Children's Defense Fund Responds to Announcement that Says Welfare Caseloads are Declining 12/2/2003
From: John Norton of the Children's Defense Fund, 202-662-3609; 202-360-6838 (cell) WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 -- The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) responded to an announcement today by Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, that said welfare caseloads are declining. CDF said the decline would be good news if families were leaving welfare for work. But research by CDF, the Urban Institute, and others has found that more and more families are losing welfare assistance without getting work. The result appears to be an increase in extreme poverty for children and economic hardship for their families. Bush Administration plans to revise the welfare system could make things worse, CDF said. Thompson said, "the president's welfare reauthorization plan will help many more families build a better life." However, 50 top academic experts disagree. In a rare joint letter sent to Congress, the scholars warn that key features of the President's plan "may be more likely to injure children's well-being than to improve it." Those key features include new limits on vocational education and under-funding of stringent new work requirements. Research links: http://www.childrensdefense.org/pdf/no_work_no_welfare.pdf http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/310837_snapshots3_no5.pdf http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/310839_snapshots3_no7.pdf Link to researchers' statement: http://www.nccp.org/item_25.html --- The mission of the Children's Defense Fund is to Leave No Child Behind(r) and to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. CDF provides a strong, effective voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby or speak for themselves. We pay particular attention to the needs of poor and minority children and those with disabilities. CDF educates the nation about the needs of children and encourages preventive investment before they get sick, get into trouble, drop out of school or suffer family breakdown. CDF began in 1973 and is a private, nonprofit organization supported by foundation and corporate grants and individual donations. We have never taken government funds. |