O.C. Jobs Program Paying Off

A year ago, Michelle was a single parent on a welfare train headed for nowhere.

“It was awful,” said the 32-year-old Laguna Hills woman. “I was always at home. My self-esteem was low and I was burned out on home.”

Michelle, who only wanted to be identified by her first name, relied on a monthly $490 welfare check, plus an additional $200 in food stamps for groceries for her and her 5-year-old daughter.

Then a year ago, the county’s Social Services Agency told Michelle bluntly: Get a job, or lose welfare benefits.

“I really didn’t have a choice,” Michelle said. “They told me, ‘OK, you got to get into a job.’ That forced me to start looking, kind of like being kicked out the door. I really didn’t have a choice.”

The kicking was courtesy of Orange County’s GAIN program, a welfare-to-work program designed to reduce the number of the county’s 114,000 Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients.

Patterned after a highly touted Riverside County program, Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) is now in its eighth year and averages 6,526 clients a month, said Fred Branca, director of adult and employment services for the Orange County Social Services Agency.

But it is job placement versus classroom training that differentiates the new GAIN from the old. In years past, welfare clients such as Michelle were automatically enrolled in vocational training classes first and then were encouraged to get jobs later. But over the years, the program evolved to emphasize immediate employment.

Now, nearly all AFDC recipients are told they must try to find jobs and get off welfare. Some are able to achieve that without the help of the county, but for those who need assistance, GAIN provides it. “The intent of the program,” Branca said, “is to hopefully get people off of welfare entirely. However, depending on their family circumstances, it may not get them totally off, but reduced.”

Branca said that while GAIN pushes individuals to get jobs, it also helps their job search by reimbursing transportation costs to job interviews, providing child care, and helping them resharpen interviewing skills.

Branca said that in 1990-91, the county served about 3,000 participants per month, and placed 279 into jobs. By contrast, at the end of fiscal year 1995-96, of 6,526 clients, GAIN placed 6,152 into jobs, Branca said. He added that the county exceeded its goal by 141% for that year.

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Orange County’s program is impressive, a state Department of Social Services spokeswoman said, because it followed that of Riverside County and did not wait for the state to mandate a jobs-first approach. All counties in the state have some version of the GAIN program now.

According to state figures, the number of people in Orange County who went off welfare increased from 385 in 1993-94, to 810 in 1995-96.

“It proves that it’s not all about money, it’s the change in approach that makes a difference,” said Corinne Chee, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Social Services.

GAIN’s goal for this fiscal year is 11,136 clients placed in jobs, Branca said. Already, from July 1 through December 1996, GAIN has placed 5,127, or about 46% of the annual goal.

Branca and other officials said that as the nation sets out to rework welfare, GAIN is proof that large numbers of welfare recipients can be placed in jobs.

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But Nancy Rimsha, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Orange County, whose clients include welfare recipients, questioned whether finding jobs over education best fits all current welfare recipients.

“I can see where [GAIN] could get in the way of terminating education for some,” Rimsha said, “especially if all we do is push people into jobs. Is that going to alleviate the burden in the long run?”

Branca did not agree with GAIN critics that the only work available is of the low-paying, dead-end variety.

“I’ve seen a number of placements well above the minimum wage,” Branca said. “And, if we’re able to produce these success stories and have people in placement for about a year, that means a reduction in government subsidy.”

But GAIN does not just push welfare recipients out the door, Branca said. GAIN hires instructors who help with what he called “character development.” Essentially, they teach clients how to dress for a job interview and help them overcome feelings of low self-esteem, he said.

Michelle is now employed as a credit processor, earning $9.25 an hour. She is off welfare, although she does receive a subsidy for child care.

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Ironically, one of the hardest challenges--and triumphs, when completed--was getting up every morning and going to a GAIN center in Mission Viejo dressed as if she were going to work, she said.

“That’s the deal: You have to get up every morning and go there all ready,” she said. “If they didn’t have something in the way of a job lined up for you, you had to go out and look for one on your own.”

Clients are required to keep track of their job interviews. At least three job interviews per day were required, she said.

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It’s not easy, Michelle recalled. After one exasperating day, where she was told “no” twice by prospective employers, she did not want to sit through another interview for fear of rejection.

But she went on for her third appointment, interviewed for the job of a credit processor and was hired. She said she started at $7 an hour, and her salary has been raised twice.

And while she jokes that she and her daughter do not eat as well without food stamps, having a job has helped her regain her sense of worth.

“Paying for food is my biggest shock,” Michelle said. “Like every time I write a check for $100 to the grocery store I can’t believe how expensive everything is. But I sold my old VW bug and bought a newer car and I’m planning to move into a bigger apartment so my daughter can have her own bedroom. At least, I’m able to do it now.”

For those wishing more information about GAIN, offices are at 1811 W. La Habra Blvd., La Habra; 11277 Garden Grove Blvd. Suite 101C, Garden Grove; 23456 Madero, Suite 150, Mission Viejo; 1000 E. Santa Ana Blvd., Suite 200, Santa Ana; and 50 S. Anaheim Blvd., Suite 300., Anaheim.

Potential employers interested in hiring GAIN clients can contact Etta Williams, GAIN job developer, at (714) 567-7996.

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GAINfully Employed

Over the last five years, the number of clients placed in jobs through the county’s GAIN program has steadily increased. The large jumps in placements and in average montly clients during fiscal year 1993-94, are due to increased funding.

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Average montly clients: 6,526

Placements: 6,125

Source: Orange County Social Services Agency