What we have learned:
In a three-city study, 28 percent of mothers who had not completed high school were never employed in the year prior to being interviewed in late 1999, compared with only 13 percent of mothers with a high school diploma or equivalency. Work was steadier for those with more education: those who had finished high school worked 78 percent of the time before being interviewed, while those without a diploma or GED worked 61 percent of the time. Ninety-one percent of those who had not finished high school were poor, compared with 64 percent of those who were high school graduates. In CDF's Community Monitoring Project analysis, three-quarters of those who left welfare for work had finished high school, while only 48 percent of those who left for noncompliance or administrative error had a high school degree.

Since wages go up when parents have more education or training, a concerted effort should be made to improve educational levels and build skills. But in FY 1999, U.S. H.H.S. data show that nine out of 10 participants in TANF work activities were in unsubsidized jobs, performed unpaid work experience, or were looking for a job. Fewer than one percent were in on-the-job training, which can be one of the most effective means of building marketable skills. Only 7.2 percent were enrolled in vocational education, with less than two percent participating in education related to employment.

How the Act responds:
The Act allows a broader range of education and training to count as work activities under TANF.

1) Removes the limit on how much education and training can be counted towards meeting a recipient's TANF work requirements.

2) The Act allows a maximum of 50 percent of participants in TANF work activities to be enrolled in vocational education (up from 30 percent under current law). Also, the Secretary of Health and Human Services is given discretion to exceed the 50 percent cap if a TANF recipient includes vocational education (or school attendance for teen parents) as part of the recipient's individual responsibility plan.

3) Removes the 12-month limit on vocational educational training allowed as a defined work activity under TANF.

4) Post-secondary education related to employment is added as a defined work activity under TANF.