Between 10 and 31% of all mothers on welfare have physical disabilities that limit their ability to work or the kinds of employment they can take, as well as mental health conditions that make stable employment extremely difficult. The presence of preschool children in these women's lives are another impediment to free and full access to the world of employment, a reason that creates what Hays calls "feminization of poverty" inherent to modern American life.
Hays stresses that the barriers to a successful transition from welfare to work are emotional and practical. Even women who wish to comply with the requirements of law have trouble finding decent childcare, care for their relatives, or transportation, and the law shows little compassion for their struggles, as they must meet often inflexible requirements. Frequently, it costs more to pay a child care providers than to support to mothers who wants to care for their children in her own home in a safer and better supervised fashion. But because the moral ethos of the law prioritizes work above all else, the law does not reflect the economic drain of childcare, or the fact that women might benefit from part-time education with long-term, rather than short-term training goals. Nor does it reflect the additional cost of subsidizing transportation to work for many of these women.
Hays provides statistical evidence that the welfare to work enforcement programs do not work, as only 1/3 of welfare recipients are find and keep jobs, most of these jobs offer little financial stability and self-sufficiency. The law, Hays states, wants two contradictory ends. On one hand, it wants these women to become employees, unfettered by family concerns, busily earning their daily bread and fending for themselves without a care or concern for others at home as they labor in the marketplace. On the other hand, the law and lawmakers...
The reasons for these women's difficulties are more complex. For example, the hard-working Shelia wanted to continue to work at the dry-cleaning establishment, but had to take care of her mother. Also, Shelia was raped by the child's father, which precludes marriage. Also, with minimum wage jobs, being unable to work due to illness, because of the illness of a child or the failure of childcare, as well as caring for a sick child or relative is not the concern of the employer. By not educating women to find higher forms of employment, they become easily replaceable workers, as the employer find another worker to fill the position without such personal problems quite easily. The more interchangeable and menial these unskilled jobs are, the less stable the work and the worker's paycheck will be every week.
Hays stresses that instating harsh welfare regulations with stringent moral guidelines are counterproductive. Ultimately, she believes that America as a nation, must find out how to support the long-term independence of these single mothers. Training in jobs with a future and slowly weaning them off of social support structures are key. Also, the nation must undergo a moral shift. In addition to the self-interested, competitive individualism of the American dream, there must also be a national acknowledgement of the need for some collective concern for the common good and the future of the nation's children who are the silent victims of so-called welfare reform.
Works Cited
Hays, Sharon. Flat Broke With Children: Women in the Age of Welfare Reform.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
