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,…

MDRC is conducting the Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Demonstration and Evaluation Project under a contract with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As part of the multisite Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Demonstration and Evaluation Project, MDRC,…

THIS PROJECT WAS DESIGNED TO ASSESS APTITUDES, INTEREST, AND VOCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED IN THE VISUAL ARTS AND TO IDENTIFY EFFECTIVE METHODS OF TEACHING ART. A GROUP OF 54 DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN AND ADULTS ATTENDED EXPERIMENTAL ART CLASSES. THREE RATING SCALES AND THE TORRANCE TEST OF CREATIVE THINKING WERE THE…

MDC's mission is to help organizations and communities close the gaps that separate people from opportunity. The organization has been working to create positive change in disadvantaged communities for 40 years--by conducting research and demonstrating effective programs at the community level. MDC focuses on three areas: education, economic and…

Research has shown that three main barriers impede the ability of inner-city, low-income job seekers to find employment in the suburbs: an administrative or information barrier, a physical barrier, and a social barrier. The Bridges to Work demonstration program was designed to test the idea that improved access to suburban jobs can significantly…

Intended for persons establishing job development programs for developmentally disabled individuals, this training manual details the structure and procedures of Project PLANTWORK, a 21-month demonstration program which placed approximately 70 workers with developmental disabilities into employment in horticulture industry firms or into…

This report presents the findings from a three-year study of two San Diego demonstration projects designed to increase unsubsidized employment and reduce welfare dependency and costs. One involved a job search requirement, while the other combined that requirement with a short-term work obligation. Overall, compared to the few earlier studies on…

The objectives of this summer employment program for economically or educationally disadvantaged youth were to: (1) provide them with meaningful work experience, (2) encourage them to complete their education, and (3) provide them with an opportunity to earn and save money. Approximately 1,204 youth from families receiving Aid to Dependent…

This book describes a model program to help rehabilitation professionals work more effectively with employers when placing disabled employees in private-sector jobs. It also identifies successful strategies for increasing job opportunities for disabled persons. Chapter 1 overviews the Employer Accounts Strategy, an approach for negotiating career…

Data from recently published analyses of past youth training efforts, together with demonstration programs for dropouts just getting underway, provide some clear indications of directions that must be taken to effectively treat the needs of seriously-at-risk youth. Furthermore, data on trends in youth unemployment among dropouts show that…

Thirty exemplary vocational guidance and counseling projects funded in Virginia through Title II (Vocational Education) are described. Ten of the projects were designed to increase sex equiity in vocational guidance, counseling and education programs. Eleven were designed to encourage business/guidance exchange of personnel and information. The…

The sex equity program at Santa Fe Community College in Florida has become instrumental in an ongoing reeducation process in making people aware of the numerous career opportunities available to them and in dispelling myths about sex role stereotyping in the world of work. Included among the goals and objectives of the program are the following:…

This book describes how it felt to run the Bridges to Work demonstration, as told by five project directors at the five organizations. Information on the project directors and an introduction appear first. Section 2 reports that the project directors still largely agree with the strategy of reverse commuting--identifying job-ready adults in…

This two-volume resource guide to the major employers of Indiana County, Pennsylvania, serves as a model for similar guides that could be replicated. The guidance staff of the local school district visited the firms and surveyed them on five points: (1) a description of the firm and the nature of its work; (2) training, other qualifications, and…

The Self-Employment Investment Demonstration (SEID) is a test, designed to run from 1988 to 1992, of the feasibility of operating a program to encourage self-employment among welfare recipients. Challenges facing SEID included selecting sites, developing curricula, recruiting clients, getting clients through business training, completing business…