i Work First program still in need of fine-tuning
Womble calls for study of
?: former welfare recipients
t
/
f By HERB WHITE
f CONSOLIDATED MEDIA GROUP
4
4
North Carolina's Work First
\\ program has lowered dependence
;? on welfare, but it's still in for some
fine-tuning.
Reps. Beverly Earle (D-Meck
> lenburg) and Alma Adams (D
? Guilford) met last week to work
' out a compromise bill in the
i; House. The Welfare Reform Com
;? mittee Earle co-chairs is consider
;! ing seven different provisions
?; between the two bills, five of which
are the same or are contained in
? only one bill or the other. The
! House probably won't debate wel
?!
fare reform until it votes on a bud
get bill next week.
"There probably won't be any
movement until the budget is out
on the House
floor," Earle
The bills
contain iden
tical language
regarding the
maintenance
the stan
dard of need,
the maxi
mum allow- Wombh
able income a
family can have and qualify for
Work First. The amount would be
cut in half if the proposed bill is
not passed this session.
Although legislators are look
ing at ways to streamline welfare.
Work First has been a success at
balancing self-sufficiency with a
social safety net, Earle said.
"The program is going well,"
she said. "It's moving people off
the rolls, but it's not moving people
to high paying jobs. A lot of peo
ple are working their first jobs and
don't have a lot of training, but a
lot of first jobs don't require train
ing. This has the potential to help
them along" to better-paying jobs.
Adams' provisions would allow
up to 20 percent of Work First
recipients to count post-secondary
education toward their work
requirements and require N.C.
Department of Health and
Human Services and N.C. Depart
ment of Transportation to create
strategies to provide low-income
people and workers with trans
portation.
Earle's provisions are a bienni
al review and a review of all cases
three months
before they
reach the end WT . ?
of their time
limit. The
two remain
ing provi- . J
sions are
addressed in
each bill in
differing
manners. Adams
They are pay
after-performance for two parent
families and the state-set two year
time limit. Earle's bill would pro
vide two-parent families with three
months of benefits before pay
after-performance applies, and
would shorten the 36-month ineli
gibility period to 18 months, once
a family has used their two-year
time limit.
"If we don't encourage people
to get out and work. North Caroli
na is going to have to pay more
money back to the federal govern
ment" in welfare benefits if two
parent families don't meet minimal
federal guidelines for hours at
work, Earle said. "It's a significant
amount of money when we're
already facing hard times" as the
state tries to find new revenues.
Adams' bill prohibits pay-after
performance from being applied to
two parent families and prohibits
the state or any county from
implementing a time limit other
than the federally required five
year lifetime limit.
Rep. Larry Womble (D
Forsyth) asked questions regard
ing the well-being of families who
have left the rolls.
"I wonder if welfare reform is
doing what its supposed to and if
not why not," he said. "I don't
think it is working."
He then called for a study com
mission to be established to allow
current and former recipients of
welfare to tell their stories. Earle,
co-chair of the committee, said
they were planning a public hear
ing on welfare reform and Work
First for the week of June 8.
> "I'm optimistic we'll be able to
pass something," Earle said. "We
* have to be mindful of who we're
doing this for."
! St. Aug vice president alleges sexual harassment in lawsuit
?I By JOHN MINTER
CONSOLIDATED MEDIA GROUP
V '*1
~ A St. Augustine's College vice
? president and her husband, a for
!? mer assistant to outgoing Presi
'? dent Bernard Franklin, have sued
! Franklin, the college and several
; top officials in a federal sexual
harassment complaint.
; The lawsuit filed by Angeline
?. and Gregory Sligh comes as
1; Franklin ends his six-year career
? at St. Aug's. He leaves May 31 to
1 become head of Virginia Union
; University in Richmond.
But correspondence received
; by The Triangle Tribune, a Con
solidated Media Group paper,
?; indicates the lawsuit may be only
? an overt indication of the con
? tentions within the Episcopalian
! Church-supported school over the
past year.
A number of top administra
tors, including Gregory Sligli,
have been fired. When admissions
director Keith Powell was fired in
March, four members of his staff
resigned.
The Sligh lawsuit, which seeks
$7 million in damages, alleges that
Senior Vice
President
Maurice Tay- I fc hJ
lor made sex- ? B
advances f
toward I <fl
Angeline I /1
Sligh and I 1
retaliated
against her ^^B fl
when she ^^B?oL_JB
refused. Franklin
The law
suit, in addition to naming Taylor
and Franklin, also names St.
Aug's attorney Charles T. Francis,
who Sligh alleges defamed her by
telling a computer software com
pany she was not authorized to
sign a contract for software.
Sligh is St. Aug's vice president
for technology.
Both Slighs are St. Aug gradu
ates. Gregory Sligh was director
of alumni affairs from 1984-1996,
when he became special assistant
provost. In 1997, he became assis
tant to the president.
He was fired on Oct. 15 after
Angeline Sligh's attorney contact
ed the school about her com
plaints.
Angeline Sligh alleges in her
lawsuit that although she told
Franklin and other school offi
cials about sexual harassment by
Taylor, an investigation was not
ordered until after she filed a com
plaint with the federal Equal
Employment Opportunity Com
mission.
Several St. Aug's alumni,
including the alumni representa
tive on the Board of Trustees,
have criticized Franklin's handling
of school affairs in the past year.
In a lengthy letter to alumni
dated May 8, George Quiett
expressed his concerns about
Franklin's management, including
the possibility that a large sum of
money was embezzled from the ,
school, though Franklin did not
order a criminal investigation.
Quiett said trustees ordered
the matter turned over to legal
authorities.
-? "This is another time bomb
waiting to explode," he said. "We
must insist on a full disclosure of
this matter and move forward to
secure an explanation as to why
this has not been properly han
dled. Is this administration cover
ing up something? Let's not wait
until Dr. Franklin moves to Vir
ginia Union before we demand
some answers."
The Tribune was unable to
contact Francis, who has acted as
spokesman for St. Aug officials
regarding the court case. ,
'.?Voacon Thomie Douthit offarad axprassions of lovo to Glorio Jackson
* 'during tho tvoning of Fallowship at Union Baptist Church.
:t 1 1 _ 1 I j
jacKson nonorea at
/ ? <r . ***
\ Union Baptist Church
? ' i ? ?
; Special to THE CHRONICLE
Gloria J. Jackson was reeent
; ly the guest of honor at "An
~ ; Evetlihg of Fellowship" at
? Union Baptist Church, which
' marked her move to Raleigh.
; She will relocate to work for the
; N.C. Raleigh Housing Authority
? as the assistant director of Sec
! tion 8 and leased housing. She
; worked as the assistant Section 8
? manager for Housing Authority
! of Winston-Salem (HAWS) for
I more than 23 years. She started
; out as a temporary employee,
? but now she is accepting a pro
! motion in Raleigh.
; "It was a very hard decision,
? but when God elevates you, you
have to answer to the calling.
And he moves in His own time,"
she said. Jackson has fond mem
ories of her years spent at
HAWS. "I grew up in this
agency, and I learned how to
respect people, how to be a
leader as well as a follower and
how to serve those we are here to
' serve," she said.
Although she plans to relo
; cate, she has no intention of
leaving her church family
behind- She plans to return fre
quently to attend services at
Union Baptist Church, where
she sings in the B.F. Daniels
Gospel Choir and the A.H.
McDaniel Amazing Grace Choir
and served in the Willing Work
ers and the missionary group.
Jackson gives her church
accolades for helping her mature
into a responsible young woman.
"I thank Union Baptist Church
for rearing me. I joined the
church at the age of 10, and this
church is like home. I thank God
for having a loving church fami
ly," she said. Tears spilled from
her eyes as she spoke. "I am so
happy and full this evening. My
friends in the Birthday Club
often accuse the members of this
church of spoiling me. I'm not
spoiled. I am loved." she said.
Jackson credits many of the
women of the church with lead
ing her down the right road in
life. "I have so many mothers in
this church body, and my own
mother - Katie Jackson - has
not been a jealous woman. She
has been willing to share me
with all of you. The ladies of
this church keep me on the
Sr< Jackson on A9
- ' . . -J
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