Assesses the major claims and counterclaims in the debate on the desirability of attaching work-related obligations to the receipt of welfare benefits. Attempts to reach a balanced judgment on whether labor policy should continue moving in that direction. (JOW)

The Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Title II-A program is the main federal effort to enhance the employability of economically disadvantaged youths and adults. The amount of funds allotted to each state is determined by a formula that allocates two-thirds of available funds on the basis of relative unemployment levels and one-third on the…

This document presents a welfare reform proposal designed to ensure a transition toward economic self-sufficiency and an end to poverty. It consists of four distinct elements that form an integrated and interdependent whole. The first element is a series of initiatives to achieve an adequate income maintenance system that guarantees that all needy…

The Aspen Institute's ongoing action-research program, Local Employment Approaches for the Disadvantaged (LEAD), assessed 60 programs nationally. Local initiatives fell into four general categories, with numerous subcategories: self-employment, job training and placement, job creation and retention, and community-based finance. A second breakdown…

This conference was the first nationwide meeting focusing on issues concerning the employment of black Americans with disabilities. These issues are significant because one working-age black in seven has a disability. The conference goal was to explore ways to reduce or eliminate barriers to employment preparation services and to identify methods…

A Cuyahoga County, Ohio, study focused on two cohorts: pre-Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) leavers who left in the third quarter of 1996 and post-TANF leavers who left in the third quarter of 1998. Outcomes were examined for about 6,151 adult welfare leavers. Findings indicated the rate of leaving welfare increased between 1996-98;…

Improvements in the quality of national--and particularly of urban--life will require even greater expenditures than at present on the delivery of crucial services as education, health protection, recreation, waste disposal, and police and fire protection. Simultaneously, the problem of poverty continues to plague millions, even many who are in…

This report explores promising welfare-to-work programs and practices of states and localities as they balance supply- with demand-side strategies to help welfare recipients and low-wage workers work their way out of poverty while meeting employers' needs for reliable workers. Chapter 2 describes the new environment created by changes in the…

This monograph looks at the increasing number of poor women and discusses anti poverty programs in regard to this group. Figures are presented which indicate an increase in the number of poor women in the 1970s, and show that Blacks and Hispanics are disproportionately represented among the poor. The paper suggests that the child-bearing role of…

This hearing, the third of three on welfare reform, focuses on the problem of child support and ways to improve the current system. One child in four now lives with a single parent; these children must receive the support that they are due. The hearings also focused on the problems of unemployed parents, and how the welfare system can help prepare…

This series of hearings, the second of three on welfare reform, focuses on the following legislation: (1) the Family Security Act (S. 1511); (2) child support enforcement bills (S. 1001 and S. 869); and (3) the Aid to Families with Dependent Children Employment and Training Reorganization Act. Among the speakers and witnesses were the following:…

Public policy has recognized the need to develop selective programs that zero in on the needs of specific racial subgroups (especially those Chicanos, Cubans, and Puerto Ricans of mixed racial backgrounds). However, entering the 1970's, the strategy of approaching social problems in terms of their impact upon subgroups has been politically…

There is a crisis in the black family; at its core is the inextricable linkage of low educational achievement, high unemployment levels, and limited opportunities for access to stable jobs at adequate wages. This report is directed at an examination of the causes and the consequences of this essentially economic crisis, providing a brief…

This document examines strategies for preventing working families and disadvantaged youth from needing cash assistance and becoming dependent on welfare. The document begins with a brief discussion of the tenuous nature of the boundary between families who need public assistance and families who don't and factors contributing to welfare…

This monograph is a review and analysis of over fifty research and development projects sponsored by the Office of Research and Development which have dealt with welfare recipients and the low-wage employed. The author examines the process by which welfare recipients move into the employed ranks and the extent to which this is accomplished through…