The first round of site visits to welfare-to-work programs in Texas examined the nature and degree of program coordination at three sites: El Paso, Houston, and San Antonio. A brief overview of the growing literature on program coordination paid particular attention to welfare-related studies. At the state level, evidence was found of increasing…

An evaluation was conducted of the Better Opportunities for New Directions (BOND) demonstration that tested the conformance between the Texas Food Stamp Employment and Training (E&T) and Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) programs. The research design was a longitudinal panel approach. First-round interviews with 54 individuals probed…

A process evaluation was conducted of the Better Opportunities for New Directions (BOND) demonstration that tested the conformance between the Texas Food Stamp Employment and Training (E&T) and Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) programs. JOBS policies and procedures were applied to eligible Food Stamp recipients; staff serving the two…

A Texas study examined the effects of coordination on Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) program services for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients, the REFOCUS-to-JTPA referral process, and rural program coordination issues. The impact of coordination on JTPA services to AFDC caretakers was determined by conducting a…

The second-year impacts of Texas' Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program for early participants were analyzed. A quasi-experimental study design was used to analyze data about 13,396 JOBS participants and 13,303 comparison group members. The analysis focused on the labor market outcomes of JOBS participants and their exits from and…

This report on the early implementation of the Texas Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program and its impact on participants begins with an executive summary. An introduction outlines key research questions, components, and timelines. Section II covers program design and implementation and substate variations. The next five sections…

This paper reports results of a baseline analysis of Job Training Partnership Act-welfare coordination efforts in Texas. Following an introduction, section II provides a brief overview of the literature on welfare dynamics and program participation and describes Texas programs to move Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients into…

These matrices summarize the content of the certification/chartering requirements established by nine first-round and three second-round implementation states to deliver services in One-Stop Career Centers. Seven areas or dimensions of design/operations are compared. The narrative accompanying the matrices is divided into two sections--a matrix…

This booklet, which is designed to clarify facts regarding the minimum wage's impact on marketplace economics, contains a total of 31 questions and answers pertaining to the following topics: relationship between minimum wages and poverty; impacts of changes in the minimum wage on welfare reform; and possible effects of changes in the minimum wage…

An evaluation was conducted of the Texas Food Stamp Employment and Training(E&T)/Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Program Conformance Demonstration. The cost analysis determined the impact of the demonstration, the BOND (Better Opportunities for New Directions) program, on costs of administering and providing activity components and support…

This periodical provides accessible, in-depth profiles of programs and policies that have made measurable differences in the lives of children and families. A particular focus is on initiatives that have helped reform child-serving institutions and systems and that have strengthened the physical infrastructure, economic vitality, and social fabric…

An evaluation was conducted of the Texas Food Stamp Employment and Training (FSE&T)/Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) Program Conformance Demonstration. The BOND (Better Opportunities for New Directions) demonstration program tested conformance compatibility between the FSE&T and JOBS programs. It enacted such policy changes as…

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) was the first significant attempt to retool the nation's workforce development programs since the early 1980s. Titles I-V of the WIA do the following things: (1) establish the purposes, goals and operational framework of a workforce development system designed to increase participants' employment,…