Posted on: Thursday, August 29, 2002

ISLAND VOICES
Senate must pass new law on welfare

By Debbie Shimizu
Licensed social worker

The 1996 welfare reform law is due to be reauthorized or extended by Sept. 30. Since the enactment of this legislation, the welfare rolls have decreased; however, not surprisingly, 40 percent of former welfare recipients still live below the federal poverty line of $15,020 for a family of three.

Earlier this summer, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that fails to adequately provide for the expansion of programs such as childcare, education, workforce development or rehabilitative services that will help welfare recipients not only leave the welfare rolls, but also escape poverty.

At the end of June, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee passed the Work, Opportunity, and Responsibility for Kids (WORK) Act, which provides funding for welfare caseworker training, maintains the 30-hour-per-week work requirement, allows for rehabilitative services to count as work for up to six months and increases childcare funding by $5.5 billion.

Unfortunately, to date, the full Senate has not taken any action on this proposal. Furthermore, without quick action in September, it is unlikely that new legislation can be approved before Congress adjourns.

Without new legislation, states and families will continue to struggle with the overwhelming shortage of childcare, insufficient services for families with disabilities and other barriers to employment, and a welfare workforce that is inadequately prepared to handle its responsibilities.

As the downturn in our economy once again has revealed, training and education are the best safeguards against a workforce affected by recession. Low-skilled workers were welcomed into the workforce in the hot economy of the late 1990s.

The WORK Act increases the time that welfare recipients can participate in a vocational education or a community college program from 12 to 24 months and allows a small portion of the caseload to work toward a four-year college degree.

The Senate has an opportunity to do what the House did not — pass legislation that gives states and families the funding and flexibility they need to prepare for good jobs and stable lives.

Please encourage Sens. Dan Inouye and Dan Akaka to pressure Sen. Tom Daschle to bring the WORK Act to the floor of the Senate this fall so it can work to give all Americans a chance to achieve economic security.