Welfare Reform: Promoting Independence and Self-Reliance Essay

Welfare Reform Promoting Independence and confidenceMary Smith gets up every day at 6 am and begins to hustle around the house. She rouses her three children from their slumber and forces them to get typeset for school. Once the kids are on the bus, she hops in her car and heads rancid to her job at the local fast food restaurant. After workings her seven hours at the restaurant, she goes to her night traverse at the college in town. The course she is taking will help her get her high school sheepskin and possibly lead her to a successful career. These two things have been dreams of Marys for so long, but she hasnt been able to attain them until now. She has been on upbeat since the age of 18 after having her first baby, Elijah. Most days life still look onms wish an endless tunnel, but now she thinks she may be starting to see a little light through the darkness.Many single mothers, interchangeable Mary Smith, and others on welfare have been given the chance to pr osecute happiness because of the reforms to the United States welfare system. In August of 1996, President tip Clinton signed legislation that changed much of the system. The bill that he signed was called the individual(prenominal) Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. The three goals of the in-person Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 were 1) to reduce welfare dependency and increase employment, 2) to reduce child poverty and 3) to reduce illegitimacy and strengthen marriage (Rector, par. 1). Clintons plan also included three new(a) rules 1) requires well-nigh recipients to work within two years of receiving assistance 2) limits most assistance to five years total and 3) lets states establish family caps to deny additiona... ...ec. 2001. < http//www.washingtonpost.com/wp- srv/political relation/special/welfare/stories/welfare052799.htm. Naughton, Keith. From the Frying Pan to the Factory. Business Week. 1 June 1998 106. Otto, Mary. Sustaining Welfare-to-Work. Washingtonpost.com. 2 Dec. 2001. 6 Dec. 2001. < http//www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43074-Dec1.html. Pear, Robert. Changes in Welfare Bring Improvements for Families. The New York Times on the Web. 1 June 2000. 7 Dec. 2001. ? < http//www.nytimes.com/library/politics/060100mn-welfare.html. Rector, Robert and Patrick F. Fagan. The Good News virtually Welfare Reform. The Heritage Foundation Backgrounder. 5 Sept. 2001. 2 Dec. 2001.? < http//www.heritage.org/library/backgrounder/bg1468.html