Event Summary
The Center on Children and Families at Brookings and the National Poverty Center at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan held a forum to discuss the policy challenges posed by single mothers who have not been able to find stable employment and who may have used up their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) eligibility or face sanctions. These women head the families that are most vulnerable to the current economic downswing.
Event Information
When
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
9:00 AM to 11:15 AM
Where
Falk Auditorium
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC
Map
The term "disconnected women" usually refers to women who are neither on welfare nor working. "Hard to employ" encompasses a broader population, including women on TANF for whom welfare-to-work efforts have not been successful. In this discussion, two panels of policy-makers and researchers discussed what states are doing to address this population and what their experience suggests for those in other states, and at the federal level, for helping these women find stable work and improving the well-being of their children.
Participants
Panel 1: Role of Federal Policymakers
Hon. Nancy Johnson
Senior Public Policy Advisor, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell, and Berkowitz, PC
Former Member of Congress (R-Conn.)
Hon. Tom Downey
Chairman, Downey McGrath Group, Inc.
Former Member of Congress (D-NY)
Panel 2: State-Run Model Program
Clifford Johnson
Executive Director, Institute for Youth, Education and Families, National League of Cities
Frank DeCarlo
Director of Employment, Erie County Social Services
Linda Martin
Director of Family Assistance, South Carolina Department of Social Services
Phil Ansell
Assistant Director of Program and Policy, Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services
Panel 3: Research and Issues
Dan Bloom
Director, Welfare and Barriers to Employment Policy Area, MDRC
LaDonna Pavetti
Senior Fellow, Mathematica Policy Research
Senior Fellow, Economic Studies
Sharon Parrott
Director, Welfare Reform and Income Division, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities