About 1.5 million uninsured children in California are eligible for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families, the state's primary public health insurance programs for children. The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides a natural entry point for reaching these eligible families. This briefing report was written for WIC…

This manual was developed by a project to create a model program that integrates basic skills instruction with requirements of welfare reform, and the project's final report describes activities taken to develop the manual. The report details the problem, goals, procedures, objectives met and not met, and an evaluation. The manual is designed to…

This document begins with a report describing a Northampton Community College project to develop a manual to help adult literacy providers understand how they fit into welfare reform. The accompanying manual consists of four sections corresponding to the project's four objectives. Section 1, intended to enable adult literacy providers to…

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…

Asset development is an emerging approach to promoting self-sufficiency for low-income workers. By promoting and rewarding savings, asset development strategies encourage individuals to set long-term economic goals. Asset development strategies can accomplish the following objectives: (1) give low-income workers the knowledge required to navigate…

This report addresses expanding welfare-to-work (WTW) programs to increase work among welfare recipients facing personal and family challenges. Section 1 examines what is known about the impact of traditional WTW program models and policy innovations on employment and earning profiles of these recipients. Evidence is presented showing WTW programs…

This document examines microenterprise development as an employment option for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients. The document begins with a brief discussion of the feasibility of self-employment as an option for TANF recipients, particularly in a slow economy. The next section answers policy questions pertaining to the…

A pilot project was designed to test the efficacy of profiling welfare recipients and referring them to welfare-to-work services targeted toward their specific work histories and skills. The general framework of Michigan's Work First program was used to illustrate how profiling can be designed and administered. A profiling model was proposed that…

The importance of higher education for women on welfare, the needs of welfare women in college, and college services provided to this population are discussed, along with model college programs, and policy implications for local, state, and federal programs. It is proposed that single-parent women on welfare have access to higher education so they…

The Phase II Equity Staff Development project was revised in response to a need to develop an equity strategic planning model with a vision statement, goals, and objectives. The Equity Strategic Planning Model was presented to administrators of Wisconsin Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education (VTAE) colleges for their use in district strategic…

The cost-effectiveness and 3-year impacts of California's Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) program, which is a statewide initiative aimed at increasing the employment and self-sufficiency of recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), were evaluated by studying follow-up data for 33,000 people from 6 counties who entered…

This guide distills lessons from an extensive body of research into practical advice for policymakers and practitioners concerned with helping hard-to-employ individuals find jobs and succeed in the work force. Part 1 examines the following topics: characteristics of the hard-to-employ; the prevalence of various barriers to employment; and the…