(Vermont) In House vote on welfare limit, a right turn on a left issue

[FrodosPet]

1. Rossier: Thoughts on Reach Up-Vermont’s TANF program

http://vtdigger.org/2013/03/26/rossier-thoughts-on-reach-up-vermonts-tanf-program/

Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Jan Rossier, director of the Parent Child Center at Northeast Kingdom Community Action.

I am a director of a Parent Child Center that offers an array of services designed to support families receiving Reach Up and that works with them on a daily basis providing support around job skills, job coaching, strengthening soft skills and resume building, as well as providing educational support to obtain a high school diploma or GED. Our center also works closely with employers and the housing world, as well as provides some transportation. It takes these supports to keep families moving forward. The administration’s proposal of cutting off services when the economic status of the state is bleak, at best, doesn’t seem like a well thought out plan.

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Reach Up has had a successful track record in Vermont. About a third of the families receiving assistance actually receive their resources from a combination of employment and their Reach Up grant. Others pursue job skill enhancement or education in an effort to increase their skills with a goal of obtaining employment. When Vermont’s economy is good, the Reach Up caseload goes down; when the economy is bad, the caseload increases. Clearly the number of families seeking the support of the program is in direct correlation with the struggling economy.

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