Since the introduction of workplace computers in the 1970s, policymakers have been racing to outpace the workforce demands of the information age. To address concerns, policymakers have promoted an expansion of skills training to help workers keep up in the changing economy. Because the way people learn, work, and live is transforming, so should…

Higher education is essential to accessing high-demand jobs with family-supporting wages and improving family financial wellbeing. This was true before the COVID-19 pandemic and is especially true now as the nation continues the process of recovering from one of the worst public health, economic, and social crises in modern U.S. history. To…

In the nation today, 4.6 million young adults ages 16 to 24 are out of school and unemployed. More than one-third live in poverty. For these young people, commonly referred to as opportunity youth, building skills and gaining work experience are key to upward mobility. However, they face significant barriers to entering the labor market.…

Nearly half of the nation's families with young children struggle to make ends meet. A new KIDS COUNT policy report makes the case for creating opportunity for families by addressing the needs of parents and their children simultaneously. "Creating Opportunity for Families: A Two-Generation Approach" describes a new approach to reducing…

On the basis of official statistics, poverty has halved in Ghana over the period from 1991 to 2005. Our objective in this paper is to assess how far this fall was linked to the creation of better paying jobs and the increase in education. We find that earnings rose rapidly in the period from 1998 to 2005, by 64% for men and by 55% for women. While…

Opportunity NYC-Family Rewards, an experimental, privately funded, conditional cash transfer (CCT) program to help families break the cycle of poverty, was the first comprehensive CCT program in a developed country. Launched in 2007 by New York City's Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO), Family Rewards offered cash assistance to low-income…

DESPITE PROBLEMS IN FUNDING AND ADMINISTRATION, THE ANTIPOVERTY PROGRAM HAS CREATED NEW LEADERS IN THE GHETTOES, DEVELOPED NEW SKILLS FOR THE POOR, AND CONTRIBUTED TO SELF CONFIDENCE AND PERSONAL INITIATIVE. FOR EXAMPLE, IN CONJUNCTION WITH AN EAST HARLEM ANTIPOVERTY PROJECT, TEN LOCAL RESIDENTS (NEGROES AND PUERTO RICANS) WERE TRAINED AS RESEARCH…

Increased skills enable clerical workers to take advantage of job opportunities in both the human service agencies and the private sector. A model program instituted by McGraw-Hill is described as one training program which assists anti-poverty agencies. Motivational counseling reduces the drop-out rate. The article includes an outline of a format…

This paper presents a multi-pronged strategy for reducing poverty and unemployment by increasing the number of jobs for unskilled workers and raising their wages. The first component of this strategy is a marginal hours employment tax credit, similar to the recently enacted New Jobs Tax Credit. This would serve to generate an expansion in…

The Adult Basic Learning Examination was administered to enrollees in a Concentrated Employment Program. On the basis of this investigation it was found that trainees obtained higher scores on the language skills than in computational areas. The suitability of the ABLE as a screening instrument for poverty programs is discussed. (Author)

Begun in April, 1969, the Department of Defense Domestic Action Program's activities include: loan of equipment to Community Action Agencies; use of DOD facilities for training and recreation; assistance in technical areas; and, general aid. (JM)

THE MAJOR EMPHASIS IN THIS LIST OF REFERENCES IS ON THE ECONOMIC, TRAINING, AND VOCATIONAL PROBLEMS OF THE DISADVANTAGED. SPECIFICALLY, THE AREAS COVERED ARE (1) CURRENT MANPOWER TRENDS, (2) TOOLS FOR WORKING WITH THE ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED (COMMUNITY PROGRAMS, EDUCATION, GOVERNMENTAL MEANS, GUIDANCE SERVICES, AND RESEARCH PROJECTS), (3)…

The organization, operations, participants, and achievements of the Neighborhood Youth Corps are described. Tables, graphs, and photographs also provide information on this program. (NH)

This paper attempts to provide a general equilibrium framework for comparing the merits of alternative methods of raising the income of the employable poor. The strategy is to specify a complete and interacting set of factor markets, parameterize alternative program types in a manner convenient to this specification, and then solve the system of…