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Advocacy

Employment Action Center’s Welfare to Work division is dedicated to legislative advocacy on behalf of program participants as it pertains to the mission of RESOURCE, Inc.

RESOURCE enables people to achieve greater personal, social and economic success.

In 2008, the division developed the E3 initiative. The mission of this initiative is to Educate, Empower, and Enlighten ourselves and the communities we serve about the legislative process, as well as to facilitate grassroots advocacy within our division.

E3’s main focuses are poverty elimination and welfare policy. We work closely with the Affirmative Options Coalition on issues that impact the lives of our participants and the organization.

E3 has helped engage people in communities who do not have faith in the civic process.
We strive to take the mystery out of legislation and make advocacy less intimidating through this work. Through direct contact with lawmakers and capitol rallies, E3 constituents have learned that they have a voice.

Advocacy Efforts

2011

Defend Education and Training for Low-Income Parents

The MN House of Representatives unveiled the first pieces of their budget proposals for the state health and human services budget in March. Among the policy changes being suggested is a proposal to require parents on the state’s welfare to work program to work at least 20 hours a week if they want to pursue education or training.

Low-wage parents who are not earning enough to buy the basics are stretched too thin when their waking hours must include caring for their children, working jobs that often provide unpredictable and unreliable shifts, and concentrating on education. Reintroducing this policy to MFIP will result in fewer parents pursuing education and training – and that is not good for Minnesota.

Studies out of Rutgers University found that 59% of parents allowed access to education and training were still in jobs a year after leaving welfare compared to 22% of parents without access to education or training. Minnesota’s prior experience has demonstrated that when low wage working parents are asked to combine education, work and child-rearing responsibilities, the number of parents in education and training programs fall. Minnesota’s employers need a skilled workforce: encouraging parents who turn to MFIP to improve their work-related skills is a cost-effective way for the state to help meet that need for employers.

EAC participants mailed 20 “diplomas” to 24 of their legislators describing how access to education through MFIP allowed them to obtain better jobs as compared to what they have held in the past.

Save the Safety Net

Over 30 Welfare to Work staff contacted their legislators to express concern to a proposed ‘cuts only’ approach to a balanced budget. Increasing revenue too, is the only way to maintain adequate funding that begins to close the gap between the wealthiest and everyone else.

2010

Employers Supporting TANF Emergency Fund

Thirty six states now have subsidized employment programs through the TANF Emergency Fund. The program has provided employment for over 240,000 workers nationwide and provides additional stimulus to local economies. Small businesses benefit in particular from subsidized employment, since having additional workers can make a big difference to a company with a small staff. Getting a worker with subsidized wages frees up cash for other types of needed investments. These benefits, in essence, make the TANF Emergency Fund a small business program, as well as a jobs program.

In honor of Labor Day, Employment Action Center worked with their business partners to sign a petition encouraging Congress to extend the TANF Emergency Fund for an additional year before the program expires on September 30, 2010.

In addition, staff and participants wrote to Senators Franken and Klobuchar asking for their support to extend the TANF Emergency Fund.

General Assistance and MFIP account for barely half of 1% in the state’s general fund budget. Minnesota has not increased the amount of assistance offered in these programs since 1986.

During March, April and May of this year, staff and program participants called members of the Minnesota House Health and Human Services Committee asking them to reject the Governor’s proposal to eliminate General Assistance and cuts to MFIP grants for people who also receive Social Security Insurance.

The most common reason a parent enrolls in MFIP is due to a recent job loss.

In April, EAC’s participants wrote to their representatives explaining why they had to turn to MFIP assistance.

The Human Services budget bill in the House of Representatives passed the Ways and Means committee, bringing the House’s total cut for supported work to $8 million.

Minnesota has been using welfare to work funds to subsidize short-term, skill building jobs. The organization signed a letter outlining how this funding has been used to move people back into the workforce and sent it to the House and Senate Human Service Budget Committee members. This job creation initiative has more than doubled the number of people put into paid jobs from the beginning to the end of 2009. Employment Action Center partners with many metro businesses to assist our jobseekers getting back into employment.

The division currently hosts a database with the names of the 102 staff members living in 49 MN House districts. As issues pertaining to our mission arise, E3 can easily contact people in targeted districts and organize advocacy efforts.

To find your own representative, please click below:

Minnesota District Finder