Workfare Programs in Rural America: Joblessness in Ohio's Appalachian Counties

In 1988 the Family Support Act was passed into law requiring welfare recipients to participate in work experience programs to receive their wel-fare benefits. This paper questions the effectiveness of mandatory workfare programs in rural impoverished regions of the United States. The Ap-palachian counties of Ohio are used as a case example to demonstrate the problems in implementing workfare programs in economically dis-tressed regions where limited job opportunities exist. Implications for policy are examined, alternatives to mandatory work programs are dis-cussed, and further research to determine the utility of workfare programs is called for. On October 13, 1988, President Reagan signed the Family Support Act into law. This welfare reform act requires that one adult in each two-parent household participate in job search and community work experience programs by 1994. Known as "Workfare, " this law is intended to get people off welfare an