Dalp

It has been a month since Gov. Parris Glendening proposed eliminating the $35 million Disability Assistance and Loan Program (DALP) and its $13 million companion health care program. Except for efforts to restore partial medical coverage for DALP recipients, the contingency plan promised by the governor to ease the pain of these cuts seems to have been forgotten. Carolyn Davis, a deputy chief of staff, told a Senate panel this week the governor at this stage has no specific plan in mind and will spend no money to implement any plan.

Whoa, Kweisi! Doing that surprise thing, making a bold move, and making almost perfect sense from almost every angle. Kweisi Mfume's replacement in the 7th congressional district will be a political soul mate; so, it's not like he's surrendering a seat to the Party of Newt. Nor is he becoming a lobbyist for the tobacco industry. He's giving up a safe job to try to save the nation's oldest civil rights organization -- and some of us out here still think that's a noble cause.Maybe we shouldn't ascribe the word "noble" to anyone who is paid $200,000 a year (that's what Bill Clinton makes, after all)

ADVOCATES FOR the poor feel that Gov. Parris Glendening just returned "half a loaf" in restoring part of the controversial cut he made last summer to the Disability Assistance and Loan Program. Indeed, he deserves at least half a loaf's worth of credit.With federal cuts looming and criticism over his own welfare cut still roiling, the governor announced he would rebuild the sum for the program to $18 million from $13 million, as of Jan. 1.For the individual recipient, the increase will mean a monthly rise from $50 to $100 a month.

ADVOCATES FOR the poor feel that Gov. Parris Glendening just returned "half a loaf" in restoring part of the controversial cut he made last summer to the Disability Assistance and Loan Program. Indeed, he deserves at least half a loaf's worth of credit.With federal cuts looming and criticism over his own welfare cut still roiling, the governor announced he would rebuild the sum for the program to $18 million from $13 million, as of Jan. 1.For the individual recipient, the increase will mean a monthly rise from $50 to $100 a month.

Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke worked so quietly to save the Disability Assistance and Loan Program that most people didn't even know he was involved in the battle. Maybe if he had taken this fight to the people, DALP would have been saved. As it is, his style of quiet diplomacy has not convinced Gov. Parris N. Glendening to keep the welfare program. And that's going to hurt Baltimore.DALP gives about 20,000 adults, most of them Baltimore residents, a monthly stipend of $157. That costs Maryland about $34 million a year.

Beginning today, about 50 disabled adults in Carroll who were receiving monthly cash from a state program that ended Friday can apply for financial help from local social service providers.The county's Department of Social Services and the nonprofit Human Services Programs Inc. are working together to assist county residents who won't receive $157 monthly payments through the Disability Assistance Loan Program.During this year's General Assembly session, Gov. Parris N. Glendening eliminated the $35 million DALP program, which provided cash payments to 21,000 disabled Marylanders.

An incorrect number slipped into Monday's column on Governor Glendening's shortsighted decision to abolish Maryland's Disability Assistance and Loan Program. The state, in a report issued to members of the General Assembly last week, said about 61 percent of disabled adults who receive the $157 monthly DALP grants eventually are found eligible for federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Other DALP recipients, who seek SSI with the help of the Maryland Disability Law Center, are successful about 90 percent of the time -- not 99 percent of the time, as stated here Monday.

Beginning today, about 50 disabled adults in Carroll County who were receiving monthly cash from a state program that ended Friday can apply for financial help from local social service providers.The county's Department of Social Services and the nonprofit Human Services Programs Inc. are working together to assist county residents who won't receive $157 monthly payments through the Disability Assistance Loan Program.During this year's General Assembly session, Gov. Parris N. Glendening eliminated the $35 million DALP program, which provided cash payments to 21,000 disabled Marylanders.

After nearly eight years in office Baltimoreans are used to the reserved approach Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke takes when he's in a fight. Not one to rant and rave, Mr. Schmoke prefers quiet diplomacy. Occasionally he's feisty, as in the nasty and unnecessary public feud to gain control of the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association board. But too often he's meek when the city needs him to shout. Such was the case with DALP.The Disability Assistance and Loan Program has fallen victim to Gov. Parris N. Glendening's theories on welfare.

Armed with a survey linking increased homelessness to a cut in state aid to the disabled, advocates for the poor issued a plea to Gov. Parris N. Glendening yesterday to restore the benefits."

A year after declaring that the state could no longer afford to make cash payments to poor, disabled adults, Gov. Parris N. Glendening reversed field yesterday and announced plans to reinstate a modified version of the program.Beginning Jan. 1, the governor said, the state will start awarding $100-a-month grants to indigent adults who have certified medical disabilities. Those with drug or alcohol addictions will receive benefits through a third party or through a state-issued voucher.The new program was announced on the eve of Mr. Glendening's appearance today at a statewide Hunger Summit at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Armed with a survey linking increased homelessness to a cut in state aid to the disabled, advocates for the poor issued a plea to Gov. Parris N. Glendening yesterday to restore the benefits."

Here's a number for you - 1,168. It has nothing to do with Cal. Nor is it the number of cops and federal agents assigned to the pope's visit. (That number is closer to 1,000.) Nor is it the number of taxpayer dollars used to buy that new sofa in the governor's fancy Baltimore office. (The actual cost was $2,650.)One-thousand-one-hundred-sixty-eight is the number of evictions in Baltimore in August. About 37 a day. "An exceptionally high number," a city constable says. August is usually a busy month for evictions, averaging 965 in both 1993 and 1994.

Advocates for the state's poor yesterday vowed to continue a "relay" fast until Gov. Parris N. Glendening restores a program that helped the jobless disabled.The $48 million Disability Assistance and Loan Program (DALP) was scrapped by the state July 1 and replaced by a new program that gives less money and medical help to fewer people.As a result, advocates said, many of the 22,000 former DALP recipients statewide face homelessness and hunger. "It's too easy for me to participate in a fast when there are parents who do not know where their child's next meal is coming," said City Councilman Carl Stokes of East Baltimore, who pledged to fast for the day. "This is beyond outrageous."

The first reviews are in about the state's scaled-down program for the disabled poor, and they are thumbs down.Four participants in the program told state officials yesterday that -- despite Gov. Parris N. Glendening's pledge that budget cuts wouldn't increase homelessness -- they had lost their homes or were about to."I'm homeless now. I got put out," Theodore Wilson, 57, told Lynda Fox, deputy secretary of human resources, in a Baltimore meeting set up by advocates for the homeless.Mr. Wilson, a former assembly line worker who said he is disabled by high blood pressure and other ailments, said he lost his $175-a-month room in West Baltimore.

Don't Kill DALPA letter to the editor (July 3) written by Maryland Secretary of Human Resources Alvin C. Collins discussed the Transitional Emergency Medical and Housing Assistance (TEMHA) program, which was created in response to significant constituent pressure after Gov. Parris N. Glendening eliminated the Disability Assistance and Loan Program (DALP).The letter mentioned that the state departments of human resources, health and housing are working together on TEMHA and working with community agencies to meet the critical needs of individuals with disabilities.

Advocates for the state's poor yesterday vowed to continue a "relay" fast until Gov. Parris N. Glendening restores a program that helped the jobless disabled.The $48 million Disability Assistance and Loan Program (DALP) was scrapped by the state July 1 and replaced by a new program that gives less money and medical help to fewer people.As a result, advocates said, many of the 22,000 former DALP recipients statewide face homelessness and hunger. "It's too easy for me to participate in a fast when there are parents who do not know where their child's next meal is coming," said City Councilman Carl Stokes of East Baltimore, who pledged to fast for the day. "This is beyond outrageous."

A top aide to Parris N. Glendening acknowledged yesterday that the governor's plan to eliminate a state disability program could force people onto the streets and said the administration is trying to find ways to prevent that from happening.Carolyn D. Davis, a deputy chief of staff, said the administration intends to work with state and Baltimore housing officials to determine whether existing rent subsidy programs can help keep recipients from losing their apartments when their monthly benefits end July 1.But Ms. Davis told members of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee that the governor has no specific plan in mind and does not intend to appropriate more money for the purpose.

In a speech to an audience of 800 disabled people and their advocates, Gov. Parris N. Glendening yesterday defended his elimination of a state disability program -- and warned of further budget cuts because of pending cuts in federal aid.About a dozen activists, dressed in black, stood with their backs to Mr. Glendening during his address to the group, which had gathered for the Maryland Disability Forum at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Baltimore.Making clear their displeasure with the governor's elimination of the state's Disability Assistance and Loan Program on July 1, the protesters wore white letters on their back that spelled out "Restore DALP Now."

Beginning today, about 50 disabled adults in Carroll who were receiving monthly cash from a state program that ended Friday can apply for financial help from local social service providers.The county's Department of Social Services and the nonprofit Human Services Programs Inc. are working together to assist county residents who won't receive $157 monthly payments through the Disability Assistance Loan Program.During this year's General Assembly session, Gov. Parris N. Glendening eliminated the $35 million DALP program, which provided cash payments to 21,000 disabled Marylanders.