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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 09, 2003
PR- 093-03
www.nyc.gov


MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG’S STATEMENT ON CITY COUNCIL’S EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE RECIPIENTS BILL


“The City Council is attempting to undermine and undo New York City’s successful welfare reform program. Their actions fly in the face of research, experience and common sense. The requirement to work is an indispensable component of welfare reform.  It ends the cycle of dependency, which ruins too many lives, and creates self-sufficiency in its place.  The success of our work-and-study approach is well documented; time and again, researchers have found that it is the strategy most likely to lead to self-sufficiency.  A study found that City University students who worked for their public assistance benefits did better in school than those who didn’t.

“But the Council has chosen to turn back the clock on welfare reform, reviving a dated, discredited policy that we long ago learned was a failure   The legislation fails to balance work and education in an appropriate manner, and mandates education at the expense of work.  The bill usurps the legal authority of the Human Resources Administration Commissioner to implement State mandated welfare reform work programs for families and single adults and contradicts State and Federal law, creating risk of serious financial penalties for the City. 

 “Worst of all, what the Council did today is a tremendous disservice to the very people it claims to be helping.  The Human Resource Administration currently provides both work experience and education to their clients. The current level of service is constantly being fine tuned to help people reach their goal of providing for themselves and their families well into the future. 

“The bill is a giant step backwards in welfare reform. We will fight these destructive efforts in court if necessary.”  


 

www.nyc.gov

Contact: Ed Skyler / Jennifer Falk 
(212) 788-2958