A study examined the job-training needs of high-risk adults to determine who they are, what they need in order to obtain productive careers paying a living wage, what is available, what works and doesn't, and what South Carolina should do to assist this population. Data were obtained from several dozen focus groups across the state, discussion…

This study was conducted to identify factors that affect disadvantaged women in their efforts to gain long-term employment or to complete vocational and technical education programs. Following a review of literature, a questionnaire was prepared and administered to 160 disadvantaged women in Texas. An analysis of the questionnaire responses…

This document explains how community work experience programs (CWEP) and publicly funded jobs (PFJ) can be used to help hard-to-serve welfare recipients meet the work requirements imposed by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The document begins with a brief overview of available options for helping hard-to-serve welfare…

A study examined the experiences of some 1.4 million American defense industry workers, displaced in the wake of the Cold War, as a way of reviewing and evaluating national policies toward worker adjustment and re-employment as they have evolved in the 1990s. The study found that the federal government, through the Department of Labor,…

This report was written for the Technology Policy Task Force of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives. The report examines the nature and history of technological change, its impact on large and small firms and their workers, and its policy implications. The paper stresses that individuals, schools, firms,…

Although young people across the United States have suffered disproportionately in the recent recession, the economic and social effects of high levels of youth unemployment have received only scant media and political attention and few state or federal dollars. Analyses of successful youth and young adult programs identified seven core principles…

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…

The National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies was conducted to explore whether programs examined in the evaluation have helped welfare recipients move into the labor force and remain employed over the long term. As part of the evaluation, a study was conducted to identify the 4-year impacts that 10 programs in 6 sites have had on former…

A report from the 1988 Aspen Institute Conference reports that Hispanic youth are more likely to work at full-time jobs and are slightly more likely to work year-round than either Blacks or Whites, regardless of gender or age. But although jobs are available and Hispanics want to work, fundamental changes in the nature of the economy, low wage…

As part of the National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies (NEWWS), the experiences of welfare recipients who find jobs were studied. The study focused on the employment outcomes of 17,055 program group members from 6 of the 10 NEWWS evaluation sites. Data were obtained from unemployment insurance records and the findings of a survey…

This Congressional report contains the testimony and documents presented for the record of the first of two hearings to gather testimony on the effects of welfare reform and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. The oral and written testimony focuses on TANF legislation's outcomes and impact on work and families in…

This Congressional report contains the testimony and documents presented for the record at the second of two hearings on the effects of welfare reform and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. Other areas receiving particular attention from witnesses included the impacts of education and training on employment patterns…

This document contains 15 papers from a conference on preparing youth for the 21st century that was organized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The following papers are included: "Giving Young People a Good Start: The Experience of OECD Countries" (Norman Bowers,…