THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 21, 1994 TAG: 9409210010
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Opinion
SOURCE: By BILL THOMAS
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
I am a member of Gov. George Allen's Commission on Citizens Empowerment (welfare reform). Gov. Allen's and Secretary Kay Coles James' goal is to present an implementation plan that will enable all Virginians to work toward independence and self-sufficiency, i.e, put people to work.
As chairman of the commission's Committee on Families, Individuals and Health Care, I read with interest the Associated Press article ``Welfare initiative has found work for just 7 women'' (Aug. 6). This may have been true at the state level, but at the local level hundreds of welfare recipients have been placed on jobs in the private sector. Norfolk, for example, has developed a comprehensive workfare jobs partnership among the departments of Social Services and Economic Development, local government, private employers, the public-housing authority, the public-school system and other community organizations.
What makes Norfolk's model successful? The state government program took responsibility for identifying the eligible welfare clients, targeting potential employers and using the Virginia Employment Commission to link the employers with welfare recipients. By contrast, Norfolk's program is a collaborative effort between the cooperative partners focusing on the most job-ready clients. Also, Norfolk's program was built at the local level around the private sector with government acting only as the facilitator.
The bureaucracy must realize that the process has to take place at the local level with the private sector and the local community because potential employers want to see what they are buying into - regardless of government incentives. Employers also want to see what they are buying based on individual employee evaluations. Government did not understand that at the bottom line employers want trained, educated, job reliable and trustworthy employees regardless of their personal circumstance or government cash incentives. The state's program was destined to flounder because businesses operate at the local level, not at the state level. Government tends to act as a collective while business must act independently in the free-enterprise system.
The goal of former Governor Wilder's proposal to secure highpaying jobs for welfare recipients was commendable, however on a practical level and due to many barriers, success can only be realized on a client-by-client basis at the local level. The target population should be those individuals whom local agencies are already working with to overcome the obstacles to employment. We recognize that the transition from welfare to workfare is a very difficult process and we are just scratching the surface. We also know that education is very important. In some of Norfolk's target markets like the housing projects, the reality is that only 38 percent of the students in Norfolk's housing projects graduate from high school, while 63 percent of those graduating seniors maintain a ``D'' average.
There are other traditional barriers in the job market, especially for women on welfare, that also must be overcome. An example: As large construction and retail projects in Norfolk come on line, women now on welfare must be trained to enter this job market. It is important to have a mix of low-paying service jobs and higher-paying jobs. HUD typically ties its community block-grant programs to serve only the low- to moderate-income population. We must expand this effort to encompass those poor women who are now on welfare and the men who have been driven out of the house by the system. These types of efforts should make a real difference in the inner-city communities with high unemployment.
Gov. Allen's objective is to create jobs and provide fair opportunities to all Virginians who want to work. This includes current welfare recipients. Our country has spent more than $5 trillion on the ``War on Poverty'' since 1964. Instead of curing poverty, welfare and government programs for the most part have created a socially debilitating culture of welfare dependency that destroys families and communities. This is not a political game; it is a jobs-creation game. Secretary Kay Coles James put it best when she said, ``Government does have a role to play, but bear in mind, we all do.''
While the task of self-improvement will be a difficult one to achieve, we as a community will benefit for generations to come if we muster the courage and faith to undertake it ourselves. Norfolk is ready to expand its workfare program with private-sector employers we have already identified and match them with welfare clients who meet the employers' qualifications. As a commissioner on the Governor's Empowerment Commission and as part of Norfolk's local initiatives, I am proud to be a part of Virginia's welfare-reform efforts. I hope that this model can be used statewide but, more important, I know that this time we can make a real difference. MEMO: Mr. Thomas lives in Norfolk. by CNB