Data from a stratified random sample of 953 low-income urban women were analyzed to determine how they find jobs and the effect it has on subsequent earnings. Results show that although most find jobs through informal contacts, this has no effect on earnings. Those who recently left welfare were more likely to find jobs through formal sources.…

Describes Project ESTEEM, a program to help single mothers on welfare become self-sufficient. It combines one course--banking and finance--with the basics of how to look for and find a job. (JOW)

Discusses the British underclass, a subgroup of poor people who live off mainstream society without participating in it. Examines the underclass' roots in illegitimacy, crime, and voluntary unemployment. Suggests that well-intentioned social policies have removed incentives for change. (FMW)

Explored model integrating human capital, family resource, employment, and psychosocial factors to explain variation in economic self-sufficiency among 851 single mothers on public assistance. Workplace support was most significant factor affecting degree to which mothers reduced their reliance on welfare as source of household income over…

Comparison of samples of U.S. and Swedish children showed the proportion of children whose family income was below the poverty line was similar. Because all Swedish poor children received social transfers and transfers were more generous in Sweden, a much lower percentage of Swedish children were poor after transfers and taxes. (SK)

Examined data from Job Opportunities and Basic Skills program. Found that participants increased their use of substitute child care and of licensed day-care homes/centers, after beginning job readiness activities. Child care was found to be highly variable in terms of convenience and program quality. Problems with child care increased…

Shows how the progressive aspects of community action shifted to serve conservative ends in the 1990s. Contemporary welfare policy-reform embodies this shift, which narrows rather than expands the citizenship of the poor. The challenge for antipoverty activists now is to create a coordinated response that harnesses the progressive possibilities of…

Describes the provisions of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, also known as the Welfare Reform Act, and discusses implications for young children with disabilities, their families, and early-intervention programs under Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (DB)

Reviews the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRA) of 1996 and examines its details and implications. Discusses the philosophies and values of counseling psychology in the context of realities and misconceptions of the past welfare system. Recommends points of entry for counseling psychologists.…

Using Bourdieu's concept of habitus, a study of 13 rural African-American women examined their experience in a community college work education program. Some resisted the program's ideological message in the context of a community offering few prospects for long-term employment. The program emphasized compliance, passivity, and rules rather than…

Investigates the impact of welfare reform legislation, discussing reasons for declining enrollment and examining: welfare's rise and fall; the end of welfare as it always existed; hassles of being on welfare; influence of the strong economy and rising wages; research on declining enrollment; leaving welfare without working; other sources of…

Describes the impact of Wisconsin Works (W-2), a work-first welfare reform effort that has created significant welfare enrollment reduction. While critics claimed it would devastate inner cities, poor families are faring better. W-2 built on diversion and incentives, opening up welfare administration to competition. Despite many successes, W-2 has…

The Life Skills for Independence class at Chemetketa Community College aims to move people from welfare to work and self-sufficiency. The college works with Oregon's Adult and Family Services agency to mainstream students in the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills program. (JOW)

Identifies key characteristics of indigenous sole-parent families relative to other such Australian families and analyzes the factors associated with their ongoing levels of economic disadvantage. Raises issues about the efficacy of job-skill-development programs. (Author/JOW)

Life histories of 74 young black women were examined for direct and indirect transmission of values. Values about work and welfare were associated with employment and perceptions of future self-sufficiency. When such transmissions were unidimensional, limited, or absent, women were more likely to be unemployed and to perceive future economic…