|
Challenge Solution
Benefit
Challenge
When Congress passed the Personal Responsibility
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA),
many agencies discovered new roles and challenges
in their provision of service. One such agency
was the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD). In the midst of these changes, HUD sought
to evaluate several aspects of its operations,
including the following:
- The impact of welfare reform on its programs.
- The impact of welfare reform on its approach
to service.
- The linkage between local housing systems
and welfare and employment training programs.
- The most promising components of HUD's employment
training programs.
Solution
To help HUD meet its goals, ICF International, in
collaboration with other experts, conducted an
extensive literature review on programs designed
to help welfare recipients find jobs, remain in
jobs, and advance in the labor market. Based on
these literature reviews, our team identified
program components that seemed to be associated
with significant positive outcomes, such as declining
numbers of welfare recipients, increased rates
of employment, and increased earnings. Researchers
also conducted in-depth, on-site interviews with
individuals from local housing authorities, employment
and training agencies, welfare offices, and community-based
organizations in five cities: Baltimore, Boston,
Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and San Antonio. We then
compared the design of the HUD employment and
training programs observed in the interviews to
the promising practices suggested by the research.
Our team further explored linkages between HUD
programs and supportive services offered by other
federal agencies. At the completion of the project,
ICF International presented a final report that identified
steps HUD could take to strengthen employment
and training services for residents.
Benefit
- HUD received confirmation that programs under
review were generally consistent with promising
welfare to work approaches.
- HUD learned ways in which their programs
excel: almost all programs stress job search
or contain a job search component. Many of the
programs also help residents overcome barriers
to employment either directly through the provision
of on-site services or through referrals.
- HUD learned areas of needed improvement: relationships
between welfare departments and housing authorities
need to be strengthened.
|
