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Joint
Hearing of the Health and Family Security Subcommittee on Welfare Reform Oversight
and the Commission on the Economic Status of Women Report from participants of the Welfare to Work Summit sponsored by Minnesota Public Radio and the Institute on Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota Commission Members Present: Senator Becky Lourey, Senator Linda Berglin, Senator Pat Piper, Representative Barb Sykora, Representative Betty Folliard, Representative Bud Nornes, Subcommittee Members Present: Senator Dan Stevens, Senator Don Betzold, Senator Sheila Kiscaden, Senator Don Samuelson The following is a summary based on written notes of the testimony and discussion that took place at the hearing: Report from participants of the Welfare Summit sponsored by Minnesota Public Radio and the University of Minnesota, Institute on Race and Poverty Handout: Welfare to Work: How Are We Doing? Where Do We Go From Here? Marguerite Spencer, Senior Researcher, Institute on Race and Poverty Spencer described the context and current status of welfare reform, as found in the packet. There is a spatial mismatch between home and work, and a lack of affordable housing in locations where jobs are located. Seventy-one percent of Blacks and 63 percent of Hispanics who are welfare recipients live in urban centers. The director of the Institute on Race and Poverty, john powell, has identified three tiers of welfare participants - (1) those who go on welfare for a short time and would get off anyway; (2) those who need creative efforts to get them off welfare; and (3) those who will never permanently join the workforce. The first two tiers are the focus of current efforts. The third group is the one that will need future collaborative and creative efforts to serve. Jean Hammink, Director, Community Employment Partnership for St. Paul and Ramsey County Hammink participated in a group at the Summit that looked at policy and planning, examining what was working and what wasn't working with welfare reform. People with a variety of policy perspectives were part of the group. They agreed that the following things are working:
Handout: Sister to Sister brochure
Workers are often penalized for success. Farley's employment with Sister to Sister has pushed her income above qualification for medical assistance. She earns $24,000 and has 5 children. She applied for MinnesotaCare, it took them 12 weeks to reply, and the answer was no, due to her having cafeteria benefits offered by her employer which could be used to purchase health care (whose premiums she cannot afford). So, while this is available, it is impossible to access it when needed due to tight budgets. Spencer recommended that we approach welfare recipients with humility and approach them with dignity. Hammink recommended that we be innovative, build partnerships, share resources, address the disconnect between systems and listen. Berry reported two recommendations from the employer group: (1) improve collaborations and (2) encourage employers to contribute to ongoing training. Farley asked that we remember that moms on welfare are not lazy. They do not need sympathy, just understanding and support. Senator Berglin asked if people in work search are asked to participate in that activity without having child care provided for them. They have to pay for it up-front and then get reimbursed, but the payback comes too late. This is against the federal law, but it doesn't matter because people are afraid of being sanctioned. Senator Berglin wondered if the panelists had heard this or found this to be a problem. Some families have gone so far as to keep their older children out of school to babysit the younger children while the parent looks for work. There is no appeal from the sanction in these cases. Farley said that some work resource hubs offer drop-in child care and some don't. Women should not be forced to choose between being sanctioned or taking their children out of school. Senator Berglin asked to what extent further training is offered to get a job that would actually support a family. Hammink reported that they are trying to build a system that would allow that but are not there yet. It is a major caseload issue, as can be imagined when a case worker has 30-45 minutes per month with a client. Senator Berglin asked to what extent people get child care while they are in training or education. Hammink said that child care is a right if education or training is part of the plan. However, child care is not always available and reimbursement is a problem. Representative Folliard asked about the term racialized which had been used by Spencer in her comments. She asked how we can be more effective in areas where racial groups are concentrated. Spencer replied that we should begin with the question "why?" Why are certain communities experiencing barriers and what are they? She said that this should be the first step - ask why, and then we can address those barriers. It's a bigger question than diversity awareness in the workforce. We have to look at the concentration in communities. Representative Folliard stated that educational opportunity and mobility need to be observed. How can we lift up the education piece in the metro area and how can we address mobility? She also would like to address affordable housing and expressed concern that this issue won't get the attention it deserves in the upcoming legislative session (because of the elimination of the Housing Committee in the House). Representative Sykora reported that the House is now forming its committees to reflect the committee structure in the Senate, so it is not that the Housing Committee is eliminated. Hammink stated that for the metropolitan area, the lack of affordable housing in the center city and surrounding areas is in crisis situation. People are losing jobs because they cannot find housing.
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