NCJ Number
76403
Editor(s)
S Mandel,
S Trazoff
Date Published
1981
Length
72 pages
Annotation
The 1979 transition of a supported work project from a research-demonstration phase to a revised operating structure incorporating the research results from the first 4 years of operation is reported.
Abstract
The program was designed to improve the long-term employability of persons whose poor work records and personal characteristics made successful entry into the regular job market unlikely. Techniques were devised at 15 locations across the country to support the workers in transitional jobs. Program support focused on developing appropriate work behavior and habits during job placements of 6 to 12 months. Participation was limited to four groups: long-term female recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), ex-addicts, ex-offenders, and young school dropouts. A major focus of the program during 1979 was developing new sites in Wisconsin and New Jersey. Expansion sites in which planning was done by project staff developed more quickly than those using planning agencies. The expansion sites benefited from program sponsor technical assistance, from the experiences of existing sites, and from established funding and administrative structures, and established community ties. During the year, the number of private profit-making customers for supported work goods and services increased and service project revenues rose. Average length of program stay during 1979 was 6.5 months, slightly lower than the 6.9-month average of 1978. The overall placement rate increased by nearly 5 percent over 1978, despite funding difficulties at most of the original sites. AFDC participants continued to have the highest placement and lowest firing rates -- as found in earlier years of program operation. Ex-addicts had the lowest placement and the highest firing rates, while both groups had a high rate of participants graduating from program after the maximum length of involvement. Individual sites generated an average of 61 percent of their funding locally and received 39 percent from national sources. Goods and services represented an average of 20 percent of total revenue during the year; a total of 44 percent of 1979 expenditures were for supported worker wages and fringe benefits. Average cost per participant was $6,014, down from $8,184 during 1975, the first year of operation. An attempt to develop a new national funding mechanism using Comprehensive Employment Training Act II (D) and VI funds proved unwieldy and was abandoned. New developments include a youth program and unsubsidized private sector placement. Tabular data, footnotes, and an 18-item list of both completed and in-progress on the program are included.