1352                            JOINT RESOLUTIONS

No. 10
(Senate Joint Resolution 6)

Senate Joint Resolution urging the State Department of Public
Welfare and other State and local agencies to take the necessary
action to implement the recommendations of the Legislative
Council's Special Committee on Public Welfare Costs.

Whereas, By Joint Resolution 44 of the 1965 General Assembly
(H.J.R. 68), the Legislative Council was urged to appoint a committee
to study and resolve the constant and persistent increases in the cost
of public welfare in the State; and

Whereas, The Resolution requested the Special Committee to
provide the 1966 General Assembly with a full, frank, complete, and
realistic report upon present welfare conditions in Maryland, the
reasons for its increased use, and the means by which the entire
public welfare trend may be revised and reduced; and

Whereas, In compliance with this directive, the Special Committee
has made its report to the Legislative Council and has submitted
the following recommendations:

1.    The State Department of Public Welfare should make a more
complete initial verification of two items on the application sub-
mitted by a person applying for welfare assistance:

(a)     financial resources of the applicant; and

(b)    his residence qualifications for assistance. The applicant
should be required to complete, sign and have notarized his applica-
tion for assistance.

2.    The State Department should investigate more aggressively
than at present all cases of suspected fraud in obtaining welfare as-
sistance and document cases before referring them to State's At-
torneys for prosecution.

3.    The various State's Attorneys of the State are urged to aug-
ment their staffs of attorneys to the degree necessary to prosecute
fully all cases of welfare fraud by requesting the local government
to supply funds for this purpose. The State's Attorneys are further
urged to follow up aggressively and enforce payments under court
orders for the support of children.

4.    The State Department is urged to exercise continuing super-
vision over recipients of welfare assistance after qualification and
payment of assistance. If the Department does not have enough case
workers properly to supervise recipients for assistance, it can and
should require recipients to requalify for assistance at least every
three months.

5.    The State Department and the State Health Department are
urged to disseminate family planning information through clinics to
welfare recipients and to take positive action in exercising continu-
ing supervision over welfare recipients who indicate a desire to re-
ceive such information.

6.    The State Department is requested to estimate the requirements
of day care centers for children and to inform the General Assembly