Nebraska, like most states in the U.S., is facing a critical shortage of skilled and employable workers. Business and industry want to grow in Nebraska and realize the road to ensuring success is a workforce possessing updated knowledge and skills that support the use of new technologies, as well as a necessary work ethic to be a dependable and…

The author reports on a collaborative effort among three state agencies that is currently giving 3,000 California youth who are disabled a chance to prove themselves in private sector job placements. Discusses program administration, funding, computerized recordkeeping, entrance requirements, and plans for the future. (CT)

Describes West Virginia's Community Work Experience Program, a work requirement program for public assistance recipients. Examines issues workfare raised in a rural context, explains why West Virginia avoided the controversy usually associated with such programs, and notes benefits including improved images for welfare workers, recipients, and…

The Hawaii Vocational Assessment Research Project has proposed a three stage analysis procedure that helps school districts to assess the impact of vocational assessment on vocational program content, the decision-making process, and the format in which vocational assessment is presented. (CB)

Summarizes remarks made by the Governor of Wisconsin about welfare reform, supporting more flexibility at the state level to enable states to try new approaches that will help people get off welfare. Initiatives undertaken in Wisconsin are reviewed, with emphasis on work programs and apprenticeships for high school students. (SLD)