A December 2005 GAO report, "Welfare Reform: More Information Needed to 
Assess Promising Strategies to Increase Parents' Incomes", can be found at 
<http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06108.pdf>.  The January 12, 2006 issue of 
"Report on Literacy Programs" (Business Publishers, Inc., Silver Spring, MD 
at <http://www.bpinews.com>) summarizes , "After looking at 26 
welfare-to-work programs, GAO identified job training, postsecondary 
education, financial literacy training and small business assistance as 
factors leading toward better paying employment. But GAO found a lack of 
understanding of how agencies can provide such services through the 
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program."

My guess is that there are many of you on these lists (I'm sending to both 
Workplace Literacy and Poverty, Race, and Literacy) who have experience and 
therefor expertise in how to provide such services.  Could you share your 
thoughts and experiences with the field through these discussion 
lists?  The GAO report suggests that clients use a combination of services 
of various programs, both governmental and NGOs, employers, unions, and 
community colleges, to get the help they need, and that many of these 
programs serve both TANF and non-TANF clients.  Please tell us where you 
fit in this network of services, what the strengths and weaknesses of the 
provision of services are, and your thoughts about how to improve the web 
of services to better meet the needs of clients (or any other points that 
seem important to you for the field to know.)  And are any of you currently 
involved in research in this area?

Donna


Donna JG Brian
Moderator, NIFL Poverty, Race and Literacy and Workplace Literacy 
Discussion Lists, and
Coordinator/Developer LINCS Workforce Education Special Collection at 
http://worklink.coe.utk.edu/
Center for Literacy Studies at The University of Tennessee
600 Henley Street, Suite 312
Knoxville, TN 37996-4135

865-974-3420 (desk phone) FAX 865-974-3857
djgbrian at utk.edu