308 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
308 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
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June 26, 1992
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PRESIDENT BUSH ON WELFARE REFORM
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"It's time to replace the assumptions of the welfare state and
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help reform the welfare system. States throughout the country
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are beginning to operate with new assumptions: that when
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able-bodied people receive government assistance, they have
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responsibilities to the taxpayer. A responsibility to seek
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work, education or job training; a responsibility to get their
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lives in order; a responsibility to hold their families
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together and refrain from having children out of wedlock; and
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a responsibility to obey the law."
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-- President Bush
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State of the Union Address
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January 28, 1992
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Summary: The President's Objectives for Welfare Reform
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o The principles outlined by the President in his State of the
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Union Address are essential to adding accountability to
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welfare and reducing dependency. These reforms include:
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-- Requirements that able-bodied welfare recipients enroll
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in workfare or some form of job training in exchange for
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receiving benefits;
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-- Measuring the success of welfare programs by how many
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people move from the welfare rolls onto the job rolls.
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-- Adding incentives that encourage families to stay
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together, and disincentives that discourage additional
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out-of-wedlock births.
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o To accelerate implementation of welfare reforms, President
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Bush has made a commitment to speed up review of Federal
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waivers for state reforms. The President and the Secretary of
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Health and Human Services have already approved a waiver for
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Wisconsin's Parental and Family Responsibility Initiative,
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which provides new incentives for welfare recipients to work
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and marry.
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- MORE -
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FACT SHEET: WELFARE REFORM Page 2
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o Reducing dependency in welfare will save taxpayer dollars, but
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more importantly, make able-bodied citizens productive again.
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Getting people off welfare and into jobs helps former
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recipients, their families, and society generally. In
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addition, getting long-term dependents off welfare will free
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up more dollars for programs that are supposed to help working
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Americans and their families in times of economic strain,
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instead of providing more government funds for already-
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dependent welfare recipients.
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The Need for Welfare Reform
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o The 1988 Family Support Act represented a philosophical
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turning point in the approach to welfare; it expanded
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government efforts to train recipients and to collect child
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support, but it also required recipients to accept new
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responsibilities.
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o Many reforms proposed since 1988 reflect the Family Security
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Act's conceptual approach; however, there remains a growing
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need to translate new thinking into lasting results.
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Dependency remains a pervasive problem. Research has shown
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that about two-thirds of the families on AFDC at any given
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time will spend a total of eight or more years on the rolls.
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o Addressing long-term dependency by increasing incentives for
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those on welfare to work and behave responsibly will help
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dependent recipients become productive again, and will prevent
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the current generation of children from becoming the AFDC
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parents of the next decade. New welfare reforms will meet
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government's responsibility to become both more effective and
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more compassionate.
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Federal Approval of State Demonstration Programs
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o On April 10th, President Bush announced approval of Federal
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waivers for Wisconsin's Parental and Family Responsibility
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Initiative which is designed to encourage teenage parent
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welfare recipients to work and marry. The initiative will
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strengthen families by encouraging poor couples to marry and
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to be responsible about child-bearing. Also, recipients will
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be required to participate in education and job placement
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services. Unlike existing programs, Wisconsin's plan will
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increase the reward for taking jobs by increasing the amount
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of monthly earnings that can be received before AFDC payments
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are reduced.
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-MORE-
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FACT SHEET: WELFARE REFORM Page 3
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o The Bush Administration has approved several other welfare
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reform demonstration projects, including:
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-- Illinois' Chance for Self-Sufficiency program which is
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helping families previously on welfare to stay off
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welfare by providing state-sponsored and community based
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post-welfare education and training services.
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-- In Maryland, Montgomery County's Cash Incentives Payments
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for Self-Sufficiency which increases the value of work by
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providing incentive bonuses for completing job training
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or getting a job.
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-- Texas' Toward Independence Program which provided one-
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year of Medicaid and child care benefits to ease the
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transition from welfare to work.
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o More than 20 States that begun to develop welfare reform
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proposals. These proposals are receiving expedited review at
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the Federal level.
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Reforms by States
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o Reforms that require responsibility, promote family values,
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and reduce dependency, if adopted by a number of states, would
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fundamentally improve welfare's operation. Meaningful welfare
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reform as outlined and promoted by the President will mean
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dependent recipients, to continue receiving benefits, would
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have to assume a measure of personal responsibility and take
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concrete steps to improve their lives.
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o States such as New Jersey and California are taking steps to
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approve reforms similar to the President's proposals. New
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Jersey has passed a law this year that would instill
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responsibility by requiring work for welfare (or enrollment in
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job training), and by not increasing benefits to those who
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have additional children while receiving welfare.
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Putting the Private Sector to Work in Reducing Welfare Dependency
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o The private sector can play an important role in getting
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welfare recipients back to work. Some states have established
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public-private networks which pay private firms for each
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welfare recipient placed in a job. Results-oriented programs
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like these put the power of the marketplace to work in ways
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that benefit taxpayers, state and local governments, and
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welfare recipients.
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-MORE-
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FACT SHEET: WELFARE REFORM Page 4
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o By focusing on results, private firms are able to take direct
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control over welfare cases, steering recipients into jobs
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sooner than the state might have, and reducing costs to
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taxpayers. States have strong incentives to turn to the
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private sector, which can be held directly accountable for
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success or failure.
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o In partnership with state and local governments, private
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sector initiatives under the Job Opportunities and Basic
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Skills (JOBS) program remove barriers to employment with
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placement services, sharpen workers' skills, and place welfare
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recipients in paying jobs. Major "welfare-to-work" projects
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with private sector involvement exist in Connecticut, New
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York, Massachusetts, and Wyoming. One private firm manages
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over 14,000 AFDC cases in Los Angeles County alone. Thousands
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of Texas AFDC recipients benefit from a private firm's case
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management project that provides focused training and
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placement services.
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Budgetary Commitments to Welfare Reform
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o The President is making concrete his commitment to workfare
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and welfare reform by:
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-- Providing $1 billion in FY93 to finance the federal share
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of the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills training
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program (JOBS). JOBS helps eligible parents receiving
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assistance under AFDC to obtain education, training, and
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employment services, and thus to avoid welfare
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dependency.
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-- Proposing $250 million over five years for AFDC changes
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to provide incentives for savings and promote self-
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employment among welfare recipients.
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o President Bush also wants to expand opportunities for private
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sector involvement, and, in his Job Training 2000 initiative
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has proposed several new welfare-to-work reform demonstrations
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to fund public-private partnerships involving more than $20
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million in welfare payments.
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-MORE-
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FACT SHEET: WELFARE REFORM Page 5
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Creating Opportunities for Self-Improvement
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o The President understands that instilling responsibility means
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more than just providing opportunities for education and
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training -- it means creating a network of opportunity for
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self-improvement: the HOPE initiative in housing to encourage
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home ownership, the AMERICA 2000 strategy to restore
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accountability to education, and significant new funding for
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child care programs to help the children of working parents
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onto the path of opportunity and Job Training 2000 which would
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establish "one-stop shopping" skill centers replacing the
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existing job training maze to help the low-income
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disadvantaged find jobs, and training more easily.
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o If government is to encourage personal responsibility, the
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design of current programs must be changed significantly to
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expand job opportunities and promote self sufficiency. To
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this end, the President's FY93 budget contains several
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initiatives to help low-income families escape welfare
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dependency:
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-- The President has proposed to give states the option of
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allowing families already on the welfare rolls to
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accumulate savings. This will give AFDC families the
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opportunity to save up to $10,000 to achieve independence
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from welfare, educate their children, or start a
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business.
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-- The President has proposed to create a welfare
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initiative, similar to an existing Social Security
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initiative, the Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS).
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This plan would let welfare families who agree to leave
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welfare within a specified period to keep income which
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normally would count against the family's welfare
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benefits.
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-- The President has proposed a demonstration program
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allowing states to create escrow savings accounts for
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long-term AFDC recipients trying to work their way off
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welfare. Individuals could set aside an amount equal to
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state's savings from not having to pay AFDC that would be
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realized when the family head gets a job. These savings
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would be paid back to the family in a lump sum once
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family income exceeds the need for cash assistance.
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-MORE-
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FACT SHEET: WELFARE REFORM Page 6
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o These legislative changes would assist states in designing
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workfare plans that meet the President's reform objectives.
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They would also allow welfare recipients to prepare better for
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entry into the work force and help prevent their return to the
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welfare rolls.
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Enforcement of Child Support
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o President Bush understands that welfare dependency often stems
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from the failure of families to form or endure. Thus, the
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President is working on a variety of fronts to strengthen
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families and lower the costs of raising children.
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o President Bush is committed to making sure that absent parents
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meet their financial responsibilities, giving children at
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least the financial support they need. In the first three
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years of the Bush Administration, child support collections by
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states rose 30 percent. In 1986, child support orders
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recovered by the federal government totalled just $3.2
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billion. Last year, recoveries had more than doubled to
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almost $7 billion. About $2 billion of that amount was
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collected on behalf of families receiving welfare.
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o President bush has proposed legislative changes to extend
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child support enforcement services to recipients of other
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federally funded programs besides AFDC, and to increase health
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insurance coverage of children by their non-custodial parents.
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# # #
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