What are some of the pros and cons of having a welfare work program?
A. Some municipalities feel that the amount of time needed to supervise and train people in a work program just isn’t worth it. Given that local assistance is usually temporary in nature, spending the time to train a person who may not be available to work at the last minute because of a job interview, or because he or she no longer needs local assistance, may make the use of this labor too unreliable to meet the needs of the various town departments. Additionally, the issue of liability is also a concern for many towns—if the person gets hurt on the job, will the town be liable for the injuries? As discussed above, this issue may be addressed, as it is for regular town employees, via the town’s workers’ compensation insurance. A municipal work program can benefit both the town and the assisted person. As previously stated, the benefits include allowing the town to recoup some of its welfare expenditures by having assisted person perform work for the town. Projects the town would like
