VIRGINIA POLICY REVIEW
  • Home
  • About Us
  • The Third Rail
    • The Third Rail Editorial Board
  • Academical
    • Archived Podcast Episodes
  • National Journal Conference
  • Journal Submissions
  • Journal Issues

The Third Rail

An Online Publication of the Virginia Policy Review

Ending the welfare cycle

2/19/2014

0 Comments

 
by Lady Lockhart

The 1996 Welfare Reform Law replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. TANF implemented strict work requirements for welfare recipients, and since then, welfare caseloads have decreased by more than 50%. But are smaller caseloads an indicator of success? That depends. If the goal was to simply kick people off public assistance, then welfare reform has been successful. But if the goal is to help recipients and ensure their future success so that they don’t return to welfare, then no – welfare reform has been far from successful.

From 1996 to 2000, the percentage of people “dependent” on welfare declined from 5.2 to 3 percent, according to a 2013 report from the Department of Health and Human Services. The “dependency” rate has since risen back to 4.6 percent, declining briefly only in 2006 and 2007. Millions of people cycle in and out of welfare, and a few common-sense changes could help improve the system. For example, the law should continue to provide supportive services, such as childcare, to recipients even after they have found employment. The current policy quickly renders recipients ineligible for childcare benefits when they find a job, creating a situation in which working mothers, unable to afford a babysitter and cut off from benefits, are forced to quickly exit the workforce. These mothers return to home and to welfare, perpetuating the cycle of dependence.

Future welfare reform solutions need to be two-tiered. First, keep encouraging recipients to accept immediate employment while continuing to invest in their future marketability. Second, job training should be focused on retention and advancement so that recipients will have more sustainable employment. If welfare recipients accept seasonal or temporary employment, they should be coached on managing their finances accordingly, while also searching for full-time jobs.

This leads me to my third point – financial literacy is key. Most welfare recipients are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which comes in a lump-sum payment during income tax season. Many are also unemployed during this time, but could benefit from investing some of those funds for future expenses. Welfare policy needs to begin coaching welfare recipients on managing their finances in both good and bad times.

New policies furthering enhanced supportive services, job retention and advancement training, and financial literacy will help further reduce welfare caseloads, and produce more confident, self-reliant citizens. In an August 22, 2006 NY Times Op-Ed, former President Bill Clinton said the goal of the welfare reform law was “to make welfare a second chance, not a way of life.” Society should be understanding of welfare reliance in a time of need, but we should also support policies that genuinely help fellow citizens achieve long-term self-sufficiency. With TANF up for reauthorization this year, policymakers should consider these solutions to ensure that welfare policy truly is successful, not only at reducing caseloads, but also at ensuring recipients’ long-term sustainability.

—–

Lady is a first year Post-Grad Batten student pursuing the MBA/MPP dual degree. Her policy interests include social policy, welfare policy, fiscal policy, and public-private partnerships. She has previously worked in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, both as a Legislative Assistant and as a Research Associate.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Domestic
    Economics
    Education
    Electoral Politics
    Environment
    Gun Rights
    Health
    International
    Justice
    Law
    Politics
    Social
    Urban

    Archives

    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014

ADDRESS

Virginia Policy Review
235 McCormick Rd.
Charlottesville, VA 22904

EMAIL

​virginiapolicyreview@gmail.com

SOCIAL MEDIA

  • Home
  • About Us
  • The Third Rail
    • The Third Rail Editorial Board
  • Academical
    • Archived Podcast Episodes
  • National Journal Conference
  • Journal Submissions
  • Journal Issues