The number of AFDC recipients who participate in JOBS is also constrained by state funding. Some officials explained that because of the level of matching funds, they must limit those who can participate in their JOBS programs to women with minimal child care needs or those who have made child care arrangements that are free. These barriers can delay AFDC recipients’ participation in the JOBS program. Inadequate Postwelfare Child Care Subsidies Challenge JOBS Participants’ Self-Sufficiency

Insufficient child care subsidies for the working poor affects JOBS participants’ and other welfare recipients’ ability to achieve self-sufficiency. As states move to expand work requirements, they may have to reconsider funding priorities and push to develop new sources of child care to meet the needs of welfare recipients and the working poor alike. Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

To assist the Congress in its deliberations on welfare reform and child care, we examined (1) the extent to which child care needs of welfare recipients in JOBS are are currently being met, (2) whether any barriers exist to meeting the child care needs of JOBS participants, (3) the effect of child care subsidies on former welfare recipients’ move toward self-sufficiency, and (4) the potential implications of welfare reform for child care availability and continuity.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO examined the extent to which the child care needs of welfare recipients in the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) program are currently being met, focusing on: (1) whether any barriers exist to meeting JOBS participants' child care needs; (2) the effects of child care subsidies on former welfare recipients' move toward self- sufficiency; and (3) the potential implications of welfare reform for child care availability and continuity.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) JOBS serves only about 13 percent of adult welfare recipients partly because many JOBS programs meet statutory exemption provisions; (2) insufficient state funds limit the number of welfare recipients with child care needs that can participate in JOBS; (3) when child care funding is unavailable, states either exempt welfare recipients or limit participation to those with school-aged children or those who can find free child care; (4) shortages of certain kinds of child care and the lack of reliable transportation can delay some JOBS participants' training or work and affect their continued participation; (5) welfare recipients that have secured work often lose their child care subsidy due to insufficient state funds, affecting their ability to become self-sufficient and often causing them to quit work; and (6) as states move to expand work requirements, they may have to reconsider funding priorities and develop new sources of child care to meet the needs of welfare recipients and the working poor.