Welfare Reform

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) signed into law on August 22, 1996 made fundamental changes to the provision of public assistance or ‘welfare’ for low-income children and families. PRWORA replaced Aid to Dependent Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with a block grant called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and transferred program creation to the states. Major provisions of TANF include ending the entitlement to federal cash assistance, recipients can only receive assistance for five years in their life-time, requiring work as a condition of receiving assistance, cutting benefits for individuals who fail to comply with their program requirements (called sanctions) and banning most immigrants for the first five years they are in the United States from TANF, if they have entered the U.S. after August 22, 1996.

In the late 1990’s, the strong economic situation provided numerous employment opportunities for low-income workers, including welfare recipients. Today, the employment situation in the United States has dramatically changed. The weak economy has left many workers unemployed and underemployed. And many low-income families, including families receiving TANF, are struggling with part-time employment, underemployment and unemployment.

Though welfare caseloads have dropped dramatically since 1996, poverty in the United States has not decrease to the same extent. And today, the weak economy and high number of children and families living in poverty means both fewer job opportunities and an increased need for services and programs, including education, training and child care. These programs are critical for assisting low-income families in moving toward self-sufficiency and out of poverty.

YWCA Position
The YWCA supports an anti-poverty approach to welfare reform that increases education and training opportunities, opposes marriage promotion/incentives, opposes religious discrimination in hiring, restores benefits to legal immigrants, addresses barriers to self-sufficiency such as domestic violence and substance abuse, and provides affordable and accessible child care.

Candidate Questions
If elected, what is your plan to help women and families who are suffering with stagnant wages, and rising prices for critical necessities such as food, clothing, housing, gas and electricity?

What policy proposals do you support to help move people out of poverty in the United States?

What policy proposals do you support to address income and wealth inequality in the United States?