Getting to Work Still A Problem for Welfare Participants
For Immediate Release
March 26, 2001
Contact: Anne Erickson, (518) 462-6831
Susan C. Antos, (518) 462-6831
Report Shows Wide Variation in Local Transportation Policies
The Greater Upstate Law Project today released its report, On the Move? A County by County Review of Welfare Transportation Policies in New York State. The report finds extremely uneven approaches to transportation policies at the local level, a serious lack of information provided to those in need of transportation services, and an almost across the board failure to adequately assess the transportation needs of public assistance families.
The Greater Upstate Law Project calls upon New York State to address the transportation needs of these families by:
- requiring local social service districts to assess the transportation needs of each public assistance applicant, taking into account child care needs;
- putting policies in place that will ensure that people are aware of transportation opportunities while they are on welfare and when they leave;
- establishing a maximum distance districts can require a participant to walk to their worksite, with guidelines for special circumstances;
- setting a uniform mileage reimbursement rate and establishing guidelines to assist more clients in maintaining private vehicles; and
- eliminating the 90 day limitation on providing transportation assistance as a transitional benefit when a welfare case is closed.
“Transportation is one of the primary barriers to employment for both welfare participants and for low-income individuals and families,” stated Susan Antos, Public Benefits Specialist at the Greater Upstate Law Project. “We need to ensure that before people are penalized for not being able to get to their work activity sites or to their jobs, they have a means to get there, particularly in rural areas where there is little or no public transportation .”
Social service districts are required to “make a reasonable effort” to assign people to work activities that are “in closest proximity” to an individual’s home when lack of transportation is a “direct barrier” to employment. However, there is no requirement that districts actually assess someone’s transportation needs. Fewer than half of the 57 social service districts mention transportation in their employability assessments. Just one of these counties (Chenango) asks the client detailed questions. As a result, unreasonable expectations can be placed on welfare participants.
Jim Defendorf lives in Oswego County. He was sanctioned because he could not get to a job search appointment that was 17 miles from his home. “There is no public transportation where I live, I don’t have a license, and I couldn’t get a ride to the appointment. If DSS had been willing to help me find transportation, I would have been there,” stated Defendorf.
On the Move? includes a model assessment form that counties can use to assess the transportation needs of their clients. The form asks questions such as, “Do you need transportation to take your children to and from child care?” “Do you have a physical impairment that requires special transportation?” and “What do you use for transportation now?” These are all important questions when modes of transportation can vary from a pair of sneakers or a bicycle to public transportation, hitchhiking, or using a friend’s car.
“We found a drastic variation in transportation policies across the state. Some counties require people to walk as far as 4 miles (each way) to their work activities or jobs, without taking potential health problems or the time of year into account. Other counties reimburse travel expenses at the end of the month, expecting families who are just barely getting by to be able to float the bill. Other counties recognize this problem and provide an up front transportation allowance so that families are not unnecessarily burdened by these expenses. By providing counties with some guidance in these areas and requiring them to carefully assess and address people’s short and long term transportation needs, New York State has the opportunity to truly help people maintain employment and work their way out of poverty,” said Amanda Hiller, author of the report.
The report also includes proposed legislation that would address the need for ongoing transportation assistance after the public assistance case closes, by placing transitional transportation assistance into the category of supportive services and making it available for up to a year. “Eliminating the 90 day cap on the provision of transitional transportation assistance and making it available for up to a year, while at the same time requiring case managers to discuss local transportation options, such as the Department of Labor’s Wheels for Work and Community Solutions for Transportation programs with their clients would go a long way toward this goal,” added Antos. “These are programs that serve people after they are off of welfare. The programs help to avert potential transportation crises that could cause them to lose their jobs and catapult them right back onto the welfare rolls,” she noted.
Over the last few years both the state and federal government have appropriated funding for welfare to work transportation programs, acknowledging this tremendous barrier that low-income people face in trying to gain access to employment opportunities,” stated Ron Deutsch, Executive Director of SENSES. “Counties, working jointly with community based non-profits, are collaborating and implementing programs such as Wheels for Work to provide low-income people with the mobility they need to achieve self-sufficiency.”
One such case is Peggy Nunez, a single mom with a two year old child. Peggy is a participant in the Wheels for Work program in Schenectady County. Today, she will receive a 1993 Oldsmobile from the program that will help get her and her daughter to and from two different child care providers and her job. “I have to get up at 5:00 AM to get to work on time when I take the bus. Having a car will cut my commuting time from two hours to 15 minutes, leaving me more time to spend with my daughter. On days when the bus doesn’t run or I am running late, my only option is to take a cab. This gets expensive. Having a car will definitely improve our lives.”
“Peggy’s story is a success story. We would like to be able to come back a year from now and tell you that the majority of low-income New Yorkers report that lack of transportation is no longer an issue in their lives. Implementing these policy changes will certainly bring us down that road,” concluded Hiller.
