The four papers that make up this document report on poverty issues as they pertain to adults with learning disabilities. "Programmatic Response to Welfare Clients with Learning Disabilities" (Glenn Young) describes steps in the Learning Disabilities Initiative that works with federal agencies, states, local governments, and nonprofit…

This paper provides an early analysis of child care subsidies under welfare reform. The paper reviews the literature on child care subsidies and discusses the potential for such subsidies to be an effective part of the effort to make low-income families economically self-sufficient. The paper then uses data from the National Survey of America's…

Most discussions of welfare reform ignore two factors: its effect on children; and the fact that a welfare reform law, the Family Support Act of 1988 (FSA), already exists. FSA created state Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) welfare-to-work programs, and if the JOBS program is adequately funded, it can improve the lives of welfare…

This paper describes the client assessment package being used in the Philadelphia Urban Saturation Work Program and discusses some of the issues that should be considered in designing and implementing employability assessment components of welfare-employment programs. The original objectives of the assessment component were the following: (1) to…

This program description provides a detailed summary of the efforts employed at the North Chicago Community High School in North Chicago, Illinois, to recruit public aid recipients into adult education programs. Outlined first are the educational needs of the North Chicago community. Then various agencies cooperating with the high school's…

Family policy makers must first understand changes taking place and factors influencing Australian society so that they can then ease the burden on the disadvantaged poor. Growing affluence, increasing de-institutionalization of women's roles, later marriage, delayed and smaller families and an elongated family life duration are among the trends…

This paper documents changing rates of poverty, sources of income, and employment among rural female-headed families with children, focusing on the effects of welfare reform. Data from the Current Population Survey show that from 1989 through 1999, especially since passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act…

Presents remarks on welfare reform by Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services, at the National Job Opportunity and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) Directors Conference. Four basic principles that guide current work on welfare reform are (1) making work pay; (2) improving child support enforcement; (3) strengthening education and…

A study analyzed how a group of single welfare mothers, heads of households mandated to participate in a preemployment program with an educational component, viewed learning. Welfare policy makers assumed a highly illiterate population whose "deficiencies" would be remediated through participation in existing, voluntary basic education. Studies…

The effectiveness of a leadership development program for rural lay leaders on promoting community improvement in Lawrence County, Alabama was evaluated. The sample consisted of 16 disadvantaged rural lay leaders who participated in the 2-month program and 24-month follow-up activities; 60 disadvantaged rural lay leaders who only participated in…

This study presents findings from an ongoing study of urban childhood on public assistance. The study used interviews with aldermen, social workers, police, public housing and ghetto neighborhood residents, and medical personnel as well as the collection of field study data from local institutions and their representatives. The results appear in…

Day care is an entity unto itself whose values and goals have neigher been proclaimed nor supported. Unless it examines and declares its theoretical base reflecting planning in response to what it views as its purpose and mission, it will continue to be treated as a marginal, residual institution and user capriciously as a political and social…

Three presentations are provided from Symposium 37, Workforce Development, of the Academy of Human Resource Development (HRD) 2000 Conference Proceedings. "Unemployment and Low-Literacy among Welfare Recipients: Continuum of Literacy Program Models" (Larry G. Martin) presents a continuum of four types of literacy programs--academic, situated…

Evaluates the first two years of a local welfare reform demonstration, the Family Development Center (FDC), in Baltimore (Maryland). This quasi-experimental study found the FDC successful in programs designed to increase labor market participation and earnings. FDC participants experienced increases in educational aspirations, self-esteem, and…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on work force issues facing human resource development (HRD). "Diversity Management in Nonprofit Women's Health Care Settings: A Qualitative Study of Race, Class, and Gender Influences" (Camille A. Cordak) demonstrates which organizational activities support diversity and how an…