Moral Principles and Policy Priorities for Welfare Reform

Moral Principles and Policy Priorities for Welfare Reform, March 1995

A Statement of the Administrative Board of the United States Catholic Conference

This 1995 statement from the Administrative Board of the United States Catholic Conference sets moral principles and policy priorities to guide welfare reform. It frames reform as a moral test of national priorities, emphasizes both personal responsibility and public duty, and argues that reform must reduce poverty and protect children rather than simply cut budgets. The statement identifies six core policy goals and explains why each is necessary to protect human dignity and strengthen families.

Core moral principles highlighted

• Respect for human life and human dignity
• Importance of the family and the value of work
• Preferential option for the poor and the call to participation
• Principles of subsidiarity (local action where appropriate) and solidarity (national responsibility)

Six policy priorities

• Protect human life and human dignity — Oppose rules that deny benefits in ways likely to encourage abortion or harm children; insist policy protect both born and unborn children.
• Strengthen family life — Promote marriage and father involvement, remove marriage penalties in tax law, support children’s tax credits and strengthened Earned Income Credit, and discourage teen pregnancy.
• Encourage and reward work — Provide education, training, transitional supports; avoid policies that cut health or child-care benefits when people move into employment; aim for jobs with decent wages and benefits.
• Preserve a safety net for the vulnerable — Maintain entitlement supports (AFDC, food stamps, WIC, nutrition programs) and resist reforms that would eliminate structures or let states reduce commitments to poor children; oppose punitive restrictions on immigrants’ minimal benefits.
• Build public/private partnerships — Strengthen community and faith-based service roles while keeping adequate federal commitment, resources, standards, and safeguards; allow carefully designed block grants only with adequate funding and accountability.
• Invest in human dignity — Recognize short-term costs of effective reform; invest in family tax credits, education, training, child support enforcement, and services that enable long-term exits from welfare.

Key cautions and values for policymakers

• Reform should be flexible and targeted to family circumstances, not rigid, one-size-fits-all mandates.
• Incentives are preferable to punitive measures; sanctions that harm children are morally unacceptable.
• States should be allowed innovation, but federal standards, funds, and protections are essential because poverty has national dimensions.
• Private and religious charities are vital but cannot replace public responsibility or be forced into immigration-enforcement roles.
• Short-term investment is required to achieve long-term savings and dignity-restoring outcomes.

Moral-Principles-and-Policy-Priorities-for-Welfare-Reform.pdf