Title

EJF TO HOST WELFARE REFORM PANEL DISCUSSION

Abstract

Tuesday, January 18, 2000

WRITER: Matt Haney, (706) 542-5172

CONTACT: Gina Alsdorf, Vice President, Equal Justice Foundation

EJF TO HOST WELFARE REFORM PANEL DISCUSSION

ATHENS, Ga. - The University of Georgia School of Law's Equal Justice Foundation (EJF) will host a panel discussion about welfare reform issues in Georgia on Wednesday, January 26, 2000 at 3:30 p.m. in the law school's Hatton-Lovejoy Courtroom. The forum is free and open to the public.

The panel will explore the impact of the1996 national welfare reform legislation in Georgia, provisions of which call for removing people from welfare. The deadline for states to have fully implemented the legislation is rapidly approaching - how have Georgia citizens fared? Forum panelists include: Doug Bachtel of the Department of Housing and Consumer Economics at UGA; Nancy Lindbloom of Georgia Legal Services; Larry Nackerud of the UGA School of Social Work; and Taryn Trent of the Georgia Department of Labor. Assistant Professor Alex Scherr, director of the law school's civil clinic, will moderate the discussion.

"It's important to know what's going on in the community," says Gina Alsdorf, a second-year law student and a vice president of the EJF. "Students tend not to see what's going on in the community because they are so busy. But this affects a large segment of society."

The panel will likely examine such issues as: low wages for people transitioning from welfare to work; child care for working parents; problems of single mothers; the need for job training; and job security.

The panel discussion will also serve as a prelude to the EJF's public interest forum, an all-day event scheduled for Friday, February 4 at the UGA School of Law.

# #

COinS