Welfare woes

By Gerry Miriello, On-line Forty-Niner

March 25,1998

Does welfare reform work? A recent study in New York state suggests that it has not been very successful helping former welfare recipients move from state support to the work force.

In 1996, less than 40 percent of the people cut off from state assistance reported any income in the first three months after being denied assistance. New York considers anyone who earned as little as $100 in three months as employed, however.

Considering the cost of living in New York city, much less anywhere else these days, $100 is not a whole lot of money to live off of for even three days.

Maybe part of the problem is that poverty does not necessarily spur people to become employed. Many welfare recipients simply lack the education and the skills to garner a decent job.

Welfare opponents claim that plenty of jobs are available, waiting to be taken. Even if so, the majority of available jobs for these citizens are minimum wage and service-oriented. If the person has any dependent children, minimum wage will certainly not cover their expenses.

There is also the matter of child care. Child care services cost money, and not all companies offer day care services for their employees.

Also, leaving a child with someone who is not well known can be a risk. There are many other factors to consider.

The study suggests that many people who are on the state's Home Relief program, catering to mostly single able-bodied men with no dependents, are addicted to drugs or mentally ill. This makes it difficult for them to be employed.

Employment is a state of mind. A person who is currently unemployed and has nothing to look forward to but dead-end jobs that pay low wages, will not be enthusiastic about reading the classifieds for job listings.

Time and patience will be needed to gear these people toward punching clocks. Programs to help them turn their lives around are imperative. Drug rehabilitation, quality child care intiatives and other programs are a start.

To ease people into the work force will require more than just training. It will require changing attitudes toward welfare in general and looking deeper than the stereotypes and stigma attached to our country's needy citizens.