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News Release |
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | |
| Date: | Tuesday, December 7, 1999
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| Contact: | Jessica Yates, (703) 838-0730; Angelita Plemmer, City Manager's Office, (703) 838-4300
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Alexandria Releases Six-Month Welfare Reform Study
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FORMER RECIPIENTS EMPLOYED AND MOVING TOWARD SELF-SUFFICIENCY
The City of Alexandria released today results from a study tracking former clients of the City's welfare reform program. The research, conducted by Virginia Tech's Center for Public Administration and Policy, indicates that the majority of clients are making progress in moving toward self-sufficiency six months after leaving welfare.
"This is the City's first attempt to analyze client outcomes of the City's welfare reform initiative after benefits end," said Alexandria Mayor Kerry J. Donley. "This kind of research gives the City valuable information to help our families become self-sufficient."
Under a $35,000 contract with the City's Department of Human Services, Virginia Tech researchers assessed employment, income and other indicators. Virginia Tech researchers will continue the study by tracking the progress of former clients one year after leaving welfare.
"Reaching self-sufficiency often requires a series of small successes, and I am pleased that so many of our families have begun to take these important steps toward improving their lives," said City Manager Vola Lawson.
Researchers interviewed 81 individuals out of a pool of 193 former welfare clients between May and December 1998. Individuals who agreed to participate received a $25 gift certificate from Target.
The first phase of the study suggests that former clients are moving from part-time to full-time employment and increasing their earnings within six months of leaving the system.
Significant findings include:
* Most clients in the study --- 72 percent --- were employed six months after leaving welfare, and their average earned income had increased by 54 percent;
* On average, clients who had participated in training or education while on welfare earned 40 percent more than clients who did not;
* Nearly all clients had some type of health insurance, mostly through Medicaid with some getting coverage through their employers; and
* The vast majority of clients reported that their children's performance and attendance in school had improved or remained about the same after leaving welfare.
"The study's findings underscore the strengths of our new one-stop career center, JobLink, and the continuing need for quality child care and health insurance for these families in transition," said Vice Mayor William D. Euille, co-chair of the Alexandria Works! Coalition. Councilwoman Redella S. Pepper, also co-chair, voiced her support for the research project. "Continuing to track the progress of these families will help guide future policies so we can be sure that the families have long-term successes," she said.
Since 1996, Vice Mayor Euille and Councilwoman Pepper have been leaders in the City's welfare reform initiative, Alexandria Works!. This initiative follows state policies that require many welfare clients to work and impose a two-year time limit on receiving benefits. The ultimate goal is to help low-income families become self-sufficient.
In the past two years, the City experienced a decline in caseloads similar to state and national trends. As of September 1999, the City had 1,638 welfare recipients, a 36 percent decrease from September 1997. The study through Virginia Tech is a first step in determining how the City's clients fare after leaving welfare.
An executive summary of the study is available on the City's web site. The entire study is available on Virginia Tech's web site . Limited copies of the study are available to the public and can be obtained by calling Angelita Plemmer at 838-4300.
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