An evaluation of a Welfare-to-Work program at a rural community college: An action oriented approach.

摘要

In 1996, the United States Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, placing emphasis on welfare recipients to take responsibility for becoming economically self-sufficient and free from governmental dependency. Since that enactment, changes in this legislation have made it difficult for some welfare clients to meet employment requirements. Using an action-oriented approach, this research focused on a Welfare-to-Work (W-t-W) program for welfare participants attending a community college. The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the challenges and strengths of the program, as perceived by the W-t-W students, and get their recommendations for improving its quality. Data were collected from 21 program participants through focus group interview sessions, and the findings revealed numerous strengths: exceptional qualities of program staff members, additional financial assistance for attending college, job search assistance; convenience of having the program on campus, and networking opportunities with other community resources. Challenges included: threat of losing program funding, problems associated with Department of Social Service case workers and TANF regulations, lack of evening-hour support, and the need for a bilingual case manager. Recommendations were also made for improving the program, as an action oriented effort to build the program further, yet in the course of this study, the program was closed due to changes in funding priorities.;Key words: Welfare-to-Work, TANF participants, underrepresented students