The Alliance for Children and Families recommends that Congress:   ·        Reauthorize and fund TANF at least at the current level of $16.5 billion per year ·        Provide significantly increased funding for child care to meet current needs ·        Resist pressure to increase the work requirements beyond the current 30 hours a week ·        Give states more flexibility to determine what counts as meeting the work requirement, especially allowing full-time college attendance and permitting recipients to participate in vocational education for up to 24 months, instead of the current 12 (or 3, as proposed by the Administration) ·        Give states flexibility to waive time limits for families with significant barriers to employment. ·        Reinstate benefits for legal immigrants

Research Background

Over the past two years, the Alliance for Children and Families, in partnership with the Community Service Society of New York, has conducted important research on the experience of individuals affected by welfare reform. Faces of Change contains first-hand accounts from over 200 current and former welfare recipients detailing their experience in six primary areas: employment, child care, public benefits, health care, job training and transportation. Their narratives reveal the impact of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 on the lives of low-income individuals and their families. This document covers new topics with excerpts of some of the stories of 30+ families throughout the country that were impacted by welfare reform within the last six months. The typical family has 2.2 children and faces a constant struggle to make ends meet.

“Compared to two years ago, I feel maintaining my household is much harder. I am unable to work due to depression. My sons are mentally impaired (emotional and behavioral) and are very difficult to handle. The past two years, family members who used to help me, don’t anymore. The cost of living has increased, but my income has not. My bills have grown and I never have money. I started using credit cards and that turned into a real mess. My car keeps breaking down, and I keep spending all my money on it, then I don’t have gas money.”— A 40-year old mother of two boys from Detroit (N-7).

The lack of sufficient funds has made some women resort to desperate measures to get by:

“I maintain my household on a day-to-day basis by stretching my money to the fullest. I babysit for 12 hours a day, $50 per week. I also sleep with men for extra money to help get through another week or pay another bill”. — A 32 year old mother raising her 10 year old son in Vancouver (N-14).

The above two Faces of Change stories reveal the complex issues that many welfare recipients face as they juggle the demands of family, personal care, transportation, and life’s everyday stressors. Although a few participants have improved their lot under welfare reform, many others detail their ongoing struggle to earn a living wage and support their families. 

The Need for Child Care

“Childcare is the biggest issue within welfare reform. I need some institutional help. I was in school for two and a half years, and when the kids were out of school, it was a problem. Where would they be cared for? By whom? Who would watch them? It could be simpler. Give parents a job where they could be with their kids or provide free childcare. I want to keep my kids safe but you still have to pay, and the state workers are counting the dollars down when you earn enough to pay for decent help, it costs you...”  — A 28 year old mother raising 3 teen boys in St. Paul, MN.

Not surprisingly, a primary issue for families with young children is the lack of affordable child care. While families have increasingly left welfare for employment, many are in low-wage jobs struggling to make ends meet. Faces of Change narratives reveal a significant need for subsidized, accessible, child care services. Without sufficient child care, participant’s employment efforts are undermined. They report facing long waiting lists for child care, ranging from months to a year in length, during which time they are forced to find alternative arrangements that can be costly or unreliable. Some are fortunate to have family members supervise their children when needed.

Every day, 13 million preschoolers—including 6 million infants and toddlers—are in child care. A 2002 study by the Children’s Defense Fund found that child care for a 4 year old in a child care center averages $4,000 to $6,000 per year in cities and states around the country. Some centers charge more than $10,000 per year. Families with more or younger children face additional costs. Further, families with special needs children may experience difficulty in locating adequate facilities.

The high cost of child care presents a challenge to all families, but is particularly burdensome for low income families. These families must have reliable child care so parents can get and keep the jobs they need to lift them out of poverty. Since the new welfare system no longer assures them a safety net should they lose their jobs, safe and reliable child care has become increasingly important to these families well-being.

Many low income families have no choice but to place their children in lower cost, often lower quality care. As a result, too many children are cared for in unstimulating or even unsafe settings, depriving them of the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive. The research is clear that the quality of child care has a lasting impact on children's well-being and ability to learn. Children in poor quality child care have been found to be delayed in language and reading skills, and display more aggression toward other children and adults. School-age children's academic performance is enhanced by attending formal child care programs of at least adequate quality, according to several studies.

The Federal and State Response

The Faces of Change research provides important experiences to inform and shape the public debate as welfare reform is reauthorized, particularly given that state and federal funds are insufficient and that only one out of 10 children in low income working families who are eligible for this assistance under federal law receives it.[1] Reauthorization provides the opportunity to strengthen the provisions of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) to increase funding for child care as a viable path toward self-sufficiency, as well as a safety net for those struggling against significant barriers to employment. Further, the TANF program must be funded at least at the current level to meet the increasing need. In the third quarter of last year, the welfare rolls nationwide edged up about 1%. That marked just the second time since 1994 that the national caseloads showed a quarterly increase, according to the Center for Law and Social Policy in Washington, D.C.  Clearly, Congress must pass a comprehensive reauthorization of TANF, with increased funding for child care and an overall program budget with no less than the current level of $16.5 billion per year, as soon as possible. To learn about the child care waiting lists in your state, go to the Alliance's Public Policy page.