|
|
 |
In 1996, the Congress in Washington started a process of bringing about radical change in the nation's welfare system. As the various reform measures were considered and ultimately put in place, a host of urgent questions began to surface:
- What does it take to find a job for someone who has never been gainfully
employed?
- How much money does it really take to support a single mother and
a couple of kids? What about job training? And transportation?
- Do the kids need day care? Is it available, and how do they get there?
- After a person gets a job, what happens to them? Do they keep it?
What happens if they don't?
These are crucial questions for a large percentage of Ohio's urban population. For them, the clock is ticking on a state timetable that says the thousands of Ohioans on public assistance must have jobs by the end of calendar year 2000.
To address these issues, 90.3 WCPN® joined forces in 1999 with the Federation for Community Planning, a non-profit health and social service organization that focuses on improving the Greater Cleveland community. The Federation, established in 1913, has a long a distinguished history of building collaborative initiatives to improve the social fabric of Greater Cleveland. From this partnership came more than fifty-two broadcasts of in-depth stories that brought to life the deeply personal and emotional struggles of individuals and families moving from welfare to work.
All of these stories are available here for your information and review in this WCPN.ORG special section, prepared with the Federation's assistance. In it you'll find the complete texts AND sounds of each of those broadcasts.
"The Changing Face of Welfare is a fascinating series that humanizes the complex historical social policy change of welfare reform. The series reviews key policy issues that are involved in an individual or family's plight moving from welfare to work and then lets individuals tell their personal stories as they live through this transition. In our efforts to enhance awareness of important health and social services issues facing Greater Cleveland, the Federation for Community Planning was proud to provide support for this program series. "
-----Quentin L. McCorvey Sr.
Federation for Community Planning
90.3 WCPN® also acknowledges the support of The George W. Codrington Foundation, The Harry K. and Emma R. Fox Foundation, and the Thomas H. White Foundation
March 1999
|
