Keesha Coaxum

Ashford University

PPA699: Policy Development

Professor Pantaleo

February 14, 2014

The American Welfare Reform is no stranger to society; rather Welfare has been a topic of controversy for many years. Many believe that the state of Welfare has become a dependency catalyzed by government; others may differ in this controversy.

This paper will reflect the controversy of the Welfare Reform Act, its role in public policy, and does it cause recipients of its use to develop a dependency and does government play a part in not producing productive workers in society.

The controversy of Welfare is not one that government has found to be an ethical issue. Democrats see its needs for American families in need and Republicans see it as a state of dependency brought on by the Democrats. Welfare is not only a federal issue but rather a federal and state issue collectively. Although its funding comes from federal government, it’s allocated to states where welfare is implemented.

America’s welfare system for cash assistance has been the support system for mothers and children for decades. Welfare has become a dependency for families who have lost their jobs, are disabled, or cannot get employment due to America’s poor economic system. It has become a “shrunken piece of America’s social safety net” (Goldstein, 2010). Being dependent on welfare is not healthy. Welfare is a dependency because families are provided financial stability for a limited amount of time; families get comfortable getting assistance and not working, and families have no other source of help without welfare.

The numbers of families getting welfare checks have increased in the past five years. The numbers have increased to 185,000 between the start of America’s recession in the year 2007 and the spring of 2011 (Goldstein, 2010). During the same period, the numbers of families who have no financial income and who live in poverty have increased by more than 400,000. According to the United States Census Bureau, three out of ten children were poor last year in Washington alone. Although, the welfare system helps families for a period of time, the assistance gets taken away after five years (Goldstein, 2010)

Welfare is a temporary system for families who need cash assistance. After a certain amount of years families lose all their cash assistance benefits from the welfare program. Welfare benefits can be taken away if the state feels that the individual(s) receiving assistance is not attempting to look for work.

It is possible to get attached and comfortable with not working and receiving cash assistance. According to new reform programs, welfare will be taken away from a parent if he/she has not acquired a job in 48 months of receiving assistance. In Detroit, Michigan alone, one out of ten children will lose welfare benefits if their parents have been on welfare for more than the required time of not working. Benefits can also be discontinued if the state runs out of sufficient funds to help all the families who need help. Due to the recession, many social programs will be discontinued in order to stay in budget.

Finding a job in this economy is quite difficult. If there are no companies willing to hire an individual due to the downfall of hiring, how will the unemployed get off of the welfare program? It becomes a dependency when parents do not have a job or an education to fall back on. Parents lack the knowledge of how to look for jobs or how to go to an interview. Welfare is not lifetime assistance and it has to eventually end. If an individual is not disabled and is able to work under any circumstance, his/her benefits will expire. Some states will only offer cash assistance benefits if they feel that the individual is able to work. They see it as a temporary help that can give individuals a financial boost for the time being.

Welfare reform programs are not helping families get the proper assistance needed. America is not playing its role in increasing job search and opportunities. The structure of this places families to not find a stable and are forced to apply for welfare to get cash assistance in their households. When families receive cash assistance, they abuse it by not looking for jobs. When the cash assistance is suspended, the dependent is so accustomed to receiving help, that they do not know where to go from there.

Most of the families on welfare have parents who did not graduate from high school or college and did not obtain a degree. It makes it even harder for them to find a job. There is a possibility that adults, who do not have an education to fall back on, will have a lesser chance in getting a job in the United States.

Most jobs require individuals to have a diploma or degree to obtain employment. The only jobs that are available are fast food restaurants and retails who do not offer health benefits, stable pay for big families, or education and chances to progress in other trades. Majority of the parents on welfare are single parents with children. Another majority of those single parents are young and did not earn a high school education. This makes it even easier for those parents to become dependent on welfare. It could be a possibility that those individuals have never obtained a good job or even a job at all.

When asked in an interview if she believed welfare was a dependency, Kyra Perkins, a social worker, stated that in her opinion welfare has become a dependent system for those who are less fortunate.

“Because the economy has become a place where getting a blue collar job is hard compared to the 20th century, Americans who have no source of income for their households rely on government assistance, welfare being one of them. Many of the people that ask for help are single mothers without education and knowledge on how to apply for a job. Most have been on welfare for two-three years. Right now, their only help around the house is the government checks they are receiving (Perkins, 2013)”.

According to Perkins, she also feels that in most cases a person who is currently on welfare has had a parent who was also on welfare. “It becomes a generational cycle that also creates a dependency. Most teen moms are daughters of teen parents also, that also is a cycle that repeated itself causing the teen to be dependent on government assistance. If most of a teen’s parent life is spent being dependent on welfare, it sets an example for their children that it is okay to be dependent and not independent. Not all teen parents are dependent. For some, welfare is just a temporary system that will allow them to get on their feet and find a stable job. The welfare system is not by any means lifelong. It is, however, designed to allow people to find a stable job and generate enough income to get situated with a place to live and food for their households.”

Where does funding come from for Welfare Reform and are there restrictions?

The state of where welfare gets its money comes from the federal government and taxpayers’ dollars. In addition, some private sectors may donate money to its state.

According to the readings of “whitehouse.gov” only one percent of the federal budget is accounted for the welfare reform act. For example, from personal experience, a single mother with two children (before receiving my education and going back to college) receives only $234.00 monthly (2013). There is limited funding allocated to families receiving monetary funds from public assistance.

While there is considerable consensus that welfare needs to be reformed, there is less agreement about exactly what needs to be done and a long history of past attempts that have proved less than satisfactory or had little staying power.

As we look into restrictions on the welfare reform there has not been any decision on what works. For example, many states believe that moving people from the anti- work to work would aide in reducing benefits. In addition providing birth control can also aide in reduction for out of wedlock pregnancies.

Does welfare have an impact on the national debt?

As stated earlier, welfare only accounts for one percent of the federal government. Some may believe that this one percent can be used for something else then funding “lazy people” who don’t want to work. In my opinion not all citizens on welfare are dependent on receiving benefits. For example, a disabled veteran or a family whom just lost their jobs was once willing workers until an obstacle took away their financial stability.

When there is financial instability in government, spending cuts take place in Social Security, Medicaid and state funding which include Welfare.

When an American household’s financial situation changes the economy does not grow or prosper. The reason is there is limited spending taking place. For example a family making $60,000 loses their job can no longer put money back into the economy. There was a certain level of spending that was afforded, but the loss of the job makes spending difficult.

In the past years with the growth in welfare many believe that it affects taxation and affect the growth of production in the economy, lower educational level for those who receive benefits and enable productive workers.

Although welfare is a great system for cash assistance, it is also provides medical and food assistance. If parents are unable to work due to disabilities or job loses, they cannot afford health care. Welfare provides them with Medicaid so that they can be able to receive medical attention when it is needed. Welfare also provides them with food stamps for their households. Some people on them, abuse the government by selling stamps for cash and using their health benefits for other family members who are not on their medical accounts. Having these government resources allows them to be illegal and still receive help. That can become a comfortable lifestyle making them more dependent on welfare’s cash, medical and food assistance. A person which is a dependent on welfare can become mentally crippled, causing them to lose what it means to be independent.

One way or another the welfare reform act is not supposed to send people into poverty its purpose is to produce a safety net for those needing assistance.

Below is a graph showing statistical data on the welfare’s system dependency of its recipients.

Statistical Graph of Dependency Rates

[pic](Figure 1)

In Figure One, the relevancy and dependency rate in selected years between 1993 and 2003. The blue line in the graph represents the number of married couples who were dependent on welfare. The graph goes from top to bottom with the top being the highest and bottom being the lowest.

The blue line representing married couples is to the bottom of the graph because they were not as much as dependent as single mothers, fathers, and unrelated individuals. The unrelated individuals has a high increase in dependency, but come second to last on the graph because they were not that dependent. The single father households, in green, remained the same throughout the years and had the second to highest dependency rate. The single mother households, in red, show an increase in dependency. They are the highest on the graph for being the most dependent on welfare. The graph demonstrates that most people that need welfare are single mothers. It proves the point that those who are likely to be reliant on government assistance are single mothers or fathers, rather than a two parent households.

Although welfare can create a dependency on parents without work, it can be a safety net with its consequences. The government provides a system for parents to work and get paid through the government for cash assistance. The program is Welfare-to-Work.

According to Ann Chih Lin, writer of the Welfare Reform, studies have found that teens with parents in the welfare to work program did worse in school and had more behavior problems than adolescents in welfare households, perhaps because working parents have less time to monitor their children. This could be because parents load their children with more responsibilities at home while they are at work. (Lin, 2002)

While the Welfare-to-Work program had consequences, it also allowed parents to gain work experience so that they will not become more dependent on welfare’s cash assistance.

The new welfare reform program was a way to stop welfare dependency in the United States. The American culture became so accustomed to getting government assistance that it lost its value of working and earning a pay. Congress passed the welfare reform bill, giving conservatives high hopes about breaking what they saw as a culture of dependence on welfare. The bill was proposed and passed to limit the number of years that a person or family could obtain welfare and other forms of government assistance. The only negative opinion about the bill came from liberals who thought that limiting the number of years a family could be on welfare would increase poverty.

State welfare benefits change almost every couple of years. In studies presented in the Welfare Reform, a family of three with no income would be likely to receive $712 worth of benefits in the state of Hawaii in the year 1996. The state paid $570 in the year 2000 for a family of three with no income. Alaska had the highest welfare benefits for a family of three with no income. The state paid about $923 in welfare benefits in the years 1996 and 2000, with change in benefit levels. Alabama paid $164 in welfare benefits to a family of three with no income in both the years 1996 and 2000. There was no change in benefits between the years 1996 and 2000. (Seefeldt, p.67)

Welfare programs have laws now that prevent dependency under its new reform policies. Welfare is also known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). It has become a name used more often by Americans instead if using welfare. TANF has gone through changes in the government under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). It was law passed in August of 1996 (Seefeldt, p.63). The legislative language of PRWORA and goals of TANF were to provide assistance for needy families for the welfare of the children, end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits, promote job preparation, work and marriage, prevent out-of-wedlock pregnancies, and encourage the formation of two parent families. Having two parent families would help add extra income into homes instead of the load being on one parent. Having more parents in a household would decrease the chance welfare dependency.

It is not healthy being dependent on the welfare system for cash, medical, and food assistance. Being dependent decreases your chances of having a stable lifestyle. Welfare is a temporary system that provides parents with the push they need to go out and get a job. There are programs that are created within the welfare system to provide help while searching for jobs. The government has created laws to prevent welfare dependency by decreasing the amount of years a person or family can get cash assistance without work. Welfare is a beneficial program for those who need it and over the years it has developed to stop the culture of dependency in the United States.

Welfare changes in North Carolina

In the state of North Carolina where I currently live, the state of the welfare reform act has made changes for recipients to receive benefits in 2013.

“A House bill that received bipartisan support on the full floor requires all county Department of Social Services offices to perform background checks to bar applicants and recipients with outstanding warrants or other active violations from welfare and food stamp programs. A Senate bill that cleared a committee vote over the objections of Democratic lawmakers and advocates would require drug screenings for welfare applicants and recipients at their own expense” (Kardish, 2013).

This new bill passed is a way to assist with drug addiction and get citizens back to work. The process is that when applicants apply for welfare benefits and pass the background and drug test are eligible for the “Work First” assistance, which assist applicants and recipients with training in returning back to the workforce; and provides temporary assistance through the federal program for Needy Families. If the applicant does not pass the background check, they will be ineligible for assistance and can reapply within a year for.

“Currently, substance abuse professionals in county social services departments conduct interviews and look for signs of addiction with applicants and current recipients but do not conduct drug tests. If those employees diagnose a substance abuse problem the applicant or recipient must enter a treatment program and submit to drug testing to continue qualifying for benefits”(Kardish, 2013) .

This is a way to enable dependency, but a way to save taxpayers’ dollars to go toward something else within the state’s funding.

The implementation of this new programs cost $144,000 to purchase computer systems for conducting background checks (Kardish, 2013).

Proposing a new, integrated service delivery and funding approach for children at risk of out of home placement and their families that will improve outcomes at both client and system levels will aide in the welfare reform and get recipients back to work.

Conclusion

In conclusion, welfare programs will not cease based on views or opinions. Welfare is left up to federal government and the state. Defining its usage and aide to the American people will always be a topic of controversy. In addition, understanding the Welfare Reform Act will close biases of its implementation and usage for the American people.

References

Goldstein, A. (2010, October 2). Welfare's safety net hard to measure among states. The Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines - The Washington Post. Retrieved October 24, 2011, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/02/AR2010100202443_2.html?sid=ST2010100204060

Indicators of Welfare Dependence: Annual Report to Congress, 2006: Introduction and Overview. (n.d.). Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, HHS. Retrieved October 24, 2011, from http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/indicators06/ch1.htm#Measuring

Kardish, C. (2013). Background checks, drug tests for welfare recipients advance in NC General Assembly. Welfare changes move through NC General Assembly

Kyra Perkins. Social Worker [Telephone interview]. ( February 1, 2014).

Seefeldt, K. S., & Lin, A. C. (2002). Welfare reform. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press.
US Welfare System - Help for US Citizens. (n.d.). Retrieved October 24, 2011, from http://www.welfareinfo.org/payments/.

www.whitehouse.gov (2013).

Wintour, P. (n.d.). Welfare reform: Find a job or lose benefits, mothers to be told | Politics | The Guardian. Latest News, Sport and Comment from the Guardian | The Guardian. Retrieved October 24, 2011, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/feb/17/welfare-reform-mothers-lose-benefits