Recent Changes in Florida Welfare and Work, Child Care, and Child Welfare Systems

Abstract

In 1996, Florida embarked on an ambitious welfare reform program called Work and Gain Economic Self-Sufficiency (WAGES). The state has also made extensive changes to its workforce development system and has put a growing emphasis on addressing problems in child welfare services. The approach taken by Florida has resulted in some dramatic changes in the administration and delivery of social services. Responsibilities for running programs have devolved from the state to the local level, Florida has contracted out a growing number of services previously handled by state agencies, and public-private boards have increasingly assumed a role in setting policy and deciding how services are delivered. This report begins with a short profile of Florida’s population, economy, and politics. Next comes a brief overview of the income support and social services safety net within the state. The following three sections offer a more detailed description of current policies and recent changes in the areas of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and employment and training, child care, and child welfare. The final section highlights some key changes in Florida’s social service delivery system and their implications for understanding the effects of devolution and welfare reform. Information presented in this report comes mainly from interviews with program staff in Hillsborough (Tampa) and Miami-Dade Counties. Additional interviews were conducted with various statelevel officials responsible for WAGES, workforce development, child care, and child welfare to obtain an overview of the system statewide. In addition, focus groups were conducted with WAGES child care recipients in Hillsborough and MiamiDade and telephone interviews were completed with child welfare administrators in 12 additional counties. Interview information is supplemented with reports and policy documents produced by other research organizations and state and local agencies. Three sets of visits were made to Florida during late 1999 and early 2000: visits focused on child care in September 1999, child welfare in November 1999, and WAGES and workforce development in April and May 2000.