Public Service Jobs

By March 3rd, 1999, more than 21,000 adult residents now receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families support in Pennsylvania must be working or lose their current benefits. By March 3rd, 2002, most of these TANF recipients will have reached the five year lifetime limit for receiving welfare at all. There is no evidence whatsoever that there are enough jobs in Philadelphia--or in the Delaware Valley--to support this large an influx of new workers in so short a period of time.

JOIN supports public service jobs for TANF recipients who cannot find work in the private sector as an essential part of any welfare reform strategy that hopes to succeed. So far, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under Governor Tom Ridge and Welfare Secretary Feather Houston have not agreed. Will there have to be women and children lying in the streets before they come to their senses?

Here, we offer access to organizations that are fighting for a national commitment to public service jobs in America, along with models of how this can be implemented, both in Philadelphia and around the country.