Wisconsin Plan Aims to Discourage Immigration of Welfare Recipients

Gov. Tommy G. Thompson on Wednesday signed into law an experimental plan for stopping “welfare shopping.”

The six-county, three-year pilot program would pay some newcomers to Wisconsin the same amounts in Aid to Families with Dependent Children that they would have received in the states they left.

The project cannot begin without federal approval, since federal funds are involved. Thompson said he would work to obtain federal permission.

“We’re a generous people in the state of Wisconsin, we just don’t want to be taken advantage of,” the governor said.

The two-tier system was hailed by Democrats and Republicans as a way to enable the state to find out whether welfare recipients come to Wisconsin just to get higher benefits.

Thompson said that during the first three months of this year, 15% of new AFDC recipients in Milwaukee County were new in Wisconsin, and more than 43% of that group had moved from Illinois.

Wisconsin pays a family of three $517 a month in AFDC benefits. Illinois pays $367 a month; Indiana pays $288 a month; Iowa pays $426 a month and Michigan pays $459.

“I think this experiment will show there has been a migration, and hopefully, this will put a halt to that,” said Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament, who was present as Thompson signed the bill. “We will make it clear that Wisconsin is no longer a welfare magnet for the Midwest.”

Wisconsin’s program would affect people moving from other states into Kenosha, Milwaukee and Racine counties and three other counties yet to be named. It would begin July 1, 1994. Newcomers in the program would receive the Wisconsin level of AFDC benefits after they live in the state six months.