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ERIC ED378319: American Poverty: The Role of Education, Training and Employment Strategies in the New Anti-Poverty Struggle. PDF

120 Pages·1994·3.6 MB·English
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DOCUMENT RESUME CE 067 891 ED 378 319 American Poverty: The Role of Education, Training And TITLE Employment Strategies in the New Anti-Poverty Struggle. INSTITUTION Employment and Training Administration (DJL), Washington, D.C. PUB DATE 94 NOTE 120p. PUB TYPE Serials (022) Collected Works Evaluation Forum; n10 Sum 1994 JOURNAL CIT EDRS PRICE MF01/PC05 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Adult Basic Education; Adult Education; Change Strategies; Demography; Economically Disadvantaged; Economic Research; *Educational Change; Educational Needs; Educational Research; *Education Work Relationship; Federal Programs; Homeless People; Information Sources; *Job Training; Outcomes of Education; Policy Formation; *Poverty; Poverty Programs; Program Effectiveness; Public Policy; Research Reports; Resource Materials; *Role of Education; State Programs; *Vocational Education; Welfare Recipients; Welfare Services; Youth Programs Job Training Partnership Act 1982; *Welfare Reform IDENTIFIERS ABSTRACT This document, which is directed toward employment and training professionals analyzing/researching policies and issues in education, occupational training, work and welfare, and economic development, contains feature articles, commentary, interviews, and other ;.nformation on the role of education, training, and employment strategies in reducing poverty in the United States. The following feature articles are included: "The Poor in America," "A Perspective on Poverty: Christopher Jencks," "Reducing Poverty: General Approaches," "Inner-City Ghetto Poverty: A Re-Examination," "Contemporary Work/Welfare Strategies: The First Generation," "Second Generation Work/Welfare Strategies," "Another Look at Work/Welfare Programs," "What Are We Learning about Homelessness?" "The Homeless and JTPA Job Training Partnership Act," and "The Department of Labor's Study of Homelessness." Also included are the following: commentary by Secretary of Labor Robert Reich; interviews with Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and David Ellwood; review of a book on the evolution of European welfare states; analyses/reviews of Washington State's Family Independence Program, state welfare reform efforts within the JOBS [Job Opportunities and Basic Skills] framework, and current welfare positions; extensive table detailing research on work force issues sponsored by the U.S. Congress and 6 federal departments/agencies; index to information on federal reseai-h; and bibliography listing 133 books, articles, and working papers on poverty issues. (MN) Evaluation Forum American Poverty: The Role of Education, Training and Employment Strategies in the New Anti-Poverty Struggle U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Issue 10, Summer 1994 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION U 0" or ECNClidinal Resaamn and improvement ATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION ED CENTER (ERIC) This documei.. has been reproduced as or received (tom the person or organization Ck)originating it Minor changes nave boon made to improve reproduction quality. \N k.t3 Points of view or opinions staled in this O document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. BEST-COPY AVAILABLE 2 Editor and Reviewer Material contained in this publica- Evaluation Forum is a national jour- Ann Bonar Blalock tion is in the public domain and may nal for program professionals in re- Admiralty Inlet Consulting be reproduced, fully or partiallly, lated human service fields: basic Hansville, Washington without permission of the Federal education, vocational education, Government. Source credit is re- employment and training, welfare, Guest Reviewers quired only to reproduce any copy- labor market and labor force Ernst W. Stromsdorfer righted material contained herein. change, and economic develop- Department of Economics ment. The purpose of the journal is Washington State University This material will be made available to stimulate interest in policy analy- Pullman, Washington to sensory impaired individuals sis, policy research and program Kay Thode upon request. evaluation as useful tools for Welfare Consultant Voice phone: 202-219-5782 policymaking, planning and the im- Seattle, Washington provement of social programs. It is TDD* phone: 1-800-328-2577 Technical Services understood that the ideas and opin- Kathleen Shankman ions expressed in the contont of the *Telecommunications Device for the Center for Governmental Studies Deaf. journal are those of the respective Northern Illinois University writers and do not necessarily rep- De Kalb, Illinois r.-3er, those of the funder or these of the contributing public interest organizations. Sponsor and Fuider Office of Planning and Research Employment and Training Administration U.S. Department of Labor Contributors to Journal Distribution National Governors' Association Washington, D.C. National Association of Counties Washington, D.C. National Alliance of Business Washington, D.C. 3 Evaluation Forum American Poverty: The Role of Education, Training and Employment Strategies in the New Anti-Poverty Struggle Issue 10, Summer 1994 U.S. Department of Labor Robert B. Reich, Secretary Employment and Training Administration Doug Ross, Assistant Secretary Office of Planning and Research Raymond J. Uhalde, Deputy Assistant Secretary A review journal for employment and training professionals focusing on policy analysis and evaluation research in education, occupational training, work and welfare, and economic development. 4 Table of Contents Poverty in America: A Context Features The Poor in America 2 An overview of alarming information about the nature of poverty in the 1990s, based on reports produced by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the U.S. General Accounting Office, the Children's Defense Fund, the Center for the Study of Social Policy, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and the Institute for Research on Poverty. A Perspective on Poverty: Christopher Jencks 8 An intensive review of Christopher Jencks's competent research on poverty and provocative conclusions about anti-poverty policy, with an emphasis on his latest book, Rethinking Social Policy. Reducing Poverty: General Approaches 14 A summary and analysis of the positions of two respected policy experts, Robert Greenstein and Theda Skoc pol, on ameliorating the high level of American poverty, based on their contributions to The Urban Underclass. The Underclass Poor Inner-City Ghetto Poverty: A Re-Examination 17 A synthesis of research and expert opinion on underclass poverty drawing from William Julius Wilson's most recent book The Ghetto Underclass, with particular attention to the impact of joblessness, income inequality, single parenthood and cultural isolation, and to Wilson's recommendations for addressing the problems of the underclass in American society. The Welfare System Poor Contemporary Work/Welfare Strategies. The First Generation 22 A reconsideration of the chronology of work/welfare approaches since the 1960s, concentrating on the results of the 1980s research on state initiatives funded by The Ford Foundation and participating states, and conducted by the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation. Second Generation Work/Welfare Strategies 26 A review and analysis of Judith Gueron's and Edward Pauly's classic, From Welfare to Work, culling insights from evaluations of more recent state work/ welfare innovations which have contributed to the development of the national JOBS program. Another Look at Work/Welfare Programs 29 Providing another perspective on the effectiveness of work/welfare programs, a review of selected contributions to Charles Manski's and Irwin Garfinkel's recent book, Evaluating Welfare and Training Programs, based on a national evaluation conference sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin. . . Evaluation Forum Summar 1994 Issue 10 The Homeless Poor What Are We Learning About Homelessness? 33 A careful look at recent research on homelessness and its implications for social policy. The Homeless and JTPA 35 A discussion of the design and results of the National Commission for Employment Policy's study of the role JTPA is playing in improving the employment opportunities of the homeless. The Department of Labor's Study of Homelessness 38 An overview of the major findings of the U.S. Department of Labor's evaluation of the Job Training for the Homeless Demonstration Program. Commentary 42 A Commentary by Secretary of Labor Robert Reich A significant perspective on workforce policy, a macro-level context for the development of anti-poverty policy. An Interview with Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan 45 Interviews Views on the causes and consequences of poverty and the history of efforts to reduce it, focusing on the Senator's ideas in his landmark book, Family and Nation, and recent articles on anti-poverty policy by this powerful chair of the Senate Finance Committee. An Interview with David Ellwood 51 A discussion of the results of his extensive research on poverty, emphasizing ideas in his well-known book, Poor Support: Poverty and the American Family, and his current thinking about welfare reform as co-chair of the Clinton Administration's welfare reform task force. Evaluation Issues At the International Level The Evolution of European Welfare States and Activities 57 A selective review of Allan Cochrane's and John Clarke's recent acclaimed book, Comparing Welfare States, analyzing the new trends in welfare policy in Western Europe. 6 -=111 4111111110111 . . Issue 10 Evaluation Forum Summer 1994 iii At the National, State and Local Level Washington State's Family Independence Program: An Economic 64 Interpretation of Its Impact A guest analysis by Ernst Stromsdorfer of The Urban Institute's evaluation of an innovative Washington State welfare reform project, with an introductory context on Washington State poverty by guest reviewer Kay Thode. State Welfare Reform Efforts Within the JOBS Framework 70 A review of evaluations of new welfare reform models associated with the JOBS program, and their implications for national welfare reform. Reform 'Welfare' or Reform 'Welfare Reform'? 75 A guest analysis by Kay Thode of Laurence Lynn's singularly independent and useful perspectives on current welfare reform positions, and a commentary on potential problems with new welfare reform approaches. Resources Selected Federal Research: In Education, Training, Employment and Economic Development A new section of Evaluation Forum looking across federal agencies sponsoring reseaich on workforce issues. 80 U.S. Department of Labor 86 National Commission for Employment Policy 89 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 92 U.S. Department of Education 97 U.S. Department of Commerce 99 U.S. Department of Agriculture 100 U.S. Congress 104 Private Research Firms: An Exemplar 108 Index to Information on Federal Research New Concern About Poverty: rty: A Renaissance in Poverty Research? Books, articles and working papers on poverty issues. 109 On Poverty 110 On Welfare 111 On Homelessness 112 International Resources 7 1111Ml . Evaluation Forum Issue 10 iv Summar 1994 Features Addressing Some of the Questions made their situations worse because in- Editorial Introduction dividuals had less time for parenting Danziger and Weinberg drew the fol- and related responsibilities with little or In the spring of 1992, the Institute lowing profile of poverty over the past no increase in family income. At the for Research on Poverty and the Office fifty years: 1) non-Hispanic whites have same time, high benefit reduction rates of the Assistant Secretary for Planning lower poverty rates than blacks, His- caused work effort to decline for those panics and other minority groups; and Evaluation in the U.S. Department on AFDC, since added work produced of Health and Human Services spon- adults in the prime years have lower little gain in net income. sored a national conference to evaluate poverty rates than children and the eld- Programs emphasizing job search policy efforts addressing poverty and its erly; men have lower poverty rates than assistance , the authors say, produced women; and married-couple families correlates. The papers prepared for the modest employment and income gains conference were published in book have lower poverty rates than female- among female AFDC recipients. Small headed families. The only exception to form by Harvard University Press in returns to society from some employ- the durability of this profile was the shift 1993 as Poverty and Public Policy: in poverty after 1973 from the elderly to ment programs exceeded their costs. What Do We Know? What Should We But these programs did not move many children. Economic growth traditionally Do? The editors were three well -re- families out of poverty. On the other spected poverty researchers, Sheldon affected these trends, but Increasingly hand, tax credits helped 10% of the Danziger, Gary Sandefur and Daniel such growth matters less because of in- poor to escape poverty. Researchers creased income inequality. Weinberg. Insights from the book were also felt that public service employment summarized in the Winter 1992-1993 American poverty policy has always produced incremental long-term bene- issue of Focus, the Institute's journal. been less redistributive than policies in fits for white and minority women, but A number of important themes and other industrial nations. We have typi- this strategy was eliminated under polit- ideas permeate this excellent book cally tolerated higher poverty rates be- ical pressure. which may help frame the articles in cause of our central political belief that this Features Section. One theme is government should not intervene in the Medicaid greatly improved access to that the persistence and growth of pov- health care for the poor, but a substan- market. Over the period of the 1940s to erty since the 1960s does not mean tial proportion of the poor were not cov- 1960s, economic growth had a direct that anti-poverty efforts failed. Poverty ered and resources for other medical effect on poverty, and strong growth had a significant effect. But economic programs declined over time. With sub- remains a major problem in America because of the changes in the econo- stantial evidence that education is criti- growth has not been robust since 1973. my during the past three decades at a cal to movement out of poverty, educa- It has not produced as many low-skill tional vouchers and merit pay for time when public policy interest in the jobs with adequate wages to sustain poor was declining. Some programs did families. Despite this change and our teachers were tested and found not to increase educational opportunities for fail, the authors acknowledge. But continuing political ideology, the au- some were very successful. No doubt thors claim that a combination of cash the poor or energize teaching efforts. others were poorly conceived. And and non-cash benefits for the poor But Head Start was quite successful. some were well-designed but did not clearly reduced poverty, nonmonetary The development of state-based enter- affect enough people to make a differ- prise zones, on the other hand, had benefits in particular. mixed effects. New businesses in the ence. Because of the slowing of economic zones did not produce large increases Another theme is the belief that we growth, however, Danziger and Wein- in aggregate employment or economic must use the renewed interest in re- berg conclude that anti- poverty strate- activity. With such mixed reviews, it has solving poverty to develop a new anti- gies in the form of employment pro- been difficult to come to definitive con- poverty agenda. We must begin, the grams could be expected to have only clusions about what worked best and editors insist, with the lessons we a limited effect. They suggest that for whom. learned over the past three decades of changes in welfare policy over the past research, and subsequently answer The Future for Poverty Research two decades have focused more on in- and Policy questions such as these: 1) what is creasing the poor's work effort than on the extent of contemporary poverty, improving their earnings potential. The book goes far beyond this very 2) how effective are current anti-poverty Meanwhile the decline in the purchas- brief summary of ideas to review and programs, 3) how should we reform ing power of AFDC benefits made these comment on several decades of re- and expand anti-poverty policies and benefits a less attractive option. The search and policy recommendations. programs, and 4) what are the political Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of The contributors make the assumption constraints within which anti-poverty 1981, expressing Reagan poverty poli- that this body of knowledge has given policy must be formulated in the cy, tightened AFDC eligibility. This in- us enough Information to identify the 1990s? creased work incentives for those re- general directions future anti-poverty moved from the rolls but simultaneously . Evaluation Forum Issue 10 Summer 1994 1 . The Poor In America Features al issue territories of past poverty re- bad idea. Maybe it might have policy should take in seeking major bad search. They involve larger-scale initia- an Impact if we were to modify it gains regarding equity, efficiency, self- tives. They require an elevated level of in this direction or expand it in sufficiency, responsibility and dignity. conceptual and pragmatic risk-taking. that direction, or supplement it Some experts recommended abol- with the following services or ishing the current welfare system alto- Some of the researchers writing in mandates, or double or triple get ter, starting over with a package of the book worry that the poverty re- the magnitude of Its Intensity or search community might not be able to alternative programs. Some suggested the size of its incentive ... home- ownership strategies, subsidized break out of its mold sufficiently to con- asset accounts In place of welfare ben- sider new Issues and alternatives. They This perspective Is reminiscent of efits, and universal youth capital ac- cite a certain pessimism on the part of Christopher Jencks's admonition that in counts. Others thought a National Ur- other societies the view Is that when a researchers related to finding such ban Corps should be established, program is not working you try to make small impacts for most of the strategies utilizing dislocated military personnel. studied. Seeing the glass 'part full', oth- it better. In the United States, he says, Other options were wage subsidies for ers view past research as pointing in a we doubt that government can do any- thing right and therefore assume that If low-skilled workers and employer- positive direction to the need for multi- based marginal employment subsidies we ought to ple, concentrated, high-participation ap- a program stumbles terminate it ... It's like deciding that If in combination with a refundable tax proaches that can yield larger results. credit. Some researchers felt we should babies get sick they should be thrown Robert Haveman and Isabel Sawhill, address the imbalance in poverty rates away." referring to the destructive nature of a between the elderly and children by re- We are not likely to throw away what "magic bullet mentality" obsessed with designing Social Security as an in- remarkable strategy we have learned. The challenge is to identifying that one come-related program, by fully funding that will solve the problem, suggest: use these lessons in crafting new poli- Head Start and high quality day care, cy. In the articles that follow, new direc- Why isn't a superior viewpoint and by enriching schools through great- tions do emerge. First we provide a [one in which we say] we have er parental commitment and invest- context, then we focus on the under- tried intervention X and it ment. class poor, the welfare poor, and the doesn't seem to have much of policy changes ex- These potential homeless poor. effect, but by golly it's not a an tend considerably beyond the tradition- Poverty In America: A Context Ns The Poor in America The main increase in poverty was low-skilled work and a weakening of among whites and Hispanics, and large- labor unions as partial causes for the ly in the Northeast. Poverty rose for statistics. Other experts criticized the We begin the Feature Section with a children and the elderly, and inside Bureau's method for defining poverty, selective overview of information about metropolitan areas. The greatest de- which did not include noncash benefits contemporary poverty in the United crease in income occurred among white such as Food Stamps, Medicaid and States, and some of the general conclu- men, in the Northeast and West, ethnic public housing, and was not affected by sions emerging from poverty research. differences appearing to be related to owning a house or car. geography. Since 71% of African Recent Poverty Statistics In 1992, the first full year following Americans live outside the Northeast the end of the recession, the Bureau re- The Census Bureau's fall 1993 re- and West, where the recession had the ported that 36.9 million Americans port on poverty and income provided most dramatic impact, they were less lived in poverty. Of the 1.2 million the first detailed look at some of the ef- affected. On the other hand, a larger who fell into poverty in 1993, 276,000 fects of the recession that began half percentage of poor black families than were under eighteen, a poverty rate for way through 1990. By official stan- of white and Hispanic families were children of 21.9%. For those under age dards, 2.1 million more Americans headed by an unmarried woman. These six the rate was 25%; for preschool were living in poverty in 1990 than in households were more likely to receive children in households headed by sin- 1989. The poverty rate rose to 13.5% welfare benefits and less likely to have gle women it was 65.9%. This contrast- from 12.8% in 1989, and median annu- lost income due to recessionary lay- ed with a rate of 14.5% for Americans al household income fell 1.7% to offs. of all ages. $29,943. The number of Americans liv- Robert Greenstein, director of the ing in poverty had increased for the It is important to understand that the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, third year in a row. One out of every in the number of poor children increase commenting on the Census Bureau's seven now had an income below the occurred in families headed by married analysis, pointed to declining wages for- or poverty line. The number of poor was couples and those headed by single at its highest level since 1964. men. In homes with single women, the Evaluation Forum 2 . Issue 10 Summer 1994 The Poor In America Features . crimes had risen by 48%. Using a new number of children in poverty de- uted to the near doubling of the per- family risk index, analysts centage of young families headed by a measure, creased by 33,000. Still, the youngest a single parent, which had risen to 37% found that 45% of the children born to Americans were most at risk in house- new families had one of three disad- holds headed by single women and at in 1991. vantages: their mother had not finished highest risk in households headed by Overall, incomes dropped 32% and high school, was not married, or was a black women. This was due, in part, to the child poverty rate was now 40%, teenager. Twenty-four percent of the the fact that whites and Asian Ameri- the Fund maintained. This was viewed new families had two of these disad- cans were better educated and earned as a product of the increase in single vantages and 11% had all three. In each more than African Americans and His- parent families, but also of eroding category, minorities fared worse than panics in 1992, and therefore were wages and declining government wel- more likely to move out of poverty. others. fare and unemployment benefits. The The poverty rate for whites was 11.6%; Meanwhile, the Census Bureau was conclusion of the report was that pover- for Asian Americans 12.5%; for His- reporting that more than a third of all ty among children had spread alarming- panics 29.3%; and for African Ameri- American youth aged fifteen to seven- ly in the 1980s, not only in large urban cans 33.3%. The Bureau predicted a de- teen had either dropped out of school centers but in smaller cities as well. A cline in these rates with the end of the or were at least one grade level behind similar state-by-state analysis revealed recession. their cohort. The rate for these contin- that approximately 18% of children, on average, lived in families earning less gencies rose from 29.1% in 1980 to Child Poverty 34.8% in 1990. Thirty- two percent of than poverty-level incomes in 1989. The Children's Defense Fund star- white students fell into this category; The Fund's report also reminded us tled us in 1993 with their annual report 48% of blacks; 48.6% of Hispanics. that in 1992 the rich got richer. Nearly claiming that young families with chil- The differences began appearing with 9 half of national family income went to dren had less money now than their to 11 year-olds and continued through- the top fifth of families, while 4.4% counterparts a generation ago, and suf- out high school. went to the poorest fifth. Meanwhile, fered from child poverty rates twice as the United Nations' Children's Fund Never-Married Mothers high even though they were better edu- concluded that one-fifth of American cated than their predecessors. About And there were statistical surprises. children lived below the poverty line half of all American children, the Fund In the summer of 1993, the Census Bu- four times the rate of most industri- indicated, were born into families head- reau reported a sharp increase in never- alized nations, and twice that of Great ed by a parent under thirty. In 1990 the married mothers an increase of 60% Britain. annual incomes of such families fell over the past decade. This increase was 32.1%. Incomes for families with older Irrespective of the social policy de- particularly steep for educated profes- bates swirling around the definition of heads fell more modestly, by 6.4%, and sional women. The rate for black wom- poverty, as well as its causes and ef- families without children experienced a en rose to 56% from 49% a decade ear- rise in income of 11.2% over the same fects, the 1993 reports from the Census lier; the rate for Hispanic women rose Bureau and the Children's Defense period. Incomes for young families to 33% from 23% over that period. Al- Fund were sobering. Marian Wright headed by individuals who had some though women who were poor, unedu- amount of college education fell 15%; Edelman, the president of the Fund, cated or members of minority groups for those headed by a high school grad- commented that the new statistics were still more likely to become single would translate to "more substance uate they fell 30%; and for those head- mothers, and their rates were rising, the ed by a high school drop-out they abuse, more school failure, more teen increase in single parenthood among plummeted 46%. Only those families pregnancy, more racial tension, more white educated women who had never headed by a college graduate saw a rise envy, more despair, and more cynicism married was more dramatic. The impli- a long-term economic and social di- but only a 3% rise. in income cations for anti-poverty strategies were saster." The suggestion was that young fami- significant. Social norms discouraging lies today are more likely to be black or In the spring of 1993, the Center for single motherhood were crumbling Hispanic, and these groups have lower the Study of Social Policy released its across class and ethnic lines. With the average earnings than whites as a func- Kids Count Data Book, an annual pro- exception of Japan, the same trend was tion of lower official educational at- file of American children, Surveying occurring in other industrialized de- tainment and continuing discrimina- child well-being in ten areas of life mocracies. tion. The percentage of young families quality, the report found conditions Poverty-Related Studies by the with children headed by nonwhite par- worsening in six of these areas. The U.S. General Accounting Office ents rose to 35% in 1991 from 23% in data on teen-age youth were particular- (GAO) 1974. Poverty rates, the Fund claimed, ly disturbing. Births to single mothers had risen to 23.8% for children in had grown, as had the percentage of In their 1992 report, Poverty Trends young white families; 43.5% for those children not graduating from high 1980-1988: Changes in Family Com- in Hispanic families; and 57.9% for school and the percentage dying violent position and income Sources Among those in black families. This was attrib- deaths. The arrest rate for violent the Poor, the GAO indicated that the . Evaluation Forum Issue 10 Summer 1994 . 3 10

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