Welfare Reform

January 1995

Stating that the primary aim of the welfare system must be to enable America's working poor, as well as those dependent solely on public assistance, to become economically self-supporting, The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism has reaffirmed its support for welfare reform.

According to a resolution passed at the organization's 1993 Biennial Convention, "Welfare benefits must be restructured to 'make work pay,' such that no family with at least one-full time worker will be in poverty."

The resolution went on to call for reform of the government's primary welfare program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, noting that such reform must occur within the context of a broader anti-poverty strategy, including such elements as an expansion of the earned income tax credit, stronger child support payment enforcement, increased job training and educational opportunities, and the extension of health care benefits to working families who are currently not covered by Medicaid.

Pointing out that arbitrary time limits on the receipt of AFDC benefits in the absence of guaranteed jobs represent an unacceptable "tear in the social safety net," the organization held that "training, education, and work requirements should be undertaken in tandem with job creation programs to ensure the availability of decent jobs at a living wage once benefits are withdrawn."

In reaffirming the organization's commitment to the above principles, Sarrae Crane, USCJ Director of Social Action, noted that the resolution combines several strands of Jewish teachings.

First, Judaism teaches that all human beings are created in the image of God and thereby possess an inherent claim to dignity and self-respect. Poverty, especially when passed down from parent to child, serves to obscure human dignity and erode self-respect. Second, Jewish tradition encourages the advancement of economic self-sufficiency as the most desirable and effective means of poverty relief.