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Employment

A few examples of state and local job creation programs are listed below:

Community Jobs Program - Washington
Community Jobs is the job creation component of Washington's welfare reform program. Community Jobs establishes worksites at local non-profit, educational and governmental organizations. Program participants work 20 hours/week, are paid the hourly minimum wage, and are placed in a specific job for up to nine months. Sixty-six percent of participants find unsubsidized employment after leaving the program and the overall annual median earned income is 18 percent higher than that of other Washington welfare recipients.

First Source Hiring Ordinance - San Francisco
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted the First Source Hiring Program in 1998. First Source permits the City of San Francisco to refer economically disadvantaged workers (including welfare recipients) to new jobs created by private and not-for-profit companies that contract with the City. Contractors provide First Source with projections of future employment needs and the program provides employment training and refers potential employees. The program has referred roughly 200 economically disadvantaged individuals over the past two years. About 25 percent of the referrals resulted in hiring and the average hourly wage is between $9 and $10 per hour.
(Boston, Berkeley, and Oakland have implemented similar initiatives, although these programs are not specifically focused on welfare recipients. Further, San Francisco requires economic development projects that contract with the city to take First Source referrals for both construction and end-use building projects.)

Job Creation Programs - Hawaii
Using microenterprise incentives as a job creation strategy, the Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council created Beekeeping and Incubator Kitchen programs. The programs provide training and technical assistance to TANF recipients so they can become self-sufficient and self-employed. Training includes record keeping, budget/time management, and the principles of working with banks. Both of these projects are driven by the needs of the local market and demand for job development. Twenty participants initially enrolled in the Beekeeping program and all but one completed the program. Both of these programs operate with Community Services Block Grant funds and clients are expected to cover their own operating costs in just over one year.

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