District of Columbia Welfare to Work: A New Vision for a New Millenium

Across the nation, policy makers at the local level are developing new and exciting methods of expanding work opportunity for their citizens. Even as we demand self-sufficiency and accountability from all our citizens, we must make similar demands of our civic government. Since Welfare to Work (WTW) funds are federal funds and subject to the whims of Federal appropriators, policy must be developed that will allow the District to protect itself as best it can from potentially hostile Congresses. Although few tools exist for the District in this regard, it can make more effective use of the private sector and competition to maximize the efficiency of service delivery. As we confront the challenge of moving from a welfare to a work based system, new solutions can only come from innovative approaches. The Williams administration is committed to moving forward to ensure that the District designs a WTW program that is a national model and provides the necessary support systems to enable welfare recipients to be self sufficient.

Background

On March 1, 1998, welfare reform in the District of Columbia had been in effect for one year. During that time, the District government made little progress in terms of meeting Federal welfare reform requirements. If the District fails to meet the requirements of the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and Food Stamps, the budgetary impact will be in excess of $23 million in Fiscal Year 1999. For those District residents seeking to lift themselves out of poverty and despair, the impact is far more devastating.

The District of Columbia enforces a 60 month limit on assistance under the Welfare Reform bill. The District also enforces the limit of 24 months of TANF benefits before work. The District will not opt to require recipients to engage in community service after 2 months of benefits. For recipients living in the District, the clock started ticking March 1, 1997. To date, there has been about a 20% drop in the number of people on the welfare rolls. According to city statistics, there was a 10% drop in the last year alone. Currently, the number of welfare caseloads in the District is estimated at about 16,427, an unacceptably high figure.

Under current law, 80% (13,141) people will have to be placed in jobs by 2002. The projected low skill job growth for the D.C. area will not keep pace with the number of recipients needing jobs. There is an expected job gap of 5,185.

To its credit, the District has adopted a “work first” philosophy to guide WTW policy development. Despite this philosophy, only 405 people out of the 6500 sent by caseworkers into the District’s two main job search programs found jobs according to a Washington Post 1997 report. Unlike citizens in other states, however, District TANF recipients face a unique set of challenges on the road to self-sufficiency.

During the 1990s, suburban job growth has far exceeded that in the District itself and as a result job seekers in the District are confronted by transportation and other barriers to employment. In addition, many current TANF recipients in D.C. face educational challenges, both formal and informal, that make immediate labor market participation difficult. Recent studies indicate, however, that job experience and education are not the central concerns to employers. Of greatest importance to employers are so-called “softskills” such as a positive attitude and punctuality. Thus, District policy makers must embrace principles for WTW policy development that take into account the range of challenges faced by current TANF recipients including transportation, child care, educational attainment, and soft-skills development.

Principles

Given the unique circumstances facing the District, policy development should:

• be regional in approach
• focus on employee job readiness & job creation
• provide recipients with tools to achieve long-term self-sufficiency
• provide job-seekers with as broad an array of job-placement options as possible in order to obtain services that are closely tailored to their individual needs.

These principles can best be achieved through a system of open competition to encourage efficiency, flexibility, and maximum quality.

Policy Development and Implementation

The District’s current WTW implementation strategies are clearly inadequate. To date, the District government has moved only a minuscule percentage of job-seekers into employment. If the current job placement rate does not improve, TANF time limits will be exceeded and many families will be left without any means of support. Such a disaster cannot be permitted to occur.

Recent Urban Institute studies found that the number of job opportunities in the District far exceeded the number of low-skill job seekers. Clearly, then, welfare to work can work in D.C., but greater flexibility and adaptability to serve more job seekers more quickly is key; wide ranging public private partnerships and competition that includes the public sector can help make that happen.

Public private partnerships play a critical role in the implementation of an effective WTW program. Relative to other localities, the District has not worked aggressively to develop an effective employer-led oversight structure that acts as the governance and policymaking body for a comprehensive workforce development system. While there has been a Private Industry Council (PIC) in name, that council carried out none of the statutory requirements of a PIC. As a result, there has been no employer leadership of workforce programs in the District; no effective program oversight; and no coordination of job programs across the District. Clearly a new mechanism is required to open the doors of employment to District residents seeking employment.

Action Plan

1. Establish the DC Works Public Private Partnership

Engage private employers in a DC Works partnership that would secure private sector commitments to hire recipients, develop job readiness and training programs, and help to create transportation and child care support networks for the WTW population. This partnership would borrow from the successful and innovative models around the country such as the Federal Welfare to Work Partnership; Seattle Jobs, Philadelphia Works, and others. DC Works would work with foundations, non-profits, faith based institutions and labor organizations to develop job programs for low-skilled workers with a particular emphasis on the hardest to serve. D.C. Works would also assist the private sector in making effective use of the Federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit.

In addition, D.C. Works would encourage corporate entities in the region to expand successful training programs within the District. One of these is the Marriott Corporation Pathways training program. Pathways is a six week, highly successful business-driven training model that combines classroom training and occupational skills training. The model boasts a 75-77 percent retention rate after one year. Giant Foods has recently initiated a job training pilot program in partnership with the Prince George’s PIC that focuses on basic life skills and training specifically designed to pass the Giant test for entry-level workers. Giant is going to be expanding to other areas in Maryland and the pilot could be easily implemented in the District. Other regional businesses such as UPS. Safeway and CVS are following the Giant lead and initiating training programs.

2. Create A Comprehensive Child Care Support Network

Access to affordable and quality child care is the most critical barrier to be overcome if WTW initiatives are to succeed in the District. In FY1997, some 6,200 children per day were in subsidized child care spaces, down from 7,900 in FY1996. Of these 6,200, 4,131 were children of working poor parents. It is expected that the number of children requiring subsidized spaces will increase in FY 1998 and 1999 as more welfare recipients move to work activities while on TANF and as recipients leave TANF to enter the workforce. At a D.C. Council Committee on Human Services public hearing, it was estimated that the real need for subsidized spaces was between 9,000 to 12,000, based on the need of the following populations: TANF job search, TANF work fare, TANF diversion and transition, teen parents, working poor, and foster care/protective services. The cost for these 9,000 — 12,000 spaces is between $56.4 million and $73.2 million.

D. C. Works would launch a massive effort to improve access, quality, and affordability of child care in its comprehensive WTW strategy. D.C. Works would:

• provide expertise and technical assistance to help bring facilities to code and improve programs; and
• explore avenues to increase non-local funding to expand slots, including Federal, foundation and private sector resources;
• would assist in developing a micro-enterprise program to train welfare recipients to be home child care workers.

New and innovative child care programs would be developed such as: establishing a drop-in child care center at an appropriate Department of Human Services (DHS) welfare site which would enable welfare parents to go on job interviews. The government needs to take positive action to increase the availability of family child care homes (in the last five years the number of licensed family homes decreased by approximately 30%); e.g. expanding training programs for both potential and existing providers, simplifying licensing procedures, strengthening family child care networks as well as ensuring maximization of the Child Care Food Program sponsored by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. A comprehensive approach to child care must also address the needs of school age children; e.g. coordinating with the public schools, the Department of Recreation, community based programs and churches to ensure the availability of school age programs in every elementary school.

Strengthening the Financial Stability of the Child Care Infrastructure: Subsidized rates need to be competitive and ensure quality. A number of licensed child care programs in the city refuse to accept DHS subsidized children because the rate of reimbursement is below the market rate. For example, the cost of infant care is approximately $45.00 a day yet the city is only paying $31.00 per day per infant. Low income children are being shortchanged financially and developmentally. Without the necessary funds it is impossible to attract and maintain a quality early childhood workforce. Under federal law the city can spend 30% of its TANF monies for child care (that would equal approximately $30 million) yet to date the city is spending only $10 million of TANF funds on child care. The Williams Administration will utilize the TANF monies to the fullest extent possible to ensure that all children receive quality child care. Local and federal monies need to be maximized to ensure that services for welfare and low income families is available. Financial incentives will be developed to promote quality; e.g. bonuses given to child care facilities that meet nationally recognized accreditation standards, and salary increases for teachers and family home providers who obtain a college degree and/or Child Development Associate Credential.

Expanding Public/Private Partnerships to Promote Quality Child Care: The amount of corporate support the District’s child care community as a whole receives is minimal. The private sector in other states and cities such as Hawaii, San Francisco and Atlanta has been extremely supportive. The Williams administration will rally the diverse talents we have in this city to help young children and their families; e.g. encouraging the D.C. Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Trade, the World Bank, national institutions such as the National Academy of Sciences and Brookings Institution, local foundations universities and hospitals to donate their expertise and resources to promote quality child care services through direct financial support, training and/or technical assistance. The Williams administration will sponsor a Child Care Roundtable of Corporate Champions demonstrating a commitment to children's issues and representatives from the child care community to develop linkages and incentives to support public/private partnerships.

Recognizing the District of Columbia to be a Showcase for Model Early Childhood Development and Child Care: The federal government is the cities largest employer and as such should set a positive example by promoting effective work/family policies including support of quality child care services. The Williams Administration will work with the White House to maximize existing federal resources; e.g. utilizing experts within the Department of Health and Human Services as well as Early Childhood Specialists operating Military Child Care programs to help improve the quality of child care services. Together we can highlight the needs of young children living in the shadow of the Capitol and harness national support in the private sector; e.g. rallying national foundations to assist child care programs in the city and encouraging a larger financial commitment from the American Business Child Care Collaborative to promote model child care services in our nation’s capital.

3) Develop A Regional Transportation Support Network

It is critical that low-skilled workers and the WTW population be equipped to take full advantage of the job-rich neighborhoods throughout the Metro-area. Better use of existing transportation links is vital to building a regional economy and crafting a welfare reform strategy that is successful. DC Works would engage Metro-area transportation providers to initiate a regional process for developing a comprehensive transportation support network for the WTW population. DC Works would explore strategies to modify existing transportation routes to serve high-growth job areas; to provide transportation services during off-hours so that workers can easily access swing shift and nontraditional hour employment; and reverse commutes using van services. Other avenues for exploration would include using commuter rail routes i.e., Metro, MARC, and VRE to reach technology corridors and areas that have an abundance of low- skilled jobs, but a shortage of low-skilled workers, such as the BWI Airport area and Dulles Airport.