The Fight for Dignity: True Charity Network Members Testify Before Congress as Lawmakers Mark 30 Years of Welfare Reform

Hanks of The ELM Foundation and Kelso of Watered Gardens Ministries told Congress relationship and accountability, not more programs, move people from poverty.

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, September 3, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Two practitioners from the True Charity Network testified Tuesday before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee's Work and Welfare Subcommittee, as lawmakers marked the 30th anniversary of the 1996 welfare reform law that created the modern Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

Missy Hanks, Executive Director of The ELM Foundation in Huntsville, Alabama, and Misty Kelso, Operations Manager at Watered Gardens Ministries in Joplin, Missouri, offered firsthand accounts of what effective, relational charity looks like — and why it succeeds where dependency-based systems fall short.

The hearing, titled "Welfare Reform at 30: Restoring the Promise of Work and Personal Responsibility in Federal Welfare Programs," examined the legacy of the reforms that replaced open-ended cash assistance with time-limited, work-based benefits.

Since 1996, welfare caseloads have fallen from 4.4 million families to 570,000, and the labor force participation rate among never-married mothers rose from 59 to 74 percent in just five years. But committee members and witnesses alike noted that other forms of dependency grew in TANF's place: SNAP participation rose nearly 60 percent and Medicaid rose 115 percent over the same 30-year period.

Hanks, who began her career as an Alabama state caseworker the same year welfare reform passed, told the subcommittee that good intentions alone were never enough.

"I honestly felt like I wasn't really helping anyone," she testified, describing why she eventually left government casework.

Today, The ELM Foundation operates on an effort-based model that requires participants to set and pursue goals toward self-reliance. "Accountability is not punishment," Hanks told lawmakers. "Accountability is empowerment." She also pointed to gaps in coordination across the charitable sector, telling the committee, "We have what I call the wild wild west out there in our nonprofit agencies. We're serving in silos, not sharing information, [and] not tracking outcomes."

Kelso, who now leads program operations at Watered Gardens Ministries, shared her own journey through homelessness, addiction, and dependence on public assistance before rebuilding her life and family. Asked whether government assistance had kept her trapped, she testified plainly: "I would say that it did keep me stuck for a long time." She urged the committee to see the people behind the caseload numbers. "The women we serve are not problems to be solved," she said. "They are people."

Hanks and Kelso are both members of the True Charity Network, a national coalition of churches and nonprofits that equips local organizations to move from crisis relief toward relational, outcome-driven models of charity. The Network now includes more than 300 member organizations across 35 states, which collectively serve more than 1 million people every year.

About Missy Hanks and The ELM Foundation

Missy Hanks is Executive Director of The ELM Foundation, a privately funded operating foundation in Huntsville, Alabama, that provides grants and relational case management for education and workforce development. Hanks has spent more than three decades working in both government-funded and privately funded assistance programs. Learn more at elmhsv.org.

About Misty Kelso and Watered Gardens Ministries

Misty Kelso is Operations Manager at Watered Gardens Ministries in Joplin, Missouri, where she serves women and children experiencing homelessness, addiction, poverty, and trauma. Watered Gardens was founded by James Whitford, who also co-founded True Charity, where he serves as CEO.

About True Charity

True Charity equips nonprofits and churches nationwide with resources, training, and connection to other like-minded organizations that help individuals transition from dependency-based models to relational, outcome-driven approaches to charity. Its network now includes more than 300 member organizations across 35 states. For more information on True Charity, visit https://www.truecharity.us/.

Media Contact

Bethany Herron True Charity bethany@truecharity.us 705 E 15th St, Joplin, MO 64804 | 417.202.8030

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Bethany Herron
True Charity
bethany@truecharity.us