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Myth: “Of the approximately 525,000 cases that currently involve cash assistance from CalWORKs, only 22% are meeting minimum program requirements. That means 78% aren't trying to get on their feet at all. They're not working, not looking for work, not seeking job training, not performing community service and not pursuing an education.” (Op Ed, 7/3/09)
- 50% of work-required adults have employment earnings, and 65% of work-required adults participate in some type of work or education activity.
- The Governor references a flawed measure, the federal Work Participation Rate (WPR), which does not reflect client participation or program success. Among its many flaws:
- The WPR excludes part-time work, and ignores the reality of low-wage jobs. The WPR is an “all or nothing” measure that does not give any credit for partial participation. Many clients work part-time, or in retail, and have little control over work hours and schedules. They may not get enough hours from their employer to consistently meet the WPR every month.
- The WPR is only a point-in-time measurement; viewing participation over time shows the overwhelming majority of clients are engaged in activities to help them move to work. Just because a client is not participating in a given month does not mean they are disengaged; that client could be employed the very next month. For example, over a nine-month period Riverside County found 87 percent of clients participated.
- Bush Administration changes to the WPR give no credit for the substantial caseload declines since the Program’s inception. CalWORKs caseload declined by 50% from 1997 to 2007, yet states get little credit for such declines, due to 2006 federal changes.
- The Governor cites WPR data from 2007—more recent data indicates the WPR is now significantly higher, despite the increase in families receiving assistance due to the recession. For example, the most recent data from Los Angeles shows a WPR of over 40 percent.
- The Administration has repeatedly and consistently acknowledged the WPR is a flawed measure and as recently as September 2008, noted the “successful efforts that have moved over 400,000 cases beyond public assistance in California since 1996.”
Myth: Making every CalWORKs recipient participate in “self sufficiency reviews” twice a year will save $850 million over the next two budget years, and ultimately $1.5 billion per year. (Op Ed, 7/3/09)
This statement is simply wrong. The Administration’s own May Revision indicated the self sufficiency reviews would save about $185 million over two years, and $100 million annually. However, the Governor does support cutting current grant levels and slashing welfare-to-work services in ways that would further impoverish children, increase homelessness and decimate the very programs that have been so successful in moving clients in to the workforce.
Myth: The CalWORKS Program is fast growing and contributing to the budget deficit. Therefore, it should be cut.
CalWORKs is not a “budget problem” for the state, and should not be a budget target. Since its inception, CalWORKs has contributed over $12 billion to the state General Fund. This savings has been achieved by shifting federal TANF and state Maintenance of Effort funds to non-CalWORKs programs, enabling the state to spend less General Fund. Further, CalWORKs brings $3.9 billion in federal funds to the state, and provides an important boost to the state’s economy, generating $7.1 billion in economic output, 137,000 private and public-sector jobs, and $130 million in sales tax revenues. |
