Welfare Reform and Community Colleges : A Policy and Research Context. MDRC Working Paper / Thomas Brock, Lisa Matus-Grossman and Gayle Hamilton.

This paper reports on the state of welfare after the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) passed by Congress in 1996. The National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies (NEWWS) is a federally initiated study that explores the questions of what works best and for whom. NEWWS evaluated seven areas across the country: Atlanta, Georgia; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Riverside, California; Columbus, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Portland, Oregon. The NEWWS study examined two groups--one was required to participate in welfare-to-work programs or face monetary sanctions, and the other was not allowed to participate in welfare-to-work programs but could enroll in other services available in the community. Portland used a blend of labor force attachment (LFA) and human capital development (HCD) programs, while the other cities used one or the other. Portland significantly outperformed the other programs in terms of employment and earnings gains. The city showed an increase in average earnings of $5,150 in years 1-5, and a decrease in welfare payments of $2,746 during the same years. This paper examines the implications of these results for community colleges, and describes ways in which they can make their programs more flexible in order to better serve welfare recipients. (Contains 18 references.) (Author/NB)

Microfiche. [Washington D.C.]: ERIC Clearinghouse microfiches : positive.