This guide focuses on these two key challenges that states and localities have identified as important for the long-term success of welfare reform and work force development efforts: helping low-income parents sustain employment (steady work) and advance in the work force (better jobs). The guide consists of five parts and is structured to…

States can use Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and state maintenance of effort (MOE) funds to foster access to postsecondary education (PE) for low income parents. Access matters because success of welfare reform depends on helping welfare recipients work steadily and find better jobs; neither of the two most commonly tried…

This report focuses on people who entered the Jobs First evaluation when they were applying for or receiving cash assistance in the Manchester and New Haven (Connecticut) Department of Social Services offices between January-June 1996 and who left cash assistance within 18 months after entering the program (before reaching the 21-month time…

Describes ways in which the collaborative efforts of the Head Start and Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) programs help welfare recipients become employed and self-sufficient. (BB)

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…

This document is comprised of two separate publications, a report concerning the current AFDC program and related testimony. The report discusses a study that assessed the progress the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program had made in serving an increasingly larger portion of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) caseload,…

The history of unpaid work experience shows that work requirements for welfare recipients have often been proposed and attempted. The consistent trend has been to place greater emphasis on employability services. Studies of nine welfare-to-work programs providing unpaid work experience indicate that the level of participation is limited by factors…

As states implement new strategies to help more families make the transition from welfare to work, they will be faced with the challenge of designing programs that address the needs of an extremely diverse population of families. Some families will be able to make the transition to work with limited assistance, especially in a strong economy.…

In response to strong political debate concerning the future of federal welfare policy and a push for welfare to work programs, the Bank Street College of Education's Center for Family Support held a conference to address the issue of welfare recipients as child care providers. The purpose of this meeting was threefold: (1) to stimulate thinking…

A study examines the provisions of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) relating to who should be served, analyzes factors that affect the decisions of JTPA eligibles to participate and of Private Industry Councils to select whom they serve, and presents data on those from the eligible population who are being served. Data from the Job Training…

California's Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) program requires that large numbers of welfare recipients receive job training and preparation for employment. Another component of the program addresses the child care needs of program participants. A survey of 626 single-parent program registrants in the first eight counties in which the…

This publication contains the bibliography and appendixes which accompany a study of the role of the Work Incentive Program, particularly its training activities, in adult resocialization (available as VT 020 335 in this issue). Entries in the bibliography are arranged alphabetically by author under these categories: (1) Manpower-Labor Market, (2)…

Wisconsin Works (W-2) is a time-limited employment assistance program that, in September 1997, replaced cash entitlements provided to low-income families under Aid to Families with Dependent Children. W-2 provides subsidized or unsubsidized placements for participants, based upon their level of preparedness for employment. Participants in both…

Data from the National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) in 13 states for 1997 and 1999 was used to study how welfare reform policies, mandated by the 1996 passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, affected employment of single mothers with children. The states were Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida,…

This handbook, which is intended to assist staff at Neighborhood Networks centers who are responsible for helping unemployed or low-income individuals make the transition from public assistance to self-sufficiency, outlines a 13-step approach to the design and delivery of job readiness programs. The handbook may be used as a guide to direct…