The purpose of the social contract is to strengthen public assistance families through involvement in activities that increase employability, social and parenting skills, and personal growth.

The social contract will change the entire nature of the social welfare system in Michigan. It acknowledges and demonstrates that everyone has potential to develop their individual talents through sharing in their community or participating in a variety of skill-building classes or activities. The beneficiaries will be the parents, their children, and Michigan's Communities.

Over 16 percent of the AFDC population are currently working at least part-time, and many more are enrolled in MOST employment and training, or are in school, or are doing volunteer work. It is important for the well-being of all recipients to be involved in some constructive activity if they are to become self-sufficient and self-supporting. Michigan's social contract will assure that involvement.

Those who cannot find a job or are not actively involved in education or training programs, should perform service which helps the community in return for public assistance. Community service offers an opportunity to those who are looking for work to increase their skills, their self-esteem, and their visibility in the market place.

The Michigan strategy will restructure the relationship between the Department of Social Services and the recipients of its services into a social-contract process. All adult recipients will participate by contributing to their financial independence and personal growth. The conditions of the contract can be met by a combination of:

• employment,
• participation in employment and training programs (MOST requirement),
• involvement in self-empowerment or community service activities.

Self-empowerment and community service activities would include but not be limited to:

• attending parenting classes;
• attending adult education classes;
• providing child care for others so they can work or be involved in community activities;
• Volunteering in church, school, youth, senior citizen, or community organizations;
• attending parent/teacher conferences or volunteering to assist in classroom activities;
• caring for an ill or disabled child or adult.

This approach acknowledges the contributions already being made by many recipients and assures that all recipients will contribute in a manner appropriate for them and for their community.

To begin the new approach to social contracting, I have asked the department to provide information to all applicants/recipients via video, written instructions and interviews. Applicants and recipients will be given the opportunity to sign the social contract, stating their preferred method of participation. The signed agreement will be monitored for compliance through periodic reports as part of the Monthly Reporting System and through random audits.

As part of the social contract philosophy, the department will pilot a new multi-disciplinary approach to service delivery in several sites.

Issuing cash benefits and delivering services are fragmented activities within local DSS offices. Individual staff focus on a specific area of responsibility and can be unaware of the interrelatedness or impacts of their actions on activities performed by other staff. The overall goal of client self-support and family self-sufficiency can be lost as staff performance is measured by other criteria, such as error rates, applications processed, support orders issued.

I propose that we test the concept of a multi-disciplinary team which comprises assistance payments, child support, employment and training, child welfare and other services staff to provide coordinated and intensive direct service to a smaller than customary caseload. The team will concentrate on helping clients achieve independence through increased earnings, increased child-support payments and other financial resources. This approach targets the process of delivering agency services and benefits, while promoting client independence, improved living conditions, and efficient and effective use of funds.

We will encourage DSS offices to test various models, including one in which, no new cases will be assigned to the team; as cases close, the team will have more time to work with the remaining cases that require more support in order to again become self-supporting.