Under Gov. Jim Doyle’s proposed budget, cuts to the Wisconsin Works program would eliminate linking financial assistance to families in need to their children’s school attendance record.
The W-2 is available to parents of minors who earn 115 percent or less of the federal poverty level and seeks to help such individuals reach self-sufficiency through subsidized job training, financial aid and counseling.
Currently the Learnfare program, which is a part of the W-2 program, puts financial penalties on families who receive aid but whose children have poor attendance in school by charging the family $50 per child with a maximum of $150 per month.
“It is a punitive program that is holding poor parents to a different standard than other parents. Also, it is punitive as opposed to strength-based, which a lot of the other programs that are encouraging parents to change their behavior and encourage school attendance have had more success with,” Department of Children and Families spokesperson Erika Monroe-Kane said.
She went on to point out it is not the role of Wisconsin Works to address academic issues. She said independent studies have ruled the program to be ineffective and that tough economic times demand that tough decisions must be made and ineffective programs be eliminated to make way for other vital programs that have proven to be more effective.
According to Monroe-Kane, there are other state-funded programs, such as Wisconsin Covenant and Youth Apprenticeship programs, to address children’s attendance and success in school.
“To say that it is a waste of resources to encourage parents to make sure their kids are in school is exactly backwards. What could be more important for parents — and the state for that matter — than making sure that every child goes to school, so that when they graduate from high school and get a job, they don’t end up back on welfare?” Joint Committee on Finance member Rep. Robin Vos, R-Racine, said.
Vos added he would be open to exploring ways to improve on the effectiveness of the program if proven to be ineffective, however, simply removing the requirement was not an option.
Doyle’s budget increases the time parents under the W-2 program can stay at home with a newborn child from three to six months. It also allows women with late-term risk pregnancies to receive welfare benefits.
It also introduces cost cutting measures to the W-2 program, such as tightening eligibility standards and introducing a waiting list for families seeking child-care subsidies.
Kimberly Liedl, spokesperson for Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, contends that six months pregnancy leave is a benefit generally not extended even to the general public and is therefore unfair.
Monroe-Kane argued the first six months are particularly crucial to the development of a healthy family, and the extension of six months will benefit Wisconsin in the long-run.
As of February 2009, the W-2 program provides financial assistance to a total of 6,949 Wisconsin families.
