an examination of the residual effects of us welfare to work initiatives3

7/31/2019 An Examination of the Residual Effects of US Welfare to Work Initiatives3

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An Examination of the Residual Effects of US Welfare to Work

Initiatives

LaShana Leigh

East Tennessee State University

Pro Field Experience

BGSD/BSPS 4210

Julie Fox-Horton

March 25, 2012


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Residual Effects of US Welfare to Work Initiatives

2

Abstract

Over the last couple of decades, a great deal of political and media attention has been directed at

the welfare program amid claims of it being a drain on the tax base of hard working Americans by stereo-

typically uneducated, lazy ethnic women who just continued to have children to receive more benefits

instead of applying for work. Significant reforms were made to the program during the Clinton

Administration in attempt to transition the program recipients out of ongoing poverty cycles and set time

limits for program eligibility. During the legislative redefinition of the program, new mandates were

imposed to require program recipients to take part in welfare to work programs that offered job skills

training, educational training programs, and childcare programs. Over the past couple of decades, these

programs have been in existence and this paper is designed to examine in depth the effects of the welfare

to work programs with regard to how it is has impacted the economic outlooks of single parents on

welfare. An analysis of the findings of this study, reveal that the welfare to work programs has not really

had the anticipated impact on single parents. These findings are largely because the programs are not

uniform in their inception and the states are given the task of deciding how their version of the program

works in accordance with the new federal guidelines. The majority of the states advocate work-first,

concentrating reformation efforts more on requiring mothers to find jobs that offer inferior salary and

benefit options. The lack of counseling options that educate these women on how to obtain post

secondary education has caused the programs initial goal of ending the cycles of poverty to fail in

principle while of statistically succeeding on paper because of jobs found data. The findings of this study

illustrate the importance of initiatives needed to encourage and support postsecondary education in a bid

to boost the economic well-being of these single parents.

Keywords: Welfare, single mothers, welfare reform, welfare program limits, AFDC, TANF

An Examination of the Residual Effects of US Welfare to Work Initiatives

The welfare program was designed in the 1930s as a remedy for depression era families. The

program was run by the federal government for sixty-one years (US Welfare System) and then in 1991


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the Clinton Administration legislated reforms to the program. Amid growing public frustration and

media frenzy, sweeping reforms were passed in an effort to wean these single parents off the program.

These reforms brought changes to the program that required the program participants to become enrolled

in job training programs and career search initiatives at area churches and state Labor/Workforce centers.

These programs were designed to silence the public and create economic incentives for the

churches who were granted satellite training center grants and companies that hired these program

recipients. Unfortunately, the programs objectives were shortsighted and did not address the underlying

issues of the parents in the welfare program. There was no mandate to permanently change the economic

statuses of these program participants, only temporary solutions that resulted in the welfare recipients

cycling back into the program in about 18 months due to the jobs lack of benefits and salaries that

would actually support a single parent, her children, provide healthcare, and generate enough income for

childcare after the transitional benefits ended. The transitional benefits offered by welfare programs

only last for an 18-month period. A great deal of the parents had to quit their jobs and re-enroll in the

welfare program in order to obtain healthcare and childcare for their families.

Since, these programs did not and for the most part still does not benefit from the enrollment of

program participants in post secondary education, most programs offer any encouragement or

educational materials regarding how to enroll in college or trade schools. Additionally, the programs do

not for the most part actively address other important issues that affect these families such as domestic

violence, the poverty culture itself, drug abuse and alcohol dependency. The average welfare recipient

can permanently alter their standard of living and effectively transition from a low-income bracket to a

higher income bracket with postsecondary education and life skills empowerment tools.

The Demographic Data of Welfare Mothers over a 25-year Period and the

Indications with Regard to Education

High school dropouts are more likely to become welfare recipients regardless of race.

According to (Brandon) it is far more likely for mothers who have children out of wedlock to be welfare


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mothers without a high school diploma. The findings indicate that while there seems to be an across the

board increase of women of all ages having children out of wedlock, a significantly higher amount of

them fall into the category of being high school dropouts. A comparison of these statistics along racial

and ethnic guidelines show that over the last twenty-five years, there is an increasing propensity for

minorities to obtain a high school education, even in rural areas. Additionally, statistics reveal that the

number of blacks and Hispanics graduating high school is nearly even with whites who obtain high

school diplomas, as well. (Brandon)

Research over a 20-year period, indicates an increase in blacks becoming more educated and as a

result becoming less likely to enroll in public assistance programs (Brandon). Research indicates an

increase in whites becoming enrolled in public assistance programs over the same twenty-year period.

Cohabitations and divorce are cited as the reasons for this increase. In the last couple of decades, attitudes

regarding marriage have changed dramatically and statistics show a greater likelihood for white women to

find themselves in a situation where they qualify for public assistance. The dissolution of these unions has

created a greater population of whites who are now classified as living under the poverty level.

Additionally, this study indicates that the amounts of black and whites who have the achieved the

same levels of education have the same likelihood to become welfare recipients as opposed to numbers of

women from the same groups during the seventies and eighties before the first reform programs came

about in the late eighties and early nineties (Brandon). There are numerous catalysts for these significant

changes in the program populations, one of which is the tendency now for older white women to become

single mothers as result of the choice not to marry. The study indicates that in 1976 there were 20 percent

more single black mothers on welfare than white women during the same time period (Brandon) In

essence, the racial components that used to make up the welfare statistics has changed significantly

altering the demographic profile of the welfare program.

Since, the program indicates those years of reported schooling and completed schooling amounts

to the gradual reduction of those who make up the welfare rolls. According to the findings by (Brandon),

it is a necessity to include education as impetus for welfare mothers to achieve financial independence. It


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is incumbent upon legislators to provide policies that would encourage young women of adolescent age to

pursue education as a means of avoiding single motherhood and becoming another high school dropout

relegated to public assistance programs. With that being said, it is also indicative of the study that those

who were able to focus on their educations were less likely to become single parents and more likely to

achieve a state of economic stability.

This study encompassed a sample of some 77,512 women based on the level of educational

attainment and involvement in the welfare program. The amount of people involved in the sample

population allowed a considerable group of both whites and blacks to be involved in this study (Brandon).

It is also important to note that a comparison of these findings with the Federal Governments Green

Book, shows similar statistics among the same group as this survey sample, however, because the data

compiled in this book is based on records from public services or caseworkers it is not necessarily

reliable. The reasoning for this is that as rule welfare mothers are less likely to share voluntary

information with those workers due to the implied inference that they are somewhat of a further intrusion

into their already complicated lives.

If the programs implemented during the reforms focus on making certain that these single

mothers can obtain a post secondary education, then across the board the women would find themselves

able to attain and maintain long-term economic stability. However, due to fact that the Green Bookdata

may be skewed, since it is in the best interest of the mothers to hide assets in order to obtain assistance the

data compilations may not be as accurate in terms of making these types of determinations for

demographic purposes. Therefore, with that in mind, this study is based on not only those populations but

on data, the women in the study independently volunteered or reported (Brandon).

The Impact that Welfare to Work Programs has had on Welfare Recipients and Post-Secondary Education.

After some examination of the demographic data, it is important to take into consideration how

the legislation has impacted welfare recipients and access to post-secondary education. It is imperative to

obtain some form of post-secondary education in order to produce sufficient income to evolve beyond


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poverty level income. However, the legislation passed by the Clinton Administration and Congress

referred to as Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996(PRWORA) has

severely limited the ability of welfare mothers to get this much needed education. The program was

endowed with a block grant referred to as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families(TANF). This action

was a stringent reform that took the former Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and

retooled it completely. The welfare program now came with a 60-month time limit for the lifetime of the

recipient, as well as sweeping reforms aimed at supporting work but not endorsing education as a means

of producing better income opportunities for the families (Weikart).

The introduction of this new legislation was made without the benefit of research into how the

programs would ultimately come to affect families in the end, aimed at satisfying temporary concerns not

grounded in fact. As we previously discussed, the demographic profiles that actually made up the

program were not really the basis of fact but based on the stereotypes magnified by the public outcry and

political agendas. Truthful research, less media grandstanding, and realistic attention to the pertinent

details, would have revealed that the reforms enacted were ill suited improvements for welfare. Based on

the much ballyhooed program reforms, the power was placed into the hands of the states to decide how to

apply these new referendums. Unfortunately, most of the states were reacting to heat of the moment

headlines and now the programs served to require welfare recipients to find a job and limited support for

post-secondary education to only one year. Aside from limiting education support to one year, the most

critical aspect of the changes with regard to education were the reforms mandated the education that they

did support to be vocational education in order to qualify for any support under the new statutes

(Weikart). Headlines buzzed with triumphant platitudes related to ethnic welfare mothers milking the

system but no realistic reformation studies, program adaptations, or remedies for long-term resolution.

The shortsightedness of the programs addressed finding work, mandating that by the year 2002

half of all welfare recipients be employed. However, the type of work most of the women were qualified

for all but nullified the ability to become self sufficient as well, as discourage any attempts at a 4 year

degree, since the program obviously did not provide for that option. Work requirement quotas became the


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focus and the fate of the families who really needed help became secondary. As the states focused on

meeting the quotas in order to meet federal guidelines, it became apparent that the program was focusing

on the wrong aspects of reformation and eventually some states were able to rewrite the programs to

allow the welfare parents to get the benefit of a four-year education (Weikart).

There were significant strides made in Maine and New York, in order to facilitate better program

options for welfare mothers. The two states pioneered program reformations to TANF, that inevitably

were used by other states to affect better results for welfare mothers, allowing them to get the benefit of a

four-year degree and effectively find meaningful employment to lift their families out of poverty. These

initiatives did not come easy, there were many conservative opponents who argued that enough money

had been spent and we need to move on as a nation. However, the coalitions worked and coordinated the

necessary funding and support to establish these satellite programs. Programs in Maine were specifically

credited for the initiative to move out of their comfort zones and rally the necessary support from every

possible source. The commitment necessary to make the programs succeed was rooted in diversity and

organization, amazingly despite New Yorks greater diversity than Maine; it was more difficult for

proponents of the new TANF reforms to get the necessary support to succeed there. Both states used

Advocacy Groups to reach their goals and they found that as long as the focus was on the common

thread and not on the nitpicky details, they were able to move forward and achieve the outcomes

necessary for the common good of all involved (Weikart).

A study conducted by City University of New York, provides the most telling evidence of the

benefit of a four-year education to a household. The report by them states that the income potential of a

four-year degree can add about $690K to a single income during a lifetime. This type of evidence lead to

studies in several states that revealed that 87% of welfare recipients with two and four year degrees were

actually no longer in the program and that 83% had become gainfully employed (Weikart). Another

study in 1996 revealed that 17 months after the welfare recipients completed their degrees that 88% of

them were off the welfare and their average hourly wage was around $11 dollars per hour. These studies

reveal that more education is the key to less dependence on social programs (Weikart).


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These results specifically address the problems associated with TANF era reformations, as the

statistics reveal that the programs had effectively forced many welfare mothers who were within months

of their degrees to drop out and find a job. Unfortunately, the jobs were not the type of jobs necessary to

overcome poverty cycles for their families. The programs revealed the necessity of support structures to

facilitate the successful transition from welfare to work with a four-year degree.

418Affilia Winter 2005TABLE 1: The 15 States in Which Welfare Recipients Can Attend 4-Year CollegesState Percentage White Percentage of Women in State Legislatures

Alabama 71.10 10.00Arkansas 80.00 20.00California 59.50 30.00Colorado 82.80 33.00Delaware 74.60 29.00Georgia 65.10 21.60Hawaii 24.30 27.60Illinois 73.50 27.10

Iowa 93.90 21.30Maine 96.90 26.90Missouri 84.90 23.60Montana 90.60 21.30New Jersey 72.60 16.70Vermont 96.80 30.60Wyoming 92.10 17.80Average: 15 states 77.25 23.77Average: 50 states 75.10 22.30SOURCE: Fifteen states from Center for Women Policy Studies (2003), percentage White from U.S. CensusBureau (2000), and percentage women in state legislatures from Center for American Women and

Politics (2003).

1

The Results of an Experimental Research Project Involving Ten Welfare Recipients that

Obtained a Post Secondary Education

The enclosed table above details some facts refuting the stereotypes regarding welfare mothers

with regard to race. It was evident in the above table that more recipients of welfare are white and that it

was easier for Advocacy Organizations to effect changes that enabled the welfare recipients in the state

with a higher percentage of white welfare recipients than in states where there were higher numbers of

non-white residents. One of the key cornerstones of the study that I am referencing at this point lies not in

racial divide but in the perception of education to the mothers involved in the study. The evidence that the

current programs are founded in righteousness indignation based on political agendas and is not based in

the actual welfare of the involved is a given. One of the key problems with this method of decision

1Table 1 (Weikart)


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making is that it does not take the time to find out from those involved in the matter that is being

legislated how to best proceed to effect the maximum result. Since, the authors of the legislation are out

of touch with the realities surrounding the plight of the persons in need of help, it is has always tended to

fall short of its intended mark.2

This specific study takes another approach; we find this study takes the time to look at the

attributes of the subjects, their impressions about education and what it represents in their lives. The

researchers for this study felt it was incumbent upon them to look at three specific schools of thought with

respect to the subjects, first of all they wanted to draw parallels about the purposes of the subjects

attaining their respective educations. The impetus for the subjects success in the program was the

positive impact that their children seeing them attain their degrees would ultimately mean to them as

mothers. In essence, the underlying beliefs of the mothers are the driving factors in the ultimate

attainment of the goals. The table below contains a breakdown of the subjects involved in the study and

some demographic data about each individual. It is interesting to look at the dynamics of each womans

life and background, and the potential impact on the attainment of their current life situation.

2Table 1 (Haleman)


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Now that we have a concrete assessment of the population involved in this study let us examine

the results and see what the outcome suggests about the issues at hand. This specific population contrasts

greatly with actual population makeup at the national and state levels. It is important to note that this

specific group is unique in all aspects demographically and are comprised of a group of volunteers from

The Single Parent Project (TSP). Each woman involved in the study was involved in post-secondary

education when they took part in this study. The respective study participants to ensure accuracy verified

all of the participating subjects information.

The most significant issue each woman expressed the greatest amount of concern about was the

overt stereotyping of the perceived welfare mother. It is evident in every experience these women

endured, from a mundane trip to the clinic with a Medicaid card or the trip to the grocery store with food

stamps. The implications of the conditions were readily apparent in the assumptive reactions of personnel

at the clinics, the cashier at the store or other customers in line at the grocery store. One thing rang true

no matter who they were, they were second-class citizens in the eyes of the world because they needed

public assistance. The evidence of these widely held public views is the key to the current legislation and

this is where the changes must begin (Haleman).

The study participants found themselves in a position where it was necessary to defend

themselves against overt discrimination because of their station in life and or race collectively on a

regular basis (Haleman). The discriminatory conduct was imposed not only upon the mothers but the

children were treated differently as well. It became evident to the mothers that it was necessary to

espouse the virtues of a good education to their children, so that they would no longer go through life

victimized by their circumstances.

A significant problem that this study brings to the forefront is that it shines a light on society and

its unfortunate racial assumptions with regard to African Americans on public assistance. The fact that

African American subjects found themselves continually confronted with stereotypical rhetoric in this

particular study was not a rare occurrence but unfortunately illustrated a multitude of widely held beliefs

among Americans in general. It was indeed a blow to these women to undergo the ongoing episodes of


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mistreatment and prejudice because of misinformation. Even though these subjects actually were

utilizing the programs as intended, the politico-economic propaganda that has infiltrated the airwaves and

political war chests won out. There was no regard for their personal circumstances, just disdain and

thoughtless accusation fostered through widely held assumptions that perceive African Americans as less

intelligent, lacking in behavioral decorum, and to be immoral prone to gravitate to criminal enterprises as

opposed to honest hard work for attainment of goals (BSCC, Michael J. Austin Ph.d).

We find in this specific study the reasoning for the parents strong advocacy of post secondary

education for themselves and their children as well was grounded in the refutation of these assessments.

The ultimate conclusion, by the mothers was that the attainment of post secondary education is

necessary for all involved to affect a better life and situation for their children. These mothers felt it

incumbent upon themselves to lead by example and show their children that it can be done, and refused to

ascribe to the culture of poverty that made it acceptable to be less than productive. The escalation of their

economic circumstances through attainment of educational goals is seen as the only tool these parents

have at this point to defend their children in this climate of defeat.


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The Structural Support Systems Thought to be Necessary in Order to Effect a Successful

Transition from Welfare to Work.

The women in this study all agreed that education was a necessity to get off welfare and to end

the poverty cycle their family was currently undergoing. It was reasonable to assume that their assessment

of this fact must be founded on solid evidence. However, we find that the real data does not really

support this valuation of education at first glancebecause the state of the economy in the 1980s lead to

20% of all college graduates being employed in a position that did not warrant a degree (Haleman). The

implication of the data speaks so adversely to the realities of gaining a post-secondary education as a

means of economic progression, that it makes one question the quest in this specific instance.

However, closer examination reveals another reason for the outcomes. The climate in the

workplace, in terms of political and economic factors, point to the devaluation of the women in the

workplace. The reality of the situation in this instance is the gradual segregating of them, if you will, by

requiring a degree but at the same time devaluing the degree by way of lower pay and benefits.

Therefore, while segregating the workplace in terms of position, pay, and benefits it still requires the

same educational standards of women in the workplace but continues relegating them to a lesser status in

terms of investment in them as a gender. This unfortunate practice functions as a double edge sword in

the overall plight of the single mother and her economic stability (Haleman).

Additionally, other factors contribute to the status of women and what is the perceived reason for

the immersion into poverty. The reality of the situation is that domestic violence is a great contributory

factor in this situation as well. The TANF program actually has an initiative in place to avert this as a

cause for women to remain in the system by enacting the Family Violence Option (FVO)

(Wordpress.com). However, there are many roadblocks to actual implementation of the programs, such

as the privacy issues and safety concerns that ultimately influence the factors necessary for the women

use the program itself. Women in domestic violence situations are often not able to disclose their location

when fleeing an abusive spouse and the bureaucratic guidelines in these programs make it inaccessible

forcing most women to have to stay in abusive and dangerous situations in order to care for their children


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(Wordpress.com). The realities of the how and why of welfare mothers reliance on the system varies

widely and is not at all as depicted in the manner that widely held public opinion suggests.

The truth of the situation is that regardless of the underlying conditions women face there is still a

significant amount to be gained by achieving the educational benchmarks necessary to obtain a self-

sufficient job. The benefits from training and education are relevant enough to warrant better provision

for the families involved in the welfare system and the legislative impetus for these programs must be

structured to deal with the realities of the recipients and not public opinion (BSCC, Michael J. Austin

Ph.d).

Training initiatives that serve to circumvent poverty and end the dependence upon welfare must

endure a bit of restructuring for a myriad of reasons. Firstly, the culture of poverty is unique to those

embroiled in it and whatever remedies we implement must collectively address this culture. There is a

tendency in the poverty culture to accept what they and the rest of America expects of them. By this, I

mean dropping out of school and/or becoming parents of illegitimate children. By accepting these

cultural norms and finding themselves conforming to these standards, we see an increase in the number of

those affected in these infinite cycles of impotence (BSCC, Michael J. Austin Ph.d). Therefore, in order

to implement the training initiatives necessary to foster success in these poverty cultures, we must provide

the training in a manner that those affected can understand. Aside from the idea that there is a tendency

for them not to test well in a standardized testing environment, we must accommodate the strengths of

those bound in the poverty culture so that they may be able to progress beyond their current station in life.

Ultimately, we must address them on their respective levels in order to help them out of their situation.

While addressing the realities of the poverty culture the programs have to address those very

aspects of the lives of the mothers and children in order to move them past their current situations. When

encountering these children you have to understand the self-esteem issues associated with poverty, the

potential emotional barriers to achieving realistic educational goals (Jensen). The mothers are right to

focus a great deal of their energies to proving to their children that it can be done, because the fact is

without the experience of these children watching their mothers achieve these goals they may never


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believe that these can be real aspirations for themselves. Therefore, along with the mothers in these

programs, the children must be trained and educated to adjust and excel to defeat the hold of poverty on

their lives. The environments many of these children live in are rife with crime, violence, drugs, and

unfortunate realities the mainstream American will never undergo (Jensen). With that being said, it is a

necessary progression to implement training programs to help mothers and children (the family unit as a

whole) in the adjustments necessary to escape poverty and its culture (Jensen).

Additionally, the welfare to work initiatives must be structured to accommodate single mothers of

small children and not have such stringent guidelines that they undermine the quest for a post secondary

degree. The current TANF programs require 30 hours of additional work for those recipients who are

striving to obtain their degrees (Haleman). It is important that certain changes be made for those in

pursuit of higher education for economic betterment to actually be in a position to achieve it. The

demands of homework and in most cases small children are the death knell to the single mother seeking to

end the nightmare of her current welfare poverty mandate. Stringent program guidelines also require a

plethora of compliance for the mothers to stay on the program and succeed in their goals (Zhan and

Pandey). Family support initiatives must be constructed for the betterment of welfare reform. There is no

realistic or plausible solution for widespread fiscal relief for the welfare rolls if the program continues in

its current state. There have to recalculations made in order to accommodate the realistic experiences of

welfare mothers in these programs (Jacobs and Winslow).

How Education Typically Drives the Economic Status of a Household

Studies indicate conclusively that welfare recipients that obtain a two or 4-year degree have a

significantly lessened potential to return to welfare rolls. In fact, the evidence supports the overall impact

on the household collectively as a positive step for the families citing much greater ability to prevent

economic decline and maintain economic viability to prevent a return to welfare poverty. Statistics show

that families where the mother attended college, but failed to graduate did not fare as well in terms of

maintaining economic viability and avoiding a return to welfare poverty. Essentially, the necessity of the


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post-secondary degree does appear to be a beneficial component in the circumvention to some degree of

the return to the welfare poverty cycle. (London)

According to (London), there is a potential income growth of 30% for welfare recipients who go

on to complete their Associates degree and a 55% income growth for those who were able to secure their

Bachelors degree. The data suggests that although we see such positive numbers for the eventual

accomplishment of these goals the actual number of welfare recipients who are able to attain these goals

fall significantly below the numbers attained by the US population across the board (London). As the

findings in the varying studies suggest the reasons for the low levels of accomplishment lie in the

program goals of TANF itself.

To examine the overall benefits of education on economy we have to look at the benefits this

generates for society as whole. We find that when we have a compilation of higher educated workers then

the wages of unskilled workers tends to escalate as a consequence of this action (Phillippe Aghion).

There are other benefits to the country as a whole when we have a greater degree of higher educated

workers because the family structure benefits from the removal of the poverty culture mindset affecting

such things as crime, juvenile delinquency, and dropout rates. The impetus for these results are the

statistical realities associated with low-income parents coping skills, ability to motivate or provide the

warmth needed to foster the necessary self esteem for achievement despite the odds (BSCC, Michael J.

Austin Ph.d). Predisposition for failure is commonplace in the culture of poverty where education is

devalued and attainable acceptance metrics such as gang membership, drug dealing, and crime are

considered desirable for respect amongst their peers. This is a very definitive aspect of why the notion

that education will drive the household in a positive manner if the effort is across the board and

community-wide (BSCC, Michael J. Austin Ph.d). The future of all Americans essentially rests on the

successful reeducation of those families and communities immersed in the poverty culture (Jensen).

Economic driven educational success is where the welfare reforms must focus their energies to rebuild the

inner cities and foundations of the America we know and love. Failure to attend to the long-term

implications will undoubtedly take a relatively small section of the populations plight and spread it to the


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middle class due to lack of available support mechanisms as the unskilled labor markets decline and

America moves toward a more highly educated work force. This is a relevant problem for the masses and

the welfare reform programs need to address these real needs as opposed to playing to media driven

policy mandates. The racial makeup of welfare rolls has vastly changed since the inception of these

sweeping reforms and the biases intended for topical value, must be reconfigured to deal with internal

issues that realistically affect the general population (Williams).3

How States Abuse of Welfare Reform Programs has Impacted the Programs Bottom-line

A significant amount of abuse of policy was created by the federal governments policy changes

to the AFDC programs during the periods of sweeping reforms. The federal government essentially

recused itself from administration of these programs leaving it squarely in the hands of the states to set

policy. The problem with this approach was that the states used their power to pander to political

ambitions and media scrutiny by not researching and assessing the real needs of the recipients but instead

acting out the political and media induced punishments that made everyone feel good (Williams).

These programs set family caps on enrollment, mandated school attendance, and activities for

mothers on public assistance. In essence, they punished the lazy, inner city ghetto welfare recipient who

would rather sit at home and are paid than work. However, a small amount of substantive research would

have prevented this even worse waste of taxpayer funds on programs that were ill conceived and did not

3Table 3 (London)


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solve the initial problem. The catalyst in most of the states spending agendas was almost always budget

motivated and not problem solving motivated. This created an atmosphere relative to that of the witch

trials of Salem , effecting a measure of public ridicule and scrutiny of the those in need instead of

resolving the underlying issues that made the programs a necessity in the first place (Williams).

Further abuse by the states was caused by the use of the federal funds to pander to companies and

court them for the tax incentives associated with placing welfare recipients in dead end jobs In effect,

they were in some cases outright wooing these companies to their areas by providing them free labor

through the welfare system through job initiatives that were not going to create long term benefits for the

program recipients. These programs were focused on fiscal issues and the states milked them for all they

were worth.

Another component in these ill founded programs were the use of the churches as centers to

provide the short-term instruction programs necessary to get program recipients labor-ready. However,

the churches only fulfilled the states mandates to receive the coveted funding incentives to be obtained

by being a satellite program for these initiatives. In the low income neighborhoods, where these churches

were located an abundance of substantially large family living centers were built with the monies from


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these program for congregations that would scarcely fill them halfway. This whole aspect of the program

ended up solving nothing and just benefited big business and churches instead of the intended targets

(Williams).

A great deal of attention has been made by virtue of accusing the social services of being a tax

drain on Americans. Actual statistics point to the fact that only 13% of all federal monies go into what is

termed as Safety Net Programs. Within that, program assignment the actual amount of monies spent on

welfare is even less than the 13% as that is representative of the entire budget for safety net programs.

Safety Net programs are programs designed to help families or face issues with finances, health care, and

food (Center on Budger and Policy Priorities).

Conclusion

The Clinton Administration ushered in a host of sweeping reforms aimed at ending the welfare

program as we know it. The programs set off on an aggressive stance to eliminate lifetime entitlement

programs and establish a method of transition for the families who were bound in a state of welfare

poverty. During the legislative process, the lines became blurred and the priorities were unfortunately set

based on the media scrutiny and political agendas instead of actually seeking to help those in the

programs. We discover that the during this process there are a lot of things at work that detract from

rational problem solving but foster a witch hunt type of atmosphere that results in a punish the welfare

recipients for their complacency rhetoric. Unfortunately, this task had been given to states to oversee and

they set about on personal agendas aimed at resolving the states personal agendas and not those of the

program recipients once again. In the midst of all this uproar over the programs the women and children

suffered the greatest losses of all.

The federal guidelines for the initial programs were set up to provide post secondary education

for the program recipients and provide support mechanisms to sustain them while completing their

respective courses of study. Because there was no feasiblility study done at the onset of these mandates

each state was bascially granted carte blanche to solve the social services issue as they deemed necessary.

This resulted in the states appropiating funding for programs which still had not been researched but


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answered the call of the public outcry generated by media and political agendas. The programs were

restructured by most states to discourage any tyoe of post secondary education unless it was vocational in

nature. The programs also set up tax incentive programs geared to reward companies who granted jobs to

these program recipients, regardless if they were long term just for a short mandated period to receive the

tax credit. This resulted in a rush to push welfare recipients into jobs that would not provide enough

income to sustain a family once the transitional subsidies ran out. Thereby forcing the families to cycle

back to the welfare roles in order to take care of their families.

Another benefactor of the these state programs were the churches who receive huge grants and

housed the neighborhood centers for the program recipients and in most cases daycare services as well.

This also resulted a great deal of free money for churches to build and grow their daycare programs and

still did not garner the results intended by the initial legislation.

All this money was being distributed but was not providing any benefit to the ones who really

were most needy. The states had hidden agendas in their policy mandates and pandered to big business

and wealthy individuals in a bid to prevent them from leaving their areas. The misapproriation of the

funding was one of the greatest drains of taxpayer funds ever in the end and failed miserably at rehbbing

welfare recipients.

During the course of the programs some states were proactive and through the use of Advocacy

groups they were able to sway sstaate legislatoors and cajole them into investing into post secondary

educaction for the single welfare mothers. Maine and New York pionered programs that would become

models for other states that would adopt them as well. The new welfare reform mandates did embrace

post secondary education and provide the necessary support systems for the mothers to complete their

course of study and break welfare poverty cycles.

We took a look at a study that encompassed ten women who were in the process of a completing

a postsecondary degree and took a look at their journey to their degree. We discovered that the women

were privy to discriminatory profiling as a result of having to use Social Service programs such as

welfare, medicaid and food stamps. We also found that there was and still is a negative stereotype


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associated with government assistance programs. Thesse women detailed the cursory glances and ill

mannered comments made to them while in doctors offices using a medicaid card or at a grocery store

using their food stamps. The public slights actually served to work as motivation for the mothers to instill

in their children a respect for education and the necessity of it to prevent them from having to rely on

social service programs in the future.

African Americans suffered the most stereotypically negative responses from the public in

general and found themselves having to defend themselves on a regular basis and ignore in some

instances the slights aimed at their children as a consequence. The outrage over the welfare programs

were born in the stereotypical african american welfare mother with a cadillac who was happy to sit

home and letthe governemnt take care of her. Because of the largesse of the political grandstanding and

media propaganda the damage was already done and mothers with already difficult lives endured more

distress at the hands of the population in general.

The culture of poverty was one of the underlying problems with the welfare to work initiatives

since it did not address the entire family units, but focused on fiscal saving and never dealt with the

pyschological and emotional consequences of povert . The study revealed ultimately that the children

needed to be trained to think differently and cope with the culture of poverty. So the bottomline of this

paper is to advocate the necessity of post secondary education for the elimination of welfare poverty

cycles and achievement of economic stability.

Brandon, Peter. "Trends over time in the educational attainments ." March 1993. Institute forResearch on Poverty. .


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Haleman, Diana. "Great expectations: single mothers in higher education." November-December 2004. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education,Vol. 17, No. 6. .

Jacobs, Jerry A. and Sarah Winslow. "Welfare Reform and Enrollment in Postsecondary

Education." 1 August 2009. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and SocialScience. .

London, Rebecca. "The Role of Postsecondary Education in Welfare Recipients Paths to Self-Sufficiency." 2004. Center for Justice, Tolerance, and Community Poverty and Income Security.

.Strawn, Julie. "Policies to Promote Adult Education." 18 October 2007. National Commision onAdult Literacy.

.US Welfare System. US Welfare System-Help for US Citizens. 25 March

2012..

Weikart, Lynne A. "The Era of Meanness:Welfare Reform and Barriers to a College Degree."Sage Journals-Afillia(2005): 19. Report.

Wordpress.com. "Women's Law Project." 2 November 2010. Women's Law Project Blog..

Zhan, Min and Shanta Pandey. "Economic well-being of single mothers: work first orpostsecondary education?" September 2004. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare..

an examination of the residual effects of us welfare to work initiatives3

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