Wisconsin has always been at the forefront of social and economic advancement; it was the first state to have a kindergarten, and the first state to have worker's compensation and unemployment benefits. One of the greatest, more recent, innovations that came from the state of Wisconsin was the Welfare to Work or Wisconsin Works (W-2) Program.
The W-2 system began as a new way to help unemployed and underprivileged citizens move up in life. In 1986, Governor Tommy Thompson pioneered the innovative agenda that later became the W-2 program, which would even allow welfare recipients to take English as a Second Language or technology classes, among others, to make them more employable in today's market. The W-2 agencies will also look after participants' children so they can take these classes.
After they learn language and job skills, the W-2 agencies place participants in jobs or set them up with interviews. They can provide work experience as well, so employers have more of an incentive to hire W-2 clients. It's welfare that is not merely a handout and can improve the lives of many Wisconsin residents. Other states have also implemented such programs.
However, the program has become more about the W-2 agencies making a profit and not about sufficiently preparing individuals for work and helping them acquire and maintain jobs to support their families.
Maximus, one of the W-2 agencies in Milwaukee that is a division of a large corporation in Colorado, New York and now Israel among others, describes itself as "an extremely dynamic and complex organization that offers government and industry a range of unique services, products, and solutions" on its website. They design programs to benefit MediCal beneficiaries in California and run child-support services in Canada. It is an organization that profits from supposedly helping others.
Recently, there have been a string of incidents that have led people to believe W-2 agencies such as Maximus are not doing their jobs in Wisconsin. Hmong immigrants have been taken out of their classes early and declared "job-ready" before they have learned to speak English. This causes some problems because there is no way for employers to effectively communicate with their new employees.
Some of these Hmong workers were sent to a meat-packing plant and were not given proper instruction in a language they can understand. The workers in these plants also operate heavy machinery. A worker and a supervisor who do not speak the same language do not make a good team when heavy machinery is involved. This lack of preparedness of workers can only lead to disaster.
The W-2 program is remarkable in that it is a work-based system of welfare for low-income families. However, if the main breadwinner in the family suddenly has an accident on his or her first day of work, it is not doing anyone any good. This is an issue that crosses partisan lines. W-2 was established by a Republican and accepted by Democrats in the legislature as good policy. On the whole it has been a good system, with Wisconsin's welfare caseload falling 72.4 percent since 1994 according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. We cannot stop holding agencies accountable for the people they send out to the workforce. Workers need to be prepared and ready to work or more people will be hurt on the job — an avoidable problem that is completely unacceptable.
Julie Isen ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in political science.