Building New Paths Out of Welfare Reform.

• Author: Tweedie, Jack
• Position: Statistical Data Included

Many state legislatures are realizing that sending some welfare recipients to college may be a better option than just getting them any old job.

The way Wendy White's story ends isn't completely typical, but it is thought provoking. According to the Seattle-Post Intelligencer, when welfare reform started in Washington state she was attending Walla Walla college--enrolled in a four-year nursing degree program on a full scholarship. She was also receiving cash assistance from Washington's Aid to Families with Dependent children (AFDC) program to support her two daughters.

When Washington established its WorkFirst program in 1997, it required recipients to get a job or engage in other work activities for at least 20 hours per week. college didn't count, so Wendy had to leave school.

She went back to the town where she grew up and took two part-time jobs. She also started taking classes to qualify for a two-year practical nursing degree. Because the WorkFirst program did not provide child care, Wendy's mother temporarily left her own job to take care of Wendy's daughters. What is noteworthy about Wendy's story is that although she had to lower her goals, she finished the practical nursing certificate program in the fall of 1999 and got a job paying $12.25 an hour.

Stories like Wendy's have sparked a debate about how education can play a part in getting people off welfare and into better jobs. Lawmakers are starting to add options to the reforms that pushed people into the first available job.

Early in the reform process, almost every state adopted policies similar to Washington's. They required participants to work, and most college programs didn't count. They offered little support to people who tried to juggle both work and school. Most students who were depending on AFDC to help them and their children had to leave college and focus on work instead.

Many state legislatures are now reconsidering these strict work requirements. Ironically, it's the success of states' emphasis on work that has prompted the renewed interest in education. So many recipients have gotten jobs that states now have the flexibility to allow some to go to college. But while adults leaving welfare are usually getting jobs that pay more than minimum wage, their wages increase slowly. Few families are able to move out of poverty. So states are looking at post-secondary education as a way to help them qualify for higher paying jobs, increasing their chances for self-sufficiency.

WORK-FOCUSED WELFARE

Initial state reforms focused on work. They required able recipients to work a minimum number of hours, either in jobs or training designed to move them quickly into the workforce, such as job search or job readiness. Although college was an option under many AFDC programs, the new reforms stressed getting people into jobs as fast as possible. This new "work first" philosophy focused on getting participants a job and then building from there--"a...