Hunger Action Network of New York State wants New York's recent welfare experiment with transitional jobs programs that combined education and training expanded. Several years ago, at the request of Community Voices Heard, the Fiscal Policy Institute did a return on investment study for a proposed transitional jobs program.
The study found that while the program had a direct cost of $80 million for providing annually 4,000 subsidized transitional jobs slots, the net cost to the state was only $49 million. Within three years, the report found, the statewide initiative could pay for itself.
The analysis compared the cost of providing transitional jobs (including the cost of wage payments, training, supervision and program administration) with public savings. When participants increase their likelihood of employment, they stay out of jail and public assistance rolls.
The Hunger Action Network also reports that state lawmakers had previously allocated $85 million for a variety of welfare jobs programs. Less than $1 million (for wage subsidies) was included in the budget adopted, although $15.5 million was restored for summer youth employment. Advocates hoped some of the $960 million in federal welfare funds that the state diverts to the county as a block grant would continue funding the jobs initiatives.
Mark Dunlea, executive director of the Hunger Action Network, feels that some of the traditional welfare job programs are ineffective. "New York uses the workfare program WEP more than any other state without an increase in employability," he stated. "Every study that I have seen in 30 years concludes that workfare is ineffective. If the goal of workfare is to increase employability – to increase earnings of the participant – it doesn't work. It is also expensive to do."
Hunger Action Network is urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to establish hiring goals for low-income community residents for publicly funded projects and contracts, such as bridge reconstruction and green initiatives. "We need Governor Cuomo to commit to helping low-income New Yorkers find real, decent-paying jobs," said Dunlea. "At the minimum, it is time to do a study that evaluates how much money we waste on workfare. What does it produce versus how much it would cost for New York to do a real jobs program correctly."
