Welfare to Work: ‘I See Myself Struggling Like Hell’

Parents on welfare are now limited to two consecutive years on AFDC, after which they must support their families themselves. What kind of jobs do they hope to get, and what sorts of work have they done in the past? What is their vision for themselves? MAKI BECKER spoke with three women who use varying levels of Aid to Families With Dependent Children, and another who once needed AFDC and is now about to be laid off.

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ANA RUBIO

Divorced mother of four, currently living in Chernow House, a shelter in East L.A.

I have two rooms here at Chernow. One room is a kitchen, with a table and one bed. And the other room is a bedroom. The five us live here.

The reason I had to come here is that I only work from September to June; I work part-time for the L.A. Unified School District as an education resource aide.

I have four kids. You can only work so much and dedicate time for your kids. I only work three hours a day and if I could get six hours, then I could get off the aid and still have time for my kids.

I’ve only been on AFDC for a year and a half now. I was also on it three years ago. And that was only for a year. I’ve never really stayed on it. When I’ve gotten aid, it’s really when I need it.

My kids are one obstacle to finding work. That’s not an excuse. If I do get a job, it would start early in the morning and there’s no way of going to work and getting the kids ready for school. I have one in junior high, two in elementary and then a baby. Three different places. Which would mean three different baby-sitters for them.

And then my car breaks down. I always have bad luck with that when I’m working and it’s never something simple. Maybe [the employers] think it’s an excuse.

I haven’t really thought about what I would do if I couldn’t get aid. I guess I would work at anything, cleaning houses even. I don’t know. I’m trying to get jobs now. I’m looking now so I don’t have to be in that situation. I have had jobs. I’ve been separated for six years and in that time, I’ve done everything, telemarketing, cashier.

I’d like to do business, you know, office work. Maybe in a school. I don’t know if I still can try to get a teaching job. That’s what I always wanted to do. I didn’t go to college. I would like to go to school.

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MARIA MAINETTI

San Pedro, one 3-year-old child

I think it’s really scary. I understand the premise of putting welfare people to work. What I’m not seeing in their proposal is helping people on welfare be able to get child care for their children.

I’m a single parent. If I don’t have child care, how can I do anything? There has to be some provision. Child care is expensive.

The other day, I was talking with my mom and she was telling me about how a woman just can’t do her work if she doesn’t feel like her child is in a safe place. Her children’s safety, that’s a big concern.

I started to go school because I knew the changes were coming. I don’t want be the president of anything. I would just like a job that basically pays me enough to satisfy my needs. Not anything exorbitant. Enough for rent for a small place. Enough for me and my kids to be able to pay my bills and not be in debt. I would like a job that left me free of financial insecurities. I think that’s what everybody wants.

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TERRI MAY

South Bay, divorced mother of two children, ages 14 and 11

I’m starting to work part-time now. I am trying to prepare myself for the cuts. I know I will be doing more than one job if they don’t have any kind of programs for schooling or training to get permanent jobs that pay.

I used to work for [a Toyota dealership]. I processed cars for the dealership. But about a year ago, I got laid off. I would love to go back. As far as I know, I’m on their list for rehire.

I’d like to get some type of training so I can make enough to keep a roof over our heads. It’s hard, even though I only have a one bedroom for me and my two kids.

I think the welfare changes are wrong. I do understand that there has to be a give and take somewhere. But I believe there are a lot of moms who do want to work. I think it’s wrong for people to get completely cut off. There’s no telling what they are going to do. A lot of women who are on welfare now are absolutely struggling. Can you imagine when they will do when they have nothing to feed their kids?

I see myself struggling like hell when the changes take place. If I have to, I’ll go out and get two jobs. Maybe it means working at McDonald’s and doing housekeeping. If I do both, the kids will have to fend for themselves, which I don’t want. They will have no stability in their life. That’s how I see myself or out on the street. It’s so scary to me.

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JANE MONICA UY

Los Angeles, widowed mother of three, ages 10, 9 and 7; works part-time but limits hours to preserve health benefits for her children

I was born and raised in Cambodia. I came to the United States 13 years ago. I became a citizen about three years ago. And now I have three “treasure chests”: my three children, two boys and one girl. My husband passed away in July. He’d been sick for a long time, about two years. I don’t let it affect me right now. After his death, I have just wanted to be alone.

I get AFDC, between $400 and $500 a month. I work four hours a day at the Parent Center at Castelar Elementary School in Chinatown. The AFDC money changes a lot because some months I’ll get three paychecks and sometime two. But I’ve been living with that for years. Before, I didn’t understand [the rules about limits on earnings] and one time, I got a letter saying I would be cut off of AFDC and I cried at work. I hurt a lot. It is frustrating. I think that’s why many people hesitate to work. I get food stamps, too. About $150 a month. If I lost that, it would hurt a lot. I buy meat and fruit and milk for my kids with the food stamps. I think the welfare changes will affect me. I feel like they did something without thinking about it. A lot of people really do need [welfare]. Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, everyone. They should help people by educating them about welfare. They have to do the changes slowly, too, or there are going to be robberies.

Of course, I worry about the changes. And without a husband, too. What can I do? *

SHEILA TAYLOR

Los Angeles, children ages 4, 11 and 19; eldest, with 6-month-old child, receives AFDC and lives with her.

When I was growing up, my mother was on AFDC. I went to Los Angeles City College and got an associate degree and started doing word processing. And with that I’ve gotten some pretty nice jobs.

I was on AFDC when I went to school, and yeah, it helped me. But it was hard at that time. I already had one child and I was pregnant with another. But I would drop off my babies at the sitter and go get on a bus and go to school and get back on a bus and pick them up and go home. It was really hard back then. But I wanted something. I wanted to learn how to type. If you can type 35 to 40 words a minute you can get a part-time job.

I’m about to be laid off. But I’m not going to start worrying. Something always breaks for me. I’m not going to try to get any assistance. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed and keep my faith in God.

My daughter gets [AFDC] assistance, though she lives with me. I can’t afford to help her on what I am making. So she gets [cash] aid and also help with paying for a baby-sitter. My daughter also pays for her bus pass and my son’s pass. She gets some food stamps, too.

You know what I’m going to do that weekend that they lay us off? I’m going to take my little girl to go see the Main Street Electrical Parade at Disneyland for her birthday. I take her every year to Disneyland. We are going to do that on my last week. I’m not going to let this worry me.