Viewpoint Welfare-to-work policy needs work
By JOHN CARON
Welfare-to-work is not working. The
poor seem to be caught in a never-ending cycle of poverty and dependency. There
are three problem areas: job training, disruptive family situations and poor
schools.
Welfare-to-work has concentrated on putting people into jobs
first. Due to low skill levels, the job is usually low paid. Without additional
training and education, opportunities for moving up the economic ladder are
limited. Although many companies have on-the-job training, they are not
equipped or willing to teach literacy and numerical skills or to assume the
cost of remedial education.
A pilot job ladder program has been funded by Congress
to provide ongoing skills training and counseling. This sort of program should
be supported and expanded to ensure that every American who seeks it can
receive the training necessary to get a job with a future.
Of course, access to a decent job is only part of the solution.
Many families struggling with poverty also face domestic challenges such as
drug or alcohol addiction, abusive spouses, boy friends or relatives and
squalid living conditions.
A partial solution is extended child care, including after-school
and summer activities such as tutoring, athletics and youth clubs. A few years
ago a congressional recommendation of funding midnight basketball was
ridiculed, but this type of activity is just what is needed.
Probably the biggest single factor in perpetuating the cycle of
poverty and dependency is poor schools. Poor children start with two strikes
against them because the schools they attend do not give them the skills needed
to rise about low wage jobs.
Why are achievement levels in some schools so low? A recent study
by the University of Tennessee, reported in Education Life, investigated the
factors. The study examined class size, the location of the school (urban,
suburban, rural), per-pupil expenditure, ethnic makeup, percentage of children
eligible for free and reduced costs for lunch, the heterogeneous or homogeneous
makeup of the school and the quality of the teacher. The study found that the
quality of the teachers was the most significant factor. Teacher effectiveness
was 10 to 20 times as significant as other factors.
The study traced individual children through sequences of
teachers. For example, the study compared the progress of two children who left
the second grade with the same achievement level. One child was taught for the
next three years by a teacher in the top 20th percentile and the other by a
teacher in the bottom percentile. The first child scored in the 96th percentile
in the fifth grade math test, while the other scored in the 44th percentile.
Salaries for teachers are decisively lower than for other
professional positions. The Education Week annual survey showed the
average starting pay of a U.S. teacher was $8,000 less than other
professionals, and at age 50, $24,000 less. The average salary of all teachers
is $30,074 compared to the average salary of all professionals of $43,075.
Inner city teachers receive substantially less than suburban teachers. Often
idealistic young teachers leave inner city teaching because they become
discouraged by the discipline problems, the bureaucracy and low salaries.
Teacher effectiveness can be improved. Salaries should be
increased to attract and retain better teachers. An offer to forgive tuition
loans after five years of teaching should be used to attract young people to
the profession. Performance standards to identify and reward effective teachers
should be used as incentives. Ongoing teacher training should be offered
throughout the systems. Higher pay should be offered to teachers who work with
poorly prepared students, learning disabled students or students with problem
behaviors.
The adverse consequences of poor education in this country are a
national issue, not just a local issue. Remedies should be federally funded.
Although the costs are high, this is an investment in the future of our
country. The GI Bill, which offered tuition and living stipends for a four-year
college education to every World War II veteran, was the best investment this
country ever made.
Poorly educated and poorly trained people are a financial drain on
the country. The costs of welfare, health care, extra police protection and
prisons increase; the country bears the higher costs of a less productive work
force; the country realizes lower tax revenues from those who earn low incomes.
Welfare-to-work might not be working, but the causes can be
identified and solutions developed. Going back to the old welfare system is not
acceptable politically, is not good economics and it is not sound morally to
have a permanent underclass of poverty, dependence and low self-esteem.
John Caron, a Connecticut businessman and member of the NCR
board of directors, is engaged in promoting progress in Third World
countries.
National Catholic Reporter, March 10,
2000
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