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People who need cash assistance to survive are a very diverse group. Welfare reform can succeed only if those overseeing it recognize that the people who need assistance have many different needs--and that the new system must respond flexibly to every individual.
Studies of state welfare caseloads show that the largest group of welfare recipients--50 percent to 70 percent of the caseload--are neither short-term recipients, who permanently escape welfare dependency within two years, nor "long-termers," who remain on welfare continuously for six years or longer. Most recipients use welfare as an intermittent source of help. They move back and forth between cash assistance and employment, most often in low-wage, temporary work situations that do not carry health insurance and other benefits (Resource 2).
The people TANF is targeted to serve often have complex problems that require complex solutions. Estimates of the number of welfare recipients with drug and alcohol problems range from 5 percent to 39 percent, but clearly, substance abuse is a significant issue for this population (Resource 6). In some studies of AFDC caseloads, 15 percent to 32 percent of the women in the samples report that they are currently being physically abused, and nearly two-thirds report having been physically abused during adulthood (Resource 11).
Community collaboratives can help state officials understand the diverse and compelling needs of families in their communities. The following examples illustrate the kinds of challenges the new welfare system must meet as it tries to assist...
- a parent of two who works part-time whenever possible to supplement
her AFDC income because she cannot find full-time work at a living
wage; her partially disabled mother cares for her two young children
- a two-parent family, with one child, where the father lost his job and is not eligible for unemployment
- a 20-year-old, never-married parent of two with an alcohol and drug problem, who dropped out of school, has very little work experience, and lives in an inner-city neighborhood where transportation is a major problem
- a mother of five who is a victim of domestic violence and finds herself looking for work after 15 years at home
- a mother of three pre-school children, including one with spina bifida and another with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), living in a rural community.
