More Social, Family & Housing Policy Plays

Since the enactment of welfare reform in 1996, the number of people dependent on public assistance has dropped by about one-half. The majority of those who left welfare in the past five years have done so for paying jobs. However, the decline in the rolls has begun to slow, and many recipients still on public assistance face significant and multiple barriers to finding and holding a job. These barriers range from mental and physical disabilities and substance abuse to a lack of job-ready skills, affordable child care, or transportation.

To help these seriously disadvantaged recipients succeed in the workforce, a number of states and cities have begun to turn toward "transitional jobs." Transitional jobs are short-term, publicly subsidized jobs that combine on-the-job work experience with an array of support services to help participants overcome their barriers to employment. For example, a transitional jobs program may combine 20 hours of work per week with an additional 15 hours of substance abuse treatment, basic skills education, parenting skills classes, or financial education. In addition, participants receive a full array of work supports, such as child care, transportation assistance, Medicaid, and Food Stamps, and often obtain support from a "job coach" or on-site mentor that teaches "soft skills" such as punctuality, dress, and other workplace expectations.

"Georgia Works combines usage of the unemployment insurance program, which is basically a benefit program, and transforms it into more of a benefit-training initiative; i.e., it encourages training in the workplace." -- Insurance Commissioner Michael Thurmond, Georgia

Unlike "workfare," in which recipients must perform public work in exchange for their benefit checks, transitional jobs are real jobs that pay real wages (often at or above minimum wage). Participants are paid for every hour worked, reinforcing the message that "work pays." In addition, participants are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which can further supplement their incomes.

States that have enacted some type of transitional jobs program include Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. Cities with their own programs include Baltimore, Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Tulsa.

The most extensive programs are Washington's Community Jobs Program and Pennsylvania's Philadelphia@Work, the transitional jobs program operated by the Transitional Work Corporation (TWC) -- a partnership between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the city of Philadelphia, and the Pew Charitable Trusts. In TWC's program, participants are placed in six-month employment positions, working 25 hours a week and receiving 10 hours a week of professional development, English as a Second Language training, and literacy classes. These participants earn a wage per hours worked, as well as a bonus upon attaining and keeping an unsubsidized job. While in the program, participants also receive one-on-one guidance both through TWC (the "career advisor") and on the job (the "work partner"). Participants have access to services such as child care, transportation to and from work, and health assessments.

Another model policymakers should consider drawing from is the Georgia Department of Labor's GoodWorks! program. Under state Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond's leadership, GoodWORKS! brings together public agencies and private providers, such as Goodwill Industries, to provide intensive employment, job readiness, and case management services to welfare recipients who have received cash assistance for 30 months or more.

Transitional jobs programs can provide an ideal way to help hard-to-employ recipients make the transition into the workforce. And by giving participants the skills and experience necessary to find and keep unsubsidized employment, transitional jobs help hard-to-employ recipients learn the value of employment and personal success. These programs can also be especially critical for many recipients who are approaching their five-year federal time limit for benefits and are in need of extra help finding employment.

Resources for Action

Community Jobs Program, Washington State
http://www.workfirst.wa.gov/

GoodWorks!, Georgia Department of Labor
www.dol.state.ga.us/wp/goodworks.htm

Transitional Jobs Network
www.transitionaljobs.net

Transitional Work Corporation, Philadelphia
www.transitionalwork.org/

Additional Reading

Anne Kim, "Transitional Jobs: A Bridge Into the Workforce for Hard to Employ Recipients," Progressive Policy Institute, March 2001
www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?
knlgAreaID=114&subsecID=143&contentID=3177

Anne Kim, "Making Work Pay for Hard-to-Employ Welfare Recipients: The Model Approach of Washington State's Community Jobs Program," Progressive Policy Institute, November 2000
www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?
contentid=2721&knlgAreaID=114&subsecid=143

Clifford M. Johnson, "Publicly-Funded Jobs For Hard-to-Employ Welfare Recipients," Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
www.cbpp.org/714wtw.htm

Anne Kim, Up the Ladder: The Role of Training & Education in Promoting Job Advancement for Welfare Recipients, Progressive Policy Institute, March 2002
www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=250289
&knlgAreaID=114&subsecid=143

Contacts

Melonease Shaw
President/CEO
Transitional Work Corporation
Land Title Building
100 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19110
(215) 965-8140 ext. 310
(215) 965-8160 (fax)

Denny Naughton
WorkFirst Managing Director
Community Services Division
WA State Dept. of Community, Trade and Economic Development
128 10th Ave. SW
Box 42525
Olympia, WA 98504-2525
(360) 725-4147
dennyn@cted.wa.gov

Katie McMinn Campbell
Policy Analyst
Progressive Policy Institute
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20003
(202) 547-0007
202) 544-0054 (fax)
kcampbell@ppionline.org