AN INVESTIGATION OF LOCAL FUNDING SOURCES FOR THE JOB ACCESS AND REVERSE COMMUTE PROGRAM

摘要

Adequate access to employment is a primary factor in providing means to self-sufficiency fordisadvantaged populations. To secure and retain employment, people must have a degree of mobility.The federal Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) program enhances mobility for low-wage workersand low-income individuals by offering federal funding for locally planned and developed accessprojects. Funding for JARC projects is a combination of federal and local funding. Local funding derivesfrom local sources, such as dedicated taxes, other local-level government-funded programs fordisadvantaged populations, businesses or general accounts.The objective of this research was to identify local-level funding sources for JARC projects and identifyassociations between types of local funding and utilization of JARC funding. Little research had beenconducted on the implications of local-funding measures on federally funded JARC projects. How do thedifferent methods of generating matching local-level funds interact with JARC projects? For fiscal years2005-2009, this research combined JARC program data with a survey of JARC recipients to analyzefunding techniques and performance.Statistical results showed JARC recipients have tapped a wide range of local sources to fund projects andJARC projects quickly receive federal funding respective to application. While the most prevalentsources were local agency and local general funds, approximately 27 percent of JARC projects draw uponmultiple local sources for federal matching.