New Kensington welfare office shakeup upsets clients

New Kensington

New Kensington sits in Westmoreland County but the state welfare office there might soon provide full services only to Allegheny County residents.

That appears to be the result of an initial plan that Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare officials have come up with the office that since 1999 has served both Westmoreland and Allegheny county residents in the Alle-Kiski Valley.

But what actually will happen with the office seems unclear — even to DPW officials.

The department told the 26 caseworkers handling the Westmoreland County cases they would be moved to the welfare office in Greensburg.

If that is the case, it would indicate that Westmoreland County residents who use the office, many of them living within two miles and some just blocks away, will have to travel to the welfare office in Greensburg, about 28 miles away, to get the same full level of services.

That possibility was not received well by most of the clients interviewed outside the office Wednesday.

“I'm pretty upset about it,” said Kimberly Cramer, 40, of Allegheny Township, who is a displaced worker from the closed J.C. Penney call center.

“I have family members who are disabled who come here. My personal opinion is this is pretty awful.”

“I got laid off from a company, Unifirst, two months ago and I've been looking for a job,” said Steve Marshall, 52, of New Kensington. “If this place wasn't here, I'd be out wandering.”

“It's keeping my family going man, all because of this place here,” he said. “At least this place can provide food for us.”

Confusing situation

Exactly how the situation will play out still is unclear. DPW officials who made the decision would not speak directly to a Valley News Dispatch reporter. Based on information filtered through the department's press office in Harrisburg, exactly what the office will offer to Westmoreland clients seems confusing.

Donna Morgan, DPW spokeswoman, initially confirmed that 26 caseworkers handling the Westmoreland clients would be moved to Greensburg. She said, in their place, the office would house both the cash and crisis grant components of the state's Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP.

She said the change would go into effect before the start of the LIHEAP season, which is usually November.

“At Alle-Kiski we are not changing any employment at all,” Morgan said. “Nobody will lose their job. The only change is that case workers will be moved to the Westmoreland County office but we will still continue to have a case worker there to handle any cases that walk in.”

“The only interviews we have to see face-to-face are those for Temporary Assistance For Needy Families,” she said, referring to the cash assistance welfare program.

She said the department was encouraging Westmoreland Country residents to handle affairs with the department either by phone or using its COMPASS website on the Internet.

But that would do little to help those who don't like doing business with the state via phone because of the potential for errors and miscommunication or for those who don't have or don't know how to use a computer.

Morgan was asked why Allegheny County residents would continue to access the full level of benefits and services offered by the office while those from Westmoreland County would have to travel 28 miles. She conferred with superiors in the department before providing another answer.

“If someone wants to use that office, they can still walk in and use the same level of services regardless of whether they are from Westmoreland or Allegheny County,” Morgan said.

She said she was assured of that by the people in charge of the Office of Income Maintenance, which is responsible for welfare programs.

“I don't believe that because one of our proposals was to keep eight Westmoreland County caseworkers there, the most senior ones,” said Karen Klimaszewski, business agent for the SEIU, the union representing the caseworkers. “We're waiting for the Commonwealth to get back to us.”

No justification

“I spoke with both the caseworkers and DPW yesterday,” said State Rep. Eli Evankovich, R-Murrysville. “I'm not 100 percent sure of what is going to happen, and I don't know if DPW' really knows what is going to happen.”

Evankovich, who represents Arnold, Lower Burrell and New Kensington, said his office was contacted by caseworkers who were not happy about the plan.

“I think it is unfortunate that I was not brought into the conversation earlier by DPW,” he said. “DPW did not reach out to me, the governor's office did not reach out to me. Had I been contacted, I think I could have added something to the conversation.”

He said he still had not heard from the governor's office as of late Wednesday afternoon.

“Based on the limited information that I have, I haven't gotten a real good explanation for why they are doing this,” Evankovich said. “They are not reducing staff so there is not a savings there.

“I'm all in favor of limited government but I don't see the reason why they are doing this,” he said. “I have not been given any evidence as to why this is justified.”

Getting there

“They don't realize that there are people who need this office,” said Wendy Sundberg, 45, of New Kensington who is disabled and relies on the New Kensington office, mainly when she runs into a problem. “This isn't Allegheny County. If anybody should stay, Westmoreland people should stay. I don't think we should have to go to Greensburg.”

A caseworker at the office who refused to give her name, said there are five public housing projects, occupied by low income residents, in New Kensington within walking distance of the office.

For people who do not drive or don't have a car but want to talk to a caseworker face-to-face, the only option is to take a Westmoreland County Transit Authority bus.

According to the schedule on the authority's website, buses heading to Greensburg pickup riders in New Kensington at 6:40 a.m., 9:20 a.m. and 3:20 p.m. Riders returning to New Kensington are picked up at the authority's transit center, a block behind the courthouse, at 8:15 a.m., 2:15 p.m. and 4:15 p.m.

Even for those who make the bus trip, the journey isn't over once they reach Greensburg. The bus stop closest to the Greensburg welfare office on Sells Lane is the transit center on Bell Way but that is still 1.3 miles away.

“I can go to Greensburg; I don't want to,” said Gina Balint, 70, of Lower Burrell who has a car. “You have to worry about gas, worry about having a ride there if your car breaks down.”

“That's not right,” she said. “If you can keep it here for Allegheny County and if you live in Westmoreland County, you should be able to go to this office.”

Tom Yerace is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-226-4675 or tyerace@tribweb.com.