The Wisconsin State Journal is to be congratulated on a well written, interesting and comprehensive four part series on Madison’s economy and how it needs to plan for the future. It graphically depicts how the city of Madison is changing and suggests six important things that the city can do to create more jobs and protect the quality of life.
When I try to distill the essence of this series, however, I have to say that in none of the four part series was the Journal’s laissez faire philosophy or bias far from the page. Nor were its conclusions very different from their almost daily editorial sermons. The City of Madison must have “a new relationship between the Council’s political left and business.” Is there anyone in Madison who hasn’t heard this mantra?
There was certainly no surprise here! This, in spite of the fact however that the Journal’s extensive investigation could find absolutely no evidence that the Council’s political left had actually significantly hurt Madison business one iota.
Implicit throughout but less so in the series’ conclusions, was the meta message that Madison citizens should keep it’s hands off the business community regardless of how dirty or how clean, or how tall or how wide, or how big or how powerful it might choose to grow.
Fortunately, in spite of this bias the Journal research also found that Madison’s democracy is vibrant and strong, even if at times, to the chagrin business and the Journal. From this series, the citizens of Madison can take a deep and rewarding breath and celebrate that this study also found that its many neighborhood associations are thriving and healthy. The famous nineteenth century observer of American life, Alexis de Tocqueville, if he could visit our city today, would find that Madison’s civic pride and industry is also very strong and getting more powerful!
Most respectfully,
William R. Benedict
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Put heart into W-2 program
Published in the Wisconsin State Journal’s ‘Your Opinion’ Section
As reported by Brenda Ingersoll in the June 27 Wisconsin State Journal, the number of Wisconsin children living in families whose earnings are 50 percent below the poverty level nearly doubled between 2000 and 2004, from 44,000 up to 84,000
Ingersoll noted that such poverty “has an impact on all sorts of other conditions for children—instability in their housing, their schooling, their safety and their health.” It’s clear from this report that the Department of Workforce Development’s “Wisconsin Works” (W-2) Program failed.
What a stark contrast between these long term findings, and what Rep. John Gard, author of Wisconsin Works Program, boasted on the PBS NewsHour in 1996.“A lot of folks have moved in to work. We’ve seen tremendous success with people moving into private sector work.” In fact the Legislative Audit Bureau indicates that 43% of W-2 participants were employed by temporary staffing agencies.
Then Sen. Gwendolynne Moore, who appeared with Gard, had it right then and now when she said: “To say, as Rep. Gard has just said, to be cynical and say, we’re going to take away the safety net for children so as to force people into the low-wage work force…is a smoking gun.
The W-2 program has slowly transitioned into a “sanction-centered” program. Its principal activity is bureaucratic watchdog asking participants to jump through more and more eligibility and program hoops. The Audit Bureau noted that W-2 agencies imposed over $30.2 million in financial sanctions, often inconsistent, and that seven W-2 agencies sanctioned more than 20 percent of their participants.
And while W-2 is required to administer barrier screening assessments to identify obstacles to employment, only about 40 percent were actually done. Missed assessments result in fewer W-2 eligible program participants. And without assessments, needed services are denied to the detriment of both the participants and taxpayers. A growing number of W-2 participants are nearing their lifetime limit of program eligibility.
The real issue is how are we going to provide meaningful work assistance? Will we adopt a service-centered job assisted program which provides adequate child care, transportation, remedial education, job training, comprehensive health care, including paid sick leave, or are we going to continue to create bureaucratic barriers and sanctions?
With the number of Wisconsin families living in poverty steadily increasing we cannot be content with being ranked 13th in an otherwise top ranked state. Most importantly, how can we assist and protect young mothers who have legitimate barriers, but who continue to go undetected and underserved or who just can’t work?
As a professional social worker, I know that human service professionals working at Dane County Family Services, The Mental Health Center of Dane County, in domestic abuse programs, in our schools and child care centers, see underserved children daily.
W-2 requires that, after the participants use up their eligibility extensions, regardless of need and even if they have met every requirement, they will be abandoned. W-2 treats the economically disenfranchised differently than any other constituency. Those who are least able will get the least assistance.
It’s time for the citizens of Wisconsin to help our most needy and deserving families. Will this program continue its harsh policies, or will the Department of Workforce Development begin their own reform program to include compassion, love, kindness, hope and generosity?
As reported by Brenda Ingersoll in the June 27 Wisconsin State Journal, the number of Wisconsin children living in families whose earnings are 50 percent below the poverty level nearly doubled between 2000 and 2004, from 44,000 up to 84,000
Ingersoll noted that such poverty “has an impact on all sorts of other conditions for children—instability in their housing, their schooling, their safety and their health.” It’s clear from this report that the Department of Workforce Development’s “Wisconsin Works” (W-2) Program failed.
What a stark contrast between these long term findings, and what Rep. John Gard, author of Wisconsin Works Program, boasted on the PBS NewsHour in 1996.“A lot of folks have moved in to work. We’ve seen tremendous success with people moving into private sector work.” In fact the Legislative Audit Bureau indicates that 43% of W-2 participants were employed by temporary staffing agencies.
Then Sen. Gwendolynne Moore, who appeared with Gard, had it right then and now when she said: “To say, as Rep. Gard has just said, to be cynical and say, we’re going to take away the safety net for children so as to force people into the low-wage work force…is a smoking gun.
The W-2 program has slowly transitioned into a “sanction-centered” program. Its principal activity is bureaucratic watchdog asking participants to jump through more and more eligibility and program hoops. The Audit Bureau noted that W-2 agencies imposed over $30.2 million in financial sanctions, often inconsistent, and that seven W-2 agencies sanctioned more than 20 percent of their participants.
And while W-2 is required to administer barrier screening assessments to identify obstacles to employment, only about 40 percent were actually done. Missed assessments result in fewer W-2 eligible program participants. And without assessments, needed services are denied to the detriment of both the participants and taxpayers. A growing number of W-2 participants are nearing their lifetime limit of program eligibility.
The real issue is how are we going to provide meaningful work assistance? Will we adopt a service-centered job assisted program which provides adequate child care, transportation, remedial education, job training, comprehensive health care, including paid sick leave, or are we going to continue to create bureaucratic barriers and sanctions?
With the number of Wisconsin families living in poverty steadily increasing we cannot be content with being ranked 13th in an otherwise top ranked state. Most importantly, how can we assist and protect young mothers who have legitimate barriers, but who continue to go undetected and underserved or who just can’t work?
As a professional social worker, I know that human service professionals working at Dane County Family Services, The Mental Health Center of Dane County, in domestic abuse programs, in our schools and child care centers, see underserved children daily.
W-2 requires that, after the participants use up their eligibility extensions, regardless of need and even if they have met every requirement, they will be abandoned. W-2 treats the economically disenfranchised differently than any other constituency. Those who are least able will get the least assistance.
It’s time for the citizens of Wisconsin to help our most needy and deserving families. Will this program continue its harsh policies, or will the Department of Workforce Development begin their own reform program to include compassion, love, kindness, hope and generosity?
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