Welfare to Work Does It Really Benefit Single Parents Essay

Welfare to Work: Does It Really Benefit Single Parents? When President Clinton signed the Personal Responsible Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in August of 1996, it ended welfare as we know it. Under this reform, wages and earnings replaced welfare, but many critics felt only problems arose from this program. Welfare to work forces poor and single parents into jobs that do not supply sufficient living wages (Albelda 1). These single parents can never work enough hours to support their families because the jobs are often inflexible which is not a match for a single parent. Chances are employers who hire low wage workers do not want workers to come in late because there was no child care or miss days because the child was sick.†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, workers employed as low wage workers tend to receive very minimum training. The parents in turn are not ready for the labor market if they wanted a more permanent and steady job. On the other hand, welfare to work may be working because when Clinton signed the welfare reform bill in 1996, his goal was 10,000 new federal hires, but the federal Office of Personnel Management reports that as of January 2001, 50,827 former welfare recipients have found work (Doherty 1). Single parents are now receiving earnings and it does not seem as if they are getting hand outs?anymore. Our society greatly values paid work, so single parents are building up their moral. These parents may even feel I am?worth something in society because I am earning my living as opposed to receiving hand outs.?Working also allows for economic security and financial independence. Under this new bill, the once ever-growing number of recipients on welfare is rapidly decreasing. For example, a Job Center in Los Angeles had 9,100 families on welfare and it has decreased by fort percent. Currently, the rate is falling by 6,000 recipients a day. (Haskins 3). James D. VanErden, vice president of the National Alliance of Business, de clares this law has changed the outlook for the welfare population?by instilling in them an expectation of work, but it also has been a boon for business?(Miller 2).Show MoreRelatedWelfare Reform : The Welfare System1367 Words   |  6 PagesWelfare Reform What would happen if the government made changes to the welfare system? There are approximately 110,489,000 of Americans on welfare. Many people benefit from what the system has to offer: food stamps, housing, health insurance, day care, and unemployment. Taxpayers often argue that the individuals who benefit from the system, abuse the system; however, this is not entirely true. Many of the people who receive benefits really and truly need the help. Even though some people believeRead MoreIts Hard Being a Single Dad in America1494 Words   |  6 PagesIt’s hard being a single dad in America An Annotated Bibliography Morin, Amanda. 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