HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND WORK OPPORTUNITY RECONCILIATION ACT (PRWORA) REAUTHORIZATIONPERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND WORK OPPORTUNITY RECONCILIATION ACT (PRWORA) REAUTHORIZATION

WHEREAS, in 1996, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) passed giving states broad authority to restructure their welfare systems; and

WHEREAS, PRWORA replaces the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program with block grants to states under a new program known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF); and

WHEREAS, this shift represented a dramatic change in the delivery of welfare services to poor and low-income families for the stated purpose of ending the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparedness, work and marriage; and

WHEREAS, the welfare caseloads have declined by almost half since TANF was passed but many families leaving the rolls either remain unemployed or work only sporadically, most who have jobs are still poor, and many families are going without the services and resources needed to meaningfully transition from welfare to work; and

WHEREAS, in most states studied, parents who find work after leaving welfare are earning below the poverty line with wage rates generally in the $6 to $7 an hour range; and are more likely to have periods of unemployment because of a lack of child care or because of unreliable transportation; and

WHEREAS, most families need help to make their entry into the workforce more stable and secure; and

WHEREAS, in the Conference of Mayors annual report, "1999 Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness in America's Cities," demand for emergency food-related assistance during 1999 grew at the highest level since 1992, and demand for emergency housing-related assistance grew at the highest level since 1994; and

WHEREAS, availability of safe, stable living arrangements must be an integral part of the strategy for successfully and efficiently moving individuals from welfare-to-work; and

WHEREAS, 90 percent of mayors reported that training the workforce to stay competitive in a changing economy was a challenge and 72 percent of mayors reported that this challenge has grown over the past decade in The U.S. Conference of Mayors June 2000 survey, Examining Skills Shortage in America’s Cities; and

WHEREAS, as of the end of 1999, states had $2.85 billion in totally unused TANF funds and another $5 billion committed, sometimes only vaguely, but still unspent; and

WHEREAS, the Workforce Investment System and the utilization of One-Stops insure universal access to quality coordinated education and training, information and services and facilitates entry into the labor market; and

WHEREAS, Congress must reauthorize PRWORA by 2002,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The U. S. Conference of Mayors urges the federal government to conduct a national study on the impact of welfare reform on families, children, and cities as a part of TANF reauthorization; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors calls upon Congress and the Administration to invest in addressing the skills gap by providing direct funding to cities as part of TANF reauthorization and to fully invest in the Workforce Investment System; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors calls upon the nations’ governors to invest in vitally needed services including effective education, training, and placement programs to enable parents to compete for jobs with adequate pay and benefits; wage subsidies, either provided to employers or directly to parents, so low-skilled workers can better support their children; child care; transportation; and housing and rent subsidies in areas where the existing supply of subsidized housing is inadequate.