Experience

Since enactment of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, the opportunity for job training for single women raising children on welfare has diminished dramatically.  In one county a university-based computer education program restricted eligible candidates to women with children under one year of age. Child care and health care needs make it difficult for these persons to complete training and a successful job search. Most live in poor housing in high crime areas where neighborhood support is nonexistent. (Reported by Alice Feeley, RDC.)

Linda, a thirty-five year old widow and the mother of two sons, ages 10 and 14, is blind and has AIDS. Each day is a struggle to provide the basic necessities for her children and for herself. I have accompanied Linda on grocery shopping trips; it never ceases to amaze me how she can estimate almost to the penny how many items her current allotment of food stamps will cover. Toward the end of the month she does not have enough food stamps to purchase all the items she needs in order to feed the boys and herself. (Reported by Joan Marie Steadman, CSC.)

Reflection

Scripture and the Church call us to reflect on our response to the needs of the poor and our role in influencing just legislation.

“This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: setting free the oppressed…sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless… not turning your back on your own.” (Isaiah 58:6-7) “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or see you thirsty and give you drink?” (Matthew 25:37) “If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and no food for the day, and you say to them, ‘Good-bye and good luck! Keep warm and well fed,’ but do not meet their bodily needs, what good is that? So it is with the faith that does nothing in practice. It is thoroughly lifeless.” (James 2:15-17)

“Economic or political power should never be used to protect the inter ests of one group to the detriment of others. Justice for the poor is a Christian option; it is also the option of a society that is concerned with the true common good. Those who exercise power must do so as a service of social justice. Power must be at the service of people, especially those who are the neediest.” (Pope John Paul II in Sao Paulo, Brazil.)

“The world designed by God cannot be a world in which some hoard immoderate wealth in their hands while others suffer from destitution and poverty and die of hunger. Love must inspire justice and the struggle for justice.” (Pope John Paul II in Paris, France.)

Social Justice

Approximately 13% or 35 million of the U.S. population, including one out of six children from households headed primarily by women, live in poverty and have been affected by the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). This legislation, which was opposed by LCWR, brought about a dramatic change in U.S. social policy.

PRWORA repealed Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and replaced it with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). TANF gave states block grants and flexibility to design work-focused, time-limited welfare programs. PRWORA also ended the federal government’s guarantee of cash assistance to families living in poverty and no longer provided adjustments when need increased, as in a recession.

As welfare legislation is reauthorized in 2002, the Welfare Reform Watch Project of NETWORK recommends that the government:
• Re-establish its responsibility for all citizens, especially the least fortunate.
• Commit to full employment and a living wage.
• Adequately fund and provide job training for low-skilled workers, education for basic skills, 
   and accessible assistance for those unable to work.
• Create realistic, humane programs to transition people from welfare to work.
• Reform financial institutions to give low-income communities access to credit.
• Provide universal quality health care.
• Make safe, affordable housing available.

As public debate ensues, it is helpful to view welfare reform issues in light of the whole federal budget. The Children’s Defense Fund estimates that TANF and Food Stamps combined in FY2001 will cost $35.8 billion or about 2% of the federal budget. By contrast the Corporate Welfare Information Center notes that corporate subsidies and tax benefits given annually to corporations, CEOs and military contractors cost the government about $150 billion or 8% of the federal budget. The War Resisters League estimates that in FY2001 $659 billion is allocated to meet past and current
 military expenses.

Action
 

• Use results of the Welfare Reform Watch Project, found on the web site www.networklobby.org, to inform Congress, the media, and the public about the real-life effects of welfare reform.
• Attend a NETWORK welfare reform workshop in your area to become a more effective advocate. See web site for details.
• In communicating with members of Congress and newspaper editors, emphasize that basic human rights are as important as civil rights.
• Using systems thinking, refer to other subsidies in the federal budget when advocating for welfare allocations.
• Encourage co-workers and various publics in advocacy efforts.
• Accompany a welfare recipient to the welfare office. Learn about the barriers that keep individuals in poverty from someone whose life is affected by welfare reform.

(Thanks to Gabe Blood, BVM associate, for the information in the analysis and action sections.)
 

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) has approximately 1,000 members who are the elected leaders of their religious orders, representing 76,000 Catholic sisters in the United States. The Conference develops leadership, promotes collaboration within church and society, and serves as a voice for systemic change.