An Illustrated Guide to New Welfare Rules

Maureen Lane

An Illustrated Guide to New Welfare Rules

The organization I co-direct, Welfare Rights Initiative, recently released The Path to Progress: Education, Economic Security, Dignity and Empowerment for Individuals Living in Poverty, a set of alternative welfare rules to counter the damaging new welfare rules released by the Department of Health and Human Services earlier this summer. Here's an excerpt from that report, which works well to explain exactly what's going on in the comic below.

"The June of 2006 regulations issued in by HHS narrowly define activities that people receiving assistance can participate in which count as credit for the states to receive federal assistance funds. WRI students, staff and alums are alarmed by the new regulations and the potential consequence of limiting access to education, better jobs, family security and community enhancement.

Ten years ago, when WRI was founded, there were 27,000 students receiving public assistance at CUNY. Ninety percent (90%) of adults receiving welfare were and still are women with children. In 1995, research showed that eighty-eight percent (88%) of women who attain a bachelor's degree move to jobs with a living wage and permanently out of poverty.

A new report in May of 2006 from the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) confirms, ten years later, that despite the challenging circumstances for low-income students to undertake a college education, higher education "provides the best opportunity--especially for women--to acquire good jobs, with good wages and good benefits." The most striking finding is the ripple effect that higher education creates "beyond the individual sitting in the classroom..." Children of college-educated parents show improved grades and study habits, and 80 percent of degree holders indicate increased involvement in their communities. The success stories of WRI students are proof of recurring findings.

HHS turned a deaf ear to states officials' request to leave regulations flexible so that they will not have to tamper with state-specific programs designed to help parents receiving welfare find jobs. Many education programs that states have found effective are severely limited by the new rules. HHS has made reliance on ineffective short-term work readiness programs the highlight of their recommended activities. Given the fact that reports have found these programs to be of dubious quality and effectiveness, WRI is compelled to put forth our simple, fiscally responsible and value-based regulations for TANF."

And now for the Illustrated Guide, which comes to us care of WRI friend Paul Douglas Candelaria:

Comments

Thanks, Maureen, for sharing this information about the new TANF regulations and their likely impact on access to educational activities by welfare recipients. Sadly, I don't see much chance that our advocacy will change that situation in the short-term (at least as long as this President is in the White House). I would argue that it is therefore incumbent upon advocates to figure out how states can maximize educational participation in spite of the new rules, whether through the creation of separate state programs that do not depend on federal funds or through other means, and then to persuade the state and city to adopt these measures. Time to get creative!

I think that the best way average people can counter the war being waged on them by the power elite is to create alternative educational pathways and alternative economic structures to counter the attempts to "atomise" (as Hannah Arendt put it in "The Origins of Totalitarianism" - meaning to isolate individuals and break down all of the structures that gave individuals and families strength against the monolitihic State power.)

This means we have to set up free universities to replace the universities that normal people cannot afford to attend anymore. We have to set up food and consumer product buying clubs and networking resources to coordinate purchase necessities at lower cost and to recycle used ones within communities.

Basically, we have to admit that they are waging war against us with the intent of destroying all of us economically and stripping us of everything we hold dear, our jobs, our homes, our health, our futures.. and fight to maintain our standards of living in the face of this. The only way to do this is to organize to share, to stop spending money until we have an explicit, written social contract instead of an unwritten, broken, unworking one.

We also need to bring back the village commons, and not just virtually. Reclaim our history and don't let the power elite rewrite it to fit their greed agenda. Fight efforts to send jobs overseas while remaining 'US companies'. Fight the push to end publically funded education. Fight for economic empowerment to encourage families - many people would love to have children, but fear to because the future is so uncertain. Fight for nuclear disarmament and a return to the 'no first use pledge' instead of the neo-cons preemptive strike policy of 'do unto others before they do unto you'.

You get the picture..

Peace and blessings goes out to you Maureen and the whole WRI collective organization which is a very strong and impactful group of women who share the same dreams of conquering social justice for all people. This is an informative update on the TANF regulations which informa many women who are struggling with the issues of fighting for thei higher education. As a unified collective we must continue enforcing our mission which is promoting access to higher education for students receiving public assistance and preparing for a economic stability. The creative ideasof having visuals convey our message on connecting welfare recipients to policy making is the key to demonstarting the vital issues on how TANF rules and regulations affect these women as a whole. This is a great tool to show the public on how we can move from aware to action. We all have to work together in order to educate policy makers and the preseident due to their agenda that does not include the people who are suffering.

In conclusion, we have to continue climbing the tip of the ice berg and not let these barriers that prevent us from helping women with children to pursue their higher education goals. We must search for adequate solutions that make the system and effective policies work for all people in our society

I am so happy I am a part of this wonderful WRI Team

Keep up the goodluck and keep hope alive !!!!!

We have the power now let's start taking control

We are in this struggle to gether and we will come out as winners

LOve and light

Shawnta _Welfare Activist

Maureen Lane had a thoughtful letter responding to an op-ed on Welfare-to-work rules published in the NY Times this past Sunday, Aug. 20, 2006. Well worth reading, in my view. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/opinion/l20welfare.html?n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fLetters

don,anon, shawntay and daniel
thank you for your comments.

first -don, your advocacy work is inspired, committed and on point.

anon, you have a poltical philosophers way with words and i agree that free universities need to happen now.

shawntay, you are a powerful model for all of us at wri. you are right on about the visuals...paul's cartoon is great.

daniel,thanks for the heads up on the letter to the editor.
maureen