Randy Albelda

In the following viewpoint, Randy Albelda argues that welfare-to-work programs, introduced under a 1996 welfare reform law, have reduced welfare rolls at the expense of single mothers, who must now accept low-paying menial jobs or lose their benefits. Welfare-to-work programs discourage training and have failed to address the needs of struggling families or move former recipients out of poverty, in the author's opinion. Albelda is a professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

As you read, consider the following questions:
1. Under federal time limits, how many years can families receive welfare assistance, according to Albelda"
2. How did former welfare recipients in South Carolina respond when surveyed about their post-welfare lives, as reported by the author? 3. What did researchers conclude about the monthly earnings of former welfare recipients, according to the author"

Ending "welfare...