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The Faces of Welfare Reform
Welfare-to-work:
Can it really work in Connecticut?
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Business New Haven
11/30/1998
By: Susan Banfield
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Denise Langley, a 25-year-old New Haven mother of two, had been on state assistance for about ten years. After the new welfare reform legislation went into effect in early 1996, she was told her benefits would be cut off after 21 months.
In other words, after ten years of not working, Langley was told she had a little over a year and a half to become self-sufficient.
What has been the effect of the new laws on Langley and the thousands of low-income mothers like her across Connecticut? Are there mechanisms in place that can help her to become self-sufficient? How ultimate is the 21-month ultimatum? Are there any safety nets, or are mothers and children being left in the lurch?
As things stand now, mothers such as Langley who had been receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) benefits - now known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits - is required to come in to offices of the state's Department of Social Services. There they are assigned to a “Family Independence Representative” who reviews at their income and assets in order to assess their eligibility to continue receiving state assistance, and who talks with them about work and begins to put together an employability, or “independence” plan.
There are currently 42 Family Independence Representatives serving greater New Haven. This is in marked contrast to the 12 DSS employees who had been available to counsel clients about jobs prior to the new legislation.
“In order to continue to receive benefits, anything outlined in their employability plan they have to do,” points out Alice Ellovich, regional planner for the DSS. This can include reporting regularly to a counselor, enrolling in a program, attending training, or being part of a “job club.”
Most clients are adjudged ready for employment, and are referred to the state's Department of Labor. There most are assigned to a labor department staff person who helps them in their job search.
Clients who are regarded as less job-ready are referred to the Regional Workforce Development Board, where they work with a career consultant who assigns them to a program. Most programs are job-search programs. “Very few clients get into training programs,” says Ellovich. “The focus is on work.”
Langley was assigned to a program run by the Community Action Agency, a social-service agency that subcontracts with the Regional Workforce Development Board. The program, called the Employment Readiness Program, consisted of two weeks of classroom work and two weeks of “pounding the pavement,” with the assistance and guidance of counselors.
“They helped me write my résumé, role-played interview techniques,” Langley reports. No actual job training was involved.
With the help of senior job developer Paul Hammer, Langley found a job at Curagen Corp., one of the region's burgeoning biotechnology firms. Although her entry-level position - lab associate - was essentially an assembly-line job, there is plenty of room for advancement in a 21st-century environment. Since being hired, Langley has received a couple of raises, been promoted to Lab Associate 2, and is due to receive another raise in December.
The bottom line is this: Langley is now supporting herself and her two children, with no assistance from the state other than medical benefits. “We're barely making ends meet, but we are,” she says. “For me, [the program] was real good. I do think the 21-month plan was a good thing. It was time for some people to get off.”
One of the most serious problems people facing termination of benefits encounter is the need to find not just a job, but a job that will actually be sufficient to support a family.
More than half of clients who face termination of benefits are now working, Ellovich reports. And many have worked on and off for years while receiving state assistance. However, most of their jobs, such as working for fast-food chains, pay poorly and lead nowhere.
Hammer notes that although the emphasis in the new programs is on “Jobs First,” his philosophy is that “If that job can be the first step on a career path, that's better than any old job.”
Hammer tries to place his clients with companies such as Curagen, where they can learn skills for the future.
Zoraida Crespo is a 21-year-old New Haven mother of two who has worked since she was 16, yet also had to receive state assistance in order to provide for her family. She worked in McDonald's and similar places.
Crespo told Hammer that she had always worked the cash register at her workplaces, and she liked math. Hammer was able to help her parlay those basic abilities into a job that could be a genuine career path: that of a bank teller. Today, Crespo works as a teller at Citizens Bank and is off state assistance.
“I never wanted to be on assistance to begin with,” Crespo says. “Assistance doesn't do that much for you anyway. You just get by. You're better off getting a good job.”
Nancy (not her real name) is another young New Haven mother of two who had worked at various temporary jobs such as waitressing for several years. Through the Employment Readiness Program, Nancy was able to land a job selling computer software for the Integrated Software Co. She now makes $8 an hour, plus commissions. “I think it's great,” Nancy says. “It seems fair. They helped me all these months. Just to get on your feet and do something for yourself is good.”
Several safety nets are also helping Nancy to feel more secure as she makes the transition to full self-sufficiency. Now that she has a full-time job, she qualifies for child-care assistance ($325 per month). She is also eligible to continue receiving medical benefits and, depending on her income, may even receive food stamps after her TANF benefits expire in December.
Finally, if she fears she is still not ready to completely do without cash assistance come December, Nancy knows she can apply for a six-month extension of her benefits.
Under the new legislation, in addition to providing these various means to help clients get on their feet, vigorous efforts are also being made to help people stay in jobs once they find them.
According to Chris Reardon of the Regional Workforce Development Board, the bulk of the board's funds are actually being used to provide post-employment services. “After they're working, we check on child care, transportation, skill-building.”
National figures for job retention by people in programs are very low, Reardon says: 48 percent leave the jobs they land within the first six months, while 72 percent leave before the end of the first year. While some of those leaving may be moving on to a better job, the numbers are still high. Reardon hopes that the new retention services may help to lower them.
Zoraida Crespo is impressed that the Community Action Agency's Hammer calls her at work frequently, and also calls to speak with her supervisor to see how things are going. Hammer even intervened to ease the transition when Crespo's original supervisor, who had been her champion, left and was replaced. This kind of follow-up just may help Crespo, and others like her, to keep their new jobs.
If there is any weak point in the new system, it is likely to be the relatively small number of opportunities for training being made available to unemployed clients. Both clients and counselors seem to agree that getting onto a career path is critically important - and the number of such positions available to workers who have few skills and no special training is limited.
While the number of those who have been able to enroll in a training program under the new system may be small, those involved are enthusiastic. Training is frequently the key to finding the kind of job that will pay good money and lead somewhere.
Anna (not her real name) is a 34-year-old mother of three who had been on and off welfare for a decade. Like many others on state assistance, Anna occasionally found jobs, “but they weren't career jobs - I was better to go back on welfare. Most women on state assistance have a family to support. They need a career.”
So Anna became involved with the “More Than Just a Job” program run by the Keefe Center in Hamden, where she is finishing up a course in computer training. She has learned Windows 95, Excel, Microsoft Word, and PowerPoint - not to mention important life and job skills.
“They're not just going to give you any old job,” she says. “These are the things they ask for. I think I'm going to make it.”
“The pendulum is swinging back to training,” explains Hammer. “They need a career path and education. Get people a job first, but then work with them to get them some sort of training.”
Inspired by the success of Crespo and others who came to him with cash-register experience and whom he was able to successfully place in banks, Hammer is currently working on putting together a short-term bank-teller training program. Other short-term training programs are also in the works.
“I think welfare-to-work is here to stay,” says Reardon. Clients, as well as the public at large, seem to agree that it is a good idea. Perhaps with a little tweaking - such as expansion of training opportunities - the new system could even be an excellent one.
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