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Zeroing in on welfare: Engler must follow through on plan for jobs

During his State of the State address last week, Engler announced a new program, Project Zero, designed to eliminate unemployment among welfare recipients in six communities around the state by removing the impediments to employment. Project Zero will provide subsidized child care, transportation, job training and substance-abuse services for welfare recipients in certain areas. The project requires no legislative approval and will be in place for one year starting in April. If successful, it will expand to the whole state.

The notion behind Project Zero is clear: If the state removes obstacles to self-sufficiency, the program will more than pay for itself. Once recipients are on their feet, the state's extra efforts will result in less welfare funding. The program would deny welfare benefits to those who refuse to look for work, but would not limit the length of time recipients could collect welfare if they pursue employment, including factors such as child care and job training. Recipients who could not find paying jobs would be allowed to perform volunteer community service to retain their welfare benefits. The obligation between the state and welfare recipient is shared.

While it is fair to expect those who are able to work -- in the private sector or in community service -- it is equally fair to expect the state to prepare them for meaningful employment. It will be no small task. The program will face financial challenges, as well as the problem of a labor market moving away from low-skill jobs. However, the costs of these programs are dwarfed by the costs of handing out welfare checks. Such a program could prove cost-effective if it moves recipients to independence.

Engler has a reputation for placing fiscal priorities above people, evident in his elimination of the general-assistance program and his dismantling of mental health hospitals. If he is committed to raising the status of welfare recipients, the program has the potential to go as far as he will take it. Unless it is more of Engler's empty rhetoric, it could be an effective solution to help welfare recipients reach self-sufficiency.