Taylor reported some cases in which it is, as low-income workers lost benefits such as food stamps and child care as their pay inched up. If Oregon's goal is indeed to get people into jobs and to keep them there, as opposed to simply getting them off welfare rolls, then the next steps must be identified soon. Now officials must figure out what workers need to stay there, and ultimately to get ahead. Once that's determined, state government and employers both must work to provide it. Each has a stake in keeping former welfare recipients on the job.
Advocates rightly decry the fact that many people who moved off welfare are still living in poverty.
But so were they when they were on welfare. Now many are employed, with at least a chance to advance. And returning to welfare remains an option, as Jim Neely, deputy administrator of state Adult and Family Services, points out. No one said it was going to be easy. Oregon still has the right approach, but we have to take it one step at a time.