Brief
Integrating financial security services into workforce development programs can achieve more impactwithout requiring significantly extra cost and time. Corporation for a Skilled Workforce (CSW) and TheFinancial Clinic (the Clinic) have partnered to analyze the impacts of financial security services onworkforce development programs, with results released in four upcoming issue briefs. (Author abstract)
Brief
Low-skilled men, especially minorities, typically work at low levels and provide little support for their children. Conservatives blame this on government willingness to support families, which frees the fathers from responsibility, while liberals say that men are denied work by racial bias or the economy--either a lack of jobs or low wages, which depress the incentive to work. The evidence for all these theories is weak. Thus, changing program benefits or incentives is unlikely to solve the men's work problem. More promising is the idea of linking assistance with administrative requirements…
This chapter draws upon 14 years of related ethnographic studies to uncover the principal features that characterize family life among the poor. Experiences dealing with multiple agencies are discussed, as well as experiences dealing with health problems in the context of the U.S. medical care system, and the aftermaths of household emergencies. 34 references.
This chapter synthesizes the results of both quantitative experimental and qualitative research about how low-income children fare as their mothers spend more time in the labor market and attempt to strike a new balance between work and parenting. Findings indicate policies that effectively increase parental income as they increase employment improve the well-being of young children and are the most promising for helping families cope. Numerous references.
A study used qualitative methods to explore the specific mechanisms and processes through which poverty and welfare changes affected 186 low-income families with young children. Particular attention was paid to the relative influences of factors related to welfare reform, family financial resources, and characteristics associated with parent, child, and family functioning. Case studies are offered. 26 references.
This final chapter reviews major findings from qualitative studies of low-income families facing a new policy environment that calls for women to work outside the home in addition to managing the second shift of work inside the home. Findings indicate women continue to put their children’s needs above paid employment, few women experience real economic gains by increased work participation, and children’s well-being appears to be buffered and advanced by women’s well-being, social support, and parenting quality. 39 references.
Brief
As part of the "Looking Forward" series, which provides policymakers with memos that suggest ways to make progress on critical issues, MDRC presents the topic of balancing welfare support for poor families and children with promoting self-sufficiency through work.
Brief
Employment Pathways for Boys and Young Men of Color: Solutions and Strategies That Can Make a Difference is part of a larger issue brief series aimed at identifying and disseminating best practices that support the well-being and empowerment of boys and young men of color. In particular, this brief discusses promising strategies to improve employment outcomes for young men of color and the role of public policy in dismantling discrimination and promoting pathways to work. (Author abstract)
Brief
Most programs focus on helping non-workers get jobs, rather than offering assistance to help low-income workers remain employed and advance up the career ladder. Advancement strategies are more challenging to implement, and the labor market payoff to increased training is not always assured. Experimentation with innovative advancement approaches has shown some to be promising and worth building on and others not to work. (Author abstract)
Brief
WorkAdvance is a sectoral workforce development program designed to meet the needs of workers and employers alike. For unemployed and low-wage working adults, the program provides skills training in targeted sectors that have good-quality job openings with room for advancement within established career pathways. For employers in those sectors, WorkAdvance identifies and trains workers who meet technical skill and work readiness expectations and can grow into second and third jobs. In a randomized controlled trial, the program resulted in large increases in participation in every category of…
