Executive Summary
This report highlights the work of more than 80 community organizations
working together in a collaborative effort known as the Austin/Travis
County Welfare-to-Work Coalition. The Coalition’s primary
goal is to move welfare recipients into jobs and to provide them with training
and supportive services necessary to keep them employed and moving towards
better jobs leading ultimately to self-sufficiency. To meet this goal,
the Coalition is creating a system of support and opportunities
to help people transition off welfare benefits and secure sustainable employment.
All sectors of the community are engaged in the initiative. Membership
includes health and human service agencies, educational institutions, private
businesses, public housing authorities, communities of faith and nonprofit
organizations. Mayor Kirk Watson serves as Chairman of the Coalition.
This report contains seven sections.
Section
I provides background on the history and mission of the Coalition.
This section also describes the structure of the collaborative effort;
the "continuum of service" approach philosophy used by the Coalition;
and the welfare-to-work grants being pursued to help fund the effort.
Section II highlights the economic climate in Austin/Travis County. Despite massive
economic growth, many residents still live in poverty. It notes how the
present economic conditions present a remarkable opportunity for employers
to connect with the welfare-to-work population in order to fill job vacancies.
Section III profiles
the welfare population in Austin/Travis County using data from the Texas
Department of Human Services.
Section IV contains
a description and model of the Welfare-to-Work Coalition’s Self-Sufficiency Model. The model presents the major issue areas
and needs that must be addressed for individuals to move successfully from
public assistance to self-sufficiency.
Section V identifies
population characteristics and needs using the Welfare-to-Work Need
Matrices for three main issue areas: workforce
development, supportive services and subsistence
requirements.
Section VI contains the Welfare-to-Work Planning Matrices for
each issue category in the Self-Sufficiency Model. The planning matrices
contain challenges, strategies, action plans and organizations involved
in each category.
Section VII notes that the most challenging work still lies ahead of
the Coalition. In the next several months, the Coalition must improve upon these initial plans, provide service costs for specific
action plans and identify responsible organizations to make welfare-to-work
a reality.
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