MIKE BARRETT









                           GOVERNOR '94






                P.O. Box 2193, Cambridge, MA 02238
               (617) 623-9494, (617) 628-0940 (FAX)


                   AN AGENDA FOR WELFARE REFORM

     The key to welfare reform is to replace the dole with the 
old-fashion value of reciprocity -- in this case, real work for 
real wages.  We need to renegotiate the deal between those who 
get help and those who pay taxes to do the helping.

     As governor, Mike will work to:

    Convert the welfare grant to a wage subsidy so employers 
have incentives to hire welfare recipients.

    Address the key underlying cause of poor children having 
children -- that sexual abstinence is declining as an option for 
middle-class children, too.  Permissive moral standards are 
communicated through television, popular movies and other media.  
As long as premarital sexual activity expands into lower age 
groups to encompass more and more middle-class children, the same 
message will be communicated to poor children as well.  We need 
to reinforce positive moral and family values, especially the 
idea that the first pregnancy should be delayed until a young 
person achieves emotional maturity, completes school and has a 
job.

    Focus relentlessly on reducing teenaged pregnancy through 
"abstinence-plus" programs which promote avoidance of sexual 
activity altogether for those under 16 and a combination of 
abstinence and birth control practices for those 16 and older.

    Reinforce the battle against teenaged pregnancy by 
requiring, as an absolute condition of receiving welfare help, 
that teen mothers of high school age remain in school, obtain a 
high school diploma, and live with their parents (or in another 
structured setting).

    Implement a combination of strategies to reconnect young 
fathers with parental responsibilities.  Mothers should be 
required to identify fathers as a condition of qualifying for 
welfare, and fathers should be subject to an 18-year legal 
obligation of child support.  This should be enforced by a 
nationwide system of child support withholding, similar to income 
tax and social security tax withholding.

    Limit benefits to two years.  As soon as people get on 
welfare, they need to begin planning to get beyond welfare and 
into self-sufficiency.  A two-year limit at the outset makes the 
right point about welfare being transitional aid, and a system of 
hardship exemptions can provide flexibility when the economy or 
other uncontrollable factors make it necessary.  The key is to 
build into welfare the principle of reciprocity --assistance, 
yes, but in return for work or equivalent contributions to the 
broader community.

    Reform the health care system as a crucial precondition of 
effective welfare reform.  No young parent should risk losing 
health benefits when he or she takes a paid job.

    Strengthen child care, education, and training programs to 
make the transition from welfare to work smooth and effective.

    Fundamentally restructure welfare offices to emphasize job 
placement as the preferred alternative to public assistance.  The 
employment placement goal of traditional unemployment offices 
needs to be merged with the AFDC eligibility role of welfare 
offices so that women seeking welfare are first diverted to work 
opportunities whenever possible.