The program provided information about and simplified access to financial work supports, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and child care subsidies. Retention and advancement services included career coaching and access to training and education to stabilize participants’ employment and help them find better-paying jobs. The program helped participants secure funding for training and education costs through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and other training funds.

Participants started the program with a four-day preemployment, life-skills class focusing on job-readiness issues, such as workplace behavior, job search skills, and decision making. The program then placed participants in transitional jobs at New York City agencies. Participants worked in these transitional jobs for four days a week at the state minimum wage and were paid at the end of each day. On the fifth day of each week, participants met with job coaches at the CEO office to discuss their performance at the transitional job and prepare for future interviews.

The TWC’s transitional jobs program began with a two-week orientation, and from 2004 to 2007, the TWC paid participants a stipend of $25 for each day of orientation that they attended. The TWC staff then used information from interest assessments and other orientation tools to place participants in a transitional, subsidized job where the TWC paid them minimum wage. The TWC also trained on-site partners to mentor participants in the workplace. Participants worked at those jobs for 25 hours per week for up to six months.

Six employment and training organizations implemented the Fathers at Work Initiative. All sites offered three strategies: employment services, fatherhood workshops, and child support services. Each site had flexibility to determine how services were provided and diverged in how they provided skills training, the intensity of available fatherhood services, and the way they worked with child support agencies.

PFS was one of the demonstration projects made possible by Section 1115 waivers to the rules in effect at the time for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. These Section 1115 waivers allowed states to test new approaches to advance the objectives of the AFDC program.

JVS-Boston developed its medical billing and accounting training programs with input from employers who served on advisory committees. Potential participants were interviewed to confirm that they would benefit from the training program based on their interests, abilities, and qualifications. Participants received a certificate of completion at the end of the program. Training participants were also offered other services available at JVS-Boston, including a four- to six-week internship and training on job-readiness skills.

The TWC’s transitional jobs program began with a two-week orientation, and from 2004 to 2007, the TWC paid participants a stipend of $25 for each day of orientation that they attended. The TWC staff then used information from interest assessments and other orientation tools to place participants in a transitional, subsidized job where the TWC paid them minimum wage. The TWC also trained on-site partners to mentor participants in the workplace. Participants worked at those jobs for 25 hours per week for up to six months.

Traditional Case Management participants worked with one case manager to improve educational and vocational skills and with a separate income maintenance case manager to determine their welfare eligibility and payment issuance. Participants who did not have a high school diploma or general education diploma were assigned to basic education classes; participants with basic education credentials were assigned to vocational training, postsecondary education, or work experience. Case managers provided job search assistance after they determined that participants were employable.

Businesses had to propose the training type and expected benefit of the program to receive a grant. Depending on the business, the trainings could range from 12 weeks to one year. The trainings included on-the-job training to improve employees’ productive work skills and education skills, such as reading, math, and English as a second language.