Caseload Reduction

create file " Caseload Reduction" Statement by Olivia A. Golden, HHS Assistant Secretary for Children and Families "Today, the latest national numbers from September 1999 report caseload declines of 46 percent since the new welfare reform law was enacted three years ago and 53 percent since 1993. This represents a decline from 14.1 million to 6.6 million recipients. The percentage of persons on welfare of the total U.S. population is now at its lowest since 1966. This news builds on previously reported information showing millions of Americans moving from welfare to work - 1.3 million in 1998 alone-- and record increases in the percent of current welfare recipients who are working (nearly four times the rate in 1992). "President Clinton has proposed several budget initiatives that would provide critical resources for states to continue the promise of welfare reform. One important proposal is designed to meet the enormous need for affordable child care. With the country experiencing the longest sustained economic growth in history and unemployment rates at the lowest in 30 years, America's low income working families are still struggling get and keep their jobs while finding care for their children they can rely on and trust. According to an October 1999 report from HHS, only 10 percent of the 14.7 million children currently eligible for federal child care assistance were receiving help in fiscal year 1998. There is simply an insufficient federal investment to meet the growing need of families eligible for assistance. Studies show that child care subsidies improve the employment rates of parents, while the lack of subsidies forces parents to quit jobs, reduce work hours or place kids in care that puts their learning and even their safety at risk. Additional studies show that more than half of the child care programs in the country are poor or mediocre in quality. Those studies also report that quality programs improve the learning, school preparation and behavior of kids while poor quality produces adverse outcomes for children. "To help address this tremendous unmet need for affordable child care, the Administration has proposed an increase of $817 million in fiscal year 2001 in the Child Care and Development Block Grant. These increased funds will help thousands of additional low income parents pay for the child care they so desperately need. The President's proposal also includes $3 billion over 5 years for an Early Learning Fund that would provide grants to communities, to enhance the quality of care and learning opportunities for our youngest children. "Reliable child care is critical to children's health and cognitive development, as well as to a parent's productivity at work. A dependable source of funding is crucial to ensuring that parents are able to meet their responsibilities to both their work and families. States cannot assure parents dependable support from a source of funds that may be needed for other purposes than just child care. That's why it's critical to increase the dedicated resources to states through the President's budget proposal so that no parent might have to give up their job because they can't depend on their child care. "In addition to child care, we must ensure that families moving from welfare to work have access to ongoing resources such as child support, transportation, housing, nutritional assistance, and health coverage, as well as employment services to move up the career ladder. Since the President took office, child support collections have nearly doubled from $8 billion in