But state officials have discovered that many welfare recipients are not good candidates for child-care jobs. About one third of those on public assistance are depressed. Some 55 percent of welfare families have the television on seven hours or longer each day. Only half have 10 or more books in the house, and reading to kids is not routine. That means they could not read a street map or calculate the total cost of a purchase from an order form.
Violence plagues many welfare families.
One study in Washington State showed that 55 percent of welfare mothers had been victimized by violent boyfriends or spouses. This is an especially big problem because most welfare mothers want to work at home, in part so they can continue to take care of their own kids. Homes used for day care need to be not only violence free but well constructed. Many women on welfare, however, live in public housing that has a multitude of housing-code violations. Earlier this year a program to train 20 women in Louisville, Ky., faltered, in part because the homes of some trainees did not meet state safety standards.