FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, January 6, 2005
Contact: ACF Press Office
(202) 401-9215
WORK PARTICIPATION RATE OF WELFARE RECIPIENTS FELL IN 2003
Decline shows need to reauthorize, strengthen welfare reform
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced today that the work participation rate for TANF families declined for the second year in a row, underscoring the importance of reauthorizing welfare reform legislation.
“President Bush is dedicated to improving the well-being of children and strengthening families. One way to accomplish both is to help families leave welfare dependency for work,” Secretary Thompson said. “This is why reauthorization of the welfare reform law is so important. It will reinstate a meaningful work participation standard so that more families will achieve self-sufficiency.”
The data released today show the work participation rate for all families fell from 33.4 percent in October 2002 to 31.3 percent in September 2003. The two-parent participation rate fell from 49.4 to 48.4 percent during the same period.
The 1996 welfare reform legislation established work participation rate standards. The all-family minimum participation rate standard was established at 50 percent for 2002 and subsequent years. However, because of the caseload reduction credit, most states currently are required to have zero, or nearly zero, parents participating in work activities. Under the Bush Administration’s welfare reform reauthorization plan, a meaningful family work participation rate would be reinstituted while maintaining, and in many cases increasing, flexibility in how states seek to achieve that standard.
“President Bush believes in strengthening families and improving child well-being, at least in part, by increasing self-sufficiency and reducing welfare dependency,” said Dr. Wade F. Horn, HHS assistant secretary for children and families. “We look forward to working with the full Congress to ensure reauthorization this year so that meaningful work participation standards are in place and more families can achieve self-sufficiency.”
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 has been overdue for reauthorization since September 2002. The U.S House of Representatives has passed TANF reauthorization twice, but the Senate has yet to pass legislation reauthorizing this program. The TANF program has been operating under a series of temporary extensions.
To view the data, go to: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/particip/indexparticip.htm#2003.
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