WEEL              Page 2

WEEL              Page 2

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and Hank Hudson, the head of Child and Family Services. 
Dr. Patrick Edgar, a policy analyst, was also in attendance.  He is the researcher who compiled a report on poverty, at the state's request and 
expense, only to predict the devastating outcomes of the prescribed policies which we are now 
encountering.  His study, "Report of Findings: AFDC Populations Study," was never released.  Dr. Edgar discussed the contents of that report,  two
courageous women shared their sanctioning stories, and together we challenged government rhetoric about the 'success' of FAIM. 
People are suffering!  The standards of sanctioning, as it stands, are arbitrary and they are capricious, and what's more, they do not
motivate people to self-sufficiency.  Instead, they are a sentence for children and their parents to increased hardship and grief.
     We made two demands:
         -First, a moratorium on sanctions, now,
until the state can develop and implement an 'outcome based' policy.
        -Secondly, we know that Gov. Racicot said on
national TV -- that Montana's Welfare Reform is a success -- that 52% of recipients are no longer on the welfare rolls.  We want a study to back up that allegation...to prove this 'success.'  We are
particularly concerned with where the families are now that have dropped off the welfare rolls.  How are they surviving?  What is their family's economic -reality, without welfare?
     In response, Governor Racicot said that he did not have the ability or authority to end sanctions.  However, he added that he personally would "intrusively examine" each instance of sanctioning brought to his attention by WEEL. The Governor also admitted that there may be a failure on an
individual or county basis.  He went on to agree that WEEL was absolutely right about continued requirement for analysis, and he promised to
continue meeting with us about this important
issue. 
      After the meeting, we proceeded to the capitol
rotunda where a very successful and professional press-conference was conducted and vigorously
applauded by the labor and low-income, women &

human rights communities present.  Surrounding us was a "Story Line," honest, angry and hopeful
testimonies of people who have been sanctioned.   These statements were written on cardboard shirts and displayed on a clothes line. 
     Our focus on the indiscriminate and heartless use of sanctioning was powerfully expressed with testimonies from WEEL members Erin and Rebekah.  They demonstrated that people are being hurt, and the majority of them are children.  They are being abandoned, neglected, deprived by the very
programs that lay claim to "success."  Defining "success" as the numbers of people off the roles of FAIM with no real sense of concern or  responsibil

ity for the quality of life being imposed at the cost of "success", to us, is not "success", it is criminal.  It is crime, after crime, after crime.
     These are human beings we are talking about, not numbers.  As stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of themselves and of their families ...simply because of their inherent dignity and worth as human people.  Children and their families are not 'bad' because they happen to be born or become poor, any more than a child and her family is 'good' because they happen to be born or become financially secure.  These are accidents of birth.  They are the result of economies, NOT personal worth. 
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