Recent federal legislation has altered our nations welfare system drastically, imposing time limits and work requirements on most welfare recipients. Support from communities, including employers, service agencies, and concerned citizens is necessary for welfare recipients to be successful in both moving from welfare to work and continuing in their jobs. This manual will provide an overview of the situations of families in poverty, of federal welfare reform legislation, of the Work First program in North Carolina, and of ways our communities can respond to the needs and concerns of Work First participants.

Families in Poverty

Most welfare recipients would prefer not to be dependent on government benefits, but despite their desire for paid employment, they face many obstacles that keep them from obtaining and keeping jobs that could support their families. Even when welfare recipients find full-time work, they typically earn close to minimum wage, which still keeps their families in poverty. In fact, less than half of poor families actually receive welfare benefits; the rest are the “working poor.”

Low-income families are a diverse group, with a variety of different causes for their poverty. Many families remain poor because of low earning capacity due to a lack of higher-wage job opportunities. Over 90% of welfare parents were single mothers in 1995.

Limited job skills and education, in addition to discrimination against women and minorities, often contribute to lower wages and fewer job opportunities. Low self-esteem and lack of motivation can also decrease the ability to hold a well-paying job.

Changes in the overall economy have also contributed to poverty in families. Higher-paying manufacturing jobs have declined while temporary and part-time service jobs have increased. These service industry jobs are characterized by low wages and a lack of benefits. The real value of wages has also declined in recent years, which has had a particularly negative effect on single-earner families.

Finally, problems with child care and transportation often restrict parents ability to move out of poverty through paid work. Lack of available, affordable, quality child care can severely limit the ability to get an education, gain work experience, or hold a paid job.

In addition to these various causes of short-term or medium-term poverty, long-term poverty is often related to other problems such as substance abuse, chemical dependence, mental illness, medical problems, disabilities, or old age.

Federal Welfare Reform

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193) was signed into law on August 22, 1996. This legislation ended AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children), the cash assistance program that had been in place for over 60 years. The Emergency Assistance program and the JOBS (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills) program, which focused on education and training as a means to increase welfare recipients self-sufficiency, were also eliminated. In place of these programs, the new law created TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) block grants to be given to the states. States are expected to create their own welfare-to-work programs to be implemented with these block grants, following federal requirements for welfare recipients (although state requirements may be stricter than the federal guidelines).

The federal guidelines require that a gradually increasing number of welfare recipients go to work within two years; 50% of familie receiving cash assistance must be working by the year 2002. Most recipients will also have a five-year lifetime limit on benefits (exempting up to 20% of families who have severe hardships). All parents with children over 1 year old are required to work, and the exemption for having children under age 1 can last only a total of 12 months.

Work First: North Carolinas Welfare Reform

North Carolinas welfare reform program, Work First, began on July 1, 1996, even before the federal legislation was enacted. This program goes beyond federal guidelines in terms of what it requires of welfare recipients.

Able-bodied Work First participants are required to get a job or be in short-term job training within 12 weeks of beginning the program, except parents of children under 1 year of age. Participants must sign a personal responsibility contract detailing their plan for moving off welfare. They must commit to assuming responsibility for their families, such as making sure their children attend school regularly and get immunizations and health checkups. If they dont sign the contract, they wont get benefits. If they break the contract, their benefits will be cut.

All families except those with severe hardships are limited to two years of benefits, although families can reapply for benefits after three years. No additional cash assistance is given for additional births in families that have been in the program for more than 10 months. Finally, Medicaid and financial help with child care are given to Work First participants as transitional benefits for one year after cash assistance has ended. Work First also requires teen parents to stay in school and live at home or under approved adult supervision.

Identifying Issues for North Carolina Communities and Organizing a Response

The first step in ensuring the success of Work First participants transition from welfare to work is to identify the problems and barriers they encounter in this process. An estimated 30% of welfare recipients do not have work experience. In a recent North Carolina study titled Workfront-Homefront, interviews were conducted with previous welfare recipients in several rural and urban counties across the state to gather information about the concerns and experiences of Work First participants themselves.

The interviews revealed a variety of barriers to successful employment for previous welfare recipients, in addition to many supports that helped ease the transition into paid work.

As a result of the study, several publications were written for people who are entering the work force:

• Adjusting to Work: Getting Along With Others
• Easing Transitions: Balancing Work and Family
• Personal Wellness for Peak Performance and Energy
• Decision-Making: Its a Skill 
• Locating and Selecting Quality Child Care 
• Parenting Skills for the Busy Parent of a Preschooler

The factsheets are available through North Carolina Cooperative Extension.

Although these publications reflect issues that were identified by Work First participants across North Carolina, each community may have unique concerns. Certain issues may need to be emphasized while others may pose less of a problem. Every community will need to assess its own situation, identifying specific barriers to the successful and continued employment of welfare recipients and the availability of needed support in the community. This assessment can be the beginning point for community mobilization to respond to the needs of Work First participants.

This manual is designed to present community leaders and service organizations with ideas about how to advance our national and state-wide goal of helping workers become successful.

Helping individuals, families, and communities put research-based knowledge to work to improve their lives.