[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 4270-4271]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   WELFARE TO WORK MEANS DIGNITY OF PAYCHECK AND OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 10, 2002

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, this year Congress will reauthorize 
the landmark welfare reform law that we first passed in 1996. I am 
pleased to announce that President Bush's proposed welfare reforms 
build on our successes in that historic 1996 welfare reform law by 
encouraging personal responsibility, continuing to focus on 
strengthening families and helping more welfare recipients find work 
and secure their independence.
  Back in 1996, Members of Congress worked together to reach a 
historic, bipartisan agreement to reform the welfare system. These 
efforts resulted in one of the greatest public policy successes in 
decades as millions of Americans went from welfare to work. Since 1996, 
welfare dependency has decreased dramatically. The number of 
individuals receiving cash assistance has dropped by 56 percent, more 
single mothers are employed, and child poverty rates are at the lowest 
level since 1978. These reforms are more than simply a win for 
taxpayers who for years and years supported an ineffective system with 
their hard-earned tax dollars. The new system has provided opportunity 
for millions of Americans who jumped at the chance to improve the 
quality of their lives by getting a job and providing for their 
families, all while achieving the dignity of doing it on their own. Our 
`Welfare to Work' reforms helped those less fortunate with a hand up, 
instead of a handout.
  Every state has benefited from these reforms, and in my New Jersey's 
11th Congressional District, we have witnessed many success stories. 
Here are just a few examples:
  1. An HIV-positive single mother, with one child and separated from 
an abusive husband, entered the Aid for Families with Dependent 
Children (AFDC) in 1995. Her case manager arranged transportation and 
childcare for her, which allowed her to complete sufficient college 
courses for entry into the Morristown Memorial Hospital School of 
Cardiovascular Technology. She was one of 12 students accepted into the 
competitive, demanding program and graduated fourth in her class. While 
attending school, she gained valuable work experience through the 
Alternative Work Experience Program. On completing training, she began 
working in a doctor's office. Post TANF (Temporary Aid for Needy 
Families) childcare facilitated her ability to have excellent 
attendance and, ultimately, a promotion to Cardiovascular Technologist 
at $40,000 per year.
  She has purchased a home and is a foster-parent to several children. 
After extensive marriage counseling and family therapy, arranged 
through her case manager, she reunited with her husband in 1999. She 
credits her case manager with providing counseling, training, and 
support services in ``turning my life around in ways I could never 
imagine before I entered the TANF (Temporary Aid for Needy Families) 
program.''
  2. A 23 year-old domestic violence victim and single mother of two 
small children entered the AFDC (Aid for Families with Dependent 
Children) program in 1995. At her case manager's urging, she enrolled 
in a GED course. TANF childcare and transportation support enabled her 
to obtain her high school diploma and gain admission to the County 
College of Morris. Her case manager arranged a part-time, on-campus job 
for her. She received childcare and Medicaid that allowed her to 
complete her Associate's Degree without interruption. She attended 
William Paterson College as a part-time student while participating in 
the Alternative Work Experience Program. The Alternative Work 
Experience Program is a combination of work experience and training 
activities. In 2000, after extensive counseling with her case manager, 
she decided that she would work full-time and attend college at night. 
She had lost her driver's license so her case manager accessed Welfare-
to-Work funds to provide transportation to Group Job Search and other 
support services.
  In July 2001, with her case manager's assistance, her driver's 
license was reinstated and she started working full-time. Her children 
are receiving post-TANF childcare and Medicaid and she credits these 
services with allowing her to concentrate on work. She is earning 
$25,000 per year and is rightfully proud of her many accomplishments.
  3. A 21-year-old mother of one had been displaced from her home due 
to domestic violence and was living with her grandmother. Her TANF case 
manager accessed Welfare-to-Work funds for her to attend training as a 
computer programmer at Chubb Institute. TANF childcare and Medicaid 
allowed her to successfully complete her training. Through the Group 
Job Search Program, she obtained employment as a Graphics Design 
Technician at $19,000 per year. She continues to receive post TANF 
childcare assistance. Now, she is a candidate for promotion to a higher 
paying position and thanks her case manager and the TANF program for 
``getting my life on the right track, in a very short time.''
  4. A young mother in 2001 could not work because of childcare 
problems and expenses.

[[Page 4271]]

She found employment through the Job Search Program and also attended 
training to become a home health aid while continuing to work. She was 
very focused, diligent and worked very hard to upgrade her earning 
ability and through the Work First Program, her childcare expenses were 
supplemented and she was helped financially with purchasing an 
automobile. Today, she is off welfare, working and is doing well.
  5. A husband, his wife and two daughters entered this country as 
political refugees from Vietnam. He was incarcerated during the Vietnam 
War and as a result was diagnosed with malnutrition. Due to his frail 
health, he found it difficult to find steady employment. He was placed 
in a Community Work Experience Program (CWEP) at a local Board of 
Social Services. He was so successful in that position that the Board 
hired him for a permanent position and he has remained gainfully 
employed, providing for his family, for more than a year.
  Even with these notable successes, much remains to be done to improve 
the welfare system for those in need and to help welfare recipients on 
the path to independence. While more than three million welfare 
recipients have been removed from a system that promoted an indefinite 
dependency and have been placed into jobs, there remains two million 
people who have yet to follow in the footsteps of these success stories 
and find the personal independence that comes with the dignity of a 
job.
  With the President's leadership and a bipartisan effort in Congress, 
our next round of reforms will help ensure $22 billion annually is 
available for welfare programs that prepare recipients for work and 
help with childcare. We will also continue to ensure that the mission 
of our ``Welfare to Work'' reforms is to strengthen families. It is 
vital that Federal policy maintains support for low-income working 
families by expanding childcare and health insurance for children. 
Additionally, we will continue to make sure the Earned Income Tax 
Credit provides income supplements of up to $4,000 per year to single 
mothers leaving welfare to work.
  Finally, much of the success of the reforms passed in 1996 is due to 
the greater flexibility given to states by the Federal government to 
implement innovations in welfare programs. Our renewed reforms will 
strengthen the Federal/state partnership and expand upon measures to 
provide flexibility to states to improve coordination across programs 
so that more adults can achieve independence from welfare while gaining 
greater financial and social security for their families and their 
future.

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