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Group Sues County Over Welfare Pay
Michele R. Marcucci, STAFF WRITER People United for a Better Oakland, the group that filed the suit in Alameda County Superior Court, said the county's collection efforts -- often undertaken by the district attorney's office -- make it hard for people who have left welfare to keep their newfound jobs, apartments and stability. County Counsel Richard Winnie characterized the lawsuit as unfair, saying the group, known as PUEBLO, filed it before giving the county's brand-new social services director, Chet Hewitt, the chance to talk about the issues in it. The group held its first meeting with Hewitt on Friday. Winnie conceded the county's collection system might not be perfect, but said it does comply with the law. He said the group had taken the matter before an administrative law judge and lost. State officials were still looking at the suit and had no comment Friday.
PUEBLO filed the suit on behalf of Ann Taylor of Oakland who, attorneys said, misunderstood income reporting requirements and failed to report earnings from a part-time job while she was receiving welfare benefits for herself and her son, from 1993 to 1995.
In the suit, attorneys for PUEBLO and Taylor charge that state and county officials discovered Taylor's error in 1994 but didn't move to correct it until 1999, almost five years later. Attorney Rebekah Evenson said officials are supposed to investigate possible overpayment cases within 45 days of discovering them. Officials declined to change their overpayment collection policy, prompting the suit, Angela Chung of PUEBLO said. The group hopes to stop the county from pursuing years-old overpayment cases and to overturn a court ruling requiring Taylor to pay back nearly $3,600 of the welfare money she received.
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