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A study was conducted to determine whether existing work tests affected the timing and quality of jobs found after a period during which a person both received welfare benefits and had to register with the Employment Service (ES) in connection with their receipt. Six measurable aspects of a work test applicable to individuals were identified: Individuals could be (1) called into the ES office, (2) called in frequently, (3) questioned about job search activities, (4) asked for proof of job search activities, (5) referred to a job, and/or (6) pressured to accept a job. Based on a survey of 1966 Food Stamp (FS) and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Aid to Families with Dependent Children of Unemployed Fathers (AFDC-UF), the study was conducted in five cities using a questionnaire designed to capture employment experience following a stretch of unemployment or part-time employment during which respondents received FS or AFDC/AFDC-UF benefits. Three principal concerns were (1) how the application of the work tests varied by city and within cities by type of individual; (2) how the different work tests influenced job search patterns; and (3) how they influenced employment behavior. The overall conclusion is that results of the study provide a pessimistic picture of the usefulness of existing work tests in encouraging registrants to return to work. This report organizes the findings and conclusions under each of the three principle concerns and presents general conclusions and recommendations in the form of policy alternatives. (JT)

Focusing on the factors inhibiting the labor market's adjustment to economic change, the study examined the economic and social problems facing southern rural areas and populations, including Chicanos and migrants. Factors were in the areas of the labor market behavior, income and earnings, poverty, welfare system and welfare reform, manpower development and training, economic development, and the community's social and political environments. Data were derived from: an extensive survey of households which obtained economic, social, demographic, and behavioral information; and a survey of county institutions which obtained specific information concerning business activities and the community's economic and social structure and organization. Surveys were conducted in Dodge County, Georgia; Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana; Starr County, Texas; and Sunflower County, Mississippi. Major conclusions were: a substantial portion of the rural southern population was unable to obtain adequate income through work; rural workers were hampered in their income generating efforts by low educational levels, lack of training and of work experience, and health problems; employment discrimination by race and sex was pervasive and one cause of low incomes; and transfer programs had not eliminated poverty and welfare reform would have had significant beneficial impacts on many low income families and the overall economy of the rural South. (NQ)

The educational program adopted at Adelphi University School of Social Work provides students interested in obtaining the master's degree in social work with an opportunity to accelerate their professional education. As undergraduate students they can elect to major in social welfare, and if they do, some courses usually available only to graduate students will be open to them. They can also earn credits for their field work experience. Once they receive their baccalaureate degree, a number of them are admitted to the accelerated graduate program, which initially consists of enrollment in a summer session at the school of social work. At the completion of this program the students enter the school as second-year students. The accelerated students were found to catch up to the traditional students after the summer experience. Reports are included in this evaluation of changes in students' knowledge, values and skill; their educational background and practice skill one year after graduation; coping with their feelings of inferiority; and social constraints affecting the interpretation of the findings in evaluative studies. (LBH)

The report explores deliberately planned endeavors to provide nonwork related services at or through the workplace. The historical context and present-day complexities of workplace service provision are reviewed. Twenty-three workplaces are examined yielding a total of 615 different instances of specific services. Services are classified into eight service categories such as education, community service, and individual and family assistance. Eleven cases of service programs are described. Recommendations include criteria for initiating workplace services, stressing the importance of viable employee participation; a new organizational framework for workplace service delivery patterned after the credit union; and development of employee needs assessment programs as prelude to services planning. A selected bibliography is appended. (Author)

The study is described as a carefully controlled field test of the effects on recipient families of eight different negative income tax or benefit formulas. The most striking finding was that observed changes in labor supply in response to the experimental payments were generally quite small. Chapter One, The Experiment: Background and Choices, reviews the policy debate in the mid-1960's, the negative income tax, and describes important considerations in the study. Chapter Two, Labor Supply Response, explains the methodology by which response variables were statistically related to treatment variables and control variables; the labor supply response--mean treatment-control differentials; and labor supply response--results of more complex models. Results are tabulated and summarized. Chapter Three presents qualifications, other findings, and further research suggestions. Data from the sample, weekly earnings, hours worked, employment rates, and percentage changes are presented in 19 tables. A list of technical papers arising from the Graduated Work Incentive Experiment and table of contents for an administrative procedures volume; abstracts of research into behavioral responses to the experiment other than the labor supply response; and an outline of the available data from the graduated work incentive experiment in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are appended. (Author/NH)

With the passage in early 1975 of the social service amendments to the Social Security Act, referred to as Title XX, a major new opportunity to serve children and youth has emerged. Seizing the opportunity will be largely dependent on the well-prepared presentation of a case for the needs of young people by dedicated advocates in every state. Title XX fosters a decentralized program of Federally supported services as set forth in a Comprehensive Annual Services Program (CASP) Plan published by each governor, and prepared and administered by the designated Title XX agency in each state. In addition, the law encourages very active participation by private organizations, agencies, and individual citizens in the development of the plan and, by contract, in the provisions of the services planned. This manual is designed to help advocates for children and youth understand the opportunities in Title XX and prepare for effective participation in the state planning process. The manual is organized as follows: Section 2 describes the background and philosophy of Title XX; Section 3 outlines the operating requirements of the new law; Section 4 describes the planning requirements in Title XX along with detailed examples of how Title XX can be used to fund children and youth-oriented services programs; and Section 5 suggests some "next steps" for state or local action. (Author/RWP)

Aspects are summarized of a current approach to social indicator research and related problems in policy analysis generated by an interest in isolating major sources of variability in the generation of human welfare and developing indicators associated with welfare-generating processes. A set of models being developed for indicator research is described and some of their implications explored. Suggestions are made for assessing performance from both an institutional perspective and a social perspective. The first section considers sources of variability in welfare generation that can be traced to the processes of transforming resources into welfare outcomes through production or consumption activities. Section 2 discusses extending the models to include sources of variability arising from the institutional settings in which these activities occur. The third section illustrates implications of these models for identifying the information requirements of the client and service providers of a prototypical public school system. (Author/MLF)

This report offers an assessment of the status of child development programs in Vermont based on information gathered by the Interagency Council on Child Development which was created by the Vermont legislature in 1974. Program descriptions for each state department, division and agency represented on the Council, and several not represented, are included in the report: the human services agency, corrections department, health department, mental health department, social and rehabilitation services department, social welfare department, education department, governor's commission on administration of justice, office of child development and University of Vermont extension service. Research and information meetings resulted in the identification of four generalized categories of findings: positive dynamics, duplication of services, gaps in services, and problem areas. These findings are discussed and Council recommendations are outlined. The appendix includes maps of the agency, department and division geographic boundaries. (ED)

This report describes early childhood education policy making and legislation in several states and discusses research methodology for comparative case study research. The first part of the study provides a historical account of the emergence of the national compulsory attendance movement in the 19th century, and the corresponding growth of early childhood education. In the second part of the report, extensive case studies of five states (West Virginia, California, New Mexico, Ohio, and Georgia) that initiated kindergarten legislation between 1971 and 1973 are presented. Considered in each state case study are such issues as: (1) rationales that state policy makers have used to support early childhood education policy initiatives, (2) background of the reform, (3) response to proposed legislation, (4) development of the change, (5) opposition to the reform, and (6) legislative leadership necessary to effect the change. Social, political, fiscal, and research rationales of the reform legislation are discussed and compared. In the third section of the document, research methodology and survey techniques, materials, and results are discussed in great detail. The final chapter contains a selected bibliography. (Author/BRT)

This final report describes a project developed to service inner-city neighborhood families in crisis by establishing a central referral services where families could go for help. A second goal is the provision of 24 hours a day, seven days a week care for children in a neighborhood based facility --which also provides other emergency forms of assistance, as required. Four sections focus on the geographical area, population of area, methodology, and a services summary describing areas such as shelter, clothing, medical, and fuel -- how they were used, and their advantages and disadvantages. Two additional summaries, providing statistical and financial data and fourteen tables, are also included. Through the coordination efforts of neighborhood agencies, organizations, and individuals, the project is said to have established and maintained neighborhood services and care for families and children effectively -- in addition to extensive record keeping for families served, and follow-up services and supplementary services such as employment, referrals, and baby-sitting. (Author/AM)

To understand and document the image and the reality of old age and older Americans, the National Council on the Aging (NCOA) commissioned the major, in-depth survey which examined public attitudes and expectations and documented older Americans' views and personal experiences. Consisting of statistical tables, textual analysis, and subjective discussions of implications, the report presents a major overview of the survey's findings in eight sections: (1) public attitudes toward old age, (2) public expectations of people over 65, (3) social and economic contribution of people 65 and over, (4) preparation for old age, (5) the experience of being older, (6) accessibility and use of community facilities by the public 65 and over, (7) the media and the image of people 65 and over, and (8) the politics of old age. The study found that most older Americans desire to and can be productive and that many millions live at or below the poverty line. Considered extremely significant, the findings related to public policy include these: Almost all americans believe social security payments should automatically rise with living costs; most agree that the Federal government should use general tax revenues for supporting older people, and oppose mandatory retirement at a fixed age. (Author/AJ)

The report describes the development and operation of a communal laundry center, or housewife club in Netivot, Israel which provides laundry facilities, a social meeting place, and a variety of classes and services for users. The proposal for the club grew out of the difficulties facing the district social welfare bureau in solving the laundry problems of large families in the low-income community of 6,000 persons. During the three-year planning phase, community workers, trained by the Ministry of Social Welfare's Service for Community Work, interviewed residents to assess their needs and established a joint administrative committee of local authority and social welfare agency representatives. Characteristics of the population and the town, physical facilities of the laundry, center ownership and administration, and procedures for its daily operation are discussed. Participation in center activities (classes, films, lectures, and parent counseling sessions) by an average of 60 families a day from all sectors of the population is described. The report concludes that the club has become a family center which has improved community and family relations while serving as a model for similar clubs under construction throughout Israel. (Author/MS)

The project worked closely and supportively with California welfare mothers, helping them find suitable employment which meshed with their parenting functions, to demonstrate and test the impact of flexible work schedules and to determine whether business and industry could provide flexibly scheduled work (part-time, temporary, or intermittent). Activities undertaken included: job finding and job development; career counseling; providing job, training, housing, child care, and other information; and operating group support workshops. The report makes it very clear that: (1) during a recession, when well-qualified applicants abound, private industry will not consider structuring its work force to welfare mothers' needs, without obvious benefits; and (2) reducing the number of dependent families on the welfare rolls is not a realistic objective even with permanent employment on a part-time basis, unless on-the-job training increases mothers' hourly rate. Then the amount of welfare contributed toward support could be reduced. The case against intermittent jobs was strong. Many women who successfully obtained a job through the project required carefully structured and consistent help. If welfare policy states that self-support is a goal, clients' efforts require support; viewing their needs and readiness broadly is more effective than job placement alone. (Author/AJ)

This paper constitutes a summary progress report on a short-term training course designed to provide social work bachelor's degree practitioners with the knowledge and skills necessary for administrative and managerial positions. Increasingly, social work graduates have reported moving into social service administration and managerial positions without these skills. A survey, which gathered information from graduates over a three-year period, indicated a need for competence in the areas of middle management, organization, planning, financial management, personnel administration, program development, and evaluation. The intensive three-day training course was interdisciplinary in nature and designed to provide managerial skills that could be immediately useful to the participants on their jobs. Student evaluations of the course were positive which in turn has led to the incorporation of a similar course into the undergraduate academic curriculum. (Author/DE)

Findings and recommendations of two studies begun in 1968 regarding the lives of impoverished people in Camden, New Jersey are presented in this report. In the first study, factors aiding and hindering the achievement of economic independence, especially through the Work Incentive Program (WIN), of female headed households are considered. Data drawn from a three-wave panel study (1969, 1970, 1973), initiated with 438 matrifocal households and supported through Aid for Dependent Children and 102 matrifocal households supported by the earnings of the mother, are analyzed. In the second study, poverty is considered as a breakdown between family and economy and as a function of family organization in relation to participation in the economy. Data are drawn from a two-wave panel study initiated with 723 low-income men and 414 of their mates in 1973 and 1974. Recommendations are made from the WIN program and other programs engaged in the provision of work training, employment services and income maintenance. (Author/WI)

The Social Security student benefit program was reviewed by the U.S. General Accounting Office to determine if it is an unnecessary burden upon the overall Social Security system, and thus upon taxpayers supporting the system. Various U.S. Office of Education programs were also reviewed to determine if they might provide student aid more equitably than the student benefit program does. The review was conducted primarily at the Social Security Administration and the Office of Education, but financial aid records for a random sample of student benefit recipients at 119 postsecondary institutions in upstate New York and Los Angeles County, California, were also examined. It is concluded that the student benefit program gives many students more money than their school costs warrant, inequitably curtails, or bars altogether, benefits to other students, deprives nonstudents, and contributes to other federal aid programs paying unneeded benefits. The Office of Education is willing to provide aid in a more equitable way to postsecondary students now receiving payments from Social Security. It is recommended that Congress enact an amendment to the Social Security Act to discontinue student benefits for postsecondary students and take the necessary steps to assure the Office of Education will have sufficient financial resources to meet any increased demand arising from such discontinuance. (SW)

Existing programs and needs for adult basic education (ABE) in British Columbia were assessed. A research committee examined adults' educational opportunities up to and beyond literacy levels. ABE was found, in general, to be an area of neglect and low priority. Adult needs remain high; for instance, census data reveals that nearly half a million adults have not gone beyond grade 8. Many family and psychological problems are associated with illiteracy. Nevertheless, present educational practices, such as inequitable tuition policies, inhibit adults' efforts to return to learning. Social and economic costs incurred through the educationally disadvantaged individuals' unemployment and welfare status are high. The Ministry of Education plays a minimal role in ABE services provision. The federal Department of Manpower has influenced educational practices throughout the provinces, but provisions have tended to be spasmodic. Each year ABE involves approximately 500 courses, 6,000 students, and 500 instructors throughout the province. The main prerequisite for closing the gap between needs and ABE provisions is an integrated and systematic approach. Although many goals and recommendations have been formulated, the principal recommendation is to regard ABE as an integrated system to aid in the amelioration of provincial problems in such areas as unemployment and social welfare. (CSS)

The objective of this essay and bibliography is to assist information and library professionals, as well as individuals from other disciplines, to gain some insights into the major themes and issues of social gerontology. The focus is on the role of information and data in gerontological research, public policy, service delivery, and information and library services, with emphasis on individual rather than societal aging. The bibliography is divided into two parts. Part one discusses background issues in social gerontology, including concepts and development, research, public policy, human services and advocacy, and education and training. Part two examines the role of information in social gerontology with emphasis on information for older persons, information for those who work with the elderly, and international issues. This is not primarily an Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) bibliography, although almost half of the citations are either ERIC documents announced in Resources in Education (RIE) or journal articles reviewed in Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE). A list of bibliographic sources is included. (Author/CWM)

A three-year pilot study was conducted to determine the noneconomic benefits of the Job Corps on the impact areas of jobs, society, and health. Representing seven Job Corps centers, a sample of 489 youth between the ages of 16 and 22 participated, of whom 85 percent were black and 87 percent were urban. In order to draw comparisons, the participants were chosen from three different groups: persisters or those who remained in the Job Corps at least three months; those who dropped out of the program earlier; and those who did not enroll. Of the twenty-one outcomes which were measured covering the three impact areas, persisters were found to have improved in eight areas (job seeking skills, job satisfaction, attitude toward authority, self-esteem, crime reduction, nutrition behavior, family relations, and leisure time), while dropouts only improved in two and nonenrollees in five. Particularly impressive was the Job Corps' impact on (1) crime reduction, which showed that the Corps can function effectively as a rehabilitation agent (delinquent females were found to have benefitted the most with only a four percent rate of recidivism among persisters, or compared to a much higher rate for nonenrolled and dropout females); and (2) health, which resulted from the Corps' providing free medical care to participants, including physical examinations, doctor visits, dental care, and family life and nutrition education. (Numerous tables throughout display various analyses of the data collected for this study.) (ELG)

Twenty papers review past activities and future prospects for philanthropic activity in specific social areas. The report is part of a five volume series examining the relationship between nonprofit institutions and their donors. The purpose of the series is to provide impetus for ongoing research and to focus public attention on the significance of the voluntary sector. Volume II, Part I explores privately-financed activities in areas of elementary, secondary, and higher education; the sciences, health; social welfare and social policy; the arts; environment; and public and international affairs. In general the papers examine the changing roles of philanthropy and government in each area and the prospects for the future. Philanthropic profiles of five U.S. cities are included also. These discuss survey methodology, donor allocation findings, and issues such as: Are local foundations meeting their responsibilities to the community? and What would be the impact of changes in federal tax laws affecting the deductibility of charitable donations? (Author/AV)

This background paper was developed for the Community Services Administration (CSA) in order to provide background information concerning welfare reform. It examines possible public assistance strategies, such as the following: (1) broad-based cash transfer (negative income tax, wage rate subsidies, demogrants, and family allowances), (2) categorical cash transfers, (3) in-kind (consumption) transfers (food stamps), and (4) composite programs. The paper also discusses various normative, economic, social, administrative, and political issues raised by the welfare reform controversy. One issue discussed at length, is that of work incentives and their importance, especially in terms of their relevance in the redesign of America's public assistance system. The potential role of the Community Services Administration in welfare reform is also analyzed. A selective bibliography on welfare reform is included. (Author/AM)

This second edition of "Poverty Profile", published by the Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle as part of their Campaign for Human Development, updates the data examined in the earlier (1972) edition and examines some of the current social welfare programs designed to alleviate the affects of poverty. The extent to which poverty affects millions of Americans is discussed and specific groups such as the elderly poor, children, the rural poor, the urban poor, and the working poor, along with the racial-ethnic distribution of poverty are addressed. Various standards that are used to measure poverty, such as the poverty index and the one half of the median income index are defined and explained. A variety of government sponsored programs such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Assistance Programs, Title VII and Title XX for the elderly are discussed. Also included is an explanation of myths and facts about welfare programs and welfare recipients. A short bibliography on poverty, hunger, the elderly, employment, housing, health, social welfare programs, and other poverty related issues is included. (Author/AM)