ABSTRACT
The Manhattan Institute and America Works will work to publicize the results through conferences and briefings of legislators in states and in Washington. Because America Works was the first organization to deliver welfare-to-work services as a for-profit enterprise—an unpleasant combination for some—it was incumbent on the people to display real success and taxpayer accountability. Performance-based contracting forces accountability. On-the-job training money has also been available for decades from the federal and some state governments. America Works has discovered that the best route to encouraging hiring is not tax credits but wage supplementation. A successful program needs a professional, businesslike approach based on mutual respect. Most employment programs for the disadvantaged operate with a dump-them-and-run attitude. The goal is placement. Perhaps the major changes in our programs based on our own and others' assessments were to reduce education and training, and replace work-first as the first strike in getting people off dependency.
