This summary of the literature provides an overview on adult probation, with attention to the conceptual problems associated with often conflicting definitions of probation, the legal and statutory development of probation, its major objectives and tasks, and its effectiveness. Some of the critical areas addressed include: (1) the locus of…

Helping low-income families in rural areas find gainful employment and achieve economic self-sufficiency is an ongoing policy concern. The Rural Welfare-to-Work Strategies demonstration is using rigorous experimental designs to build knowledge about how to help low-income families in rural areas strive toward sustained employment and…

The Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) project was undertaken to identify effective strategies for helping low-income parents work more steadily and advance in the labor market. The 15 ERA demonstration projects that were operating in nine states (California, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, South Carolina; Tennessee, and…

Project QUEST (Quality Employment through Skills Training) was begun in 1992 to provide unemployed and working poor residents of San Antonio, Texas, with employment training and job placement services. The program provides tuition subsidies and ancillary support services to low-income San Antonio residents enrolled in two-year associate's degree…