In May 2006, the National Poverty Center (NPC) at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan hosted a meeting--"Research on Prisoner Reentry: What Do We Know and What Do We Want to Know?"--to discuss the state of research on employment-focused prisoner reentry programs. This paper, written as background for…

This volume is part of a series that is designed to promote stronger ties between the educational resources in the Northeast and Midwest and the economic development process. This monograph examines programs that develop the employment potential of those youth who are not likely to make it on their own. It first looks at the problem of youth…

A survey of 10 states indicated the presence of hiring procedures that discourage or limit public-sector supported employment for persons having severe disabilities. Survey results, and recommendations for state system change to promote supported employment, are presented in 4 areas: civil service examination requirements, job classification…

The employability of secondary-level youth is considered by a youth employment company official in testimony to the National Commission on Excellence in Education. Attention is directed to ways in which young people, and particularly the economically disadvantaged, can acquire the necessary reading, writing, and math skills for on-the-job success.…

A national study estimated the short-term impacts of Job Corps (JC) on participants' employment and related outcomes during the 30 months after random assignment. Results for the short-term impact analysis were based on a comparison of eligible program participants randomly assigned to a program group (n=9,409) or a control group (n=5,977) that…

This report reviews government programs in the United States that serve the educational, training, and employment needs of immigrant and refugee youth. An overview of European immigration to the United States during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is followed by a presentation of the characteristics of post-1960 U.S. immigrants. Empirically…

This report, part of a series on the employment and training needs of Hispanics in Michigan, is comprised of three papers. The first is an analysis of Michigan State data obtained from the 1980 census. The data indicate that: (1) Hispanics represent about 2 percent of Michigan's total population; (2) about 70 percent of these Hispanics are of…

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 volume presents 19 papers and reactor comments from the third annual Policy Forum on Employability Development, which focused on the information and program options needed to prevent and ameliorate worker displacement. The first four papers describe and assess the context of the problem. Topics include national policy and local program…

This resource guide informs state policymakers about the magnitude of the adolescent parenthood phenomenon and the services needed by adolescent parents to help them participate in the labor market. It also provides resources for serving adolescent parents. Statistical background is presented first. Consequences associated with adolescent…

The federal policy shift from skills training and toward work first strategies has come about, in part, from a misconception that "training does not work." A more comprehensive look at existing research reveals the documented effectiveness of skills training. A growing number of studies have shown skills training can increase earnings;…

Unemployment among young people is a serious and persistent problem in this country. Unemployment rates are especially high among members of minority groups, for high school dropouts, and in economically depressed areas. Vocational education can help to alleviate the problem of unemployment, and a close link between schools and employers can help…

Research was conducted to find out the following: (1) whether welfare recipients with impairments (or their able-bodied parents, if they are children) were as likely to exit Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) as are their counterparts without impairments, and 2) the sources of income reported by leavers with and without impairments.…

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) needs to focus more directly on what happens in the workplace and consider the needs of employers. Employers identify skill levels of both job applicants and employees as a major obstacle to employing and retaining TANF recipients and other entry-level workers as well as the cost of entry-level…