Employment Services

Promising Practices for Meeting the Multiple Needs of Low-Income Families in Poverty Neighborhoods

Austin, M.J.
Lemon, K.
Leer, E.
2008

This review of promising practices for meeting the multiple needs of low-income families in poverty neighborhoods reveals four main themes: (1) The challenges facing low-income families living in poverty neighborhoods are not discrete-but are multidimensional; (2) Integrated family and neighborhood strengthening practices, such as the Making Connections (MC) Initiative (funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation), and the Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ), represent innovative strategies to address the multifaceted issues facing low-income families living in poverty neighborhoods; (3) The...

The Implications of Managed Care and Welfare Reform for the Integration of Health and Welfare Services

Prince, J.
Austin, M.J.
2008

In this era of managed care and welfare reform, the two systems of public health and public welfare are increasingly focused on a shared population and the services designed to promote self-sufficiency and good health among low-income individuals, families and communities. The two service systems are often constrained by categorical funding mechanisms that contribute to service fragmentation, discontinuity and redundancy. This paper focuses on the changing nature of health and welfare, the impact of categorical funding mechanisms, the barriers to service integration, the potentials for...

Implementing Welfare-to-Work Services: A Study of Staff Decision-Making

Johnson, M.A.
Chow, J.C.
Ketch, V.
Austin, M.J.
2006

In the post-welfare reform era, increased discretion has been given to frontline staff for day-today welfare policy implementation. To determine how frontline staff address the complex needs of welfare program participants in this new policy environment, the decision-making processes of welfare staff (N = 52) in 11 San Francisco Bay Area county social service agencies were assessed through a case vignette using a Web-based survey design. We examined staff decision making in four areas: problem recognition, goal formulation, information search processes, and evaluation. The results suggest...

Strategies for Engaging Adults in Welfare-to-Work Activities

Vu, C.
Anthony, E.K.
Austin, M.J.
2009

The Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005 reauthorized the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant program through 2010 and expanded work participation standards by putting increased pressure on states to meet stricter work participation rate requirements. If states fail to meet these requirements or make adequate progress, they will face potentially severe federal fiscal sanctions. This analysis presents the major findings from a literature review on engagement strategies for the welfare-to-work population, with implications for meeting participation requirements and...

Employer Perspectives on the Role of Soft Skills in Subsidized Employment Relationships

Carnochan, S.
Taylor, S.
Pascual, G.
Austin, M.J.
2014

The dual objective of subsidized employment programs is to support employers and low-income job seekers. However, few studies of these programs have examined employer perspectives or reflected critically on the role of soft skills in relationships between employers and subsidized employees. This qualitative study examined employer perspectives on soft skills, drawing on the concept of fit from the person-in-environment perspective, as framed by personnel psychology, to interpret the findings. Employers emphasized the importance of motivation, self-presentation, and interpersonal skills....

Delivering Welfare-to-Work Services in County Social Service Organizations: An Exploratory Study of Staff Perspectives

Austin, M.J.
Johnson, M.A.
Chow, J.C.
DeMarco, A.
Ketch, V.
2009

There is a limited body of knowledge on the role of staff in the implementation of welfare policy, especially how frontline staff members perceive an array of organizational factors and how these factors affect their ability to serve clients. This exploratory study builds upon this limited body of research by capturing staff perceptions of the personal and community resources that are needed to help TANF participants move from welfare to work in California's CalWORKs program. It is based on staff perceptions of welfare-to-work services (from orientation to post-employment services) during...