COLLEGES FRET OVER CUTS TO CALWORKS.

Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer

WOODLAND HILLS - Leticia Rasmussen was attending classes at Pierce College and had a good job a few years ago, when her life suddenly took a detour.

The Reseda woman says she got involved in a relationship that turned violent. She missed work because of the beatings and ended up losing her job as an administrative assistant at a nonprofit agency. With an 11-year- old son and a 2-year-old daughter to support, she went on welfare.

``I never thought I'd end up on (welfare),'' the 34-year-old woman said softly. She never thought she'd be a victim of domestic violence, either: ``I used to wonder (about other victims), 'Why don't you leave him?'''

Today, however, Rasmussen's life is back on track thanks to CalWORKs, a state-supported program that helps parents leave welfare by providing them with subsidized child care and job-training programs, many of them at the local community colleges.

But state budget cuts threaten to diminish the program's impact - a real concern in the Los Angeles Community College District, which has 14,000 CalWORKs participants, the largest of any community college system in the state.

Local college officials, who already have cut on-campus jobs for participants, worry that further reductions will force them to serve fewer clients and drastically limit services.

``CalWORKs isn't just a matter of offering classes,'' LACCD President Warren Furutani said. ``It's a full, holistic program to give people the support and education they need to stop the cycle (of poverty).''

CalWORKs stands for California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids, the state's welfare-to-work program. Los Angeles County offers a similar program called GAIN, which provides welfare recipients with job training, employment preparation and supportive services.

Both programs are offered through the Los Angeles Community College system.

Of the 14,000 CalWORKs participants in Los Angeles city colleges, about 300 each are enrolled at Pierce and Mission colleges. Valley College serves 867 participants.

State budget cuts already have taken their toll on the CalWORKs program. Last year, community colleges statewide received $65 million for the program, which included $16 million in additional state and federal funds, said Diane McBride, LACCD dean for work force development.

In January, the program had been cut to $15 million, which was restricted to providing subsidized child care only, plus an additional $8 million in federal funds, McBride said. After a strenuous lobbying effort, $20 million was restored, but with the requirement that the community colleges or the counties match the $20 million, either in cash or in-kind services.

Fortunately for LACCD, Los Angeles County donated $2.8 million, $1.2 million of which is benefiting the colleges in the LACCD.

``We're trying to still serve them all,'' said Pierce College President Darroch ``Rocky'' Young. ``This is sort of the lot of community colleges: we keep getting cut, and we keep trying to deliver the same level of services on less money - and we're trying again. We probably won't know (how successful we are) until this year plays itself out.''

CalWORKs is important because it works, local college leaders say. Studies have shown that participants who complete the program can expect a 42 percent increase in earnings the first year after graduation.

``This program is producing students who are really going to be higher income workers and are going to be stabilizing this economy; the students coming out of this program have very solid career plans, but they need time,'' said McBride. ``The value of education doesn't show up in 90 days; it shows up a year after they've finished.''

McBride said the program is designed to help welfare recipients accumulate skills, education and training for lifelong careers. Students can train to become anything from certified nurse assistants to landscape architects and veterinarians.

``Our purpose is to get them onto a career ladder,'' she said. ``We've been in this long enough to know that just getting a job isn't going to do it. We don't want to see them back in (the Department of Public Social Services) after two weeks at a fast-food restaurant.''

Angela Deloney, 43, of Canoga Park is working on an associate's degree in child development and hopes to become a first-grade teacher. As a CalWORKs participant, she sometimes stays up all night studying, but it's worth it to attain her goals and provide a positive role model for her five foster daughters, ages 10 through 16.

``If mommy can do it, and she's 43 - you have a young mind, just imagine what you could do,'' Deloney says she tells her girls.

``I firmly believe our students are heroes,'' said Abbey Klein, director of the GAIN/CalWORKs program at Pierce College. ``They juggle parenthood, sometimes being a spouse, school and work and that's a very difficult load to carry all by yourself.''

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Photo:

Angela Deloney, left, and Leticia Rasmussen participate in CalWORKs, a state program that helps parents leave welfare.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer