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| Welfare Reform and the Road to Self-Sufficiency Background In 1996, Former Governor Tommy Thompson signed into law comprehensive welfare reform legislation that brought sweeping changes to Wisconsin’s welfare landscape. Wisconsin was following the rules of AFDC (Aid for Families with Dependent Children) but W-2 (Wisconsin Works) changed the rules by requiring those on welfare to meet specific, work-based criteria to receive assistance and instituted strict punitive measures if they did not. IWF’s research and work around W-2 began during the legislative drafting and continued well into its implementation. Before the law was signed, IWF projected a negative impact if it were implemented as planned. Once the law was operative, IWF monitored W-2 practices and found there was a significant gap between the intent of the law and its practice. The goal of W-2 was to get wage earners into well-paying jobs and families on the road to self-sufficiency. However, the actual execution of the program left many families without benefits or family-supporting jobs. W-2 has emphasized placing recipients into the labor market quickly, while making benefits harder to access. W-2 assigns applicants to one of four categories when seeking benefits, based on their ability to find work. However, an unofficial fifth category was added – Job Ready – and this sent welfare caseloads in Wisconsin plummeting. Job Ready meant that the applicant was ready for the workplace and would not receive a benefits check. Unfortunately, many applicants were not ready and were denied benefits nonetheless. IWF’s role in reforming welfare reform IWF has done extensive research on low-wage workers and poverty, in an effort to improve the lot for Wisconsin families seeking assistance. From the inception of W-2, IWF has fought to make W-2 more progressive and family-friendly, and has both served on committees to reform the policy and has testified at legislative hearings. In the initial implementation phase, IWF released a series of studies that demonstrated gaps in the program. The studies showed that Hmong, victims of domestic violence, and families living in poverty have all been drastically underserved by the W-2 program. IWF also developed the FIRST model, which demonstrated the income cliff which existed, whereby monetary gains and success in the workforce would result in a W-2 participant losing a portion of their assistance, effectively creating a threshold that was economically detrimental to cross. IWF research showed that W-2 recipients might lose benefits if they earned personal gains such as a raise, thus deterring personal success. Most recently, thanks in no small part to the research IWF contributed, welfare reform advocates scored a major victory in 2007 when the Job Ready category was eliminated. The Appellate Court ruled that the category and the practice of denying benefits to applicants was at odds with the law. More recent research has focused on how to improve policies so that the program can better serve low-income parents. IWF staff served on the education and training policy group of the W-2 Advisory Panel from 2001-02. In 2002, IWF was appointed to the Governor's Task Force on Transitional Jobs and in 2003-04, staff served on the Department of Workforce Development's Sanctions Study Steering Committee. During the last year of the Working Families Project, IWF staff served on the DWD’s W-2 Sounding Board, which was chaired by former Secretary Roberta Gassman. IWF also advocated at legislative hearings to reform the W-2 system to give working families a chance at economic success. Other Resources While IWF’s work on this issue is concluded, other progressive Wisconsin groups continue to advocate for W-2 reform, including: Interfaith
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