Jobs Plus Works Well For Oregon

Oregon’s welfare system, which has seen its caseload drop by 41 percent over the last three years, is attracting international attention for its programs to help people get jobs.

Government representatives from countries including France, Brazil and Canada and states including California, Texas and Maryland have come to Oregon to learn about its welfare system.

Welfare recipients in Oregon receive financial aid to help them find work, including cash to buy job interview clothing or get a haircut.

An average of 2,000 welfare recipients a month find jobs through the state. As a result, the number of people on welfare has been reduced, saving taxpayers about $213 million for the 1997-99 budget.

Through partnerships with state agencies and nonprofit organizations, the state developed the Volunteer Work Program, in which welfare recipients are able to get onthe-job training.

Qualified recipients are placed for six months at a government agency or nonprofit organization. During that time, they receive cash and food stamp assistance.

In 1993, the state created the JOBS Plus program, which extended the volunteer work program to private companies.

Through JOBS Plus, the state subsidizes the employee’s salary up to the minimum wage. Private employers pay the rest, but many of them offer prevailing wages.

Welfare clients are required to look for a job while they are receiving assistance, but they are not required to go through the education or work experience program. About 60 percent of the families statewide take advantage of those programs.

“It’s a real cool system,” said Michelle Morris, 27, the single parent of two children. “It’s not only that they help me find a job. They are also the source of my motivation.”