Welfare and Public Assistance, Research Paper Example

Background

In 1935 the government set up the AFDC to assist families with dependent children. This system has been in place for more 70 years. During this time, politicians have been at odds over who should receive the benefits and how much benefits they should receive.  The AFDC was originally designed to benefit single mothers in the midst of many growing social problems like, teen pregnancies, un-wed mothers, and females being the head of households. Many critics have argued that welfare is mostly responsible for the previous social problems. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 were passed when former President Clinton was in office. This changed the way the recipients received funds. TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) replaced AFDC. The overall goal of TANF was to provide assistance to needy families so that they could provide care to their children, to end the dependence on government assistance programs by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage, prevent and reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies, and encourage the formation of two parent families ( Kam & Nam, 2008 ).  After the TANF replaced AFDC, states were giving the transgression to choose the types of provisions they place on eligibility. Some of those provisions were time limits, family caps, and work requirements. Today, America is struggling to recover for a financial decline. Once again, the debate about welfare and other government assistance programs are on the fore front.

Introduction

Reforming welfare is a national agenda. Many of the welfare assistance programs are being accused of wasteful and ineffective. Many critics of the system even say that welfare serves as an excuse for people to live off of government handouts. The negative connotations that have been placed upon welfare recipients are believed that have negatively affected their mental state of mine and their wanting to get a job. For example, recipients’ ability to get a job and maintain that job is largely influenced by their attitude, motivation, and experience that the recipient has, rather than the job trainings itself. So, in other words, these jobs to work programs are able to give some recipients hope and inspire them to do better. In the end, this state of mind is more important than the job training program. Yet, there is research that proves it is possible to assist the poor without perpetuating a degree of poverty and dependency (Lein & Schexnayder, 2007). Current research has studied welfare to work programs and the attitudes of welfare recipients to this training. IN 1996, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) were signed into law. This act repealed AFDC and replaced TANF. This program drastically changed the way the welfare program worked. It required recipients to work in exchange for time limited assistance. Critics warned that it would be impossible to for a welfare reform law to turn public assistance recipients into self-sufficient workers. Has this program turned every person who is receiving public assistance into a work sufficient citizen? Of Corse not; however, there have been tremendous efforts made by welfare recipients to enter the work force and transition from welfare and other public assistance programs.

Assumptions

Liberals view the welfare program in light of three assumptions: people do not want to remain on welfare and will work if given a chance, lack of proper education in poor people is the primary reason why they use the system because they cannot obtain adequate paying jobs, and that poverty is an issue that must be addressed by society and not by any one individual. However, the conservatives view the issue of welfare from a different aspect. They place very high values on the individual and work ethics. Most conservatives agree that there is a need for some type of public assistance for the needy, but cannot come to an agreement on how the system should operate. Their idea of who should receive these funding causes great debates. Conservatives believe that young, able bodied individuals should work. Many agree that welfare creates a degree of dependency and perpetuates a cycle of poverty (Duncan & Ziol-Guest, 2010). The history of the welfare system in the United States is a conflict between the views of liberals and conservatists.

Early Days

During the early 1980s there was an increase in teenage pregnancies in the United States. Previous studies have concluded that Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program may have been directly linked to those rising trends. During this time women-headed families grew nearly 22 percent compared to statistics of the 1970s. Many black men were unable to obtain jobs that could financially sustain families, which led to the need of more dependency on welfare programs.  Thirty-nine percent of welfare recipients during the 80s were African Americans. 70 percent of births in African-Americans are to unwed mothers Kam & Nam, 2008).  Although these numbers are daunting, some welfare recipients are able to reach independence despite societal stereotypes placed upon them. There are many negative expectations placed on welfare recipients. Society degrades welfare recipients. “Consequently, welfare recipients are publicly shamed and devalued (Mera, 2005) and media continues to portray welfare mothers as “lazy,” “child breeder,” or “welfare queen” (Lein & Schexnayder, 2007). When the government enforced the PRWORA numerous changes were made to the welfare system. One of the major changes was the inaction of a welfare-to-work program. This law forced parents into work requirements in order to continue receiving their benefits.  The number of welfare recipients drastically decreased from 14.2 million in 1993 to 4.6 million in 2005. This was a more than 70 percent decline in the recipients of benefits (Mera, 2005).

Training Programs

Training programs have had a positive effect on welfare recipients. These positive effects prove that employment and training interventions are a helpful tool to welfare recipients. For example, a study was conducted on the success rate of job trainings in five states that made reforms to their welfare and public assistance programs. The results conveyed that four of the five states showed significant gains in employment in those recipients who took part in the training vs. recipients who did not take part in the trainings (Lein & Schexnayder, 2007). These findings dispel the popular belief that all welfare recipients are lazy and would rather receive free funding than work for a living. Welfare to work programs vary from state to state, but evidences proves that the work initiatives are helping. Although all states implemented reforms, each decided how the work programs would be operated. Each welfare recipient was interviewed and took assessments to determine the recipients’ skills, work history, education, and any barriers to employment (Lein & Schexnayder, 2007).  The overall goal of the work programs is to help recipients overcome barriers hindering them from transitioning from welfare to employment.

Mental Barriers

Mental health issues may hinder welfare recipients from obtaining employment. There have been reported high levels of depression among welfare recipients. Many recipients shared that they became welfare recipients after traumatic experiences left them unable to work or in situations where if they worked they would have brought less cash home than they would receiving benefits. One study conducted on welfare to work recipients found that 22 percent of the women reported that they had been the victim of rape; 55 percent suffered from domestic abuse; and 20 percent had been sexually molested as a child (Lein & Schexnayder, 2007).

Substance Abuse as a Barrier

Substance abuse may hinder welfare recipients from obtaining and maintaining employment as well. It is estimated that nearly 37 percent of welfare recipients suffer from some type of substance abuse (Lloyd & Taluc, 1999). Many recipients reported that they became substance abusers after becoming a welfare recipient. Twelve percent of the substance abusers say that they had previously suffered from depression or been the victim of a traumatic experience. Random drug screening of welfare recipients show that 15.5 percent of welfare recipients were impaired by drugs and alcohol, which is twice the rate of non-welfare recipients (Lloyd & Taluc, 1999).

Relationship Barriers

Being involved in violent personal relationships was also a potential barrier for women recipients. Forty-eight percent of welfare recipients were in abusive relationships. Of that forty-eight percent, 28 percent reported that they had been in an abusive relationship for more than five years. Thirty percent of all welfare recipients reported that they have one of the following barriers that could prevent them from obtaining or maintaining a job if they exited the welfare program: poor health, alcohol and/or drug addiction, depression, or unable to read or write adequately (Lloyd & Taluc, 1999).

Ethnic and Gender Similarities

There were few noticeable differences between whites and African-Americans in the prevalence in individual barriers. There were only three barriers that differed significantly between the races. For example, Hispanic recipients often lacked a car and driver’s license. Many had been diagnosed with some form of depressive disorder in the recent past. African American recipients also often lacked adequate transportation. They also did not have adequate skills to acquire a job. Whites’ major barriers were depressive disorders. Women, however often had several barriers that prohibited them from obtaining and maintaining a job. Many of the female recipients were high school drop-outs, which meant they lacked adequate skills to perform the job. They suffered from depressive disorders 3 times more than male recipients. Lastly, women also lacked proper transportation twice as much as male recipients. The probability of maintaining a job after ceasing welfare sharply decreases with the number of pre-existing barriers (Lein & Schexnayder, 2007).    “A woman has three in five chances of working if she has 2 or 3 barriers; two in five chances of working if she has 4, 5, or 6 barriers; and only a one in twenty chance of working if she has seven or more barriers to work”( Lein & Schexnayder, 2007).

Child Care Assistance

Child care assistance programs have led many welfare recipients back to the work force. This program was created in 1996 with the passage of PRWORA. Each state designates its requirement for being eligible for the assistance. Most of the states are using some form a child care vouchers or slots at child care centers that service low income families. Having adequate child care is one of the barriers that many welfare recipients face. Some recipients have children with special needs that require full time care. These parents have made a conscious choice to stay at home with their children, rather than risk them not being properly cared for. In order for families to be eligible for this program they must have a child under the age of thirteen. The purpose of this program is to encourage recipient to work. All states that use the child care assistance programs require that recipients work, attend school, or a job training program. Some states require recipients to pay a co-payment or partial payment for childcare services they receive. This co-payment may be based upon the family income, number or children who receive care, and the amount of hours the recipient works per week (Mara, 2005). . These stipulations are used to guarantee that those receiving the service are needy.  The long term goal of the child care assistance programs is to eradicate the barrier of not having child care services. There have been some cases where the child care facilities are run by recipients of welfare. These recipients were trained in the welfare to work programs and eventually become employees at the facilities where they trained (Meara, 2005).

Transportation Assistance

Transportation assistance programs help welfare recipients travel to their places of employment. In some states, similar programs even help people with physical or mental disabilities travel to and from doctor’s appointments. Having adequate transportation is one of the main barriers that many welfare recipients face. Transportation to and from work can be especially difficult for recipients living in rural areas. Recipients living in rural areas rarely live in walking distance from their places of employment. Most rural areas do not have city buses, taxis, or other forms of public transportation. Without having proper transportation, it is pointless to even try to locate a job for these recipients. Transportation assistance can increase a recipient annual income by at least 7,000 dollars (Lein &Schexnayder, 2007).

Conclusions

Welfare recipients would need to earn significantly more than minimum wage to become self-sufficient. When considering that most welfare recipients lack adequate education and job skills, it is impossible for them to obtain jobs that pay more than minimum wage. Welfare to work programs, transportation assistance, and job training programs provide recipients with the necessary tools needed to become self-sufficient. Under the definition of self-sufficiency, welfare recipients who have several barriers to success must be aided in trying to rise above dependency on the welfare system.  Government assistance is a vital part of moving low-income welfare recipients towards self-sufficiency. For many recipients who have been using the programs for years, any step towards self-sufficiency is great progress. Recipients of welfare and other public assistance programs live in communities where high unemployment and poverty rates negatively affect mental state of mind. There are many perceived stigmas that come along with participation in governmental assistance programs. These recipients are categorized by stereotypes of being deficient in morals, skills, and knowledge. Many people believe that all welfare recipients are to blame for their situations, but many recipients are just waiting for an opportunity to get back on their feet.

References

Duncan, J., Kalik, A., & Ziol-Guest, K. (2010). Early childhood poverty and adult attainment, behavior, and health. Child Development, 81(1).

Kam, C., & Nam, Y. (2008). Reaching out or pulling back: macroeconomic conditions and public support for social welfare. Political Behavior, 30(1)

Lein, L., & Schexnayder, T. (2007). Life after welfare: reform and the persistence of poverty. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Lloyd, S., and Taluc, N. (1999) The effects of male violence on female employment. Violence Against Women, 5(1).

Meara, E. (2005). Department of health care policy. Harvard Medical School. Outline