http://mensnewsdaily.com/blog/2006/0...s-welfare.html

3/1/2006
Government Report Extols Welfare Reform, Ignores Impact of Child Support
Funds
by Mike LaSalle

Earlier this week, the House Ways and Means Human Resources Subcommittee
released the first in a series of reports extolling the virtues of welfare
reforms signed into law nearly a decade ago.

The report claims a 60 percent reduction in welfare rolls since the reforms
were implemented.
"Reducing welfare dependence was a major goal in 1996," said Ways and Means
Human Resources Subcommittee Chairman Wally Herger (R-CA). "Today we can
look back and see record improvements for families and children resulting
from the 1996 reforms. Additional welfare reforms included in the Deficit
Reduction Act, which the President just signed into law, are designed to
improve self-sufficiency and elevate even more vulnerable families out of
poverty in the years ahead."


But family advocate Melanie I. Cummings sees it differently.

Cummings told MND that the welfare reforms signed by then-President Clinton
in 1996 were ostensibly designed to "end the dependence of needy parents on
government benefits by promoting job preparation, work and marriage."

To that end, the 1996 Welfare Reform Law established a fixed-block grant
program known as TANF - the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
That "gave states record but fixed federal funds to provide for welfare
needs, in place of the open-ended entitlement program," said Cummings.
(Before enactment of the reforms, states received additional federal funds
whenever more families became dependent on welfare. )

The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 cited by Rep. Herger provides an
additional $1 billion in federal funding to underwrite child care costs for
employed parents.

"The middle-class is subsidizing this cost by bringing in child support
dollars through direct payroll deductions," said Cummings. "Middle-class
NCPs (Non-Custodial Parents) have higher child support burdens, which means
more monies for the states. This was not the intention of Welfare Reform."

According to Cummings, some Child Support funds collected by the states from
NCPs are never actually distributed either to the child or the Custodial
Parent. In that case, states place the NCP's payments into an "abandoned
property" account - while continuing to collect federal funds meant for
children they are no longer serving. The states are allowed to keep all the
funds for their own discretionary use - and no monies are ever distributed
to their rightful owners.

"The states are not required by any law to look for the NCP, child or CP,"
said Cummings. "States need to reconcile their books. Some of these children
have been emancipated and some NCPs are deceased. If an NCP paid but the
funds were never distributed, the funds should be returned to the payer -
not forfeited to the state. I brought this up with the Senate Finance
Committe myself. They were not pleased. Follow-up is needed."


In the months ahead, the Ways and Means Committee is expected to issue more
reports leading up to the 10th anniversary of the signing of the 1996 Law on
August 22, 2006.

Primary source PDF document: 1996 Welfare Reforms Reduce Welfare Dependence