Under the HEW Umbrella

For low-income families in particular, the programs of HEW and its complementary state agencies help make life normal, if not exactly comfortable. The Palmers are a hypothetical, but typical low-income family in an urban setting that is receiving its legal share of HEW's substantial offerings. Paul Palmer, 45, and his wife, Jane, 40, live in Boston with their four children. In addition, Jane's mother and Paul's father are part of the family.

Every month, Grandfather Jack, 68, and Grandmother Claire, 66, receive two checks in the mail. Jack's green Social Security check is for $195. He also gets a gold Supplemental Security Income check of $37.28 (of which $34.48 comes from Massachusetts, $2.80 from HEW). Based on her late husband's earnings, Claire's Social Security check is for $177, and her Supplemental Security check is for $55.28 (of which HEW contributes $20.80). The two grandparents get a chance to eat out at meal sites run by a state-administered program set up under HEW'S Older Americans Act. They can have one free meal daily. Neither grandparent has to worry about medical bills: Medicaid (equally funded by HEW and the state) and Medicare pay them.

In fact, as long as Paul Palmer, the man of the house, is unemployed and has dependent children, Medicaid will pick up the tab for medical expenses incurred by any member of the family. Paul also gets $453.50 a month through the Aid to Families with Dependent Children.

Jane Palmer, the mother, who earns $2,400 a year working on weekends as a waitress, is eligible to enroll in WIN

(Work Incentive Program), a joint HEW-Labor Department effort to train her for a better job. In addition, she can receive free psychiatric counseling from the state to help her cope with her family's considerable problems. Daughter Lucy, 16, became pregnant last December and chose not to have an abortion, even though the state would have paid for it. Instead, she elected to move into the private Florence Crittenton Association home, where all her expenses are taken care of by the State Welfare Office. Should she decide to keep the baby, the two may form a new family unit eligible for HEW Aid to Families with Dependent Children, though they live in the same household with her parents. Her monthly check: $279.40.

Matthew, 5, is enrolled in the local Head Start program, where he receives free breakfasts and lunches. Mark, 14, is a problem. Last year, after a family fight, he ran away from home and spent a week in a halfway house--paid for by HEW'S Office of Children, Youth and Families.

While in high school, Robert, 19, joined the HEW-sponsored Upward Bound program, which helped him attend special courses at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, paying room, board and pocket expenses. Last September he began his freshman year at Northeastern University. A $900 scholarship from the state coupled with a $1,600 grant from HEW'S Educational Opportunities program covered more than half of the $4,370 cost. His job in the library, which he obtained through an HEW-assisted work-study program, and an HEW-financed student loan, made up the difference.

All told, the family now regularly gets a total of $755.65 in monthly cash benefits from HEW, plus $370.71 from the State of Massachusetts.

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