National Institute for Literacy

Policy Update

REPORT FROM WASHINGTON, D.C.

Department of Labor Announces New Welfare-to-Work Grants

- December 10, 1997 -

In order to help welfare recipients turn “welfare checks into paychecks” the Department of Labor will award $1.5 billion in new welfare-to-work grants next year, according to Labor Secretary Alexis Herman. The funds will be distributed as (1) formula grants to states, and (2) competitive grants to local communities. Some of the funds could be awarded to adult education and literacy programs that are helping welfare recipients gain a secure foothold in the workforce.

Formula Grants to States

Nearly $1.2 billion will be allocated to state governments according to a formula based on the number of people living in poverty and receiving public assistance in the state. For information on how these funds will be spent in your state, contact your Department of Labor Regional Office. (See last page for contact information and an estimate of the grant amount for your state.)

Grants can be used for the following purposes:

creating and subsidizing jobs for welfare recipients
on-the-job training
job placement
support services that help people keep their jobs
contracts with public or private providers of job readiness, job placement, and post-employment services
community service or work experience

Competitive Grants to Local Communities

Community-based adult education and literacy programs will, as of mid-December, be able to apply to the Department of Labor for a total of $400 million in competitive grants, and must apply in conjunction with a Private Industry Council or local government. Applications from cities with large concentrations of poverty and rural areas will be given special consideration. Applications should achieve one or more of the following objectives:

Expanding the base of knowledge about programs that move the least job-ready welfare recipients into unsubsidized employment
Moving welfare recipients who are least job-ready into unsubsidized employment, including areas where there is a shortage of low skilled jobs

While initial grant guidelines (called the “Interim Final Rule”) do not specifically mention adult education and literacy, basic skills instruction could be included as a tool that helps former welfare recipients keep -- and advance -- in a job. Or, if the literacy field makes a persuasive case between now and January 16 for adding adult education and literacy to the Department of Labor during the “comment period,” now underway it is possible that literacy instruction could be specified as an allowable activity. (To review the Interim Final Rule and send comments on it electronically go to: http:///www.doleta.gov, or see the November 18, 1997 Federal Register.)

The Department of Labor will publish further information and application materials in the Federal Register in mid-December. Applications will be due 60 days from the date of publication, and grants will be awarded in the Spring of 1998. The Department of Labor will provide an additional $1.5 million in welfare-to-work grants in fiscal year 1999.

For more information, call the Department of Labor’s Welfare-to-Work Office at 202-219-0181 or see http://wtw.doleta.gov.

Additional Resources

The following resources are free through the National Institute for Literacy Hotline and Clearinghouse: 1-800-228-8813.

“Adult Education and Welfare to Work Initiatives: A Review of Research, Practice and Policy,” by Deborah D’Amico, Ph.D., 1996-97 Literacy Leader Fellow.
Results of a national survey on how literacy training can be a critical element in making welfare reform a success for all (available in early 1998).

videotape format.

Welfare-to-Work State Formula Grants Estimates for FY 1998

AL - $13,946,266
Alaska - 2,860,290
Arizona - 17,486,853
Arkansas - 8,440,819
CA - 189,158,618
Colorado - 9,925,558
CT - 11,741,584
DE - 2,761,875
DC - 4,573,557
Florida - 51,399,886
GA - 28,951,503
Hawaii - 4,827,072

Idaho - 2,821,590
IL - 48,626,791
IN - 14,740,941
Iowa - 8,275,164
Kansas - 6,753,540
Ohio - 43,859,618
OK - 11,838,761
Oregon - 8,789,018
PA - 44,527,566
RI - 4,348,845
SC - 12,148,469
SD - 2,761,875

TN - 22,350,941
Texas - 75,625,133
Utah - 4,670,433
Vermont - 2,761,875
Virginia - 16,725,507
WA - 22,458,358
WV - 9,786,496
WI - 13,284,419
WY - 2,761,875
P. Rico - 34,403,919
Virgin Isl. - 550,548
Guam - 595,690

Department of Labor Regional Offices

Region 1 - CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT
Contact: Raymond Poet
Phone: 617-565-2243

Region 2 - NJ, NY, PR, VI
Contact: Walter Harris
Phone: 212-337-2139

Region 3 - DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV
Contact: Sharon Wellons
Phone: 215-596-6403

Region 4 - AL, FL, GA, KY, MS,
NC, SC, TN
Contact: Larry Mims
Phone: 404-562-2109

Region 5 - IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI
Contact: Lisa Rosendale
Phone: 312-353-1937
Region 6 - AR, LA, NM, OK, TX
Contact: Felecia Blair
Phone: 214-767-2154

Region 6 - AR, LA, NM, OK, TX
Contact: Felecia Blair
Phone: 214-767-2154

Region 7 - IA, KS, MO, NE
Contact: Richard Chavez
Phone: 816-426-3796

Region 8 - CO, MT, ND, SD,
UT, WY
Contact: Maxine Bradley
Phone: 303-844-1668, ext. 221

Region 9 - AZ, CA, HI, NV
Contact: Martha Norman
Phone: 415-975-4656

Region 10 - AK, ID, OR, WA
Contact: Ed Leslie
Phone: 206-553-4386, ext. 8021

Source: U. S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration