Paying Welfare moneys to the families of the children in poverty does not solve the poverty problem, unless such money is temporarily used to promote the family into a self sustaining mode, by means of grants for education, training and temporary income maintenance. This aspect of Welfare is best defined as Vocational Rehabilitation of adults.

The needs of Children are not the same as those of adults. Cash grants to adults often result in abuse, leaving the children in the same neglect as was the case before the social intervention. hat is required is a system which promotes the needs and Rights of children, by way of a Children's Aid Act

Using modern technology which is well proven in the commercial credit card sector, a Children's Aid card can be issued to all children living in poverty in the USA. The allocation should be the same across all states, by dividing the total appropriation by the number of Children enrolled.

The Child's Aid card can be used at any commercial retailer which has adequate technological support for it. With it, parents may purchase only those items which are vital to Children, not items which the parents may wish for themselves. The Children's Card could be used to purchase such things as clothing, shoes, school supplies, infant care items, children's food, and services such as child care, after school care, counseling and transportation.

By giving the aid directly to children, the system becomes the Great Equalizer which will negate the differences inherited from the past. No child would be "poor" due to the socio-economic conditions of their parents. The family retains the right to control the Children's Aid card, thereby empowering the family structure by means of the choices made for their children.

The Welfare debate should correctly separate the issues of Vocational Rehabilitation from those of the promotion of Children's Rights. What will separate the World of the Future from today is precisely what will be done in the area of Children's rights, to insure that a Child is not penalized by the living conditions he/she found at home. Programs such as Head Start show that investing directly in Children is vital and effective.

Sending cash payments to minors is an invitation to abuse. Payments should be made directly to the Children of such parents, by way of the Children's Aid card. The marital status of a family is not a concern of the Government, but every effort should be made to insure that no penalty is imposed on the family structure, whichever this may be.

It is time to be bold, it is time to leave behind the traditional methods used in the past to allocate funds. Let it not be said that the system was known in 1995, but not implemented until yet another generation of Children wastes away in poverty.

Atlanta
February 23, 1996