This result seems promising, but should it be used to evaluate welfare reform's success? This question divides the issue among party lines. Generally, republicans view this outcome as a reliable way to measure reform's success. In contrast, democrats probe deeper into welfare, considering additional data. This includes knowing that one third of children in America are living in poverty. This value has varied little since 1996. The question then rises, what is it about this reform that is not getting our children out of poverty? To answer this question, a few facts must be considered. Including, how reform has changed welfare and the characteristics of a welfare recipient.

One change in welfare is an increase in state's rights to create individual welfare programs. In Texas, aggressive welfare to work programs have been implemented. The focus is to advance recipients out of the welfare system and into the workforce. Additionall

y, this transition is given a time limit. The federal government gives one person, over the span of their life, five years of welfare benefits. Exercising state's rights, leaders in Texas have reduced this time limit to one year. This allows a recipient one-year to make the transition from welfare to work. To most people this seems reasonable. But, the characteristics of welfare recipients need to be considered here.

As a result, of the seven million people that stopped receiving welfare benefits since 1996, three-fourths of them have jobs. These jobs provide no health benefits and offer an average wage of $6.50 per hour. Consequently, in order to pay their bills and avoid eating smaller meals, they must supplement their income with food stamps and Medicaid. Not only are they still living in poverty, we are still buying their groceries, thus revealing the failure of welfare.

In conclusion, it can be seen that solutions to the current failing welfare program are not as simple as providing needed resources to welfare recipients. Before offering these resources can even be considered a century-old attitude must be changed in the minds of our leaders. Which ultimately comes down to relinquishing a social bias across our nation. This is a task we have yet to master.

Even though this paradox is obvious, solutions are not b

Some common words found in the essay are:
Human Services, Washington Post, Organization Society, welfare recipients, Reconciliation Act, day care, Edward Devine, Reform August, welfare programs, reform's success, characteristics welfare, living poverty, welfare considering, social bias, welfare program, welfare recipient,
Approximate Word count = 913
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)