In 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded pilot grants to 10 States--California, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington--to test innovative strategies for providing employment and training services through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training (SNAP…

The Agricultural Act of 2014 authorized $200 million for the development, implementation, and evaluation of pilot projects to test innovative strategies to reduce dependency on and increase employment among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants. California, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Mississippi,…

The Agricultural Act of 2014 authorized $200 million for the development, implementation, and evaluation of pilot projects to test innovative strategies to reduce dependency on and increase employment among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants. California, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Mississippi,…

The purpose of this article is to describe preliminary psychometric characteristics of a student self-report measure of self-determination, the "Self-Determination Inventory: Student Report" version (SDI-SR), designed for youth with and without disabilities. We administered the draft assessment to 311 youth and examined item functioning…

This series of papers was originally presented as a symposium at the annual meetings of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) held between April 9, 2007, and April 13, 2007, in Chicago, IL. The authors represent school districts and departments of education across the…

The most difficult problem in the financial management of a program of Public Service Employment (or subsidized work-training experience) is the over-obligation of funds. Some training slots are never filled, some trainees drop out early from the program, and others complete their training early. All of these factors "free" funds which…

From a comparative economic viewpoint, does regular employment secured through temporary subsidized Special Work training afford the publicly supported individual any marginal advantage over his welfare status? A study of 279 Aid to Needy Families with Children (ANFC) recipients was conducted to address this question. The median annual dollar…

The Vermont Experimental and Demonstration Manpower Pilot Project placed low income unemployed individuals in wage subsidized job slots in public and nonprofit agencies, anticipating that the work experience and related job skills gained would enable them to acquire nonsubsidized employment. A quantitative analysis is presented of 196 Special Work…

Necessary required efforts are discussed which effect Special Work Project (SWP) clients through their transition from subsidized to nonsubsidized work. These ranged from personal counseling to day care services, and it was found that supportive services helped reduce barriers to employment. Enrichment funds were allocated for teaching basic…

A study examined the background, methods, and results of the pilot year of Vermont's Writing Assessment program. Students and teachers from 46 Vermont schools were invited to participate in the 1990-91 pilot year of portfolio assessment. Students in grades 4 and 8 chose samples of their best writing from the school year. Each portfolio was…

This report compares Vermont's experience with two federally funded programs aimed at reducing unemployment. The first was a Special Work Project (SWP) directed toward providing work experience rather than skill training for welfare recipients, and also for low-income families. A second approach was through the Public Employment Program (PEP).…

Trainees in a Public Service Employment program may find work training as paraprofessional aides in manpower agencies, social services, and human services. The work experience is valuable for the trainees. However, the actual structure of their training needs close attention. Supervisors are likely to rate the effectiveness of on-the-job training…

The report describes a Vermont project begun in 1970 and designed to assess the long term value of the Special Work Project (SWP), or Public Service Employment, as a vehicle for providing transitional employment to unemployed members of low income families with children receiving public aid. The study attempted to contact and interview the 609…

This report describes Vermont's experience with a program to upgrade the working poor and thus increase their total family income. Upgrading refers to enhancing one's job skills which ultimately will lead to increased earnings within one's given occupation. Employer cooperation was encouraged through use of on-site job facilities where supervised…

In a Public Service Employment program of subsidized work training, nonprofit employers in the areas of health, education, social services, and government can be evaluated in terms of the client's employability growth, wages, supervision, retention, transferability, and client satisfaction. Client employability increases in all four areas of…