Minnesota Welfare-to-Work Plan Helps Families out of Poverty

Rosenblum, Susan, Nation's Cities Weekly

As Congress prepares to consider reauthorization of federal welfare reform in 2001, government officials at all levels are asking, "So what happens to families and children when parents leave welfare for work? Are they truly better off?"

Several national studies are trying to answer the question. One such study, Reforming Welfare and Rewarding Work: Final Report on the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), looks at the impact of welfare-to-work on families in Minnesota. The study reports findings from an evaluation of Minnesota's welfare reform program by the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC), a nonprofit, nonpartisan research group in New York City. Because MFIP allowed parents who left welfare for work to keep their benefits until their income was at least 40 percent above the poverty line, even low-wage workers had a chance to become more economically self-sufficient.

National League of Cities Second Vice-President, Karen Anderson, Mayor of Minnetonka, Minnesota, notes that local elected officials have a stake in the outcomes for parents in their cities who are trying to move off welfare. "A strong, stable and growing business sector is a benefit to cities, ensuring its continued success has always been a priority for cities," Mayor Anderson notes that programs like the MFIP play a role in helping officials attract the types of companies that keep the city tax base strong. "The labor market is tight and …

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Publication information: Article title: Minnesota Welfare-to-Work Plan Helps Families out of Poverty. Contributors: Rosenblum, Susan - Author. Magazine title: Nation's Cities Weekly. Volume: 23. Issue: 26 Publication date: July 3, 2000. Page number: 9. © 2009 National League of Cities. COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group.

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