In January 1998, food pantries and soup kitchens were forced to turn away nearly 59,000 people. Over half were children. The answer is that there are few jobs available for welfare recipients that can lift a family out of poverty. New York needs an ongoing evaluation of the status of former welfare recipients as well as those in need of help who are turned away. To insure objectivity, the evaluation should not be conducted by the city or the state, but by an independent agency, a university or a private research firm.
Welfare reform is supposed to be about moving people into jobs.
If that's not happening, then public officials should know about it. Only by providing training, benefits, and jobs with a livable wage can this country end welfare dependency. If we don't, we will be creating another army of the poor.