Child Care as Critical Benefit

"We walk up the beach under the stars.  And when we are tired of walking, we lie flat on the sand under a bowl of stars. . . . They pour into us until we are filled with stars, up to the brim."  Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift from the Sea

CHILD CARE AS CRITICAL BENEFIT

The Work & Family Newsbrief ([email protected]) reports that a Milwaukee, Wisconsin experiment has shown that welfare reform is more successful when child care, higher pay and health care are added.  A two-year pilot program added all three benefits, giving low-income parents who worked at least 30 hours a week an average of $100 a month of supplemental income. subsidized health care and child care.  Of the 1,300 families that volunteered for the project, half were placed in the program and the rest were in a control group without the benefits.  The families that took part in the program had fared better at the end of two years than families that didn't.  They had fewer signs of depression and were more aware of existing assistance available to them.  More of the experimental group had higher incomes, and their children performed better in school, got better grades and had more positive social behaviors."

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