Welfare to Work Midterm Essay Example for Free

well universe to Work Midterm Essay1. hot seat Clinton signed into equityfulness the Personal Responsibility and Work probability Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) P.L. 104-193 on August 22, 1996. What are the basis and implications of this law?On August 22, 1996, President William Jefferson Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work luck Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) (P.L. 104-193, 110 Stat. 2105) into law, thus fulfilling his fly the coop promise to end public avail as we know it. The PRWORA changed both the substance and administration of the national offbeat system. The browse on eliminated the prior social eudaemonia system, which had been attacked for decades by policy- springrs, the press, and the public for increasing authorities spending while do the poor dependent on government charity. The separated purposes of the PRWORA were to reduce eudaemonia dependency and step up-of-wedlock births and to encourage the arrangement of devil-parent families. In l ine with these goals, the PRWORA required welfare recipients to do within two years of receiving assistance, and it put a five-year lifetime limit on the receipt of benefits. It in whatsoever case ended the entitlement status of welfare benefits. In addition, the correspond made other, less publicized changes to several social welfare programmes, both restricting the availability of benefits (making it harder for alter squirtren to qualify for assistance, limiting eligibility for food stamps, denying welfare benefits to most legal immigrants) and strengthening programs that aid youngsterren (reorganizing and increasing championship for child sympathize with, toughening the enforcement of rules for child support).In addition to the acts primary emphasis on putting welfare recipients to take a leak, the PRWORA besides radic aloney altered the way government delivers welfare benefits in three important ways(1) change magnitude role of states. To fund welfare the PRWORA pro vided the states with icy block grants called Temporary tending to impoverished Families (TANF) to fund welfare, totaling $16.5 meg annually over six years. Congress also included a provision in the act that would result in TANF accompaniment cuts if the states failed to move a required partage of recipients into the workforce and off welfare. Nevertheless, TANF gave states prolonged judgement to institution and operate their own programs. This transfer of authority from the national government to the states is called devolution. chthonic devolution, states surrender many choices to make in shaping their welfare policiesncluding being more(prenominal) stringent than federal law requires. For instance, some states look at chosen to limit the receipt of benefits to less than five years, to cut benefits to families with truant children, or to mandate that parents take parenting classes.(2) Increased role of topical anaesthetic entities. The PRWORA allowed states to devo lve their authority even further to counties, local governments, or even clandestine entities. The private entities involved in welfare administration include a wide range of for-profit companies, nonprofit companies, and religious groups. As a result, welfare programs vary widely non only from state to state but also within local jurisdictions.This transfer of authority to private providers, an approach called privatization, has raised questions nigh accountability. In other words, some critics argue that PWROWA has made it more elusive for the government to oversee programs so as to ensure quality service to recipients. The accountability of for-profit entities is of particular concern, be have the fillip to earn profits gutter lessen the quality of services provided.Critics also charge that privatization whitethorn cause private providers to lose their independent character as they become increasingly bureaucratic and reliant on government funding. In addition, there has b een sharp debate over whether religious groups should receive government funding for delivering social services. Opponents charge that this violates the separation mingled with church and state. Proponents hold that a spiritual approach to the pitch of social services is more effective than secular approaches.(3) Changes in the role of welfare workers. The work-first emphasis of the PRWORA has dramatically changed the role of front-line workers, those low-level welfare office workers who interact directly with welfare clients. Before the PRWORA, front-line workers cerebrate on two tasks (1) verifying whether applicants met objective criteria to become eligible for assistance, and (2) issuing checks in a timely manner. By contrast, under the PRWORA these front-line workers moldiness behave a variety of tasks, including evaluation and counseling, designed to put masses to work. As a result, they have a much bigger say in decisions affecting applicants than they had previously2. W hat is the consanguinity between Aide to Families with Dependent Children AFDC) and Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Program (JOBS)?3. What is the difference, if any, between Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the benefit-to-Work Grant Programs? Explain in detail.PRWORA replaced AFDC with TANF and ended entitlement to cash assistance for low-income families, meaning that some families may be denied aid even if they are eligible. Under TANF, states have broad discretion to determine who is eligible for benefits and services. In general states must use funds to serve families with children, with the only exceptions related to efforts to reduce non-marital childbearing and heighten marriage. States cannot use TANF funds to assist most legal immigrants until they have been in the country for at to the lowest degree(prenominal) 5 years. TANF dumbfounds forth the following work requirements in order to qualify for benefits 1. Recipients (with few exceptions) must w ork as soon as they are melody ready or no later than two years after coming on assistance. 2. Single parents are required to participate in work activities for at least 30 hours per week. Two-parent families must participate in work activities 35 or 55 hours a week, depending upon circumstances.3. Failure to participate in work requirements can result in a lessening or termination of benefits to the family. 4. States, in fiscal year 2004, have to ensure that 50 percent of all families and 90 percent of two-parent families are participating in work activities. If a state meets these goals without restricting eligibility, it can receive a caseload reduction credit. This credit reduces the minimum participation rates the state must accomplish to continue receiving federal funding. While states are given more flexibility in the design and death penalty of public assistance, they must do so within various provisions of the law 1. Provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives 2. end the colony of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage3. prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and substantiate annual numerical goals for preventing and reducing the incidence of these pregnancies 4. and encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families. Funding for TANF underwent several changes from its predecessor, AFDC. Under AFDC, states provided cash assistance to families with children, and the federal government paid half or more of all program costs. federal spending was provided to states on an open-ended basis, meaning that funding was tied to the get of caseloads. Federal law mandated that states provide some level of cash assistance to eligible poor families but states had broad discretion in setting the benefit levels. Under TANF, states qualify for block grants. The funding for these block grants are fixed and the amount each state receives is based on the level of federal contributions to the state for the AFDC program in 1994. States are required to maintain their spending for welfare programs at 80 percent of their 1994 spending levels, with a reduction to 75 percent if states meet other work-participation requirements.States have greater flexibility in decision making how they spend funds as long as they meet the provisions of TANF described above. Welfare recipients and definite non-custodial parents are going to work, gaining job skills, and receiving the temporary admirer they need to become economically independent finished local initiatives supported by Welfare-to-Work grants from the U.S. Department of Labor. These outcomes have been a primary goal of Federal welfare policy since the enactment of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Act which ended welfare as an entitlement and set lifetime limits on an individuals benefits. Additional welfare reform legi slation in 1997 current the Department of Labor to provide Welfare-to-Work grants to serve the hardest-to-employ, long welfare recipients get education, training, work experience, and private-sector jobs. These grants to States and communities are mean to provide welfare recipients with training, transitional employment, job placement services, and support services.Local communities have the flexibility to design programs that fit their particular needs. Approximately three-fourths of the $3 billion authorized for Welfare-to-Work was allocated to States on the basis of their exiguity populations the States are required to spend $1 of non- Federal funding for every $2 in Federal funds. Nearly one-fourth of the total funds were awarded competitively to local governments, private industry councils, or community-based organizations 1 percent of the funds was awarded to Indian tribes, and 0.8 percent was set aside for evaluation.The Welfare-to-Work Initiative evolves to meet societys needs, even though virtually all of the grant funds had been distributed by the end of 1999. At least 70 percent of grant funds were required to be spent on services to long-term recipients of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and non-custodial parents. The remainder could be spent on TANF recipients who have characteristics associated with long-term welfare dependency, youth who have received foster-care services, and custodial parents with incomes below the pauperism line. Eligibility criteria were simplified under the Welfare-to-Work and Child keep Amendments of 1999. Under related programs, Work Opportunity and Welfare-to-Work tax credits provide4. How are the Welfare-to-Work Programs being carried out in the State of Mississippi? Temporary Assistance for Needy Families provides cash benefits to families once they have been okay for the program. The benefits can be used for any legal personal reason, such as rent, food, child care or medical bills. The benefit am ount is determined by a familys monthly income and the size. In Mississippi, if a familys income does not meet the standard of need used for eligibility, the state itself may supply benefits. In 2011, the supreme state allowance for needy families was $110 per month for the first person in the program, $36 for the second base and $24 for every additional person. Time LimitThe federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act imposed new time limits for TANF. No state can offer benefits for longer than the federal limit, although they may be extended under certain circumstances for a limited time. Mississippi uses the federal guideline for TANF benefits, although the time limit in some other states is shorter. TANF participants in Mississippi cannot receive help for more than 60 months, or five years.EligibilityNot all needy individuals qualify for TANF. Only families with children may apply, and the children must be deprived of one or both of their parents because of unempl oyment, absence or inability to perform their parental duties. In 2011, the family cannot exceed a maximum monthly income level or hold more than $2,000 in assets, such as real estate or cash. Mississippi rules also require that any parent or relative caretaker who takes TANF money because one or more of the parents are absent must assign support rights to the state and aid the state in obtaining child support payments from the absent parent, which may require legally establishing paternity. Work RequirementsAll adults who participate in Mississippis TANF program must meet the work requirements or lose their benefits. There are exceptions for women who are in their third trimester of pregnancy and have complications. You also do not have to meet the work requirements if you are the victim of domestic violence, in discourse for substance abhorrence, disabled, elderly or caring for a disabled household member or child under 12 months of age. Participants have 25 months to meet all w ork requirements before losing benefits. The program does help participants with skills assessments, developing an Employability Development Plan and job training. Vocational education, work experience programs, community service and job searches qualify as work activities for TANF.5. Promoting marriage and helping those with substance abuse were the secondary goals of the reform. Referring to the US Welfare Reform in 1996, how was secondary goals achieved? In conjunction with supporting work, new policies deny assistance to people who do not work. The work requirements in TANF are stricter than those in AFDC, fewer recipients are exempted from them, and failure to be with them can lead to financial sanctions. In addition, PRWORA limits nonworking able-bodied adults without dependents to three months of food stamps, and state General Assistance programs have declined.States have done less to achieve welfare reforms family structure goalsencouraging marriage, reducing the number of births outside of marriage, and keeping children in their own homes or the homes of relativesthan they have to promote work (chapter 3). Many states make TANF available on a fairly equal basis to families with single and with married parents, which reverses a long bias in the welfare system against serving two-parent families and thereby possibly discouraging marriage. Twenty states have adopted family caps that deny additional benefits to adults who have children while they are on welfare. Another PRWORA provision strengthens the child support system, with the federal government developing a data registry to facilitate collections from working noncustodial parents, states being required to adopt new child support enforcement tools, and individual welfare recipients facing sanctions if they fail to help with the child support system.6. How successful was the 1996 Welfare Reform?Declining Welfare DemandIn 1994, about 5.1 cardinal families were receiving cash assistance from the go vernment. Most beneficiaries have since been forced to leave the welfare rolls for low-paying jobs, following the 1996 welfare reforms. By 2006, USA Today estimates that 1 million more had been removed either because of failure to follow state rules, or they had depleted all the benefits allowed under time limits. At the 10th anniversary of the PRWORA, only about 1.9 million families were getting cash benefits 38 percent were blacks, 33 percent were white and 24 percent were Hispanic. Between 1994 and 2004, the welfare caseload recorded an unprecedented decline of 60 percent.Working Single MothersOf the families on welfare in 2006, unmarried women headed three out of four. However, statistics indicate earnings for the poorest 40 percent of single acquire households doubled between 1996 and 2006. Statistics also revealed that about 60 percent of adults leaving welfare were employed at any given moment, according to the Brookings Institution, and that over several months, about 80 pe rcent held at least one job.Rising Income LevelsBetween 1993 and 2000, the percentage of low-income single mothers with a job grew from 58 percent to well-nigh 75 percent, an increase of almost 30 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This was a direct result of welfare reforms. The overall income of low-income families increased by more than 25 percent over the period, and by 2006, child poverty fell significantly. According to the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, welfare reforms have succeeded mainly because the presumption of government assistance as an entitlement has been reversed.The Knowledge GapThe University of Michigan argues that research on welfare reforms is too rivet on poverty reduction rates, lower out-of-wedlock childbearing and greater family stability, while overlooking spousal abuse and child neglect. The university argues that poverty levels remain high among single mothers and their children and that welfare recipient faced impediments to sta ble employment. Similarly, the profession Policies Institute suggests more research must be conducted in an effort to understand the relationship between minimum wages and welfare recipiency. The minimum wage research data is currently more focused on high school dropouts, with only limited attention paid to poor adults.