Work, Economy and Organizations Commons^™

Developing The Food Navigator Role At Everyone's Harvest, Chase Rodriguez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Everyone’s Harvest (EH) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that operates farmers’ markets. In order to reduce hunger in Monterey County, Everyone's Harvest offers several food assistance programs for low-income people including the Market Match (MM) incentive program which matches CalFresh money, modern day food stamps, dollar for dollar. The problem is that in Monterey County 1 in 4 adults and 1 in 3 children are food insecure. The purpose of the Food Navigator (FN) at EH is to engage with the local community and connect low-income people with food assistance resources, primarily the MM program. This project was a role development …

The Role Of Relief And Welfare In Milwaukee History, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

Throughout its history Milwaukee has seen shifting and complex interplays among local, state and federal government policies regarding support provided to needy families through work relief and financial aid welfare payments. This paper examines three periods highlighting competing theories for work relief and welfare support that have operated in Milwaukee: (1) the city and county responses to the Great Depression in 1930-1933 with local funding for short-term work relief along with financial and commodities aid to families; (2) the federal government’s commitment for large-scale infrastructure work projects in 1933 – 1941; and (3) the Wisconsin government’s reductions in both work …

Milwaukee Public Schools Universal Driver Education Pilot Project Evaluation Report, Lois M. Quinn, John Pawasarat

ETI Publications

Under the leadership of Superintendent Darienne Driver, Milwaukee Public Schools introduced a bold initiative to address the driver’s licensing needs of MPS students through a Universal Driver Education program. This report describes the pilot project offering free driver education services to 257 students at four high schools in spring and summer of 2016. The project successfully targeted subpopulations identified as most in need of affordable driver education, including youth of color, students living in neighborhoods with high child poverty, and students from families with lower-income. The vast majority (98%) of participants passed the state Division of Motor Vehicle written road …

Research Brief On Eti Driver's License Studies, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

A critical issue facing central city Milwaukee residents is access to jobs -- jobs that are increasingly beyond the Milwaukee County bus lines. The spatial mismatch between available jobs and job seekers is most acute in low-income Milwaukee neighborhoods, where job seekers have outnumbered full-time openings by a gap of seven to one and only a third of unemployed job seekers have a valid driver's license. From 1998-2017 the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Employment and Training Institute conducted extensive employment research on the importance of a driver's license.

The Dmv Class Of 2016: Readiness Of Milwaukee 18-Year-Olds For Employment, Citizenship And Adulthood, Lois M. Quinn, John Pawasarat

ETI Publications

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Employment and Training Institute examined the driver’s license status of Wisconsin youth aged eighteen as of January 1, 2016, using license records from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles. Only 30% of Milwaukee eighteen-year-olds had a driver’s license (probationary or regular), compared to more than twice that rate (66%) for eighteen-year-olds statewide. Stark differences were seen in Wisconsin driver’s licensing rates by race/ethnicity, neighborhood levels of child poverty, and zipcodes with concentrations of “working poor” families. Disparate licensing rates give suburban and exurban youth in the Milwaukee metropolitan area a head start over …

Research Brief On Eti Purchasing Power And Economic Drilldowns, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

To help identify the economic assets of central city neighborhoods and to further employment opportunities for city residents the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Employment and Training Institute prepared summary data on the workforce residing in and employed in each census tract, along with state-of-the-art purchasing power estimates of consumer expenditures and retail sales leakage/surplus by neighborhood. The ETI drill downs were designed to help determine the diversity of the workforce and to further economic development for underserved communities and for underutilized minority populations. Samples of ETI research reports using the drill downs are archived in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Digital Commons …

The Cost Of Poverty: The Perpetuating Cycle Of Concentrated Poverty In New Jersey Cities • A Comprehensive Budgetary Analysis Of Four Urban New Jersey Municipalities, John S. Watson Institute For Public Policy Of Thomas Edison State University, New Jersey Urban Mayors Association, The Anti-Poverty Network Of New Jersey, Fund For New Jersey

Urban Mayors Policy Center

This report examines the problem of concentrated poverty in the State of New Jersey. Both the individual and the long-term economic consequences of concentrated poverty are well- documented in social science research. The report adds to that knowledge by examining the practical, budgetary consequences faced by urban centers that are characterized by high poverty levels. The report focuses on four cities, which are represented in the New Jersey Urban Mayors Association (NJUMA) — Bridgeton, Passaic, Perth Amboy, and Trenton. While these regions vary considerably, they all share one important fact: their poverty rates are double or triple the New Jersey …

Cited In Milwaukee: The Cost Of Unpaid Municipal Citations, John Pawasarat, Marilyn Walzak

ETI Publications

The Employment and Training Institute collaborated on a project with the Justice Initiatives Institute examining Branch A Milwaukee Municipal Court cases from 2008 to 2013 using records obtained from the Milwaukee Municipal Court and the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office and focusing on the population incarcerated for municipal ordinance violations. A majority of those jailed for failure to pay municipal judgments were not employed at the time of booking. Municipal courts often denied Wisconsin residents unable to pay or delinquent in paying court judgments for municipal citations their right to drive for two years -- jeopardizing workers’ employment options and placing …

Issues Related To Wisconsin "Failure To Pay Forfeitures" Driver's License Suspensions, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

This paper examines the compounding problems resulting from court-ordered removal of driving privileges for low-income residents in Milwaukee County and Wisconsin as a “tool” for spurring payments of municipal fines, forfeitures and fees (including charges for violations unrelated to dangerous driving). The analysis is based on data from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, and Branch A of the Milwaukee Municipal Court (i.e., handling municipal cases incarcerated in county jail). Police and court actions taken in Ferguson, Missouri, brought national attention to one suburban municipality’s routine use of traffic stops, arrest warrants, …

12 To 1 Income Inequality Among Working Families In Milwaukee County: Workforce Challenges For 2014, Lois M. Quinn, John Pawasarat

ETI Publications

Critical labor force problems facing Milwaukee County’s “working poor” families are the lack of steady, good paying jobs and the resulting lack of adequate income support for single parents raising children. This report provides analysis of the income earnings of working-age Milwaukee County families utilizing Wisconsin tax records for filers’ 2012 adjusted gross income and compared with prior years. Within the small geographic area of Milwaukee County (i.e., 241 square miles of land), children have access to vastly different economic supports for their housing, food, clothing, health and other basic necessities as well as for educational resources and social opportunities. …

23,639 Milwaukee County Residents With Driver's License Suspensions Solely For Failure To Pay Fines And Civil Forfeitures, John Pawasarat

ETI Publications

Thousands of adults in Milwaukee County have suspensions placed on their driver’s licenses solely for not paying fines and civil forfeitures. Younger teens may be issued license suspensions for failure to pay fines and civil forfeitures even though they have never had a driver’s license. Many teens and adults with suspensions continue to drive with or without a valid license. For this report the driver license status of all Milwaukee County residents was reviewed using state Department of Transportation records on driver’s license status, licenses suspension and revocation records for 2008-2011 in order to assess the driver status facing workers …

Income Changes During The Recession For "Working Poor" Single Parents In Central City Milwaukee, Lois M. Quinn, John Pawasarat

ETI Publications

One of the most critical labor force problems facing Milwaukee’s “working poor” families is the lack of steady, good paying jobs available for single mothers raising children. This report provides an update on the income reported by Milwaukee County family tax filers (with dependents) and analyzes Wisconsin tax records for family filers’ 2011 income in 9 central city Milwaukee zipcodes compared with prior years before the recession. Census data on occupations of Milwaukee County single mothers with preschool and school age children are examined to help explain the low and intermittent earnings of many family heads. The Wisconsin earned income …

Suspension And Revocation Status Report For Milwaukee County, John Pawasarat

ETI Publications

Driver’s license suspension and revocation records were analyzed for Milwaukee County residents using a series of data files from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Notable changes were observed in number and patterns of charges. The elimination of mandatory revocations for OAR (operating after revocation) charges, a policy reform initiated by the Center for Driver’s License Recovery & Employability, reduced the number of OAR revocations from 10,124 in 2009 to 64 in 2011. The legislative reforms also led to a very large reduction in revocations for OWS (operating while suspended), which dropped from 5,815 revocations issued in 2009 down to 130 …

Inner City Milwaukee Single Parents Continue Working During Recession, Earnings Remain Low, University Of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Employment & Training Institute

ETI Publications

As part of an ongoing research project, the Employment and Training Institute compared Wisconsin state income tax data for 2007 and 2009 for nine inner city Milwaukee ZIP codes, neighborhoods hard hit by the recession. In spite of the difficult economy, most inner city single Milwaukee parents remained in the workforce. The filing data showed only a 1% decline in earners in 2009 compared to two years earlier in spite of record high unemployment. A majority of the single parents earned less than $20,000 in 2009, and a fourth earned less than $10,000. The low earnings suggest workers with high …

Earned Income Tax Credits To 66,000 Employed Families In Milwaukee County During The Economic Recession, Lois M. Quinn, John Pawasarat

ETI Publications

An examination by the Employment and Training Institute of state earned income tax credits received by families in Milwaukee County based on their 2009 tax returns showed the usage of the credits by working families during the recession. Wisconsin Department of Revenue data are analyzed for tax filers with dependent children who received the Wisconsin earned income tax credit. This credit offers a refundable federal tax support to help reduce payroll and social security tax burdens and to supplement wages for low and moderate income employed families and single persons. Wisconsin is one of 23 states with an earned income …

Working Paper On Poverty And The Recession, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

This working paper analyzes recently released estimates of poverty and economic conditions data from the U.S. Census Bureau 2009 American Community Survey. These data are used along with local and state administrative data files to help residents and public officials address concerns related to poverty, employment and education for residents of Milwaukee and the state. Poverty is a most serious statewide problem with 1 out of 8 Wisconsin residents living in poverty, according to the 2009 ACS. In Milwaukee 1 in 4 residents was living in poverty in the 12 months prior to the ACS survey. In Racine, Eau Claire …

Assessment Of 2007 Client Outcomes For The Center For Driver's License Recovery & Employability, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

In 2007 the Center for Driver’s License Recovery & Employability (CDLRE) began providing assistance on a referral basis to Milwaukee County residents with suspended and revoked driver’s licenses. The Center operates out of the Milwaukee Area Technical College downtown campus, with residents referred to the CDLRE by a network of over 25 community agencies, courts, and government offices. The CDLRE contracted with the Employment and Training Institute to provide an independent assessment of the client outcomes for the period from April through December 2007. The CDLRE successfully targeted a very high risk population. All 454 clients completing service in 2007 …

Report Card On African American And Minority Participation In Construction Trade Apprenticeships In The Milwaukee Area, Lois M. Quinn, Ruth Zubrensky

ETI Publications

This report provides racial/ethnicity and gender data on apprentices by construction trade joint apprenticeship committee, based on data provided by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards as of September 20, 2007. The report was prepared collaboratively by the Employment and Training Institute and the Milwaukee Branch of the NAACP. It examines apprenticeship data for the following trades: bricklayers, carpenters, cement masons, construction craft laborers, electricians, glazers, heat and frost insulators, ironworkers, operating engineers, painters, plumbers, roofers, sheet metal workers, sprinkler fitters, steamfitters, and tile setters.

Use Of Refund Anticipation Loans By Earned Income Tax Credit Filers In Central City Milwaukee Neighborhoods, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

This report, prepared by the Employment and Training Institute in cooperation with The Brookings Institution, reviews the use of rapid refund anticipation loans by zipcode area in central city Milwaukee neighborhoods. The analysis utilizes year 2000 income tax data files obtained by Brookings staff from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Nine central city Milwaukee zipcodes in the heart of the Community Development Block Grant neighborhoods were analyzed, as well as other predominantly City of Milwaukee zipcodes and predominantly suburban zipcodes in Milwaukee County. “Rapid refund loans” are similar to "payday loans." Companies advance money based on the worker's anticipated income …

The Child Care Costs Of Engaging The Welfare Population In Work: The Milwaukee Experience, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

Beginning in 1996 Wisconsin initiated a strict work test program in Milwaukee County for public assistance, which was designed to engage the AFDC population, including mothers with very young children, in employment or work-related activities. The initiative required substantial day care capacity building in the City of Milwaukee and made use of record levels of federal and state appropriations for child care subsidies. Wisconsin has now had over five years of experience requiring work activities for mothers of preschoolers and utilizing federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) monies for child care support …

Child Care For The Working Poor: The Milwaukee Experience, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

In Wisconsin the state government administers the child care subsidy program and allocates federal funds earmarked to improve the quality and availability of child care services. The county government is charged with determining eligibility of families for the subsidy program, conducting local private market child care rate surveys, and administering payments to providers. Portions of this research study were conducted to assist Milwaukee County in administering the subsidy program and to provide data on rate increases and vendor charges. The Milwaukee experience offers an important urban case study in the implementation of policies now guiding child care support under the …

Increasing Child Care Rates And The Rate Setting Process Under The Wisconsin Shares Program, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

The Wisconsin Shares program provides financial payments to child care vendors serving lower-income families in the state. The subsidy program was created in 1995 to aid eligible families needing child care help in order to work. This technical assistance paper was requested by Milwaukee County to examine the increases in child care rates and costs of the subsidy program. The report explores the rate structures used to pay providers for subsidized child care from 1995 to 2002 and reviews five years of administrative data files on child care subsidy payments to help identify policy and administrative issues relating to operation …

Replacing Rhetoric With Data: Employment And Earnings Of Single Mothers Leaving Welfare In Wisconsin, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

This paper, one of a series of studies exploring employment myths and realities surrounding welfare reform initiatives, examines job availability and the experience of single mothers in Milwaukee County who have received Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). The analysis is informed by several unique data sources available to researchers at the Employment and Training Institute of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: (1) semi-annual surveys of thousands of employers in the Milwaukee metro area identifying available jobs, their pay level, location and education and training prerequisites; (2) surveys of central city Milwaukee families regarding their search for employment, barriers faced, …

Project Get Started: Comprehensive Assessment Of 1,551 Mothers With Infants On Afdc, A Project Of Milwaukee Area Technical College (1997), Francine Triplett, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

This project conducted by Milwaukee Area Technical College provides an in-depth analysis of the new populations of mothers (with children ages three to twelve months of age) that Wisconsin is now requiring to secure and hold employment as a condition of their receipt of public assistance under Wisconsin welfare policies eliminating AFDC. In all, 1,551 mothers participated in the assessment program. The three to four hour orientation and assessment process included a group session which detailed the upcoming changes in “W-2” (Wisconsin’s new system), child support policies, rights and responsibilities, followed by reading and math tests and in-depth interviews by …

Persistence Of Poverty Across Generations: A Comparison Of Anglos, Blacks, And Latinos, Anna M. Santiago, Yolanda C. Padilla

New England Journal of Public Policy

Utilizing data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this study examines the impact of children's growing up in poverty on the probability of their remaining in poverty during young adulthood. The primary goals of the research are to examine racial, ethnic, and gender differences in patterns of persistent poverty and to identify predictors of poverty status in young adulthood. The results suggest that both women, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or adolescent poverty status, and black men who grew up in poverty are more likely to be poor as young adults than Anglo men. Logistic regression analyses reveal that …

Analysis Of Milwaukee County Jtpa Title Iia Participants: 1988-1994, John Pawasarat

ETI Publications

The Employment and Training Institute has worked with the Private Industry Council (PIC) of Milwaukee County to prepare analysis of JTPA Title IIA participant outcomes over time. This report analyzes data on all JTPA Title IIA participants in Milwaukee County for a seven-year period and tracks their wage history using the employee wage records retrieved from the Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations for First Quarter 1988 through Second Quarter 1994. The PIC has served increasingly difficult populations in the Title IIA JTPA programs, including long-term AFDC recipients (up from 16 percent of clients in CY 1988 to 25 …

The Structure Of A Community Action Agency For A Democratic Process, William Tom Buzbee

OBU Graduate Theses

For several years because of change or the lack of change, an increasing number of the population of the United States have been the ranks of the poor. The Community Action Program was designed to give a voice to the poor. Due to the fact that Community Action Agencies were new, their function and objective may not have been understood.

This study has been concerned with the problem of poverty in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, and the efforts of the Lincoln Total Community Action Agency, Inc., organized under provisions of the 1964 Economic Opportunity Act passed by the United States Congress, …