States give cash to working poor

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — For years, state welfare offices like the one here alongside Interstate 30 have drawn the unemployed. But these days, the red-brick building is also attracting poor, working parents with an unexpected offer: $204 a month in cash.

Shelly Thomas, a stockroom clerk and single mother, is using her windfall from the state of Arkansas to tune up the old Chevrolet she drives to work.

Talia Greenwood, a day-care worker with four children, uses her money for gas, diapers and baby formula.

The women are pioneers in an emerging social experiment as states across the country try to go beyond simply moving people off welfare.

Over the past two years, Arkansas and more than a dozen other states have announced plans to extend the safety net — through monthly cash payments — to thousands of low-income workers struggling to gain a foothold in the work world.

Most states focus on people who have left welfare for low-wage jobs. They believe that the new programs, which typically combine several months of cash assistance with career counseling, health insurance and subsidized child care, will help low-wage workers weather family illnesses and cash shortages and deter them from cycling back onto the welfare rolls.

The trend has also been driven by new federal rules that require states to engage 50 percent of welfare recipients in work-related activities.

By offering payments to people already working, states are also trying to ensure they meet federal mandates and avoid steep fines.

By October, at least 11 states will offer cash-assistance programs. Two others plan to start next year, and an additional three are weighing plans.

Most rely on federal welfare money to finance the programs.

Arkansas provides $204 a month, plus bonuses for staying employed, for up to two years. Oregon offers $150 a month for up to a year. Virginia gives $50 a month for up to a year.

And the California Legislature is considering a plan, proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, to provide $40 a month to 41,000 working families that receive food stamps.

"The goal had been getting parents off of welfare," said Jack Tweedie of the National Conference of State Legislatures, who counsels states on poverty issues and has advised Arkansas officials.

"The emphasis now is much more on work and helping parents stay in work."