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Use Unemployment Funds to Better Help Working families

ACC/SD Position:  Only 17% of SD's registered unemployed workers received unemployment checks in '06.  Some are ineligible due to  a  "voluntary quit" for temporary health problems or family caregiving responsibilities. Benefits should be reinstated when workers are ready to return to work.  Eligibility criteria could be adapted to fit realities of the modern workforce by considering the most recent quarters of work in determining payments, and/or by a family support supplement.