Welfare-to-Work Programs - Work, A Major Issue Of Welfare Reform

The focus of the welfare debate has changed dramatically since the 1980s. During the early 1980s President Ronald Reagan attacked waste, fraud, and abuse in the welfare system, the conventional attack upon public welfare at the time. Since the late 1980s, however, the issue of welfare reform has focused on work programs as a means of getting people off welfare and keeping them off. Both among Republicans and Democrats, a consensus developed that jobs, either in the private sector, subsidized by the government, or both, were the most promising answer to the welfare problem.

By the summer of 1996 a number of welfare-reform proposals had been offered for consideration in Congress. Virtually all proposals contained a basic requirement that welfare recipients get jobs, either on their own or with the help of local welfare agencies. At the same time, because of the recognition that effective job training can be very expensive, job-training funds in many proposed welfare bills were dropped or severely limited.

These and similar proposals, which have been around for at least a generation, are generally referred to as "work-fare" programs. Both liberals and conservatives agree that those able to work for their income should do so. A job allows individuals the independence and sense of accomplishment brought by providing for oneself and one's family. Furthermore, finding people jobs reduces the financial burden on state, local, and federal governments.

The passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA; PL 104-193) in August 1996 laid the foundation for a work-based welfare system. The welfare law replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and the JOBS (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills) training program with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and created financial incentives for welfare-to-work programs. States must require TANF recipients to work after two years on assistance or face reductions in funding. In addition, with a few exceptions, they may not use federal funds to assist families for longer than five years. Funding for the various state work programs is included in federal block grants to states. Within the general guidelines of the act, each state designs its own program to promote job preparation and work.