Some of you may realize this already but the former welfare system is now called Families First in Tennessee. Great name, isn't it? Trouble is families aren't always first. Let me explain.
You see in the new welfare system there is a time limit on the services you receive. A person benefiting from the system can not use services for more than 5 total years in a lifetime. This was the big change when the old system was overhauled. That part I love. It encourages people to move toward self-sufficiency if they have the capacity.
Another piece of this new puzzle is that now, if a person is capable, he or she has to be working, looking for work through a program provide by ETSU, or be doing community service at least 30 hours per week.
Now don't get me wrong, I understand why this is in place. If people are capable they should be working. God always intended us to work. It wasn't a part of the curse it was a part of the plan from the beginning.
My problem is that if a mother is working toward self-sufficiency with The Restoration House but is not yet working full-time, participating in ETSU's 4 week full time job search program, or doing 30 hours of community service assigned by the state then they can't receive benefits. And the benefits are substantial.
The greatest benefit for single mother's is the childcare subsidy. This subsidy provides the means for a mother to get childcare while she is getting back on her feet.
Our mother is working to be self-sufficient. She has a part-time job, has received a scholarship to a CNA training program she is starting in May, is applying for a second part-time job, and is now stuck because her Families First runs out in March and she won't have access to a child care subsidy to take advantage of the opportunities mentioned above.
Tell me how that is putting "Families First"?
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