Welfare Reform that Really Works #3

OREGON'S JOBS and JOBS PLUS PROGRAMS

Oregon

As states begin the historical task of transforming welfare from an entitlement to a work program, a crucial component is jobs--availability, development, placement. Oregon has successfully developed the jobs component with their JOBS Program (workforce preparation) and with JOBS PLUS (subsidized job internships).

According to Bill Kingzett of the American Institute for Full Employment, developers of the public/private jobs partnership model and primary force behind jobs generation for JOBS Plus: "Oregon will soon be the first state with 100% placement of its eligible TANF recipients into a JOBS program activity leading to a JOBS Plus work internship or private sector job realization."

Oregon's welfare program is a work program, and as Oregonians have gone to work, the welfare caseload has gone down. Recent U. S. Department of Health and Human Services data ranks Washington state 45th in AFDC caseload reduction; Oregon ranks a very close second to Wisconsin. From August 1994 through December 1996, Oregon's caseload decreased 41%. Oregon clearly has some substantive ideas to offer.

Sandie Hoback, Oregon's Adult and Family Services administrator, says that instead of fixating on eligibility requirements, the state welfare agency has become a full-service employment center. Application for assistance means jobs services--placement into one of thirteen "tracks," ranging from completing a GED to movement into a JOBS Plus job. Initially 55-60% of welfare recipients are considered eligible to enter such workfare.

Oregon's JOBS Program contains a two- to-six-week preparation time focused on movement to the workforce (examples: self-esteem; understanding the importance of showing up on time every day; and securing child care.) All fifteen districts contract/provide the necessary services for this preparation. JOBS is run on a local, district level.

Since it began in 1990, the Oregon JOBS Program has helped more than 45,000 people become employed. The number of people finding work has risen to more than 1,400 a month. Eighty percent of those people had not returned to the welfare system after 18 months. And this placement has not--by statute (HB 2277)--displaced or undercut regular employees.

Job readiness, however, is pointless without jobs. In November 1994, the JOBS Plus program was added to JOBS and began to place public assistance recipients. JOBS Plus began operation in six pilot counties and was expanded statewide in 1996. The program gives employer incentives to hire welfare and Unemployment Insurance recipients. Public assistance benefits are converted to wage subsidies for transitional, training-oriented predominantly private sector jobs.

In our December newsletter, we discussed the Oregon JOBS Plus Program as an innovative new model of public/private partnership. Oregon was the first state to employ this Full Employment Program tool, aimed at promoting independence among welfare recipients. JOBS Plus employers get a low-risk opportunity to hire entry level workers; and JOBS Plus participants get practical job training and experience. More importantly, recipients earn a paycheck, a tangible sign that they are contributing members of the community. Win-win.

Authorities in Oregon argue that a job--even an entry level job--is the "springboard" component to dignity and self-sufficiency. Oregonians fare better financially with a job than continuing to depend on welfare. Both AFDC and JOBS Plus recipients receive support services, but employed JOBS Plus clients have significantly more disposable income. (See chart below.)

Workers are paid at least the minimum wage by their employer; as of December 31, 1996, the average wage for a JOBS Plus participant was $5.92, and the highest wage was $13.40. The program guarantees participants will have more spendable income (including the Earned Income Tax Credit) than they get from a welfare check.

Results: The American Institute for Full Employment, based in Klamath Falls, Oregon, notes that 20 percent of welfare recipients accepted subsidized jobs, but 80% took unsubsidized ones. And 80% of those taking subsidized jobs moved to unsubsidized jobs during the first 14 months of the program.

Prior to JOBS or JOBS Plus enrollment, 2,170 Adult and Family Services clients were placed in unsubsidized employment (7/96 to 12/96). AFTER JOBS or JOBS Plus enrollment, 10,026 clients were placed in UNsubsidized employment.

In one month alone--November to December 1996--the number of JOBS Plus participants moving to unsubsidized employment was up 59%!

Welfare reform works in Oregon because Oregonians work.

Prepared by Karen Woods, Research Analyst

Evergreen Freedom Foundation P.O. Box 552, Olympia, WA 98507 Phone: (360) 956-3482, Fax: (360) 352-1874 Email: effwa@effwa.org