Welfare-to-Work Program – West Virginia

Welfare-to-work program not working, audit finds, By Phil Kabler, January 11, 2010, Charleston Gazette: “It’s called ‘welfare to work,’ but a legislative audit released Monday found that only about 14 percent of the state program’s recipients actually find employment before their benefits end. The study of West Virginia Works welfare benefits from 2001 to 2006 found that, at the time recipients’ cases were closed, an average of only 14 percent had found employment. Another 14 percent were unemployed but looking for work, while roughly 72 percent were unemployed and not actively seeking employment. Those figures trended downward over the five years: In 2001, nearly 31 percent of welfare recipients were employed when their cases closed. By 2006, that figure was below 6 percent…”