Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 29, 1999
Contact: Kathy Davis, WorkFirst Communications: (360) 586-4066
Alt Contact: Michael Wilson, Department of Employment Security: (360) 902-9317
With the two-year anniversary of the state's landmark welfare-reform program drawing near, Locke said he is pleased by the decline in welfare caseloads but said he is most encouraged by the state's success in helping people find jobs and make a better life for themselves and their families.
"The caseload is dropping because people are going to work and earning enough to stay off welfare," Locke said. "That doesn't always happen in one step. Some people need more help than others to become economically self-sufficient. The goal of WorkFirst has always been 'a job, a better job, a better life,' and it's encouraging that our state's efforts are becoming a national model in preventing those who leave welfare from becoming the working poor."
Locke made his remarks at the WorkFirst Post-Employment Labor Exchange (WPLEX), a program based in south Seattle that has received national recognition for its innovative approach to helping past or current welfare recipients succeed in the workplace. In its first 11 months of operation, the 40-member WPLEX staff contacted 22,000 clients offering assistance in finding the training, childcare and other services they need to keep their jobs or find better jobs.
Since the WPLEX call center opened last August, 7,700 employed WorkFirst participants were referred to better jobs, and 6,355 were referred to two-year colleges for training to increase their earnings.
"The help WPLEX gave me made all the difference in the world," said Darlett Lybbert, a single parent who also spoke during the governor's visit to WPLEX. "They really opened my eyes to all kinds of possibilities." With the help of program staff, Lybbert found a new job that boosted her income from $540 to $1,600 per month.
Carver Gayton, commissioner of the Department of Employment Security which operates WPLEX, noted that both North Carolina and Maryland have sent officials to Washington State to determine how to adapt the call-center concept in their own states. WPLEX was also one of 10 programs throughout the nation cited by the National Center for Public Productivity at Rutgers University for producing "measurable increases in quality and productivity" in state government.
WPLEX and other new initiatives — including new training programs at state community colleges and the new Community Jobs Program for those who do not succeed in finding other work — represent the latest phase of the state's WorkFirst program, Locke said.
"Thanks in part to these kinds of aggressive approaches to moving people up the wage ladder, we are seeing fewer people coming back onto our welfare rolls," Locke said. According to the state's WorkFirst office:
- An average of 3.2 percent of the state's population is receiving a public assistance grant this year. The last time it was that low was in 1982, when the legislature eliminated the two-parent program for one year due to a severe budget shortfall — then restored it the following year. Apart from that aberration, the last time caseloads dropped to 3.2 percent was in 1970.
- The percentage of families returning to welfare within one year of leaving the rolls has declined from around 20 percent at the beginning of 1997 to 15 percent by mid-1998.
- More than 39,000 WorkFirst participants went to work during the program year that ended June 30, surpassing the year's goal of 37,500.
- In the past year, WorkFirst has paid for tuition, textbooks and fees for 4,215 low-income students who are working at least half-time.
WorkFirst is administered jointly by four state agencies: Employment Security Department; Department of Social and Health Services; Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development; and State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. For their part, community and technical colleges are developing pioneering programs to help WorkFirst participants and low-income workers get the training they need to move up the wage scale.
An example is bringing basic workplace and literacy skills training right into the work site. This program helps employers who hire lower skilled WorkFirst participants and helps the workers keep their jobs. In the past year, the colleges provided Workplace Basics training to 753 workers at 40 different businesses.
WorkFirst's Community Jobs program is another first of its kind in the nation. WorkFirst participants who have been unable to find work during their initial job search are placed in positions in nonprofit organizations, schools, and local, state, federal or tribal agencies. These individuals, who may otherwise be hard to employ because of health or personal problems, earn minimum wage working at least 20 hours per week and are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Beyond that, they receive customized support services and skills training to increase their employment prospects.
An expansion in July has made Community Jobs available in all parts of the state. While 550 people are currently participating in Community Jobs, the program is projected to serve more than 3,000 people during the next two years.
Community Jobs has received attention from national organizations such as the Rockefeller Foundation, the Center on Law and Social Policy, and the Children's Defense Fund.
"Washington has been the most aggressive state in the welfare reform era to create publicly funded jobs as a strategy for hard-to-employ recipients," said Cliff Johnson at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "Their Community Jobs program has become the principal model adopted by other states."
Despite the successes of the past two years, Locke emphasized that there is still much work to be done to achieve the goals of the state's WorkFirst program.
"I'm proud that in just two years, Washington is proving to be a leader in welfare reform initiatives that really improve people's lives," Locke said. "We can't rest on our laurels, however. I'm keeping the pressure on to find better and better ways of placing WorkFirst participants into jobs, especially those with the most obstacles to overcome, and at the same time helping those who do work to escape poverty."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 29, 1999
Contact: Kathy Davis, WorkFirst Communications: (360) 586-4066
Alt Contact: Michael Wilson, Department of Employment Security: (360) 902-9317
Locke hails declining welfare rolls, innovations under WorkFirst
SEATTLE — The portion of Washington State's population on welfare dropped to its lowest comparable percentage in nearly 30 years as the state's caseload fell below 60,000 in June, Gov. Gary Locke announced today. That's one-third fewer families receiving public assistance than when the state initiated its WorkFirst program Aug. 1, 1997.With the two-year anniversary of the state's landmark welfare-reform program drawing near, Locke said he is pleased by the decline in welfare caseloads but said he is most encouraged by the state's success in helping people find jobs and make a better life for themselves and their families.
"The caseload is dropping because people are going to work and earning enough to stay off welfare," Locke said. "That doesn't always happen in one step. Some people need more help than others to become economically self-sufficient. The goal of WorkFirst has always been 'a job, a better job, a better life,' and it's encouraging that our state's efforts are becoming a national model in preventing those who leave welfare from becoming the working poor."
Locke made his remarks at the WorkFirst Post-Employment Labor Exchange (WPLEX), a program based in south Seattle that has received national recognition for its innovative approach to helping past or current welfare recipients succeed in the workplace. In its first 11 months of operation, the 40-member WPLEX staff contacted 22,000 clients offering assistance in finding the training, childcare and other services they need to keep their jobs or find better jobs.
Since the WPLEX call center opened last August, 7,700 employed WorkFirst participants were referred to better jobs, and 6,355 were referred to two-year colleges for training to increase their earnings.
"The help WPLEX gave me made all the difference in the world," said Darlett Lybbert, a single parent who also spoke during the governor's visit to WPLEX. "They really opened my eyes to all kinds of possibilities." With the help of program staff, Lybbert found a new job that boosted her income from $540 to $1,600 per month.
Carver Gayton, commissioner of the Department of Employment Security which operates WPLEX, noted that both North Carolina and Maryland have sent officials to Washington State to determine how to adapt the call-center concept in their own states. WPLEX was also one of 10 programs throughout the nation cited by the National Center for Public Productivity at Rutgers University for producing "measurable increases in quality and productivity" in state government.
WPLEX and other new initiatives — including new training programs at state community colleges and the new Community Jobs Program for those who do not succeed in finding other work — represent the latest phase of the state's WorkFirst program, Locke said.
"Thanks in part to these kinds of aggressive approaches to moving people up the wage ladder, we are seeing fewer people coming back onto our welfare rolls," Locke said. According to the state's WorkFirst office:
- An average of 3.2 percent of the state's population is receiving a public assistance grant this year. The last time it was that low was in 1982, when the legislature eliminated the two-parent program for one year due to a severe budget shortfall — then restored it the following year. Apart from that aberration, the last time caseloads dropped to 3.2 percent was in 1970.
- The percentage of families returning to welfare within one year of leaving the rolls has declined from around 20 percent at the beginning of 1997 to 15 percent by mid-1998.
- More than 39,000 WorkFirst participants went to work during the program year that ended June 30, surpassing the year's goal of 37,500.
- In the past year, WorkFirst has paid for tuition, textbooks and fees for 4,215 low-income students who are working at least half-time.
WorkFirst is administered jointly by four state agencies: Employment Security Department; Department of Social and Health Services; Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development; and State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. For their part, community and technical colleges are developing pioneering programs to help WorkFirst participants and low-income workers get the training they need to move up the wage scale.
An example is bringing basic workplace and literacy skills training right into the work site. This program helps employers who hire lower skilled WorkFirst participants and helps the workers keep their jobs. In the past year, the colleges provided Workplace Basics training to 753 workers at 40 different businesses.
WorkFirst's Community Jobs program is another first of its kind in the nation. WorkFirst participants who have been unable to find work during their initial job search are placed in positions in nonprofit organizations, schools, and local, state, federal or tribal agencies. These individuals, who may otherwise be hard to employ because of health or personal problems, earn minimum wage working at least 20 hours per week and are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Beyond that, they receive customized support services and skills training to increase their employment prospects.
An expansion in July has made Community Jobs available in all parts of the state. While 550 people are currently participating in Community Jobs, the program is projected to serve more than 3,000 people during the next two years.
Community Jobs has received attention from national organizations such as the Rockefeller Foundation, the Center on Law and Social Policy, and the Children's Defense Fund.
"Washington has been the most aggressive state in the welfare reform era to create publicly funded jobs as a strategy for hard-to-employ recipients," said Cliff Johnson at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "Their Community Jobs program has become the principal model adopted by other states."
Despite the successes of the past two years, Locke emphasized that there is still much work to be done to achieve the goals of the state's WorkFirst program.
"I'm proud that in just two years, Washington is proving to be a leader in welfare reform initiatives that really improve people's lives," Locke said. "We can't rest on our laurels, however. I'm keeping the pressure on to find better and better ways of placing WorkFirst participants into jobs, especially those with the most obstacles to overcome, and at the same time helping those who do work to escape poverty."
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