LETTER TO THE EDITOR

You reported Gov. Rendell expects the stimulus bill to be sufficient to help Pennsylvania "avert deeper budget cuts and layoffs." Above all others, the Department of Public Welfare must benefit from this investment.

The stimulus legislation also includes a boost in food-stamp benefits. The timing could not be better. But with enrollment dramatically higher and continuing to climb, public-welfare offices in every county can barely keep up with the new applications.

The governor must lift DPW's hiring freeze, and some of those stimulus dollars should be used to immediately fill vacant frontline staff positions.

Rachel Meeks

Sydelle Zove

Philadelphia