Contact: Karie Patton
Federal legislation designed to move Americans from the welfare rolls might not be having the effect the government intended.
That's the hypothesis of Mississippi State sociologists Domenico Parisi and Duane A. Gill. At the university's Social Science Research Center, they are working to obtain definitive information about the impact of changes in Mississippi, especially on rural communities, of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act.
Their study included the distribution of more than 1,400 detailed questionnaires. Survey responses now are being compiled and analyzed.
The research concentrates on the effectiveness of the congressional act passed in 1996. The reforms limit public assistance to no more than two consecutive years, with a maximum of five years over a recipient's lifetime.
"The goal of the act was to encourage welfare recipients to find jobs so they wouldn't need welfare assistance," Parisi said.
While the number of people on welfare has been reduced by 40 percent nationally, as many as 50 percent who left the program are not yet employed. "That leaves the question of how to solve the job placement and retention problem," Parisi observed.
With the support of seven MSU graduate and undergraduate students, the researchers developed a comprehensive community database. Nearly 300 communities are identified according to physical location and socioeconomic attributes.
Parisi said rural communities tend to be hurt the worst by the reforms. Because they are not equally endowed with economic and social resources, one may be able to offer more jobs than another. Another may have ample church and counseling resources, but no jobs.
"In some places, resources always are scarce," Parisi said. "Many times, the church and the community as a whole are expected to help the poor. But if communities, in general, and churches, in particular, have no resources, how can they do it all?"
Given today's political environment, the role of the church in the community is so complex that Parisi and Gill felt compelled to enlist the help of a departmental colleague who is an expert in the sociology of religion. After joining the team, Louis H. Bluhm helped design research methodology about the role of Mississippi churches in their communities.
When the final results are in, the MSU team anticipates making policy recommendations to help improve community resources and job opportunities.
"If the 1996 welfare reform really is disadvantageous to rural populations, our research will help policy makers become aware of this fact," Parisi said. "It's possible that scientifically based data will influence the upcoming review and reauthorization of the act in 2002.
"If so, we hope it will help enhance the quality of life for rural populations."