The Impact of Sanctions on Welfare Recipients

(Article published in HWW December 2008)

by Jill Poklemba, Senor Policy Analyst, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies

On November 18, the Welfare Reform Network (WRN) Policy & Advocacy Committee (PAC) hosted a meeting about the impact of sanctions on welfare recipients. The meeting featured guest speaker Dr. Vicki Lens, professor and researcher at Columbia University. The presentation offered PAC members the opportunity to learn about Dr. Lens’ research on sanction policies in Texas and in Suffolk County, NY.

Dr. Lens’ research confirms much of what legal services attorneys and clients have known for years. Namely, sanctions disproportionately impact Black and Hispanic families, who are also less likely to receive education, training and other supportive services. A surprising finding she mentioned is that teenagers actually experience greater harms than younger children in sanctioned households. She also found that sanctions put poor families at greater risk of hunger, eviction, and poor medical care.

According to Dr. Lens, what is most important is what happens on the front lines in welfare offices. In many cases, caseworkers use their discretion to make decisions that have a negative impact on clients, even when clients demonstrate good cause for a missed appointment. Based on studying fair hearing decisions, she found that the main reasons why clients were unable to comply with welfare requirements were family barriers, scheduling conflicts with work or school, and miscommunication with their caseworker. In defense of caseworkers, Dr. Lens explained that it is often the organizational culture at welfare offices and pressure to reduce the caseload that makes it difficult for them to make decisions that are in the best interests of clients.

In 2009, PAC will continue to gather information about sanctions and will launch a public awareness and advocacy campaign to reduce the negative impact of sanctions in New York City.

[If you have a story about the impact of sanctions, please send it to Jill Poklemba at jpoklemba@fpwa.org or Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, 281 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010.]

PAC meetings are open to the public and all are welcome and encouraged to attend. Please contact Jill Poklemba at 212-801-1393 for more information.