Evolving federal, state, and local government programs are helping displaced farmers and their families make a transition to nonfarm jobs. To make a successful transition, farm families need personal support, which could include counseling, moral support, help in assessing their financial condition, and legal and technical information to help them…

Summarizes themes of welfare reform in America and policy shifts that have resulted in the introduction of state-focused workfare programs. (MW)

The latest round of proposed state and federal welfare reforms has major implications for state work force development systems. These systems will face new demands generated by the need to help welfare recipients find jobs before they reach the time limits on aid and the need for states to meet the new work participation rates for federal welfare…

This report details findings of the Intergovernmental Relations and Human Resources Subcommittee concerning the strengths and weaknesses of current and proposed Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) work programs for promoting self-sufficiency among poor women; the role of support services such as day care; successful innovations in State…

The Western Job Training Partnership Association (WJTPA) supports the periodic evaluation of the scope and effectiveness of national, state, and local work force preparation and work force education programs. The WJTPA believes that future programs must correct the problems inherited from earlier work force preparation programs, such as the…

There are currently more than 150 different federal programs providing some form of employment training assistance. The fragmented system of federal programs creates a variety of problems that hamper attempts to help workers obtain training and find jobs: duplication of services, lack of information on access, multiple administrative entities, and…

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 Pennsylvania Summer Youth Service Corps (SYSC) is an effort to assimilate the ideals of community service exemplified by the Peace Corps, VISTA, and the Civilian Conservation Corps with the long-established Summer Youth Employment and Training Program (SYETP). SYSC differs from the existing summer youth employment program by its focus and…

This document provides a record of a series of three statewide Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA)/Education Workshops held in Virginia to encourage communication and cooperation between CETA and educational institutions. It contains a composite compendium of CETA education linkage information from presentations, panels, and work…

This report contains a compendium of the opinions and concerns of a task force that researched current conditions that affect court-involved youth and identifies the most promising strategies for connecting court-involved youth to the labor market. The report includes three introductory chapters, four chapters related to task force discussion…

Welfare reform is directed toward development of programs that focus on work. Of major consequence to this move toward welfare reform are misconceptions about welfare recipients. While some can work, fewer than 10 percent of all recipients would be subject to any work requirement, and while many remain on welfare for extended periods, one-half of…

Five strategies have been identified as particularly promising as the most useful ways government can spend money to aid dislocated workers. The mix of income support programs can be enriched for workers who have been unemployed for a long time but who are not permanently dislocated. For most dislocated workers, only limited job searching…

States can use Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and state maintenance of effort (MOE) funds to foster access to postsecondary education (PE) for low income parents. Access matters because success of welfare reform depends on helping welfare recipients work steadily and find better jobs; neither of the two most commonly tried…

This document is comprised of two separate publications, a report concerning the current AFDC program and related testimony. The report discusses a study that assessed the progress the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program had made in serving an increasingly larger portion of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) caseload,…

The millions of disadvantaged youth, especially minority group youths, face a bewildering mix of job training and employment programs. Because of bureaucratic regulations and funding complications, most of these programs are not effective for the majority of youths who need them. To be effective, youth employment and training programs should…