Employment and Training for America's Homeless: Report on the Job Training for the Homeless Demonstration Program

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Employment and Training for America's Homeless: Report on the Job Training for the Homeless Demonstration Program

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Issue
1994

Publication Info

This report presents the results to date of the Job Training for the Homeless Demonstration Program (JTHDP) and assesses its implications for providing effective employment and training services for homeless persons in the United States. As specified in the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, the evaluation of the demonstration presents data and includes an assessment of: - The number of homeless individuals served; - The number of homeless individuals placed in jobs; - The average length of training time under the project; - The average training cost under the project; and - The average retention rate of placements of homeless individuals after training. To that end, this report is intended to address four major questions: - Who does JTHDP serve? - How does it serve these participants? - What are the outcomes for participants and costs related to serving these participants? - What lessons have been learned about providing job training services for homeless individuals and what should be dome in the future to better serve this population? The principle findings of the report are as follows: - Employment and training programs can successfully serve a wide spectrum of the homeless; - A small percentage of the U.S. homeless population are currently being served by DOL employment and training programs; - A wide variety of public and private agencies can successfully establish and operate employment and training programs for homeless persons; - Employment and training programs for homeless persons must offer a wide array of services (including housing services), often requiring linkages with other service providers; - Employment and training programs serving homeless individuals require comprehensive assessment and ongoing case management; - Employment and training programs for homeless persons need to provide short-term job search/placement services; - Long-term follow-up and support is needed to effectively serve homeless persons; - JTHDP suggests that about one-third of homeless participants in a mature national employment and training program would be likely to secure jobs, and nearly half of those securing jobs would be likely to be employed 13 weeks later; - JTHDP suggests about 40 percent of homeless participants in a mature national employment and training program would be likely to upgrade their housing and about one-fourth would secure permanent housing; and - Average training and placement costs for employment and training programs for the homeless are likely to vary substantially across sties depending upon the types of participants served and types of training provided.