Coordinating Housing and Social Services: The New Imperative

Historically, liberals and conservatives have disagreed over the causes of poverty. Recently, however, their attitudes toward existing public programs to assist the poor have converged. Liberals and conservatives alike have criticized these programs for failing to move people out of poverty. More specifically, public housing and other programs such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) have been faulted for having built-in incentives that discourage recipients from increasing their incomes. The lack of coordination among the various social assistance programs has also been criticized. A person may receive job training, for example, but have to drop out because child care is unavailable. Overall, the current array of housing and social services has not effectively assisted poor families in attaining self-sufficiency. An important goal of housing and social programs should be to help individuals and families achieve self-sufficiency. This notion is reflected in recent housing and social service legislation, including the Family Support Act of 1988 and the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990. These acts seek to restructure housing and social services to provide incentives and support for self-sufficiency, rather than simply maintaining recipients at a minimum standard of living