State officials said yesterday that new federal welfare reform regulations will require a renewed focus on placing recipients into jobs or other approved activities.
And achieving that goal, they said, will increase the need for government-subsidized child care.
Providing enough child care to help low-income people "clearly will be a challenge for Pennsylvania," said Kathy Yorkievitz, a deputy secretary for the state Department of Public Welfare. While federal funding is available, she noted that Gov. Ed Rendell has sought additional funds for subsidized child care from the General Assembly. Those funds, however, were not included in the House budget.
Without more money, the state may need to increase child care subsidies to welfare recipients at the expense of other low-income people who need the help, said Cathleen Palm, coordinator of the Pennsylvania Welfare Coalition.
We want people to work but too often the work doesn't pay well enough to help them take care of their kids. It's the constant problem that we have.
Re: New welfare rules take effect
Where, o, where are those vaunted Republican “family values”? Doesn’t the GOP believe a mother’s place is in the home raising her kids? I guess that only applies if the woman isn’t poor and doesn’t have to depend on welfare, then she needs to work, work, work and the heck with the kids.
In High Gear
Ah, the rhetoric kicks into high gear. If we read the ENTIRE article, we learn that only 7% of Pennsylvania recipients are actually completing the job/work/training/counseling requirements for assistance. I won’t speak for other conservatives, but I believe we should create a 50/50 proposition with young single mothers. Devote a healthy share of your time working toward improving your situation for yourself and your children. In return, if you are willing to help yourself, we’ll help you. Please don’t use the red herring of “inadequate” child care funding as an attack on welfare reform. Numbers are all over the place and critics of the new regulations have been whining that tune since day one. The problem with the new law isn’t funding levels – it’s PARTICIPATION levels. Even social service agencies critical of TANF are recognizing this. The greatest “value” of all is lending a helping hand to someone willing to help themselves. Don’t just give someone a fish – teach them HOW to fish. There is your “family values” dose of the day, PD.
Re: New welfare rules take effect
I’m not arguing with teh federal requirements. I am arguing with the GA’s decision not to include the additional funds Rendell requested. Who controls the GA? The GOP! The GOP had an opportunity to do something to increase the ability of people to help themselves and instead opted not to do so.
new welfare rules take effect... and then some
Now about these new rules about welfare. A lot of them are completely UNFAIR! Unfortunitly I am one of many who is and has been dealing with the welfare system for 6 years now. I am a single mother of 2 which if anything is being ‘HELD BACK’ by the system they are using. Here’s some examples why. My 6 year olds father left when i was 3 months pregnant with her for he didn’t want the responsibility changing all information that i had so i could not locate him. I couldn’t obtain his social security number which is required by domestic relations and welfare to be concider ‘Eligible’ for certain benifits or grants. Because of this, I am ‘uneligible’ to get job training and/or schooling, or a push though by my caseworker to help with daycare though CCIS (concidering chilcare ranges $27-$32.00 per day)so I can keep and maintain a job, other having to wait 6 months to a year doing it single-handedly. And as well, you ‘Can Not’ recieve cash assistance for yourself as well. Try paying your bills with just $300.00 a month, barely being able to buy your kids clothes to put on their backs, or diapers to put on your babies butt, or even to have a nice Christmas? I don’t want to be on welfare. I want to work, make money to take my kids places, buy them nice things, and save money for them to go to college one day. I always thought that welfare is to be used to help people get on there feet, give them a second chance without discrimination of past events that I, like many more, have had no cotrol over? I thought the U.S. laws and regulations and so on was “For The People, By The People”? ‘Not true’ cause I can bet any of those people who have come up with the majority of the laws and regulations that we have to live by have ‘NEVER’ been on the other side of the tracks, where they’ve been poor, homeless or having to steal to provide food for their family. Before they make any more laws, or regulations, they need to talk to the people and really take a good look at the real world that the poor have to live by and experience. As my mom always told me, TALK WHAT YOU KNOW, NOT WHAT YOU THINK!! Thanks.
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