Federal Welfare money to be used in education programs

COLUMBUS - Some social service advocates say state lawmakers are using money designed to help the poor to solve other budget problems.

"They are using it to solve their school-funding problem," said Ed Lazere, a senior analyst with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonprofit Washington think tank.

Republican leaders want to use $260 million in federal welfare money to pay for several programs that had been covered by state funds, a move that would shrink the amount of state dollars for programs to help the poor.

Legislators are trying to come up with other sources of money to put an additional $1.4 billion into primary and secondary education in hopes of resolving a decade-old school-funding lawsuit.

State Sen. Eric Fingerhut, D-Cleveland, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, predicted that Congress will cut the state's allocation once it sees how Ohio is spending the $728 million a year it is getting.

Still, some give Ohio credit for being innovative.

States are trying to get more creative, said Dana Reichert, a policy analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Plunging welfare rolls have resulted in huge cash reserves in many states.

Ohio had a balance of more than $800 million as of March, the second highest amount in the nation, according to federal records. State officials say the reserve has since dropped to $721 million, with much of the money committed for various programs later in the year.

State programs that would be funded with federal welfare dollars in the new budget include: Head Start, food banks, alcohol and drug treatment, fatherhood programs, Appalachian work force development and adult protective services.

State Republican leaders say that without the money, additional budget cuts would have been unavoidable. They are hoping that an improved economy will help them replace the federal dollars with state money in the next two-year budget cycle.