Key Points
  • Aggressively pursue evidence-based models that fight fraud, waste, and abuse.
  • Increase the off-ramp for those who are not truly needy.
  • Regulators and elected officials integrate specific program indicators and outcomes to taxpayer dollars for public assistance.
  • Where possible, services for at-risk populations should be case managed to provide a centralized and comprehensive approach for individuals and families, allowing for less duplication and better chance for success of the individual.
  • States should encourage integrating private assistance into state operated programs, encouraging less dependency on bureaucracy and more on existing community resources.

The welfare state is larger than it has ever been in U.S. history. As Americans we spend nearly one trillion dollars a year on federal and state human services programs, yet despite public investment the poverty rate has risen to 15.1 percent. Public assistance is necessary to help those who are truly in need, however these programs are rarely called on to show effectiveness in creating true opportunities for individuals and families to escape dependence and pursue a life of success and prosperity.

At ALEC, our objective is to help states implement policy that will modernize human services programs so public investment in human services not only create opportunities for self sufficiency, but to use data metrics in state based programs to show which program operations are more effective in fighting poverty for at-risk populations.

Other common sense approaches to breaking the cycle of dependency is reducing regulatory barriers to communities and leveraging existing resources to coordinate services while also working to aggressively reduce fraud, waste and abuse.

It has been said that a society can be judged by the way it treats those least able to care for themselves. At ALEC, we work to foster a competitive yet compassionate society that leads each person to the dignity of work and culture of success and prosperity.

Publications

+ All Human Services Publications

Model Policies

  • Safeguarding American Families Everywhere (SAFE) Act Final

    WHEREAS, persons with special needs, including developmental disabilities and mental illnesses, are among the most vulnerable within their communities, and WHEREAS, interacting with law enforcement officers or first responders in an emergency, such as a motor vehicle crash or other crisis situation, can be more complex for persons with special…

  • Dental Therapists Act Final

    SECTION 1.  Definitions (1) “Dental therapist” means an individual licensed by the State Board of Dentistry who engage in the limited practice of dentistry. (2) “Dental Therapy” means the limited practice of dentistry, consisting of the services, treatments, and procedures specified under state law. (3) “Health care provider” means a…

  • Expanding Physician Access Act Final

    SECTION 1. This model shall be known and may be cited as the “Expanding Physician Access Act.” (A) Purpose. This Act removes barriers that prevent high-quality, internationally-licensed physicians from filling vacancies in [State], including in rural and primary care settings, by eliminating unnecessary training duplication. All other standards of care…

  • Family Rights in Medical Investigations Act Final

    SECTION 1: When a child has been the subject of a Hotline call [or whatever phrasing is appropriate to your state’s procedure for initiating an investigation] and is under inpatient or outpatient care at a medical facility (“child”), any medical professional, including but not limited to any doctor, nurse, physician’s…

  • The Kinship Care and Fictive Kin Reform Act Final

    Section 1. Title. This Act shall be known as The Kinship Care and Fictive Kin Reform Act. Section 2. Purpose. All children need safe homes, nurturing role models and caring relationships to grow and thrive. Sometimes children cannot stay in their homes with their parents for a variety of reasons…

  • Statewide Health Data Utility Act Final

    Section 1. Declaration of Purpose A state health data utility (“HDU”) can help achieve better patient outcomes, improve the overall health and wellbeing of the people of [STATE], and reduce the cost of health care by creating a more seamless, transparent, and modernized approach to sharing health information. This bill…

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Task Forces

Health and Human Services

There is no sector of our economy where the hand of government is more evident than…

Press Releases

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