This article originally appeared in the September-October 2000 issue of the Children's Advocate newsmagazine, published by Action Alliance for Children. Grassroots Snapshots is a new feature that profiles efforts of small, local organizations around the state to make a difference for children and families.
How can you tell whether welfare reform is working for low-income families? Last year, the Los Angeles-based Welfare Reform Coalition (WRC) tried an unusual approach -- asking the families themselves. The WRC surveyed 1,400 families about their experiences with CalWORKs, California's welfare reform program, and found that many didn't know about or receive supportive services such as drug treatment, mental health care, and domestic violence programs.
So when L.A. County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) said it would start a "family inventory" process to assess CalWORKs participants' needs and match them with services, it should have been good news. Unfortunately, says Sam Mistrano, executive director of the Human Services Alliance, which heads up the 300-member WRC, "They came up with a 'one-size-fits-all' system."
Instead of open-ended questions focusing on families' strengths, the DPSS planned to ask "stock questions." Families would be randomly assigned to questioners from six county agencies—including probation. If they failed to participate in the Family Inventory, they could lose part of their benefits.
WRC sent recommendations to DPSS officials: that the Family Inventory be conducted early in the CalWORKs process; that it be an open-ended interview by appropriate, trained staff (not probation officers); and that families not be sanctioned for failing to participate.
"Already, CalWORKs families go to four to five different offices to maintain their CalWORKs status," and many are "sanctioned" for missing appointments, says Mistrano. "The last thing they need is another meeting to potentially miss."
"It would have been the easiest thing in the world to write an op-ed in the LA Times" blasting the DPSS plan, a strategy WRC has employed in past campaigns, says Mistrano. But WRC wanted to give the agency an opportunity to do the right thing. "We don't see ourselves as a polarizing force," says Mistrano. "We've found we get much more progress working from the inside as much as possible, and working from the outside as well."
The "outside" strategy focused on "gearing people up" within the WRC by providing a steady stream of information through meetings, events, and the WRC's weekly bulletin, In the Loop. The "inside" strategy focused on working with the DPSS to redirect the Family Inventory plan.
The turning point was a meeting between WRC and the DPSS. "It wasn't until we drove out 40 miles to the DPSS headquarters…that they really put the issue on the map," says Mistrano. As a result, DPSS agreed to:
WRC members "were an asset to the process," reports Lisa Hayes, a supervisor at DPSS. "They brought good points to the table. They listened. There was mutual respect." WRC members gave DPSS "the perspective of the participant," says Hayes. "We all think we have the participant's perspective, but you tend to think from your [own] background."
While the process was cordial, Mistrano says the potential of a head-on confrontation with WRC's strong grassroots base helped. "For the last three years, we kept turning people out -- that's what distinguishes us." The DPSS knew that hundreds of people attend WRC events. So the WRC's cooperation came with an implied ultimatum, says Mistrano: "If you change the family inventory process, we will help promote it. If you don't, we will oppose it… and make all kinds of trouble."
Contact: Sam Mistrano, Human Services Alliance of Los Angeles, (213) 202-5925
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