My Op-Ed In The AJC: Georgia candidates for governor should make welfare reform a top priority

In today’s AJC, I make a pitch to the candidates for Governor to make welfare reform a top priority. Other states are, and we should too.

Not only does Georgia’s welfare system — like nearly all states’ — fail at its stated goal of moving people out of poverty, but it also compels recipients to stay dependent, keeping them in a cycle of poverty that so often defines generations of low-income Americans.

Welfare discourages recipients from getting married before having children and from working — troubling given those factors align with two of the three indicators in the Success Sequence, a series of life milestones that research has shown are the keys to happier lives, stable families and upward mobility (the other factor is obtaining a high school degree).

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Fortunately, policymakers in Georgia have a road map to turn to called “One Door to Work,” which integrates workforce development with welfare. Under this policy, people who access the safety net for help are connected to one caseworker who not only helps them meet their immediate needs but connects them with resources to find a job. Utah passed this reform in the 1990s and now boasts the lowest numbers of people on Medicaid and food stamps — along with consistently low unemployment rates.

Louisiana passed One Door legislation in June. Mississippi created a task force to explore the reform. And Arkansas also recently approved an audit of its workforce and safety net programs to identify needed changes. Georgia should follow the lead of its southern neighbors to the West.

Welfare reform isn’t a second-tier issue. It’s central to sustaining Georgia’s current trajectory as a leader in economic opportunity. Georgia’s One Door gives the next governor a way to strengthen families, expand the workforce and set the state on a path to growth.