Report Describes Life After Welfare
 Recent
Department of Public Welfare (DPW) data describes life for families
that left welfare during 1997 and 1998.
- Of the nearly 190,000 families that left, about one-third
returned.
- Among those who did not return, about one-half included
a parent who was employed at any point in time. This is below
the national norm. According to the General Accounting Office
(GAO), employment rates measured at a specific time typically
range between 61 and 71 percent.
- In 37 percent of the families that stayed off welfare, the
parent had steady employment. Annualized wages averaged around
$13,000 a year, which is just below the poverty level for a
family of three.
A DPW telephone survey of 125 former recipients revealed a mixed
experience. Most (85 percent) felt better about their futures.
On the other hand, 64 percent said they were "barely making
it", 34 percent reported having less than when on welfare,
and 18 percent reported having times when they were unable to
buy needed food.
Only 51 percent of those surveyed were receiving food stamps,
and only 24 percent of the parents with preschool children were
receiving state childcare subsidies.
During 1998 Pennsylvania ranked sixth nationally in the rate
at which former recipients entered the workforce. It ranked
28th nationally in the success former recipients
achieved after entering the workforce. (220)
--By Berry D. Friesen, Executive
Director, Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center
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