CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Time for de Blasio to Reform 'Welfare Reform'
Bich Ha Pham |
Reducing income inequality depends on a sound, fair social safety net—something the city has not had in 20 years.
Reducing income inequality depends on a sound, fair social safety net—something the city has not had in 20 years.
Some welfare foes fear the progressive mayor will reverse years of declining rolls. Critics of welfare reform hope he does just that.
Poor New Yorkers and advocates say the Bloomberg administration is, for the first time, forcing people receiving food stamps to fulfill work requirements.
The panel was charged with answering the question, “Welfare Reform at 15: Is It Working?”Their answer depended almost entirely on how each member defined “working.”
As many as one in five child welfare cases involves a parent with a mental health diagnosis, creating challenges for parents, children and caseworkers. Advocates say efforts to address those challenges haven’t gone far enough.
A study of low-income New Yorkers under the age of 24 indicates they have trouble getting welfare benefits to which they are entitled. City officials say the report—and others that raised similar questions—suffers from poor methodology.
There are reports that some parents are having trouble getting child welfare services because a botched contract award and budget threats last year led providers to scale back.
C is like many students at Hunter College. She balances work and school, struggles to pay her tuition bill, wonders what the future will hold. Secretly, she also carries the burden of being an undocumented immigrant.
Low-income city residents have a long list of suggestions for how to alleviate the causes and consequences of poverty.
After raising a family and burying a husband, Sharon Jones is aiming for a college degree while still looking out for her kids and battling in housing court.