Some 7,000 families unsuccessfully apply for CalWORKs welfare-to-work assistance and 19,000 households are turned down for food stamp benefits each month, according to Supervisor Gloria Molina.

They have been hit hard by the recession but still don't quite qualify to receive help, she said.

In response to a Los Angeles Times article on the subject, Molina drafted a proposal to seek temporary waivers and other legislative remedies to make sure that more families are eligible for government benefits.

``We are experiencing the worst recession in decades,'' she said. ``As more and more people lose their jobs and search for new ones in a shrinking job market, many families are finding themselves, often for the first time, with inadequate funds to pay their rent/mortgage, keep their utilities and provide food for their children.''

Molina's motion would also have the board direct the county CEO and the Department of Public Social Services to address housing needs of families who have fallen through the cracks of the public assistance system.