The idea behind this pilot program, which was implemented early in 1993 in Salt Lake City's Kearns neighborhood and in the smaller Utah cities of St. George and Roosevelt and rural Kane County, is to turn AFDC from an entitlement program into an employment program. From Day One, the client's goal, in consultation with her worker, is not to go ON welfare but to establish a plan to get OFF welfare. If it appears that a quick, focused financial payment will solve the problem without the client going on the welfare rolls at all, workers are able to authorize it.
Employment is supported rather than penalized.
The pilot program has been so successful, the governor said, that it will be expanded from 1,700 to 2,500 families, representing 15 percent of Utah's welfare case load. It involves a contract with clear rights and responsibilities on the part of government AND welfare recipients, and that goes beyond politics. Send him E-mail .