Campaign for Self Sufficiency and the Alternative Work Experience Program

As Assistant Director of the Institute for the Study of Civic Values, Jo Anne developed an innovative welfare to work program called the Alternative Work Experience Program (AWEP) for welfare recipients mandated to provide community service in exchange for benefits.  The program combined a weekly educational seminar and case management with work experience in nonprofits related to participants’ career goals.  When appropriate, participants were also encouraged to enroll in adult education, ranging from adult basic education, to skills training, and college courses.  The program offered connections between education and work experience similar to college internships, leading to much higher job placement in work that led to advancement than other work experience programs.  The model was replicated by other agencies.

At the same time, she worked with a coalition of Philadelphia area training providers, adult basic education providers, advocacy organizations, and local government to develop applied research on the relationship between skills training for low income people and work.  The research resulted in improvements to both training programs and advocacy.  The coalition published op-eds written by AWEP participants, held hearings, testified at Pennsylvania Commonwealth hearings on welfare reform and succeeded in changing the Pennsylvania TANF plan.