Welfare-to-Work Program – Mississippi

Miss. leading work program, By Gary Pettus, March 7, 2010, Jackson Clarion Ledger: “Instead of depending forever on food stamps, Jessica Eubanks has deserted the unemployment line for a full-time job in a pediatrician’s office. In the meantime, the state of Mississippi – the best in the nation at moving people from welfare to work – temporarily helps her pay for child care and transportation costs.’I just needed a chance,’ said Eubanks, 29, of Florence, a single mother of three. ‘And someone gave it to me.’ Those payments flow out of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families work program, which is helping thousands of Mississippians find jobs and keep them. It’s a result of the government’s effort to make a paycheck more attractive than a welfare check, while still tending to the needs of poor children. ‘I believe some people don’t know how blessed we are to have this program,’ Eubanks said. Administered by the state’s Department of Human Services, Mississippi’s TANF program is ranked No. 1 in the country for work participation rates at 63.2 percent. The national rate is under 30 percent…”