Screening and Assessment in TANF/Welfare-to-Work: Local Answers to Difficult Questions

Welfare reform efforts and significant caseload declines have resulted in a commonly held belief that those remaining on welfare face multiple barriers to employment, or are in some way "hard-to-serve." Clients with complex barriers to employment, disabilities, or medical conditions, are often grouped under this broad heading. One of the most significant challenges facing states and localities related to serving the hard-to-serve population is identifying the specific conditions and disabilities clients have that may be a barrier to finding and maintaining employment.In 1999, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contracted with the Urban Institute to conduct a Study of Screening and Assessment in TANF/Welfare-to-Work (WtW). The first phase of the study involved a review of the issues and challenges faced by TANF agencies and their partners in developing strategies and selecting instruments to identify substance abuse and mental health problems, learning disabilities, and domestic violence situations among TANF clients. The issues and challenges identified through that review are presented in Ten Important Questions TANF Agencies and Their Partners Should Consider (hereafter referred to as Ten Important Questions). The second phase of the study involved case studies of a limited number of localities to further explore how TANF agencies and their partners responded to the issues and challenges identified during phase one. The findings from the case studies are presented in this report.Findings are based on discussions held between November 2000 and February 2001 with TANF agency staff and staff of key partner agencies in six localities: Montgomery County, KS, Owensboro, KY, Minneapolis, MN (the IRIS Program), Las Vegas, NV, Arlington, VA, and Kent, WA

Coopetition and innovation. Lessons from worker cooperatives in the Spanish machine tool industry

This is an electronic version of the accepted paper in Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing[EN] Purpose – This paper aims to investigate how the implementation of the inter-cooperation principle among Spanish machine-tool cooperatives helps them to coopete–collaborate with competitors, in their innovation and internationalization processes and achieve collaborative advantages. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a multi-case approach based on interviews with 15 CEOs and research and development (R&D) managers, representing 14 Spanish machine tool firms and institutions. Eight of these organizations are worker-cooperatives.. Findings – Worker -cooperatives achieve advantages on innovation and internationalization via inter-cooperation (shared R&D units, joint sales offices, joint after-sale services, knowledge exchange and relocation of key R&D technicians and managers). Several mutual bonds and ties among cooperatives help to overcome the risk of opportunistic behaviour and knowledge leakage associated to coopetition. The obtained results give some clues explaining to what extent and under which conditions coopetitive strategies of cooperatives are transferable to other types of ownership arrangements across sectors. Practical implications – Firms seeking cooperation with competitors in their R&D and internationalization processes can learn from the coopetitive arrangements analyzed in the paper. Social implications – Findings can be valuable for sectoral associations and public bodies trying to promote coopetition and alliances between competitors as a means to benefit from collaborative advantages. Originality/value – Focusing on an “ideal type” of co-operation -cooperative organisationsand having access to primary sources, the paper shows to what extent (and how) strong coopetitive structures and processes foster innovation and internationalization

Four Health Care Organizations' Efforts to Improve Patient Care and Reduce Costs

Synthesizes findings from four case studies in the Brookings-Dartmouth ACO Pilot Program about forming integrated systems that can deliver accountable care under shared-savings agreements with private payers

Retribalization as a Strategy for Achievement of Group and Individual Social Security in Alaska Native Villages — with a Special Focus on Subsistence [paper]

This paper was revised for publication as: Conn, Stephen; & Langdon, Steve J. (1988). "Retribalization as a Strategy for Achievement of Group and Individual Social Security in Alaska Native Villages — with a Special Focus on Subsistence." In F. von Benda-Beckmann, K. von Benda-Beckmann, E. Casino, F. Hirtz, G.R. Woodman & H.F. Zacher (eds.), Between Kinship and the State: Social Security and Law in Developing Countries, pp. 437–450. Providence, RI: Foris Publications.Alaska Native groups have adopted a strategy of seeking general welfare, including social security, through retribalization — a term of dual meaning discussed in this paper. The paper aims to describe the historical developments leading to the adoption of this strategy, explain its nature and the various forms which it takes, and assess its potential for the achievement of the general welfare of Alaska Natives.General Welfare and Social Security / Retribalization: Alaska Meanings / Manifestations of Retribalization in Alaska (Sitka Community Association; Yupiit Nation) / Other Tribal Strategies (Unalakleet Initiative - Externally Directed; Eschscholtz Bay - Management Among Native Groups; Venetie's Approach - Internal and Then External; Complex Interaction by Yupiit Villages; Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC): External First and Then Internal) / Retribalization as Revitalization Movement / Footnote / Bibliograph

Lessons for Health Reform From the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program

Explores the feasibility of opening up the program to non-federal employees as a way to expand coverage. Outlines lessons learned on countering selection issues, maintaining a wide array of benefit packages, and offsetting costs and premium fluctuations

Community Rehabilitation Programs and Organizational Change: A Mentor Guide to Increase Customized Employment Outcomes

[Excerpt] For the purpose of this Guide, customized employment is defined as a process for individualizing the employment relationship between an employee and an employer in ways that meet the needs of both. Customized employment is based on an individualized negotiation between the strengths, conditions and interests of the person with a disability and the identified business needs of the employer or the self-employment business chosen by the job seeker. Job negotiation uses job development or restructuring strategies that result in responsibilities being customized and individually negotiated to fit the requirements of the job

Joint Labor-Management Training Programs for Healthcare Worker Advancement and Retention

[Excerpt] Filling vacancies and retaining workers in shortage areas such as nursing and other allied health occupations remains a challenge in today’s healthcare industry. At the same time, low-wage workers in the healthcare industry often lack the educational credentials necessary to move into higher-paying occupations. This study seeks to understand the role of multi-employer joint labor-management healthcare worker training in meeting the needs of employers for career ladder advancement in their incumbent workforce. The study focuses on hospital employers and their experience with strategies for the advancement of low-wage and entry level workers into healthcare career pathways

Pathway to Successful Young Adulthood

The Pathway to Successful Young Adulthood assembles a wealth of findings from research, practice, theory, and policy about what it takes to improve the lives of children, youth and families, particularly those living in tough neighborhoods. By laying out a comprehensive, coherent array of actions, the Pathway informs efforts to improve community conditions within supportive policy and funding contexts. The Pathways framework does not promote a single formula or program. Rather, our emphasis is on acting strategically across disciplines, systems, and jurisdictions to increase the number of young people who make a successful transition to young adulthood. The Pathway provides a starting point to guide choices made by community coalitions, services providers, researchers, funders, and policymakers to achieve desired outcomes for young people and their families

Investing in Workforce Program Innovation: A Formative Evaluation of Five Workforce Organizations' Experiences During the Human Capital Innovation Fund Initiative

In this report, Investing in Workforce Program Innovation: A Formative Evaluation of Five Workforce Organizations' Experiences during the Human Capital Innovation Fund Initiative, we describe the five organizations' experiences planning, implementing, and adapting new strategies. Investing in Workforce Program Innovation offers insights into the complex work of developing and maintaining relationships that cross institutions. We discuss factors grantees considered when identifying partner organizations, the approaches they used to find common ground and work effectively together, and the ways in which partnerships evolved and deepened over time. We describe how organizations cultivated long-term relationships with employers to not only inform workforce program design and promote job placement, but also to engage employers to reflect upon their hiring and employment practices. Finally, we discuss the ways in which HCIF-supported organizations tailored comprehensive and ongoing supports to the unique needs of their participants to help them succeed in and beyond training programs

Outsourcing Back Office Services in Small Nonprofits: Pitfalls and Possibilities

Presents findings on small nonprofits' administrative, finance, and other office support needs; reasons and conditions for outsourcing as well as barriers; methods for evaluating options; and guiding principles. Examines three business models