Welfare to Work

In spite of 1988 legislation to transform welfare into a transitional program designed to help Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC) program recipients get jobs and avoid long-term dependence, the current Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) training program has not served a large portion of the AFDC caseload and is not well focused on employment as the goal. Of the more than four million parents receiving AFDC checks each month, JOBS served only about 11 percent in an average month from fiscal years 1991 to 1993. Furthermore, program administrators say that they lack the capacity to provide current JOBS participants with the services they need. Teen parents are especially at risk for long welfare stays because of their low levels of education and work experience and the young age of their children. Yet a 1992 review of 16 states found that only 24 percent of teen parents had been enrolled in JOBS. In addition, some AFDC recipients have barriers to employment, such as learning disabilities or emotional problems, and are difficult or more costly to serve. GAO found that JOBS programs have generally not forged the strong links with local employers that may be important to helping AFDC recipients gain work experience and find jobs. Many factors hamper the development of these ties to the workplace, including the JOBS performance measurement system, which holds states accountable for the number and type of AFDC recipients participating in JOBS activities but not for the number who land jobs or earn their way off AFDC.

GAO found that: (1) about 11 percent of AFDC recipients participate in JOBS, and this percentage has not increased despite attempts to expand the base of AFDC recipients required to participate in JOBS; (2) many JOBS program administrators have reported that they could not always provide participants with the services they needed, such as basic education and job skills training, transportation, and child care; (3) although states have generally met federal requirements to target AFDC recipients at risk of long-term welfare dependence, many JOBS programs have not adequately served the difficult and complex needs of teen parents, alcohol or drug abusers, and others who are at risk for long-term welfare dependence; (4) JOBS program administrators have expressed concern about their capacity to increase program size and serve participants' varying needs; (5) JOBS program administrators have not fully used available resources to help AFDC participants obtain employment; (6) the JOBS performance measurement system, which focuses on participation rather than employment, provides little incentive for states to move clients into jobs; and (7) some factors affecting welfare dependence are outside the control of JOBS, including the low-wage labor market and a lack of financial incentives, health care coverage, child care, and transportation.