Supervisors Urge Hiring of Welfare Recipients

Citing its desire to move people quickly from welfare to work, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a program that directs county departments to give public assistance recipients in its job training program hiring preference for temporary clerical work.

Supervisor Gloria Molina said her proposal is designed to show how much the county supports the federal government’s overhaul of the welfare system.

The motion approved by the supervisors instructs all county departments to give “appropriate hiring consideration” to qualified participants in its GAIN program, which tries to find full-time, unsubsidized employment for 65,000 welfare recipients annually.

Last year, the county hired about 1,000 workers into temporary jobs in its various departments, mostly to fill in for full-time employees, Molina said. The program urges departments to use GAIN participants for such openings.