Maureen Lane

A Welfare Policy Uplift

Governor Paterson can turn a corner on access to education in New York by the end of the month without negative fiscal implications.

A little background: as I wrote on the DMI blog in February 2008, the Bush administration expanded the activities that count for state’s participation rates to draw down federal welfare dollars. College and home work among other things will be able to count for a state’s sorely needed federal money.

But the federal regulations won’t count in NYS unless the state changes law. The Assembly has taken a lead and the Senate is looking to the Governor’s social services agency to act.

A few things have changed since February. We have a new governor and a great opportunity to bring hope to poor families, economically struggling NY counties and politically hamstrung districts who do not know how to make access to education work for them and their constituents. Nonetheless, NYS is still to the hard right of the Bush administration on welfare and education policy.

NYS has less than 5% of people receiving welfare in education and training. Yet, the state and localities report that over 50 % of people receiving public assistance require adult basic education and literacy or don’t have a high school diploma.

Every week at the organization I work with - Welfare Rights Initiative (WRI) – we meet with parents and students who are discouraged and hopeless about getting to college, or finishing a GED. When I was receiving welfare, I was lucky enough to get into a GED class which led to college and now I am graduating next month with a master’s degree. A woman just like me now could not access the education programs I did twelve years ago.

But that can change.

Sure, there are those that will say that people receiving public assistance (PA) need other supports to finish programs or even college. Here at CUNY (City University of NY), we have found that some students need childcare ­- receiving PA and not-, some students need remedial classes- receiving PA and not-, all students need advising, access to computers and other resources. More money and resources are needed at our great state public institutions to be used by all students. Allowing poor students to get to college can bring hundreds of millions of federal higher education money to New York, and that would be a good thing.

The feds made the first step; New York needs to take the second step. A group of advocates and grassroots (Empire Justice, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, Hunger Action Network of NYS, Legal Aid, Economic Justice Project, CUNY Law, National Law Center and WRI to name a few) have come together as the Education Taskforce (ETF). This is what we propose :

* Students attending CUNY, SUNY and other four year colleges and
universities can have their coursework count towards their work
requirements.
* Students attending CUNY, SUNY and other four year colleges and
universities can count up to one hour per credit of unsupervised
homework toward their work requirements
* Districts cannot unreasonably deny People receiving welfare
participation in appropriate educational activities.

I work with a student who is graduating this June from Hunter. Rebecca is a scholar and an athlete. She recently wrote, “When I was younger there was a period of time when my mother received welfare because she had lost her job and like most New Yorkers we lived paycheck to paycheck, so we needed welfare to live. I was 5 years old and unlike many New Yorkers my mother was never too proud to feed her children so she applied for food stamps and I never went hungry. Many people are ashamed to admit that they have received welfare; I would be ashamed not to admit it.”

Rebecca is on the fast track for moving out of poverty through self determination and the hard work of getting a college degree but students are stopped every day by misguided regulations.

Another student, JP, writes, “As a student in CUNY I have received public assistance three times. Each time I would find a job in a factory working for what could be seen as peanuts. There is very little future in factory work or Models. Without proper education there can be no form of uplift…for the majority of poor people in this city.”

Governor Paterson, you can give a great uplift to poor families in New York and it is a win-win for the whole state. Pass legislation before the legislature leaves for the summer.

Maureen Lane: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 6:51 AM, May 29, 2008 in Economic Opportunity
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