J uly 7, 1993 • T he P ortland O bserver
P age A4
News From The
Oregon Department
Of Veterans’ Affairs
Legal Aid Series Nine: Overpayments
The welfare bureaucracy
is large, its rules can be confusing
and sometimes mistakes are made.
Even by welfare. If you gel more
welfare assistance than you deserve,
you have to pay it back. You should
know your rights and options before
welfare comes after you.
Getting public assistance,
such as A id to Families with Depen
dent Children, to which you arc not
entitled is called an overpayment.
Getting food stamps you don’ t have
coming iscalled overissuance. These
are both considered a debt you owe
to the State o f Oregon. An overpay
ment is figured by subtracting the
amount o f benefits you should get
from the amount you actually re
ceive. Overpayments happen be
cause either people on welfare fai 1 to
report income or c ire umstances they
should have, or the welfare worker
sim ply makes a mistake. Whatever
the reason, anyone on the grant at
the time o f overpayment is respon
sible for paying back the extra.
I f you’re on ADC, and you
gettoomuch.itdoesn’t matter whose
fault it was. I t ’s s till considered an
overpayment and you have to give it
back. A ll o f it. I f you’ re owed
backpayments, they’ ll be used to
pay o ff the debt. You won’ t have to
pay it back at once and there are
on your food stamps unless you
agree to let them do it. I f the bureau
cracy made the error, you may agree
to pay o ff the debt in monthly in
stallments or let them cut back on
your food stamps until the debt is
cleared. But they cannot force a
reduction in food stamps, or slap
you with penalties for not paying
back the overissuance.
If, however, it was your
fault, welfare may cut your monthly
food stamps by 10 percent or $10,
whichever is more, or in the case o f
fraud, by 20 percent or $ 10, w hich
ever is more. Any back food stamps
owed you can also be used to pay the
debt, along with your state tax re
funds. Welfare may let you use cash
or food coupons io pay o ff debt in
three years. I f that’ s not long enough
to pay it back, ask welfare to reduce
your debt. And if you can’ t afford
the payments, ask for a new pay
ment plan. Remember, unless you
ask for a payment plan, welfare w ill
automatically cut your food stamps
by 10 to 20 percent. But they cannot
use food stamps to pay back ADC
overpayment, or use you AD C to
pay back food stamp overissuance.
Throughout this whole ordeal, wel
fare may accuse you o f fraud, and
you should know what it means.
Fraud is purposely giving false in
several ways to do it.
The amount o f your w el
fare check could be reduced until the
debt is paid off. I f your only income
comes from welfare, yourcheck w ill
be cut by 10 percent. But if you have
other income as well, more than 10
percent w ill be taken. Note, how
ever, if your overpayment happened
beforeOct. 1,1981, your ADC check
cannot be cut by 10 percent.
Other ways o f repaying
ADC is by cutting day care pay
ments 10 percent, taking any state
income tax refunds you have com
ing, or, i f you’ re working, reducing
any earned income deductions. This
last method could result in getting a
smaller we 1 fare check or no check at
all.
The welfare people can also
sue you in court or ask you to sign a
“ confession o f judgement.” If this
happens, get legal help im m edi
ately. It’ s also lime for a lawyer’s
help when they threaten to garnish
your wages or take your personal
property. Talk to someone about
your rights, and don ’ t sign anything
you don’ t understand or disagree
with.
Collecting on excess food
stamps, overissuance, works d iffe r
ently. I f the overissuance was not
your fault, welfare cannot cut back
fo rm a tion to get benefits you
shouldn’t be gelling . If you know
ingly give false information or w ith
hold information to get A N Y type ol
public benefits, you are comm itting
fraud. Welfare calls this“ Intenlional
Program Violation” (IPV). If your
case worker thinks you lied or w ith
held information, a welfare investi
gator w ill look into your case. W el
fare cannot prosecute or ja il you lor
fraud. But it ca ncu toff your benefits
six months for the first violation,
one year for the second and perma
nently for the third. Your ADC can
not be cut o ff lor overpayments that
happened before Nov. 1, 1988. But
welfare can also refer your case to
the District Attorney for crim inal
prosecution. Welfare fraud isaC lass
C felony in Oregon. I f convicted,
you could face fines, restitution, and
in rare cases, jail. So i f you arc
accused o f fraud, gel legal help and
NAACP And Flagstar Reach $1 Billion
Historic Accord To Expand
Opportunities For Minorities
Flagstar C om panS. Inc. and the
The value ofthe Fair Share Agree-
National Association for the Advance-
ment o f Colored People (NAAC P)
incnt is estimated to be $1.01 b illion
over the next seven years in direct and
signed a far-reaching and compre-
hensive Fair Share Agreement to pro-
vide greater opportunities for m inori-
ties at the company 's restaurant and
indirect benefits
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis. Jr., E.\-
ecutivc Director o f the N AAC P. coin-
menting on the agreement said. ” 1 am
exceedingly pleased that after several
months o f negotiation, the NAACP
and Flagtstar, along w ith Richardson
Sports, have signed a number o f his
toric agreements, unprecedented in
scope and magnitude. This b illion
dollar package w ill set a standard for
future relations between the C iv il
R ights M ovem ent and corporate
America and w ill enhance the struggle
o f African-Americans and other ra
cial minorities for economic empow
erment and racial justice ”
“ This historic agreement-one
that w ill be a model for other coinpa-
m es-is tangible cvidcnccofFlagstar's
commitment totreating customers and
employees fairly regardless ofthe color
food service operations.
The agreement, w hich covers
120,000 F la g sta r em ployees at
Denny’s Hardee’ s. Quincy's Family
Steakhouse, El Polio Loco restaurants
and the Canteen contract food, vend
ing and recreation services company,
includes:
* A m inority recruitment and
training program designed to increase
m inority representation in manage
ment to 12 percent and in on-manage
ment to 20 percent
* Greater franchise opportunities
fo r minorities.
* A M inority Procurement Pro
gram w ith goal for purchasing 12
percent o f total goods and serv ices,
including food, manufactured goods,
office supplies and services, construc
tion and contracting from m inority-
owned firms.
* A pledge to increase the use o f
m inority firm s for professional ser
vice such as banking, insurance, ac
counting , advertising and legal coun
sel.
* An ongoing random testing
program, coordinated by the NAACP,
or nearly 2,000 Flagstar company res
taurants designed to ensure that all
customers are treated fairly and to
quickly identify any discrimination
and take corrective action
In addition, Flagstar w ill appoint
at least one minority member to its
board o f directors
_
.
.
.
.
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■
« i
___ "
o f their skin or their racial heritage,"
said Jerome J. Richardson. Flagstar
Chairman and C hief Executive O ffi
cer.
As part o f its effort to increase
minorities in management and non-
management positions, Flagstar w ill
start a series o f m inority recruitment
and training programs These include
a M in ority Traincc Program designed
to identify qualified m inority employ
ees and place them in the company’ s
management training and develop
ment programs. A M inority Recruit
ment Program w ill work through com
munity organizations and educational
institution to identify potential new
employees.Flagstar w ill develop a
Recruitment Action Plan that works
been signed in a single day.”
Flagstar has also agreed to spend
10 percent o f its radio and print adver
• i 1» n i i n n r i t v
x ii t ir * /
tising budget <a
w ith
m inority r owned
publications and radio stations and
m inority producers and managers in
the television industry. The company
w ill also increase its use o f M inority-
owned adv ertising agencies.
In a coordinated effort w ith the
NAACP. Flagstar w ill randomly visit
its nearly 2,000 restaurants to ensure
that all customers arc being treated
fairly.
The program w ill use an objec
tive third-party survey firm to evalu
ate whether restaurants arc comply
ing w ith company policies and proce
dures. The survey firm w ill provide
regular reports to the NAACP and
Flagstar and report critical situations
immediately.
crunch’ for rental housing develop
ment; but other FHA loan guarantees
also are being used to encourage lend
ers to promote homcownership in our
inner cities.”
Because construction spending
circulates throughout the economy.
HUD officials say there w ill be $66
m illion in total first year economic
impact from the construction o f these
738 apartment units, as wages get
spent and constniction materials and
supplies get purchased.
According to Brinck. four o f the
six projects arc already under con
struction; and the other two should be
underway w ithin 60 days
In a d d itio n to the a lready
approved 738 apartments, Brinck
said that the credit crunch had created
a backlog o f project applications
for nearly I 5000 additional Oregon
new construction apartments which
could genera,'c 960 jobs, another
$130 m illion in first year economic
impact, and nearly $112 m illion in
additional tax revenues HUD o ffi
cials acknowledge that processing
times toget FHA apartment financing
can now take as long as a year, double
or triple previous processing tunes.
They say that, because o f the credit
crunch, they have been swamped w ith
financing applications for ncarlv 5.000
apartment units, new and existing, in
Oregon, Idaho, and southwest Wash
ington
Also contributing to the delays,
HUD staff say, are a loss o f staff and a
wave o f 150 mandated existing apart
ment refinancing o f 20-ycarold subsi
dized projects, designed to keep these
projects in low-income use for the
next 40 years.
HUD Manager Brinck. comment
ing on the job creation and economic
stimulus, said, “ The President and
HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros arc
committed to economic recov ery , and
we’ re try ing to do our part to help We
would like to do more, and do it faster,
but we have to deal w ith the realities
o f the staff size and workload that we
have.”
Brinck added that national FHA
m u ltifa m ily problems recently re
ported had, so far. been avoided lo
cally He said that less than 1/10 o f 1
percent o f the more than $350 m illion
o f FHA m ultifam ily insurance out
standing in the Portland Office had
resulted in a claim He also said the
sales price o f the one project that
resulted in an insurance claim would
be more than enough to recover the
amount o f the claim
FHA apartment loans are made
bv private lenders
this alone.
Multmomah County Legal Aid Ser
vice provides legal advice and rep
resentation to low-income people
livin g in Multnomah County facing
welfare problems. Appointments
may be made by calling our North/
Northeast Community Law Office
(In the Portland Community C ol
lege Cascade Campus) at 295-9494.
For telephone advice, call the W el
fare Rights Hotline at 241-4111.
Oregon Department o f Veterans’
A ffairs D irector Jon M angis an
nounced that effective 6-29-93, the
loan lim it was raised form $80,000 to
$135,000on S ta te d loans Governor
Roberts signed House B ill 2156 late
yesterday approving the Director s
authority to set a maximum loan
amount using a reasonable formula
For 40 some years, the Legislature has
specifically adjusted the loan lim it
upward “ It is helpful to have the
fle xib ility to adapt for real estate costs
as they occur; waiting 2 years to re
spond to changes in housing costs was
not responsive to Oregon s veterans,
stated Mangis.
O D V A Rate as June 30,1993;
6.7% fixed for a 15-year term,
APR=7.06%
7% fixed for a 30-year term,
A P R -7.23%
Those eligible for home loans are
prim arily the Vietnam era veterans,
mangis is seeking changes to federal
law s which restrict the criteria. Those
interested in learning more about the
loan program should call:
1-800-828-8801, ext. 2070
in Salem, 373-2070
Prostitution Arrests
NE MLK And N.
Interstate Avenue
Communities To “Map”
Out Transit Options
What transportation options w ill
___________ __
be available to residents o f the four-
through the NAACP. M inority Busi- ountyPortland/Vancouvcrmclropoli-
ncssEnterprise Associations. national an area by the turn o f the century? Is
civil rights organizations and state here an extension o f the M A X light
employment, sen ices to identify new ail system in the future— both south
employees.
0 Clackamas County and north to
As part o f the Fair Share Agree- 'la rk County?
ment. Flagstar has set a goal o f 53
As part o f the South/North Tran-
minority-owned restaurants by the t Corridor Study, policy makers,
end o f 1997. Flagstar w ill identify ansportation planners, engineers,
specific opportunities for m inority nd citizens throughout a 45-mile pro
franchises in m inority and non-mi- osed transit corridor, arc working
nority neighborhoods and reduce tgether to identify the broad ranged
potential barriers for minorities open- ossibilitics. To help the general pub-
ing new franchised restaurants.
c visualize the portions. Metro, in
“ This is a red-letter day for the injunction w ith C-TRAN, the City
N A A C P ,” stated Dr. W illia m F. f Vancouver, the City o f Portland.
Gibons, Chairman o f the N A A C P ’ s nd eleven other local agencies and
Board o f Directors. "These moincn- irisdiction are mapping out possible
tous signings w ith Flagstar and ght rail alignments and other high
Richardson Sports represent the larg- apacity transit options, such as a
cst fair share agreement for African usway, asthc first step in considering
American empowerment that has even oth feasibility and community sup
HUD/FHANew Apartment Construction
Provides $66 Million Economic Boost,
Eases Credit Crunch
HUD officials said that recent
JD/FHA financing approval for the
nstruction o f 738 apartments in the
rtland metro area w ill create 479
»sand $12 5 m illion in wages, spur
6 m illio n in economic impact, and
aduce $5.7 m illion in tax revenues
[Note: The Federal Housing Ad-
nistration (FHA) is part o f the U S
¡partment o f Housing and Urban
jvelopment (HUD) [.
The 738 new apartments, in six
x n tly approved rental projects in
5 Portland metro area, w ill be fi-
need using the FHA M ultifam ily
ortgage Insurance program, sim ilar
the FHA Single Family Mortgage
surancc program used by more than
,000 Oregon homebuyers to pur-
ase homes in the last two y ears.
According to Portland Manager
ck Brinck, the FHA apartment fi-
ncing approvals illustrate F H A ’s
le in improv ing the flow o f credit to
s housing sector and in helping
:al economies to grow
Brinck said. Over the last 60
ars, FHA loan guarantees have
lycdakcy role in encouraging lend-
5 to make money available for both
n ta l
h o u sin g
and
fo r
imcowncrship In this case. FHA
arantecs help build apartments and
Mte jobs during a severe credit
learn your rights.
In any overpayment case, whether
or not you’ re accused o f lraud, you
must get a 10-day written notice
before welfare is cut o il or benefits
are reduced. The notice must ex
plain how the overpayment was fig
ured. Your welfare worker must
explain the situation, and how the
debt w il 1 be collcc ted. You can refuse
to talk to welfare workers or inves
ligators about the overpayment It s
your right. I f you do talk, anything
you say can be used against you. You
must also be given a hearing, il you
ask for il. I f you don’ t think there is
an overpayment, or that welfare is
charging too much, or disagree with
collection methods, then ask for a
hearing. You have 45 days to ask if
ADC,General Assistance or medic
aid is involved, 90 days for lood
stamps. I f you ask lor a hearing
within 10 days o f getting your no
tice, your benefits won’t be slopped
orcut, in mosteases, until adccision
comes out o f the hearing. I f you’re
being investigated, you can have the
hearing postponed until you know
whether you face crim inal prosecu
tion or Intentional Program V iola
tion. In any case, don’t go through
North Precinct Officers arrested
11 women and 1 man on prostitution
related charges during an undercover
mission where, male plainclothes of
port.
ficers posed as johns, to make the
Members o f the press are invited arrest The mission was conducted
to preview some o f the hundreds o f from Thursday evening, July 1 till the
feet o f mapping developed for a scries early morning hours o f Friday, July 2,
o f regional workshops which have 1993. The one man arrested, was pos
been taking place throughout the ing as a female prostitute The arrests
South/North Corridor. The two map were made along NE M artin Luther
segments being reviewed w ill cover K ing Jr. Blvd (M L K ) and N. Interstate
the area from the Columbia River Avenue.
Crossing (Jantzen Beach’ Downtown
Sim ilar missions are expected to
Vancouver), north to 179th Street and be conducted jn the future.
SR 500 to Vancouver M all. Eighteen
The Oregon
maps w ill be display ed and transpor
tation planners, engineers and com
Thunderbolts Are
munity involvement specialists w ill
Looking For Players
be on hand to explain and answer
The Oregon Thunderbolts are
questions about the Study and the gearing up for their fifth consecutive
various alignment possibilities Please championship season and are cur
jo in us.
rently looking for Offensive Linemen
Date: July 8, 1993
and Linebackers (preferably w ith col
Time: l:3 o to 3 :p m
lege experience).
Place: Fort Vancouver High
I f you arc interested in try ing out,
School cafcteria/auditorium , 5700 contact the Thunderbolts at 579-3151.
East 18th Street, Vancouver, W A
PORTLAND OBSERVER
"fhe Eyes and Ears ol the Community
Office; (503)200-0033
Fax«: (503)200-0015
Washington Lottery Results
Wednesday, June 30, 1993 • 02-05-13-17-25-45
Saturday, June 30. 1993 • 07-08-19-27-28-40
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