for all time limits, regardless of hoW - long a welfare recipient has re-> ceived benefits in Ithe pasf, Cillessen said. Therefore, the state has several years before any recipient is forced to stop receiving benefits, and sev eral years to compile the huge data bases required to keep track of ev eryone who has received benefits for 60 total months, he said. But the costs are high and time is short, he said. “There is no luxury at this point,” Cillessen said. “We have to start right now, because it does take a while to build those systems.” The reforms |lso^iequire in creased record keeping on state supported programs, such as child care that helps mothers to get off welfare and to work, Cillessen said. These requirements mean a lot more work for local social services staff, he said. ‘It requires a great deal more in formation,” he said. “That’s going to create a great deal of difficulties Interfaces between state data systems across the country must also be established in order to keep track of how long citizens have re ceived welfare, he said, and little has been done to establish such a federal system. i . /It m - - , - • I frogram takes light look at college students and sex ByKasey Kerber Senior Reporter ‘It’s the Sexuuuallll Feuuuud!” It wasn’t as elaborate as “Family Feud,” but Thursday night’s “Sexol ogy 101” at the Nebraska Union Crib had all the makings of the popular game show with contestants, prizes and answers to every question. Sexology 101, sponsored by Uni versity Program Council, examined the issue of sex and the college stu dent from a lighthearted, “hands-on” perspective. The audience of 12 students was divided into four teams that competed against one another. The teams tried to guess die results of an opinion sur vey filled out by 100 UNL students. Hie team that correctly guessed what the majority of poll respondents answered was given a point. All participants were given a free movie pass at Starship Nine Theatre, and members of the two winning teams received $5 gift certificates to the University Bookstore. The content of game questions ranged from “How. do yoti know you’re in love?” to “Do condom^re ally reduce stimulation for guys?” Some questions woe humorous, such as, “What’s the most commonly used line?” Neither the first team’s, “Let’s get a cup of coffee,” nor the sec ond team’s “Hey baby, what’s your sign?” was correct. Instead, more than a quarter of poll respondents said they didn’t know what the most common line was. Other questions were of a more personal and sexual nature, such as, “Are you likely to discuss sexual health issues on a date?” Team one correctly guessed, “Yes,” which was the answer give by a slim majority of poll respondents. Thirty two :said they would discuss sexual health ^ssdes on a date, while 31 said they would not The family feud style of sex edu cation was followed by half an hour of general questions from the audi ence., ' Questions (hiring this period were also of a sexual and personal nature. They ranged from, “How much do HIV tests cost?” and, “How are they available?,” to various questions on oral sex and sexual risks. Pat Tetreault a sexuality education coordinator at the University Health Center, fielded die questions. She said knowledge of sexual issues was key. The types and uses of condoms were the subjects of many questions. “One thing that is extremely impor tant about condoms is that they do fit” Tetreault said. Tetreault said people should exam ine condoms before usage. The event also offered baskets of free condoms. “There really aren’t many stringent restrictions placed on how (condoms) are stored or shipped by companies,” Tetreault said. “So you should look at them carefully.” The new forms of HTV tests and advantages and disadvantages of each were also discussed. Tetreault said confidential or anonymous HIV tests were available through the UNL Health Center for $18. ‘ t I i _f_ % , • ' BOMBS from page 1 School District will decide how long to suspend the boys after giving diem a hearing, she said. The students won’t return to school until after that hearing, Sheppard said. When they return, the school will help them catch up in classes and ^utHhe incident behind them, she said. - ‘Trecognize that young people do make mistakes and we’re here for diem.” Sheppard said she was disappointed and surprised when she found out three of her students woe suspected of die bombings because they were so young. But the incident has shown parents that even 13-year-olds could do some for such behavior, She said. “I think it puts everyone on alert,” she said. “I wouldn’t think they’d do something like this.” Sheppard said teachers at Dawes had been told to watch for any suspi cious behavior or possible bombs. 'Die district sent a letter to parents telling them to watch their children, she said. Police are not sure where the fourth boy, a 15-year-old, goes to school, Lin coln police Sgt Ann Heermann said. He is a brother of one of the students at Dawes. The pop bottle bombings all took place within 10 blocks of die boys’ homes. The boys allegedly placed the 14 bombs last Friday and Saturday nights, going to each place on foot, Heermann said. A 14-year-old boy was robbed of his bicycle Wednesday by a masked man who attacked him in an alley. The boy was riding his Diamond mountain bike at about 10:38 p.m. through the alley between the Randolph Bypass and F street, from 21st to 22nd streets, Lincoln police Sgt. Ann Heermannsaid. A man wearing a'black sld mask jumped out from the ride of die alley, I pushed the boy off his bike and rode away on it, Heermann said. The boy was not hurt, but the bike and its accessories were worth $747, Heermannsaid. j He described the suspect as a black 1 man, about 6 feet tall, with a thin build. I He was wearing a dark coat, blue jeans 1 and a ski mask. BURGLARY 1 - a man wno apparently broke into the Stuart Theater Wednesday morn ing was discovered by a custodian, but fled before police arrived. The man broke into the theater at 13th and P streets between 2:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. and took a can full of donations for the People’s City Mis sion, Heermann said. Several packages of candy also were missing. A custodian who had just arrived to clean the theater found the man in a projector room, Heermann said. The man claimed he was a security guard. The custodian took the man to die theater office and called the police, i Heermann said. The man turned and. I ran out the north doors. He was described as a white man in his 40s, about 5 feet, 7 inches tall and thin. ' / J He had shoulder-length hair, a mus tache and beard and was wearing a red and white checkered shirt