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Head Start: Helping Families Move from Welfare to Work
By Helen Blank, Belva Finlay, Nicole Oxendine Poersch
May 01, 1998

Summary: This report describes some of the ways in which Head Start agencies are helping to set parents on the path to self-sufficiency. The report is intended to illustrate the variety of initiatives that are underway and to highlight the important work all Head Start agencies are doing to support parents as they move from welfare to work. The descriptions are based on informal telephone interviews with selected Head Start agencies, which indicated that Head Start agencies are undertaking a wide range of activities to help parents enter the work force, including educating parents about the new welfare law; offering adults education, computer training, pre-employment training, job shadowing and internships; providing job placement services and support groups; and even helping parents obtain small business loans. The report details the following types of initiatives: (1) "Helping Parents Get Started through Adult Education"; (2) "Helping Parents Progress to Internships and Job Shadowing"; (3) "Offering Peer Support and Intensive Help for Hard-to-Serve Families"; (4) "Working with Private Partners To Help Parents Find and Keep Jobs"; (5) "Helping Parents through Loan Programs"; (6) "Building Community Collaborations"; (7) Collaborating at the State Level"; and (8) "Offering Extended-Day Services to Working Families." A list of contacts of Head Start Programs featured concludes the report.

Index Terms: Agency Role, Nontraditional Hours, Welfare Reform, Adult Education, Community Resources, Extended Hours, Loan Programs, Mentors, On Site Training, Partnerships, State Initiatives, State Role, Head Start

Publisher: Children's Defense Fund

Publication Type: Reports (Descriptive)

Pages: 24 pages
Language: English

ERIC Number: ED426794

Availability
Children's Defense Fund
25 E Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
202-628-8787
202-662-3560 Fax
http://www.childrensdefense.org/


Availability from EDRS: This item is available from EDRS: http://www.edrs.com/default.cfm

 
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