Do you think... (controversial but no bashing please) UPDATE

[Anonymous]

Do you think it would be good if all people who got welfare in America (except the disablled) were required to volunteer in exchange for the welfare?

For example, for every 20 dolllars you get in food stamps, you have to volunteer somewhere, such as picking up trash in the community, helping at a food bank, whatever.

Or if you get WIC, you have to volunteer just 5 hours a month.

Or medicaid you have to volunteer 50 hours for every 1000 of medical bills.

THOUGHTS?

Would you do this if you were on welfare???????????

UPDATED: 

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and sharing experiences.

However, it confuses me when you say it woud be wrong b/c it would take away time from working or for looking for a job? THis woudl NOT be like 160 hours a month. Maybe like 3 hours a week or so! 3 hours is not that much and they would still have 100 hours in the week to look for a job!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even 5 hours a week is not that much.

They coud exchange some of the time they spend watching TV, using drugs,etc in exchange for vounteering a few hours. 

[Anonymous]

I think its a good idea in theory but not realistic for most. Take me and DH for instance, when we were getting FS DH was working full time for minimum wage picking up whatever over time he could to help make ends meet. His schedule was all over the place. There would have been zero time to put in any time for volunteer work. I would have gladly done it but I have zero child care, so unless the state was going to pay for my child care (which would be MORE money the state was shelling out) I wouldn't be able to do it either.

[Anonymous]

Yup. In Pennsylvania, I was required to work in their filing department at welfare when I couldn't find a job.

Quoting Hectictracy:

Where I am if you receive assistance,and you don't Work you have to go to the welfare place and do Work. If you don't you lose the help.

[Anonymous]

I think the time would be better spent at an actual job or at least looking for one...and I think it's a bit unreasonable to expect people already working full time to volunteer X-number of hours per week on top of that.

[Anonymous]

What about the children who get Medicaid and WIC because they're in the foster system? Do you think the foster/adoptive families need to do community service?

[Supervane]

Lots of working people volunteer to help the less fortunate or to enrich the community. Why can't someone using PA working or not do the same??? Does their precious government money make them better or what...???

Quoting Anonymous:

What about people who work but still get FS?

[ZoeCY]

I think that they should have to pay back a certain amount of it in some way.  

[thefiregoddess]

This
They mandate 20 hrs of volunteer a week for cash assistance recipients here in tn.

They try to go to school full time they can be cut off ALL assistance
I think that's stupid. Mandate job searching, skills building or education instead.

Quoting TrouserMouse:

If we force them to spend time volunteering to "earn" their assistance, we are also taking away from the time they could spend looking for a paying job.

[Lena-Loo]

Idk, some people who get state assistance work a full time and some even have multiple jobs, they wouldn't have the time to do the "pay back" services ya know.

[Anonymous]

Quoting momoftwo0406:

this idea is good but i think a cap needs to be placed on it all.

cash help no longer then 2 years in 10 year time frame

food help no longer then 5 years

wic already has a 5 year age limit but its per kid which should be changed also.

plus if the state pays for someone to have a kid after 2 they should require the mom to get her tubs tied

LOL ridiculous

[ginger813]

in theory it sounds ok, but if people were spending their time volunteering, then they wouldn't have as much time to actually be working, to try to get themselves off of welfare.