Smart Workforce Solutions

Hiring Welfare Recepients

The Best Handout is a Hand Up to Job Opportunity

Employers who have hired welfare recipients report decisively positive experiences. In a 1998 survey of Welfare-to-Work Partnership members, 76% of the respondents said the former welfare recipients they hired were productive employees and almost half reported the same or better retention rates as for employees hired through standard channels. Employers who have hired welfare recipients report the following benefits:

• Access to a larger, more diverse labor pool
• Good, productive workers
• Reduced employee turnover
• Subsidies and tax credits

In Missouri, the Welfare to Work initiatives are now managed through the Career Assistance Program (CAP) and is funded through the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). Participants may receive TANF welfare benefits for up to sixty months and are required to participate in relevant employment and training activities during their assistance period.

On-the-Job Training Incentives/Paid Work Experiences

A special department in the Missouri Career Center operates the employment and training function for the CAP/TANF program. Funds are available for wage subsidy or reimbursement to the employer as incentives for hiring. Visit our page for On-the-Job Training or contact the Career Center for more on OJT of Paid Work Experience programs.

Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) Incentives

Federal income tax credits may be provided as a financial incentive to hire from up to eight different groups of job seekers with barriers. A certification for a federal income tax credit of up to $2,400 will be issued for each new hire that is certified by the Missouri Division of Workforce Development (DWD) as a member of one of the following target groups: Short-term Welfare recipients; 18-24 year-old Food Stamp recipients; Veterans receiving Food Stamps; Vocational Rehabilitation referrals; 18-24 year-old Empowerment Zone or Enterprise Community residents; 16-17 year-old Empowerment Zone or Enterprise Community residents hired as Summer Youth Employees (Maximum credit of $1200 between May 1 and Sept. 15);

Ex-Felons who are members of a low-income family; Supplemental Security Income recipients A business can submit an application to the Missouri Division of Workforce Development no more than 21 days after the employee’s first day of work. If DWD finds that the employee meets the target group eligibility criteria, a certification for the credit will be issued to the employer. The program is not competitive or based on first-come submission.

The credit is equal to 40% of the first $6,000 of the first year’s wages for a maximum credit of $2,400 for employees that work at least 400 hours. For employees who work at least 120 hours, but do not reach 400 hours, the credit is calculated at 25%.Tracy Lemmons from the Joplin Career Center’s Business Services Team is happy to assist your company with information and referrals for the WOTC program. Call her at (417) 629-3000, Ext. 237 or email tracy.lemmons@ded.mo.gov. More on WOTC