Most of the people in this program are lacking in job skills to begin with, and there is very minimal access to schooling beyond high school. There is a labor shortage for these types of jobs, and the labor provided by welfare recipients fills this gap nicely. Another tactic used to maximize profits for the agencies is diversion. If you answer no, you are told to go back and do these things. If you you turned down a job because the wages and hours were not enough for you to live off of, you are reprimanded for not wanting to work and told to accept that job.
Many people grow frustrated and give up all together.
Each time this happens, the agencies' wallets get a little bit fatter. Three out of four W-2 workers in Milwaukee County work within the Community Service and Transition Job categories. However, these workers receive no wages from their employers, just their welfare check plus support services. What this comes down to is that these employers are being provided with free labor from the 10,000 W-2 workers. In line with this, the PIC, or Private Industry Council, who are the people whose job it is to oversee the work of W-2 agencies, stands to directly benefit from the system.