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Brownback Touts 'Successes' In Kansas Welfare Reforms

@GovSamBrownback Twitter

Gov. Sam Brownback spoke today on what he described as “successes” in the state's welfare programs. Brownback referenced a study released last week by the Foundation for Government Accountability, a conservative multi-state think tank focused on health care and welfare reform.

The report looks at Kansas food stamp enrollees and claims that not only do welfare reforms work to move people out of poverty, but the quicker people are off of welfare, the more successful they become. The study tracked 41,000 people through the state Department of Labor as they moved off of welfare.

Results show that when able-bodied Kansans without dependents were required to look for work or receive job training to continue receiving food stamps, half of them began working immediately. Nearly three-fifths were employed within one year, and their incomes rose by an average of 127 percent.

“This is success," Brownback said. "These common sense reforms have led to more employment, higher incomes, and, bigger than all of that, less poverty.”

The report failed to address whether the people who had moved off welfare were employed part-time, full-time or how long they held the job. Additionally, a 127 percent increase in income put the average yearly income at just over $5,000.

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Follow Sean Sandefur on Twitter @SeanSandefur

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