by Peter Felsenfeld
Staff writer

Mayor Willie Brown presented Will Lightbourne, executive director of the San Francisco Department of Human Services, with the first Goodwill Goodworks Award.

Brown also proclaimed Oct. 14, 1999 Will Lightbourne Day at a luncheon ceremony in San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts yesterday afternoon.

Lightbourne was recognized for a 25-year career highlighted by his implementation of visionary programs to help families transition off welfare. His most recent venture, the Community Jobs Initiative (CJI) provides single parents with a six-month internship at a non-profit organization and then helps them find permanent employment. Many program participants, counselors, and administrators were in attendance to honor Lightbourne.

"He has been responsible for transitioning more people from lack of self-sufficiency to total self-sufficiency than anyone I can think of," Brown said. "When I was told he had won this highest of awards for public service, I wasn't a bit surprised."

In his acceptance speech, Lightbourne warned the audience about welfare statistics that only tell part of the story. "Welfare rolls are down 40-60 percent across the country," he said. "But it must be recognized that simply entering the labor market doesn't guarantee an exit from poverty. We need to think past where we are now into a space where people aren't just exiting welfare, they are also making a true exit from poverty."

ABC 7 News Anchor Cheryl Jennings, master of ceremonies for the event, presented the Goodwill Graduate Employer Showcase Award to Clifford Waldeck, president of Waldeck's Office Supplies. The award recognizes companies that offer opportunities to graduates of Goodwill's programs. Banana Republic, Bank of America, Old Navy and Walgreen Drug Stores were also nominated.

In an Xpress interview following the ceremony, Brown applauded San Francisco as a leader in welfare reform. "In terms of welfare to work we're number one," he said. "It's because of the dedicated leadership of people like Will Lightbourne and the extraordinary high level of participation that comes from the private sector. The tremendous growth in our city's economy has created a need for a trained workforce."

The CalWORKS welfare system, which went into effect Jan. 1, 1998, has been the source of an ongoing public debate. Recipients must now find work within two years of an introductory orientation session, and each family has a five-year lifetime limit on cash benefits. According to a recent CalWORKS report, the number of families receiving benefits dropped from 8,452 to 7,456 between April 1998 and April 1999. The condition of those families, however, remains a concern. An Alameda County report states the average wage for a person leaving welfare is $8.25 per hour.

"Most people are taking the first crummy job they can get," said Edward Barnes, attorney at the East Bay Community Law Center. "They're either doing whatever's necessary to comply or they're just dropping out of the system. There are (many) low-end jobs now because of the economy, but that's not going to last forever. These people are being sold down the river."

Howard Fleischman, program manager for Community Vocational Enterprises, Inc., which helps facilitate CJI, said CJI participants receive special attention and develop partnerships that help them establish lucrative careers. Though the Program is less than a year old, Fleischman said 70-80 percent of the people who start the program graduate. "We get people who are in some very difficult life situations," Fleischman said. "Often the welfare system is all they know, so we listen to what they need, give them respect, and help them set goals that are in line with their dreams."