From Welfare to Work: the Precursors, Politics, and Policies of Wisconsin and Federal Work-Based Welfare Reform Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Rebecca G. Barrett Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2012 Dissertation Committee: Paula Baker, Advisor Daniel Amsterdam Kevin Boyle Copyright By Rebecca G. Barrett 2012 Abstract The idea that the able-bodied poor should be required to work for their aid was not the product of a backlash from the 1960s but was an ideology that existed from the beginning of aid to the poor. The emphasis on work being the solution to poverty, and an extreme aversion to providing cash aid to the poor existed long before the government ever got into the business of public aid. Wisconsin led the nation in work-based welfare reform in the 1980s and 1990s, but the state had been a policy innovator for almost a century; so much so that during the progressive era Wisconsin earned the nickname 'the laboratory of democracy.' One of the areas in which Wisconsin was an innovator was social welfare policy. The nation followed Wisconsin's lead when developing mothers’ pensions, Aid for Dependent Children in 1935, and its replacement, Temporary Assistance For Needy Families, in 1996. This project will trace work-based welfare reform in Wisconsin and nationally demonstrating how Wisconsin was an innovator in social welfare policy both at the beginning of the welfare state and at the end of welfare as we knew it in 1997. ii Dedication To Brian iii Acknowledgments First, I must thank my dissertation committee for all of their hard work. My advisor Paula Baker took me on as an advisee late in my graduate school career and I am grateful for all of her guidance throughout this process. Kevin Boyle's graduate seminar was the best class I had at Ohio State. He taught me the importance of writing to as wide of an audience as possible. I hope I have done that with this project. Daniel Amsterdam offered valuable historiographical suggestions along with a fresh perspective on the organization of the project which greatly improved it. Other professors at Ohio State, especially Robin Judd, Richard Ugland, Robert McMahon, Randy Roth, and Stephanie Shaw, offered sage advice throughout my graduate school career. The staff of the Ohio State department of history also played a crucial role in the completion of this project. Chris Burton and James Bach went out of their way to help me finish this project even though I was living in another state. The archivists at the Marquette and Wisconsin State Historical Society libraries helped me navigate literally tons of gubernatorial, legislative, and agency records and they allowed me to photograph all of the materials which significantly reduced the time I needed to spend in the archives. Furthermore, the Marquette archivists seemed genuinely happy to have someone in their archive who was interested in something other than the JRR Tolkien collection. Their enthusiasm for my work was much appreciated. iv I owe a debt of gratitude to my fellow graduate students. Jim Weeks and Christianna Thomas Hurford were mentors in both teaching and how to survive graduate school. Joseph Arena, Craig Nelson, Peter DeSimone, Cameron Jones, and Chelsey Parrott-Sheffer proved to be not only some of the best colleagues but friends I have at Ohio State. Rob and Lisa Denning were my saving grace in Columbus. Whether we were navigating Ohio with only a Bob Evans store locator map to guide us, or just hanging out playing Rock Band, we had the best time together. When my power went out in the middle of my general exams, Rob and Lisa let me use their home-office. They stood by my side for the best and worst times in my graduate school career and they will always be family to me. My family supported me through this process and gave me the encouragement to finish. Some of them actually want to read this dissertation, and for that I offer my deepest sympathy. My future mother in-law understood the arduous process of getting a Ph.D. first hand, and offered love and support as if I were one of her own children. But my greatest debt is to Brian. When we first met I was not sure I was going to finish the dissertation and he said he would support me no matter what. And he did. When I decided to pour everything I had into finishing, he did too. He is my best friend, my biggest supporter, and the best fiancée anyone could have. Our dog Buddy, and our cats Vista, Ubuntu, and Mac offered love and affection whenever needed and the cats served the dual purpose of both pets and disgruntled paper weights. v Vita 2000 .........................................................Arrowhead Union High School 2004..........................................................B.A. History, UW-Whitewater 2007..........................................................M.A. History, The Ohio State University 2004 to 2009 ............................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of History, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: History Specializations: African-American History, Modern United States History, Atlantic World History vi Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Vita ..................................................................................................................................... vi List of Abbreviations ....................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: The Development of the Welfare State 1860-1960........................................ 17 Chapter 3: War on Poverty to George H.W. Bush ........................................................... 28 Chapter 4: From Robert La Follette to Tommy Thompson ............................................. 89 Chapter 5: Clinton, Thompson, "The New Covenant" 1992-1994 ................................ 133 Chapter 6: Clinton, Thompson, "The End of Welfare as We Know It," 1995-1997 ..... 173 Chapter 7: After PRWORA ........................................................................................... 234 Chapter 8: After W-2 in Wisconsin ............................................................................... 262 Chapter 9: Conclusion.................................................................................................... 309 References ....................................................................................................................... 314 vii List of Abbreviations ADC Aid to Dependent Children AFDC Aid to Families with Dependent Children AFDC-UP Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Unemployment Parent CEA Council of Economic Advisers CES Committee on Economic Security CSJ Community Service Job CWEP Community Work Experience Program DES Division of Economic Support DHFS Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services HHS U.S. Department of Health and Human Services DHSS Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services DWD Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development EITC Earned Income Tax Credit EOA Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 ERA Emergency Relief Act ETI Employment and Training Institute (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) FAP Family Assistance Plan FSA Family Support Act of 1988 GAO General Accounting Office viii IRP Institute for Research on Poverty (University of Wisconsin-Madison) JOBS Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program LAB Legislative Audit Bureau NGA National Governors Association NWRO National Welfare Rights Organization OEO Office of Economic Opportunity PRWORA Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 SSA Social Security Act 1935 SSI Supplemental Security Income TANF Temporary Assistance to Needy Families TEA Temporary Employment Assistance W-2 Wisconsin Works WEJT Work Experience and Job Training Program WFA Wisconsin Finance Authority WIN Work Incentive Program ix Chapter 1: Introduction “The people who most want to change this system are the people who are dependent on it. They want to get off welfare. They want to go back to work.” 1 President Bill Clinton, 1994 In 1996 President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). The bipartisan legislation aptly nicknamed Welfare to Work provided incentives to force welfare recipients to seek employment as a condition of their aid. The end goal as stated by President Bill Clinton during his 1993 State of the Union address was to “end welfare as we know it.”2 Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), the federal welfare program this country had known since 1935. The biggest criticism of TANF legislation was that it forced mothers to work when AFDC had let them stay home to raise their children. However, the importance of self-sufficiency through work had always been a crucial ideology regarding poor relief in American history, and it was AFDC not TANF that was