Oneof the most important issues to face the new mayor of the District of Columbia is Welfare Reform. There are currently 16,000 families and 45000 people on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) living in the District of Columbia. Each of these families receive $15,000 in cash benefits seriously straining the District’s budget. Other cities have made considerable progress in solving the welfare dependency conundrum. After decades of championing the rights of the poor, Council member Marion Barry has called for for stringent new controls. His proposal to limit benefits is a radical departure for him. He is now proposing what he once would have called draconian approaches. Let’s take him at his word.
So what has been learned since the passage of the bill in 1995? What has contributed to the whopping reduction in the welfare caseload across the country but not in DC? Here are the headlines.
