Dragon Info TANF:
Disaster Coming?
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TANF/CalWORKS Reauthorization: Dec. 2001 Workers and community advocates are waiting with trepidation for the year 2002. The welfare reform act passed under the Clinton administration, which changed Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), is about to come up for renewal.Most critics have declared welfare reform a success. The common consensus is that the number of people on welfare is down, and the program has succeeded in moving all but the hard-core recipients from welfare to work. (At least that was the consensus before the economy hit the skids and the September 11 disaster. More recent numbers are not in yet.) In many ways the reform proved what many welfare advocates had been saying all along: most people on welfare want to work, and social workers have the skills to help them overcome their barriers to employment. The problem is the economy. The reform features a carrot and stick approach. There is an increased emphasis on employment services and support services, including increased child care and transportation aid. The stick is that families with non-working parents are sanctioned and there is a time limit on aid. While officials are claiming victory, long-time welfare workers are less confident. They note that whenever the economy is up the welfare rolls go down, and until this year we were in a boom economy. Another problem is that even though more welfare recipients are working, the jobs they have don’t pay a livable wage. Child care is a major issue. One of the main cornerstones of the reform was increased child care subsidies that continued long after the recipient officially left the welfare rolls. If this funding is cut, many of the so-called welfare success stories may find themselves forced to choose between keeping their jobs and leaving their children alone and at risk or staying home to care for their children. Under the new law, to encourage states to get people off welfare, the states are given block grants instead of an amount of money based on the actual number of people on welfare. One fear is that conservatives will base funding for the next year on figures from the growth economy years and, if the recession continues, the funding won’t be adequate. The incentives for cutting social services funding include the increased spending on the “war against terrorism” and a decrease in tax revenues as a result of the recession. In addition, President Bush’s tax cuts and refunds have intentionally left little extra for social programs. California is particularly hard hit. Last July Governor Gray Davis removed $24 million from the money allocated by the legislature for child care subsidies. The subsidies allow people who have been on welfare to continue to receive help with child care after they have been employed for two years. After intense pressure, the governor finally put the money back in the budget. The Dragon interviewed CalWORKS eligibility workers, job counselors, and employment social workers in Alameda County. The Dragon found that while many of the employment counselors feel good about the progress they are making in getting their clients jobs, eligibility workers feel the system is breaking down and they are not able to provide their clients the service they deserve.
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