Pubdate: Thu, 28 Mar 2002 Source: Tennessean, The (TN) Copyright: 2002 The Tennessean Contact: http://www.tennessean.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/447 Author: Bonna de la Cruz COMMITTEE OKS BILL ALLOWING SOME DRUG FELONS TO RECEIVE AID Certain drug felons in rehabilitation programs would be permitted to receive food stamps and welfare payments under legislation unanimously approved by a Senate committee yesterday. ''There are women who have made mistakes - and they are now out trying to make a better life for their children,'' Sen. Thelma Harper, D-Nashville, told the Senate General Welfare Committee. An estimated 80 people, most of them women, would be eligible for the federal payments. The bill will be scheduled for a Senate vote. It was approved in House committees last year, and sponsor Rep. Rob Briley, D-Nashville, said he planned to ask for a full House vote soon. Sponsors said the legislation would permit parents trying to get over their addictions to receive financial assistance in raising their children. They would have to be in treatment, actively seeking treatment or have completed treatment to qualify. Under federal law, people who have been convicted of felony drug charges are ineligible for food stamps or the state's welfare program, called Families First. States are permitted to opt out of the federal prohibition, and 29 states have done so. ''There is no other assistance for these mothers,'' said the Rev. Mary K. Friskics-Warren, director of Renewal House, a Nashville residential drug rehabilitation center that is backing the bill. ''Mothers who are in treatment and their children need to eat.'' To be eligible for Families First, the mothers will have to sign personal responsibility contracts that spell out their treatment, job training and other requirements, like immunizing their children. A Senate amendment to the bill excludes A-level drug felons, those involved in the most severe drug crimes. ''This is a bill about promoting treatment and promoting family health vs. being soft on crime,'' Friskics-Warren said. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens