SECTION 115 OF THE WELFARE REFORM ACT SHOULD BE REPEALED!
How many of you feel that you should be punished for past mistakes for the rest of your lives? Well that is exactly what is happening to over 92,000 women across the country whose mistake happened to involve drugs. I am one of those women. A few years ago I was convicted of felony drug possession. I’ve been clean and sober for over three years now and I am working hard to get my life back on track. I’ve paid for my crime via the criminal justice system but, according to a law passed in 1996, myself and countless others will continue to be punished for our mistakes through a lifetime ban of welfare benefits.
Section 115 of the Welfare Reform Act stipulates that individuals who have been convicted of a drug felony are ineligible for TANF or Foodstamp benefits. No other criminal offense, including rape and murder, prevents individuals from receiving financial assistance. The drug felony provision has an unquestionably disproportionate effect on women and children because pregnant women and women with minor children make up the overwhelming majority of TANF recipients. Incarcerated women are also more likely than incarcerated men to have a drug felony conviction.
In California, the impact is even more disproportionate because single male drug felons can receive state General Assistance benefits while mothers convicted of drug felonies cannot.
A recently incarcerated women’s plan for building a new productive life has three main components — taking care of her children, maintaining recovery, and looking for work.
The necessity of temporary help until a woman can get back on her feet is critical, particularly considering the difficulties of early recovery and of finding a job with a criminal record. The lack of a transitional income adversely affects the basic needs of women and children, including housing, food, job training, education, and drug treatment, all of which are key elements to helping a poor family lift themselves out of poverty. There is a realistic fear that as a result of losing benefits and a lack of sufficient resources will drive women back to abusive relationships, drug usage, prostitution, or other criminal activity.
The welfare ban has shown itself to be an ineffective deterrent to drug use and is counter-productive to recovery. It currently places over 135,000 children at risk of neglect and involvement in criminal activity due to the prospect of reduced family income. We need to get our priorities in order and realize that our children are our single greatest resource for the future and that they do not deserve to be punished for the past mistakes of their parents.
Section 115 of the Welfare Reform Act should be repealed or modified — and the federal government should shift its focus in the “War on Drugs” and allocate a greater proportion of funds to drug prevention and treatment.
Starr