A study was conducted to determine what was happening in literacy programs as a result of the major welfare reform law passed in 1996, and whether basic skills instruction was part of the solution. A nationwide search for exemplary programs that are using basic skills instruction as a fundamental component of assisting welfare recipients in moving…

This monograph provides advice for local officials and Private Industry Council (PIC) members about youth employment and unemployment problems and strategies for solving them. The first part of the monograph sketches the problem of unemployment and its roots in a changing economy, youths' lack of basic skills, and the mismatch between the needs of…

The major findings of Vice President Mondale's Task Force on Youth Employment were obtained from a review of current programs, interviews with youth, and conferences involving national and community leaders. First, youth employment problems and opportunities are unevenly distributed. Without a bold new initiative, the 1980's are likely to…

This series of fifteen reports reviews available information on youth employment program experience. (It constitutes the third of a three-volume compendium; other volumes examine the causes and dimensions of youth employment problems and cover special needs and problems of youth employment policy--see note.) The youth employment delivery system,…

This Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Update provides a quick primer of some of the key areas where states have flexibility to develop their own programs and processes in the new Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program. This guide is organized in seven sections that cover the following topics: (1) introduction; (2) why local areas…

This report looks at the concerns and issues about the growing involvement of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) in education, provides legislative information and primers about the programs in the three education areas with which JTPA links most often, and provides program models and resources. Specifically, the report looks at four areas:…

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 gives states the opportunity to devise unique welfare programs that include client participation in educational activities. States receive block grants rather than funds earmarked for certain kinds of programs. Pennsylvania's welfare reform plan permits welfare clients to…

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…