How to Save Tax Dollars on Welfare : Find programs that work by getting recipients out of the house and into jobs
Valerie (not her real name) of San Jose was 15 when she gave birth to her daughter. Like most poor, single, teen-age mothers she dropped out of school and turned to welfare. But she has no intention of being a burden on taxpayers forever.
Now 20, she has earned a high school equivalency degree and finished job training. And she has just been offered a job as a receptionist by an employer who believes that she has spunk, initiative and perseverance--not a description usually applied to welfare recipients.
Valerie believes she will get off welfare thanks to two years’ participation in a nationally based pilot project, New Chance, that is being tested at 16 sites in 10 states, including California. New Chance targets very disadvantaged welfare recipients--mothers 16 to 22 years old who are high school dropouts. The goal: help these women complete their high school, get job training, land jobs and get off welfare while they are still young.
New Chance also targets their children. The project provides child care and teaches parenting skills. The goal: improve the futures of youngsters who have known only poverty and long-term welfare.
This education and employment program, designed by the New York-based Manpower Demonstration Research Corp. (MDRC), provides most services in one place. The mothers typically attend high school equivalency classes in the mornings and work on career goals and skills in the afternoon. After they earn their high school equivalency diplomas, they concentrate on job training. Also, they get family-planning counseling aimed at reducing the likelihood of additional pregnancies.
MDRC asked state governments to commit $200,000 per three-year contract for each site. California used educational funds to pay for New Chance programs in San Jose, Inglewood and Chula Vista. MDRC--along with an impressive list of private foundations--contributed more than $100,000 to each site.
Is it a bargain? The answer will take several years of research, but preliminary results indicate that young mothers are responding and succeeding. The bridge from dependency to independence is not easy. At least 25% of those surveyed in this program were at high risk for depression. Many lacked a stable home. Most had never known success. But like Valerie, most stick with it.
New Chance is a promising approach that may save futures--and tax dollars.
