How to make welfare-to-work really work!

The Michigan Assemblies Project concluded its extensive inquiry into the status of Michigan's low-income families and the barriers they face in their effort to become self-sufficient at its June 12-13 state assembly. Delegates from around the state reached consensus on a package of recommendations which they believe will increase affected families' chances of becoming permanently free of the welfare system.

According to Lynn Jondahl, co-convener of the project, These recommendations put the horse where it belongs&emdash;in front of the cart. We embarked on a broad welfare-to-work program in Michigan without giving sufficient consideration to whether the infrastructure was there to facilitate the transformation.

The recommendations focus on the "infrastructure" issues of public transportation, a system for child care, health care coverage and job development, in addition to skills enhancement and state assurance of ongoing care for families based on need. Local testimony demonstrated that mandatory welfare to work activities with no infrastructure in place to support them creates a high level of stress in many families. Their stability is threatened as parents experience difficulty keeping their children and themselves safe while working and traveling to work. The impacts were felt by families still in the assistance system as well as those who have "worked their way out" of it.

We took the safety of children into serious consideration when developing the child care recommendations which flowed from the Grand Rapids area, noted Debra Holmes-Garrison, chairperson of the Grand Rapids Assembly. Whenever the infrastructure doesn't address special needs&emdash;such as those of sick children, or care needed for the evening shift&emdash;more of our children are put at risk while their parents are at work.

Perhaps the most serious infrastructure problem was underlined by David Fenech, chairperson of the Flint Assembly. Between the lack of a 24-hour public transit system, and job development in places like Livingston County where there are no workers instead of in Flint where there are an abundance of them, we have a big job ahead of us if we are to make these work programs work.

The development of recommendations was based on those advanced by the 11 local assembly sites as well as a report on a supplemental questionnaire survey which elicited a response from 1,600 Michigan families and 500 community-based institutions. Affected families made up nearly half of the state assembly delegates and were active throughout the local assembly planning and implementation process.

Specific recommendations

A summary of draft recommendations of the state delegate assembly follows:

Transportation Systems

1) Development of a statewide, subsidized public transportation program.

2) Improvement in state assistance policies to reflect the actual cost of owning and operating a car, including the cost of insurance.

3) Development of an incentive program for employers to provide transportation assistance.

4) Institution of a multi-faceted campaign to inform low income residents and the general public about available transportation options and services.

Child Care Systems

1) Establishment of a timely system for state payments of child care subsidies for eligible families.

2) Modification of the state's work requirements to exempt custodial parents of infants and special needs children.

3) Initiation of an increase in child care subsidy payments to reflect the cost and conditions of care in local communities.

4) Institution of care subsidies for children through age 15, and development of age appropriate, widely available before- and after-school programs.

5) Improvement in the quality of child care available to Michigan families.

Health Care System

1) Establishment of practical options in Michigan to assure access to basic health care for adults and children.

2) Development of systems to ensure that provisions in Medicaid managed care plans are understandable and meet the health care needs of enrolled families.

3) Development of an independent community-based health care ombuds program.

4) Creation of an incentive program for employers to provide insurance coverage to full and part-time employees at a reasonable cost-sharing level for a low-wage worker.

5) Development of short and long range strategies to move towards a universal system of state and national health care.

Work requirements, education and training

1) Modification of the state's work requirement policies to allow education and training to count as "work activities."

2) Institution of an FIA system of individualized assessments and employment planning for all family heads who must meet work requirements, with plans adjusted when necessary and progress monitored.

3) Provision of comprehensive information in writing about work-related benefits and requirements.

4) Development of an incentive program for employers who hire parents from the assistance rolls based on outcomes, including employee longevity and advancement.

5) Institution of state contract provisions and incentives to assure that employers hire women in family-sustaining jobs considered "non-traditional" for women.

Time limits

1) Repeal of the 60-month life-time limit for family receipt of federal cash assistance in the federal welfare law.

2) Development of a Michigan statutory provision to assure that families will be assisted based on need beyond the five-year federal limit.

General recommendations include:

1) Initiation of a broad public education and information campaign to reduce the stigma of receiving public assistance, and generate public support of policy and systems development to facilitate movement of low income families out of poverty.

2) Reinvestment of the annual "windfall" in federal block grant funds in families in the greatest need.

3) Institution of needed changes in FIA policies and practices to benefit workers and families, including more comprehensive training of FIA workers, reduction in ratio of families to workers, and creation of multi-media communications to inform families of program services and rules.

4) Creation of independent ombudspersons in local communities to assist families to access needed services.

Next Steps

These recommendations can be explored on the local level, shared with policy makers, and brought to candidates' forums. Recommendations from all local assembly sites, as well as those in all infrastructure areas, are available upon request. A summary of the testimony on which they are based is also available.

An extensive report which will include research findings and recommendations will be distributed later this summer to GROUNDWORK board representatives, the media, Michigan legislators, and interested research and grassroots organizations. Detailed local information and analysis on the surveys and the recommendations will be presented to the local assembly sites in the fall&emdash;Detroit-Wayne County, Flint-Genesee County, Gladwin, Grand Rapids-Kent, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Macomb County, Marquette, South Oakland County, Saginaw-Bay, and Traverse City. Contact Raj Chablani at GROUNDWORK for details.

The project was funded by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, Grand Rapids Dominican Sisters, Maria Anna Brunner Fund, Michigan Fair Budget Action Coalition, Michigan Women's Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, individual donors, and Barbara Beesley from GROUNDWORK was project manager.

Beverley McDonald has been active in public policy and its impacts on low-income families for three decades. She is the project consultant.

Used with permission from
GROUNDWORKS Vol.22/No. 6
11224 Kercheval
Detroit, MI 48214-3323
(313) 822-2055
groundwork@aol.com

Return to the Index of Synapse 45, Fall 1998