Man challenges interpretation of welfare law

[The Straight Story]

Man challenges interpretation of welfare law
BY JESSICA LOGAN, Californian staff writer
e-mail: [email protected] | Monday, Jul 16 2007 10:05 PM

Last Updated: Monday, Jul 16 2007 10:09 PM

A Bakersfield man is challenging the state's interpretation of laws that prevent welfare recipients from receiving more money for giving birth to additional children.

A volunteer attorney representing the man said parents across the state who have never been on welfare and know nothing of these laws are being punished for the actions of the other parent.

In this case, the Kern County Department of Human Services is asking James Belk of Bakersfield to repay more than $15,000 it says he should never have received. Belk and his girlfriend had a daughter, Jamiah, on March 28, 2001.

The Human Services Department, which distributes state money to impoverished parents, determined the girlfriend could not receive money for Jamiah, her youngest child, because she had been receiving assistance for at least one other child before she conceived Jamiah, according to the lawsuit filed in Kern County Superior Court.

http://www.bakersfield.com/hourly_news/story/190326.html