University Based Welfare to Work Project and Materials. Final Report

Staff from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the Jefferson County, Alabama, Department of Human Resources (DHS) worked together to create a "pipeline to employment" at UAB for welfare recipients by combining on-the-job training with educational opportunities. Welfare recipients referred to UAB by the Jefferson County DHS were given the opportunity to participate in a 1-year welfare-to-work program that included the following components: referral and screening; job placement; case management and employment monitoring; mentoring; and activities to develop educational and/or employability skills. Of the approximately 120 potential participants who were interviewed and assessed for the program, 67 moved through the program and 38 completed it. The project demonstrated the following: case management and mentoring are important components of welfare-to-work programs; obtaining a General Educational Development certificate is not a short-term process; and welfare-to-work programs must minimize competition between work and school. (The following documents are appended: welfare-to-work proposal; informed consent and release of information forms; confidentiality statement for project managers; class/work attendance policy and related forms; supervisor evaluation and project personnel evaluations; adult literacy curriculum; list of instructional materials and other documents used in implementing the curriculum; and pretest/posttest scoring sheet for program participants.) (MN)