The findings of a study on 35 Iowa families who have received government assistance will be presented Tuesday in a discussion about the current state of welfare.

“Welfare Reform: Welfare or Poverty Reduction?” is being held in the Pioneer Room of the Memorial Union from 3 to 5 p.m.

The forum is being hosted by the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, and it is free and open to the public.

Carol B. Meeks, dean of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, said the findings of the study will be analyzed, and suggestions will be made about how to improve welfare.

Meeks said the “Welfare Reform” forum’s purpose is “to stimulate discussion and have better programs and results from state actions and federal actions.”

She said the families who participated in the study were grouped into categories relating to age and the type of assistance they received.

“[The families] have been interviewed every six months,” Meeks said. “[The study] is looking at what happens from time period to time period.”

Meeks said one positive aspect of the study showed that friends and family members of the families would help them out in times of need.

“Most parents wouldn’t throw their kids out on the streets,” she said.

The forum also will include a lecture by Shirley Zimmerman, ISU Helen LeBaron Hilton Chair and professor at the University of Minnesota, and a panel that will discuss issues and answer questions.

Panel members will include state Sens. Johnie Hammond and Elaine Szymoniak and Scott Miller, executive director of Move the Mountain Leadership Center.

Miller said he will address several points during his presentation.

“In order for welfare reform to really work, people need to earn $9 to $12 an hour, and they need health insurance,” he said.

Miller also said he thinks the state legislature should commit more funds to helping citizens obtain and maintain jobs.

“The state legislature and the department of human services also need to … give local communities radically new responsibility to serve unemployed and underemployed people,” he said.

Miller said he hopes the forum will stimulate positive ideas and possible solutions.

“We just hope to respond to the findings of this study that moves all of our thinking to the next stage,” he said.