Ready to Work: News & Views
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Woman goes from welfare to business ownerBy Beth Goins Of The Daily IndependentSunday, March 10, 2002 ASHLAND — Receiving public assistance no longer comes with a lifetime guarantee. As Kentuckians move into the new post-welfare reform era, many are learning that lesson the hard way. Since October, more than 800 in the state have run out of time under the new five-year limit on cash benefits set by federal law in 1996. In Boyd County, eight families have seen their benefits discontinued after exceeding the five-year limit. In the FIVCO counties of Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Greenup and Lawrence, that number is 54. Hundreds more statewide who meet certain criteria — including domestic violence victims, those with disabilities, those who care for a disabled family member or those who lose a job through no fault of their own within 30 days of reaching the five-year limit — have received time extensions. Mike Jennings, spokesman for the Kentucky Cabinet for Families and Children, said state officials are pleased so far with the results of welfare reform. "In general, we have been pretty well pleased with the success of our work programs. People are finding meaningful employment that has a future, and we are staying with those people to make sure they do have opportunities to advance," Jennings said. "We are finding that most who have left welfare are glad that they did, that their lives are more productive and their children are benefitting. All the indications are that leaving welfare is not a damaging factor," he added. State officials' optimism is somewhat guarded, however. "So far, people have been leaving welfare in good economic times," Jennings said. ``If the economy goes sour, then the jobs they turn to may be fewer and lower-paying. That would be a nightmarish scenario for all of us." Nearly 1,500 families in the FIVCO region remain on public assistance. Many of them, like Jodi Cyrus of Ashland, are trying hard to sever their welfare ties. But it's not easy, said Cyrus, a 28-year-old single mother of two children, ages 10 and 3. Two years ago, Cyrus found herself divorced and working in a Louisa grocery store for minimum wage. "I worked with these women who would just settle for that, and I couldn't believe it," Cyrus said. "I knew I didn't want that for the rest of my life." Cyrus is seeking child support. She is also one of the more than 500 in Boyd County enrolled in the state welfare program, called the Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program. But Cyrus isn't sitting still. In the fall of 2000, she quit her job at the grocery store and went back to school. She enrolled in Ashland Community College, where she is an accounting major. The federal law that forced families off welfare also established job training for them. Cyrus eagerly entered the Ready-to-Work program at ACC, which allows students to work while attending college. It also provides employment training and teaches parenting skills. This year, Cyrus is her own boss. She bought a DanTax franchise in Proctorville, Ohio, where she is expecting a busy tax season, so busy that she is sitting out the spring semester. She plans to return to school in May and graduate in about a year with an associate's degree in accounting. Her next goal is to get a bachelor's degree and eventually establish an office in Ashland. Being part of the Ready-to-Work program helped boost her morale as well as her work skills, Cyrus said. "I got to see that there are other people working as hard as I was, trying to get ahead and not sitting on their hands," she said. Her biggest motivation is the knowledge that her 10-year-old daughter is watching, Cyrus said. "I just want to let her know that she doesn't have to settle and that she has to work hard to achieve her goals," she said. Families on welfare Current caseloads Boyd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .552 Carter . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223 Elliott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Greenup . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 Lawrence . . . . . . . . . . . .286 Rowan . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153 Source: Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services
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