Is The Welfare System A Trap Leading To Jail For Men?

Aid to Families with Dependent Children, a federal assistance program in effect from 1935 to 1996 was created by the Social Security Act and administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide financial assistance to children whose families had low to no income. It became known as Welfare. First administered primarily to white families, in the 1960s more African American families began to seek and receive public aid. But unlike with white couples whose families who were allowed to remain intact, for black families to receive aid, the stipulation was that no man could be living in the home. This has had a devastating effect on the last three generations of African American families. In many communities, nearly 80 percent of the children are raised in single parent female headed households. The State will pay aid to the mother, but will pursue the father and take him to court to repay what the State has paid in welfare. If the man cannot pay, he can be arrested and jailed. The welfare system has become a trap for men leading to jail, revocation of drivers licences, denial of business licenses and criminalization. This is a modern day Debtors Prison. How do we, men and women, work out a strategy of cooperation in order to avoid the trap?