Since 1997, community college programs have been meeting thechallenges of the Temporary Assistant for Needy Families (TANF) ablock grant that eliminated welfare entitlements and requiresfederally or state-approved work activities for welfare recipients.This volume examines TANF from its inception and presents researchand applications from welfare-to-work programs across the country.Chapters discuss internal and external partnerships that communitycolleges must foster and the constituencies they must serve.Examples of effective programs include a job placement programmeeting the needs of rural welfare recipients, short-term andadvanced levels of technical training, a call center program forcustomer service job training, beneficial postsecondary training, collaborative programs for long-term family economicself-sufficiency, and a family-based approach recognizing the needsof welfare recipients and their families. With research from stateand institutional responses as well as an analysis of the welfarestudent population, this is a comprehensive resource for communitycollege educators involved in the development and implementation ofwork-first programs on their campuses.
This is the 116th issue of the quarterly journal New Directions forCommunity Colleges.