It is wrong to suggest， as some have， that I would be so callous as to advocate the immediateremoval of thousands of TANF recipients； to do so only spreads fear among recipients instead of advancing a solution. But I am firmly committed to a five-year limitation， with exemptions for tho se who face severe barriers to employment —— as long as it is part of a full-scale program redesign.
For real transformation to take place， the mayor and the D.C. Council must rapidly change our system to include participation from every city agency， as well as the private sector， and employtheir collective expertise and resources to help beneficiaries change their lives.
To begin， we can act immediately to improve the delivery of job training services to 10，600families deemed "ready to work". Our six existing job training vendors receive a bonus for work placement and retention， but they provide services to only 6，900 families. Consequently， tho usands of families face one- to-two-year waiting periods for training.
Rather than terminating these contracts because they have not met the recipients' needs，the Departmenl of Human Services has allowed the contracts to continue. Why would the Fentyadministration make sanctions for noncompliance by individuals receiving benefits a priority instead of increasing the capacity of job training and education programs administered by these contractors？It is only now， years after the problems became apparent， that DHS has a plan to prepare new requirements and solicit new vendors.
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