Getting Wisconsin to work

Since the mid-1980s the state of Wisconsin has been pre-eminent in the field of welfare reform. With a consensus across the political spectrum, the state has pioneered a series of bold and innovative programmes which have slashed cash assistance by $30 million a month, compared with 1987 levels, and reduced its caseload by 85%. The latest programme, Wisconsin Works, is known as W-2, and is widely regarded as the most successful of the many welfare-to-work initiatives which have appeared throughout the USA.