March 15, 2006
Without Welfare Reform Romney Warns that Massachusetts Stands to Lose $56 Million in 03/15/2006
WITHOUT WELFARE REFORM, ROMNEY WARNS THAT MASSACHUSETTS STANDS TO LOSE $56 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDS
Governor Mitt Romney today encouraged the Legislature to adopt changes to the state’s welfare system that would help lift people out of poverty and avert millions of dollars in sanctions by putting Massachusetts in line with stricter federal standards that take effect October 1.
“The prospect of $56 million in federal sanctions and the reality that the status quo dooms thousands of women and their children to a life of poverty should serve as a catalyst for change,” said Romney.
Massachusetts, which has approximately 47,000 families on welfare, currently has a federal participation rate of only 15 percent. New federal guidelines that will go into effect this fall require 50 percent of the total caseload and 90 percent of all two-parent families to be engaged in a work activity. The Commonwealth’s previous caseload reduction credit of 43 percent has virtually been eliminated since the new baseline for caseload reduction will be the year 2005. The welfare caseload in Massachusetts has plummeted from 103,000 when state reforms were originally passed in 1995.
“Work is an important and necessary part of life for all adults, and every member of our society should contribute to the level of his or her abilities,” said Romney in a letter delivered to legislative leadership today. “I believe in providing adequate supports and building in flexibility for individuals with disabilities and other barriers.”
Romney’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2007 calls for investments of $8.1 million in education and training, and $8.4 million in child care.
The administration cautioned that attempts to create state-only funded programs to avoid federal sanctions are misguided and could have unintended consequences harmful to welfare recipients.
“We should ask that all adults participate in work activities to their fullest ability,” said Romney. “By lowering our expectations, we are potentially dooming people to a lifetime of dependency and poverty.”
“We should be embracing a philosophy that focuses on innovative solutions that break the cycle of poverty rather than creative accounting mechanisms that offer little or no long-term hope for families on welfare,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Timothy Murphy. “Engaging more welfare recipients and providing the necessary supports they need to attain self-sufficiency should be the state’s goal.”
Department of Transitional Assistance Commissioner John Wagner also implored the Legislature to bring Massachusetts’ standards in line with those of the federal government.
“Massachusetts was far ahead of the curve when we enacted dramatic reforms in 1995, but while operating under a federal waiver for 10 years, time has passed us by,” said Wagner. “We should seize this opportunity to help women and children who come to us for assistance. Simply giving them a welfare check is not enough.”
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