The new welfare system is not a system at all. It is the product of individual decisions made by 50 states and the District of Columbia with a great deal of money but limited policy guidance from the federal government. Every state is promoting work as the primary objective of its welfare system. States adopted three strategies to encourage the movement of people from dependence to working for a paycheck. The first approach is to support work.
More federal funds are now available to subsidize child care, health insurance and transportation.
Forty-two states now allow those first going to work to keep a larger portion of their welfare benefit than they used to. A second approach is to improve the skills of those entering the labor force. For the more disadvantaged group on welfare, support may begin with substance abuse treatment or help getting out of a situation involving domestic violence. In most states, programs for the hardest to serve are still taking shape. The third way to move people from welfare to work is to put up barriers to obtaining welfare.