On February 5, 2008, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published the final rules implementing changes in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program made by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA). While these rules do not affect the overall statutory limitations on counting education and training toward the…

Six adult basic education programs were examined to understand why they reported higher than average attendance for welfare recipients. Learners saw class not as mandatory, but as a way to achieve goals. Programs focused on engagement, a precursor to learning. Engagement factors included beliefs about teaching/learning, relationships, learning…

In the Dayton (Ohio) Literacy Project, female welfare recipients in adult basic education meet with college students to increase the women's reading, writing, and speaking skills and help them come to think of themselves as "knowers." (SK)

The Family Support Act has given new impetus to adult education through collaboration with welfare systems to provide adult literacy, high school equivalency, and English proficiency classes for welfare recipients. (SK)

Examines the interrelationship between the marginal status of the field of adult basic education and those disenfranchised because of their economic standing as a result of welfare in the United States. Deconstructs the phenomenon of marginalization and analyzes its impact on program delivery and recipients of services. (SLD)

Reviews research on literacy skills and demographics of welfare recipients, characteristics of adult basic education programs, and literacy program goals and outcomes under welfare reform. Notes that, although educational credentials or training dramatically improve employment outcomes, welfare reform deemphasizes education and training. (SK)

Discussions with 26 Nebraska adult basic education practitioners, 14 survey responses, and interviews with 3 administrators obtained their views of the impact of welfare reform. They have concerns about the emphasis on economic over individual development, the quality of education and training for welfare recipients, time limits on learning, and…

The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the extent to which three groups of stakeholders in the welfare-to-work process judge a selected list of workplace topics as important for inclusion in the curriculum. Topics were derived from the 1991 report of the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS). A 45-item survey…

A study examined the experiences and perceptions of 27 female welfare recipients who were required to go back to school or lose their welfare benefits. The women were observed as they participated in a highly interactive career and life planning (C&LP) class that met 5.5 hours per day 4 days per week for 1 month. A random sample of the women was…

This manual presents a model with all of the ancillary components that have made the Job Club/Literacy Education Program a successful undertaking for the White Plains (New York) Adult Literacy Program. Section I for administrators focuses on establishing the service (assessing the need, funding, developing linkages, location), managing the…

The Family Support Act of 1988 requires each state to set up a Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Program (JOBS) to provide a work/education/training program for recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) by October 1, 1990. The law provides a broad outline for JOBS leaves the critical decisions to the states; hence, the major…

An analysis of California's Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) work-to-welfare program did not find achievement test score improvement as a result of mandatory adult education participation. This reanalysis of GAIN impact with 581 enrollees and 500 controls finds a more positive overall impact and confirms test score improvements in one…

The purpose of the study was to better understand reasons why some welfare recipients in adult basic education (ABE) programs do not appear to advance their skill levels and to identify strategies to help them make progress. A questionnaire was returned by 117 ABE teachers in welfare programs, who rated the frequency of occurrence of various…

A project conducted in an adult literacy and basic education program in Pennsylvania proposed to use small group interaction to increase weekly attendance 10 percent from the previous program year, increase students' input into the learning process, and develop better tools to improve the learning environment. The group consisted of 39 adult…

A project created linkages in Service Delivery Area 12, Clermont and Warren Counties, Ohio, to improve services for welfare recipients. During the project, the original grant seed money of $22,000 grew to more than $220,000 in grants for cooperative programs. In addition, integral, completed linkage treaties were forged between various agencies…