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8, 1997
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Groups Call on Kitzhaber to
Keep Food Stamps Available
A coalition of anti-hunger and
labor organizations called on Gov­
ernor Kitzhaber to seek waivers from
a harsh provision o f last year’s wel­
fare reform limiting food stamp ben­
efits to three months out of a three
year period for 18 to 50 year old
recipients without dependents who
are not fully working. The groups,
Oregon Food Bank, Oregon Hunger
Relief Task Force, AFSCME, AFL-
CIO, the Oregon Building Trades
Council, and the Oregon Law Cen­
ter, recently sent a letter to Kitzhaber
requesting that he seek a waiver from
the time limit requirements for six­
teen (16) Oregon counties officially
designated as “labor surplus areas”
by the US Department of Labor.
The new welfare reform law
signed by President Clinton August
22,1996 restricts able-bodied adults
age 18-50 without children who are
working under 80 hours a month to
only 3 months of food stamp ben­
efits in a 36-month period.
The Act grants the US Secretary
of Agriculture the authority to waive
this harsh time l im it for an area of a
state that has an insufficient number
of jobs. In the letter to Kitzhaber, the
groups noted, “It is imperative that
Oregon utilize all available means to
mitigate the harmful effects of this
time limit provision.” The groups
noted that perhaps as many as 10,000
Oregonians face losing their ben­
efits March 1,1997. Approximately,
twenty-nine thousand Oregonians
received notices December 1st tell­
ing them they may lose benefits
March 1st.
Report studies working women
O f particular concern to the
groups, is the demand already placed
on private non-profit organizations.
For example, the Oregon Food
Bank’s statewide network is cur­
rently serving over 400,000 Orego­
nians with emergency food each year
and would be hard pressed to handle
increased demand if 10-29,000 Or­
egonians lose food stamp benefits.
“There is no need to deny food
stamps to people who are jobless and
go hungry,” noted Sara Fleming,
Executive Director of the Oregon
Hunger Relief Task force.
“Requesting waivers can help
mitigate the harsh time limits in ar­
eas of the state where there is a labor
surplus. And because Food Stamps
are fully federally funded, there is no
cost to the state,” she added.
Electronic encyclopedia availaible
IBM’s New 1997 World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia Deluxe Edition
Today IBM announced the avail­
ability of The 1997 World Book
Multimedia Encyclopedia Deluxe
Edition. The double CD-ROM com­
bines the quality content parents
have grown to expect from World
Book with the latest Internet and
multimedia technologies that make
achieving high marks on homework
assignments fun and easy.
“The 1997 World Book Multime­
dia Encyclopedia Deluxe Edition
provides unmatched depth o f con­
tent, and easy-to-use search features,”
said Jim Firestone, general manager
oflB M ’s Consumer Division. “The
package represents the superior qual­
ity and motivational technologies that
parents need in learning tools today.
Parents know they can trust the IBM
and World Book brand names.”
A comprehensive education re­
source, The 1997 World Book Mul­
tim edia E ncyclopedia D eluxe
Edition’s content is tailored to school
curricula with help from some of the
nation’s top boards of education and
curricula advisors as well as thou­
sands of students worldwide. As a
result, article topics are written spe­
cifically for users in the fourth grade
through high school and beyond.
“Over the last eight decades,
World Book’s commitment to meet­
ing and exceeding the needs of stu­
dents, parents and teachers has been
our top priority. By listening to our
customers, we have developed a
reference and learning product that
showcases what they have asked for
—all in a dynamic and interactive
CD-ROM form at,” said Ralph
Schey, CEO of World Book, Inc.
“Our partnership with IBM reflects a
common commitment to raising the
bar on accuracy and excellence in
learning.”
The 1997 World Book Multime­
dia Encyclopedia Deluxe Edition
brings information to life in an excit­
ing and engaging way. From his­
toric events, such as the invasion of
Pearl Harbor, to complex issues like
the science of recycling, informa­
tion is presented in an entertaining
and interactive format to help users
understand and retain it.
Random House to donate children’s books
Random House Juvenile and Mer­
chandise Group has changed its name
to Random House Children’s Pub­
lishing, it was announced today by
Harold Clarke, president o f the divi­
sion.
Along with the new name, Ran­
dom House has announced an inten­
sive literacy outreach program for
1997.
Coinciding with the name change
is the 40th birthday of The Cat in the
Hat, the popular Dr. Seuss character.
Random House Children’s Publish­
ing will turn birthday wishes into
free books for underprivileged chil­
dren. For every birthday card sent to
the Cat in the Hat at Random House,
the company will donate a book to
The National Center for Family Lit­
eracy. Plans are to donate up to
150,000 books in 1997.
Children can make their own birth­
day creations, or, to help make it
easier for kids to send birthday wishes
to the Cat in the Hat, the company
will be distributing over half a mil­
lion pre-addressed birthday cards
through bookstores, libraries, muse­
ums and postcard kiosks across the
country.
“We have always been the lead­
ing children’s publisher and will con­
tinue to publish books o f the highest
quality. Our new name will better
define what we have been and what
we are truly about. It is our mission
to publish books that engage chil­
dren in the lifelong love and joy of
reading,” said Clarke. “And, our lit­
eracy outreach will ensure that many
more children will be able to enjoy
reading good books,” he added.
Random House Children’s Pub­
lishing is the preeminent publisher
of books for children in America
today. The company has introduced
over 50 book series including: Be­
ginner B ooks(R ), First Tim e
Books(R), Stepping Stones(R), and
Step into Reading(TM), many of
which have been hailed by elemen­
tary educators and reading special­
ists as the best on the market. In
addition to Children’s Publishing,
the division includes Random House
Children’s Media, encompassing all
of its children’s activities in audio,
video and CD-ROM.
Rollerblading for kids
Laura Clark, 25, of Murfreesboro,
Tennessee, who began a cross coun­
try trip across the country on
rollerblades to call attention to the
plight of abused and neglected chil­
dren, will leave from the entrance to
the Santa Monica Municipal Pier,
Santa Monica, CA at 10:00 a.m.,
Saturday, January 4, 1997.
Laura is following Wilshire Bou­
levard to Mission to Huntington
Drive to Foothill Boulevard toward
San Bernardino. Continuing from
San Bernardino on a southward route
to Riverside, Twenty-nine Palms and
along route 62 into Arizona.
She is expected to travel approxi­
mately 50 miles per day and should
arrive in Phoenix, Arizona on Janu­
ary 13. The entire journey will span
some 2,900 miles and will culminate
in Washington, DC an March 13 at
the National Conference of the Child
Welfare League of America, where
she will be met by thousands of child
advocates. Sending Laura off on her
compelling journey will be Eileen
Mayers Pasztor, Director of the
Western Regional Office of the Child
Welfare League o f America and Pe­
ter Digre, Director, Los Angeles
County Department of Children and
Family Services, a CWLA member
agency that oversees the care of over
70,000 abused and neglected chil­
dren.
Subsidy program improves family life
At least 89% of Michigan fami­
lies who participate in the Family
Support Subsidy Program say the
quality of their family life has im­
proved, according to a Michigan
Department of Community Health
(MDCH) survey released today. O f
the 89%, more than 60% say their
family life has greatly improved.
“It is gratifying to see that this
has made such a positive impact in
the lives of so many families,” said
Governor John Engler. “This pro­
gram illustrates Michigan’s com­
mitment to helping people who have
a developmental disability remain
a part of their family and their com­
munity.”
The program, which is coordi­
nated through MDCH, provides
subsidies to assist families of chil­
dren who have a severe develop­
mental disability. Many of the chil­
dren who receive the subsidy cannot
talk, walk, or feed and dress them­
selves.
“Supporting families has always
been a high priority for Michigan’s
public mental health system,” said
MDCH Director James K. Havcman,
Jr. “This program enables families
to stay together and allows them the
flexibility to purchase goods and
services locally that help them meet
their unique needs.”
Families may purchase items that
help them keep their child at home,
including clothing, education aides,
general household expenses, respite
care, and medical expenses.
In addition to helping families
keep children at home, the program
has helped to reduce the number of
children with severe disabilities in
state- operated institutions from 104
in Fiscal Year 1985 to only six in
Fiscal Year 1995. Without the sub­
sidy, hundreds o f other families
would likely have needed an out-
of-home placement for their child.
As of October 1,1996 nearly 4,500
children with severe disabilities
were receiving the subsidy.
“We’re very pleased with these
results,” said Haveman. “It’s been
proven time and again that children
who live with their families thrive
within their home environment.”
Children with severe develop­
mental disabilities include those
who have severe mental impair­
ments, severe multiple impairments,
and autism.
• 8-oz.
• Regular or No-Salt
•SAVEup to
750 on 7
Fresh Oregon
Fryers
• Economy Pack • First three
• Whole Fryers, 69(-lb
• Cut-up Fryers or
Fryer & Hell, S9(-lb.
PORTLANt)
PDC is the City of Portland's urban
renewal, housing and economic
development agency.
news, however, since the study
found that in some cases women’s
situations improved compared with
men’s not only because they worked
more hours, but because men’s
wages were relatively stagnant.
On the negative side, the study
also noted that, despite their in­
creased time and effort in the work­
place, women remain responsible
for most housework and child care.
While married mothers scaled
down housework from about 30
hours a week in 1965 to 20 hours in
1985, fathers have picked up only
part of the slack, increasing from 5
hours to 10 hours weekly.
Bianchi is a professor the Uni­
versity of Maryland. Spain teaches
at the University of Virginia.
SAFEWAY
Tomato Sauce
[)EYEL o EME^T
C ommission
COMMISSION MEETING
Commission meetings are open to
the public. A complete agenda is
available at PDC or by calling
823-3200. Citizens with disabilities
may call 823-3232 or T D D 823-6868
for assistance at least 48 hours in
advance.
This increase follows steady im­
provement in women’s educational
levels, as illustrated by statistics from
1993 compared with 1977.
Among whites, women earned 54
percent of bachelor’s degrees in
1993, up from 46 percent in 1977.
For blacks with bachelor’s degrees,
the percentage of women increased
to 63 percent from 57 percent.
W omen’s shares ofdoctoral de­
grees jum ped from 25 percent to
44 percent among whites and from
39 percent to 55 percent among
blacks.
Women have also narrowed their
earnings gap, bringing home 72 per­
cent of men’s wages in 1994 com­
pared with 59 percent in 1970.
This may not be entirely good
Prices Effective 1/08/97 thru 1/14/97 at your nearby Safeway store.
PDC
Date: January 15,1997
Place: Blazer's Boys & Girls Club
525O N E M LK , Jr. Blvd.
Portland, OR
T im e 9:00 a.m.
The authors o f a study on
women’schanging lives in America
say women gradually are gaining
parity with men in the workplace.
“The picture of women in the
workplace is one of clear, albeit
slow, progress toward equality with
men,” Suzanne M. Bianchi and
Daphne Spain report in the study:
"Women, Work and Family in
America.”
Between 1970 and 1995 the share
of women 25 to 54 who work out­
side the home climbed from 50
percent to 76 percent, with the big­
gest gains shown by married women
with children, according to the
study, published Thursday by the
independent, nonprofit Population
Reference Bureau.
•SAVEup to
61 (-lb.
Seedless Red Grapes
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Safeway Weekly Shopping Guide
• Imported form Chile
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