Report Shows TANF Discourages Education
Feature Story by Katie Drake - 6/6/2002
On June 4, Senator Paul Wellstone (D-Minn) and the National Urban League (NUL) released a new report highlighting the need for college education for women on welfare to lift their families out of poverty.The NUL report shows that before TANF was enacted, women on welfare had a 13% higher enrollment rate in college than other women in poverty. Since TANF, women on welfare have fallen behind by 7%. The report suggests that because TANF increased work requirement hours and placed a cap on education, the access to education for women has been drastically reduced.
In addition, the report documents the economic benefits of attending college. A woman with a high school degree earns barely over the poverty line for a family of three. This is, on average, half as much as a woman with a bachelor’s degree. That education is important is obvious if, as Deepak Bhargava, director of the National Campaign for Jobs and Income Support, said, “our goal is more than to turn people in and out of low income jobs and on and off welfare.”
William Spriggs, director of NUL, commented on other advantages college graduates have. Beyond lifting families out of poverty, college graduates provide a positive role model for their children. Instead of telling their children that college is beneficial, these women will be able to show their children.
Mr. Spriggs also pointed out that women need both time and support to be a college student and work requirements that do not include education provisions provide neither. To address this problem, Senator Wellstone and Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), introduced a bill to expand education access for welfare recipients entitled the Education Works Act of 2002 (S. 2548).
Senator Wellstone agreed that education is key for a truly successful welfare program and believes that flexibility is the best avenue to achieve this goal. His legislation would provide states with the flexibility to allow educational activities, such as second-language classes and college courses, to count as required work hours. In addition, S. 2548 would eliminate any caps on the number of women who can attain education.
Women on welfare are being denied access to a fundamental tool for success in life. The report by NUL identifies the incredible discrepancies and detrimental effects of welfare work requirements and Senators Wellstone and Bingaman have taken important steps to resolve the problem. Civil rights groups and women’s advocates hope Congress heeds these findings in drafting new welfare legislation.
