S & R PIEPER FOUNDATION'S
ATTEMPTS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE IMPROVED EFFECTIVENESS
OF OUR NON-PROFITS IN THE SOCIAL SECTOR
Motivating Thoughts:
Purpose:
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Who will speak up for those who are Voice less - - -? |
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"Great is that time when the great to listen to the small because this is the time when the small will listen to the great". |
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| Talmud | |||
The challenge:
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"Man's reach should exceed his grasp" | ||
| Browning | |||
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"We cannot solve today's problems with the same level of thinking that we used to create them" |
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| Albert Einstein | |||
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We judge according to our intentions others judge according to our actions. |
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On society:
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Organizations can trample out the outward glow ---- of the spirit of main, the spirit of our maker. |
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We have defined success and in the process destroyed the dignity and aspirations of a portion of our population . |
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I am deeply pained, ---- when I see and think of the children, parents who seem to be at a significant disadvantage in our increasingly complex society. |
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Single parent families in poverty appear to have been reduced either through W-2 and or full employment and/or a more caring community and/or a more effective social service delivery system. The progress seems slow, frustrating at times, at any given moment exasperating. We do know in a 30 year perspective the great majority of the poor move up the economic ladder and another segment from the entire spectrum of our economic ladder moves into replace those that have left. It may just be one day that the serving and served will find illumination in community. |
Richard R. Pieper Sr.
S & R PIEPER FAMILY FOUNDATION
December, 1986
Richard Pieper attempted to use the TeamPower philosophy that he had documented in his TeamPower booklet as a strategy applicable for a permanent process change for AFDC mothers. Its intent was to build a bridge out of the welfare system through this demonstrated model (see attached). He gave himself two years to begin the program - either "go or no go". Elected governmental agency leaders were contacted for their support. The PieperPower Foundation was willing to underwrite the cost of the program for three years and their goal was to get 90% of the participants off of welfare during that period. They asked the constituency's elected officials to give their support to change the federal regulations and allow for the bridge. The Foundation felt they couldn't ask the mothers to cancel their AFDC subsidy without the support of elected officials to change the rules after proven success. Pieper would parallel the program and train social service workers in his philosophies. He was willing to work with one group on a weekly basis as a pilot program in what he felt would be a two to three year transition. The social service sector had shown unqualified support for the program and would do whatever necessary to cooperate. The political sector would not make any commitments (no go).
Throughout the above process, having had a number of AFDC mothers referred by the social agencies, he put the mothers in touch with each other. It was the conviction of Pieper that the mothers really wanted to work; they wanted to earn their way. It was the opinion of the Foundation that the political candidates for County Executive would be debating philosophical issues and solutions for welfare rather than the welfare recipients' needs. To direct the political focus more toward the needs of the constituents, the Foundation employed Dieringer Research who, in 1991, did a study of 200 AFDC mothers and 200 mothers of similar economic levels not utilizing the subsidy to determine what their needs and their opinions were. On February 6, 1992 this study received front page coverage from the Milwaukee Journal and was circulated to anyone who asked for the information (which included nearly every politician and many public and private agencies). The study concluded that a great majority of the mothers wanted to earn their own, felt they were viewed as second class citizens, and had experienced substandard, unaffordable child care. They felt strongly about earning their way and felt it should be legislated. And if legislated, 49% agreed that their welfare should be cancelled if they wouldn't earn it according to the law.
Because of these conclusions, in February, 1992, it was decided to do a second study. Dieringer Research was again employed to conduct an analysis of all the non-profit agencies to determine what services were available and to demographically match those services to the needs of the recipients. This study concluded that there were four times more counseling services available than the mothers required or wanted and a substantive shortage of affordable, quality child care. Everything else they needed (and there is a long list) was available.
(The PIEPERPOWER Foundation, in conjunction with Dieringer Research Associates, surveyed AFDC recipients, non-recipients at the same economic level, and non-profit organizations providing services to these groups, The opinions expressed herein are the result of those survey findings.)
The general public believes AFDC recipients and low-income families avoid work, make excuses and are lazy. Our elected officials insist there aren't enough jobs for the people, thus creating the problems. Both assumptions are grossly incorrect. In the past 20 years, there has been an extraordinary increase in funds and programs directed at the economically disadvantaged, programs developed by those fortunate enough not to need them or who do not understand.
I believe the worst effect of this has been to devastate a portion of our population. These are human beings who, emotionally, would prefer to contribute and take ownership for their lives; human beings who have the very same basic desires as everyone else. These people believe they should be earning their pay even if it is welfare. Nearly half of them feel that if they were required to earn their welfare checks and they didn't, welfare should be removed from them. That's a tough call by people who have limited options and says much for the basic motivations of the economically disadvantaged.
Both groups agree that there are major problems with the present welfare system but also, that there are solutions available. Solutions that should include: affordable day care, job training, apprenticeship programs and affordable health care. The survey validates that we have adequate capacity in the non-profit organizations to address these solutions.
There is no question in my mind that our government and the business community do not have the same understanding of people motivation as does the non-profit area. There is much to be said about motivation and hope, and I believe that the non-profits in our community can make the connections. They could be profoundly more effective than any other public sector.
"Most of the successes we've had these last 30 years in tackling social problems in America, such as educating disadvantaged children, fighting alcohol and drug abuse, rehabilitating youthful criminals, have been attained by nonprofit organizations, some of them big and national, some quite small and purely local. Nonprofit organizations have been equally successful in improving their own effectiveness; in attracting new groups of volunteers, in converting volunteers from 'helpers' to 'partners', in making their boards effective; in placing into 'second careers' in their organizations experienced business executives. America's nonprofit organizations have, in fact, been the country's leading innovators." - Peter Drucker
Government and the people have acknowledged their failure in meeting the needs of our economically disadvantaged. Not-for-profits have grown to include a volunteer community numbering one-third of our population each week, they know and understand people's needs and motivation and have the programs in place that the economically disadvantaged have said they need. Armed with this knowledge, the community is crying for leadership to facilitate the obvious.
Richard Pieper
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OBJECTIVE: |
develop a model program of "stepping stones out of welfare" for those who wish to take the walk; or, develop an approach to financial independence for welfare dependent individuals or families who will make the commitment, |
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RATIONALE: |
Fellow members of our community, who probably have life-long disadvantages, are locked into a dependency which deprives them of the basic freedoms and dignity most individuals in any society look for, |
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SOURCES: |
Maori Indians "canoe" - Family team support for major undertakings Jesus Christ - One on one caring, experiencing the infinite Baden Powell - Patrol method of responsibility for inexperienced young boys U. S. Quality Circle - Peer problem solving, communication, commitment Pieper Electric TeamPower - learning and communicating in a union environment without stewards Suzuki method of teaching - Nurturing with love, learning before literacy Alcoholics Anonymous - 12 step program, peer support, accountability |
GENERAL APPROACH: A group of AFDC or GA recipients (not limited to these) who want to take the walk are guided toward their objectives by an experienced facilitator. Participants decide on methods, steps, milestones, accountability, and commitment at the debriefing, of their situation analysis. A peer support group is developed which will provide short-term positive peer reinforcement for any movement or thought in the correct direction. After success, the committed success group is extended to support a network of groups; one on one commitment; caring; sharing; accountability; mutual respect; the strength of a group versus the individual; and the use of group resources.
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STEPS: |
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Commitment to support a successful pilot program after it is a proven success. |
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Political; local, State, and Federal levels |
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Social agency; local level |
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Select a group of 12 to 20 invited participants; twelve left at end of the meeting. (Social agency to select and review with facilitator.) |
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Agency volunteer with willingness to become a future facilitator to monitor program with three other volunteers tracking (preferably - female, married, raised family), |
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| PILOT PROGRAM - WELFARE DEPENDENT'S BRIDGE, |
12/86 |
| OBSTACLES TO BE OVERCOME IN THE LIVES OF THE PROGRAM RECIPIENTS | |
Dependents never have been employed -- turned down many times for employment, at the point of disillusionment, have had special skills training for jobs -- in this area they are left with an indelible imprint on their lives.
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No examples to image in their lives. If any, they tend to be very poor ones, confusing, or bizarre. |
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Family caring and support not a real part of their development as children, an indelible imprint on the rest of their lives. |
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Have difficulty understanding what and how to care for someone else or be cared for. |
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Tend to operate day-to-day in a survival mode. |
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No real parent in their childhood, and if they had an identifiable parent who wanted to care for then that parent was disoriented, operated under stress, and unable to be a parent, as would normally be thought of. |
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Economic understanding, |
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Jobs, skills, pay, supply, demand -- never thought about it or cannot relate to these areas. |
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Options and trade-offs not thought about. |
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Employer needs, views, and problems never considered or understood. |
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No understanding of intended use of credit and savings. |
Generally, they feel good about nothing that lasts more than the moment. At best the child they had or fathered, is viewed as a success.
GENERAL SITUATION
Milwaukee County has 37,000 households that are recipients of AFDC. Of this group, approximately 25 per cent are divorced; 42 per cent have never been married and the remainder are either the result of abandonment or separation. Of the total 37,000 recipients, 57 per cent are the result of children out-of-wedlock and this percentage is growing.
Even after training and enough confidence to apply for a job, typical AFDC dependents will never be able to perform at a level equal to what they are receiving in total benefits after taxes, with only one member working. An AFDC recipient, generally, cannot be living with someone else or be part of another household.
General assistance in the Milwaukee County area is provided to 9,500 persons. Eighty-five per cent of these are black; 85 per cent are males. Six thousand five hundred are able-bodied. They tend to be under the age of 29; have never worked; and have an education at the 5th or 6th grade level. Fifty-five per cent come out of AFDC homes.