Northwestern Symposium "Ten Years After Welfare Reform: Making Work Pay" Apr. 4, 2008

Northwestern Journal of Law and Social Policy
        Second Annual Symposium       

Friday, April 4, 2008
        Northwestern University School of Law        
        375 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago IL      

      

Ten Years After Welfare Reform: Making Work Pay

      

We are excited to announce our Spring 2008 symposium, "Ten Years After Welfare Reform: Making Work Pay", which will take place Friday, April 4, at Northwestern University School of Law.

      

While much of welfare reform in the 1990s focused on moving people off of the welfare rolls and into work, many of those who have entered the work force are still struggling to survive. These individuals are often working multiple jobs, yet are still unable to support their families. The symposium explores the many components, beyond just finding a job, that are necessary in order for individuals to truly become self-sufficient.

      

One of the issues we will explore is the work supports needed by low-wage workers in order to rise out of poverty, including health insurance, child-care, and stable housing as well as how to improve awareness of and access to these critical programs.

      

We will also explore ways to enhance the income of low-wage workers through mechanisms like the Earned Income Tax Credit, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, living wage laws, and government funded savings programs. Additionally, our authors will suggest how low-wage workers can avoid high cost financial services and the “credit addiction.”

      

Finally, we will explore the history of the welfare reform movement, by examining its political and legal origins and by evaluating current and alternative methods of reform.

      

Thus, in order to encourage people to enter the work force and become independent, society must provide support in order to truly make work pay.

      

Schedule of the Day’s Events

      

8:30-9:00 a.m. Light Breakfast Reception       

9:00-9:20 a.m. Welcome & Introduction             

9:20-10:20 a.m Improving Income Supports             

       

• Richard K. Caputo, Ph.D., Director, Doctoral Program at Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University (New York)
          • Dory Rand, Supervising Attorney, Community Investment Unit, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
          • Audra Wilson, Northwestern University School of Law
      • Michael van Zalingen, Lead Attorney, Neighborhood Housing Services      

      

               10:20-10:30 a.m. Break

      

          10:30-11:30 a.m. Improving Work Supports

      

       

•John Bouman, President, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
          •Greg J. Duncan, Professor, Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University
          •Liz Schott, Senior Fellow, Welfare Reform and Income Support Division, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities         

                     

11:30-12:00 p.m. Tour of Law School and Bluhm Legal Clinic       

              12:00-1:00 p.m. Lunch

      

              1:00-1:30 p.m. Keynote Address       

      

•Julie Nice, University of Denver Sturm College of Law       

      

                 1:30-3:00 p.m. The History and Future of Welfare Reform       

       

•Peter B. Edelman, Professor, Georgetown Law
          •Ron Haskins, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
          •Felicia Kornbluh, Assistant Professor, History, Duke University

      

      

                3:00-3:30 p.m. Closing Remarks              

      

Registration and Contact Information
        For questions or to register, please send an email to welfaretowork@law.northwestern.edu. Please indicate which sessions you will be attending and if you will attend the lunch session. Registration by March 31st would be appreciated.

      

3.5 CLE Credits are available. $175 for the entire event ($50 per credit). This will be collected the day of at the registration table and is payable by cash, check, or credit card.

      

-Thanks to Jeff Selbin for highlighting this event.  There is a lot going on in Chicago that Friday with both this and Valparaiso's Poverty conference. -E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu