Department of Labor

Welfare Reform: Assessing Education and Training Needs of TANF Recipients (Follow-Up Review)

As a result of welfare reform legislation, most public assistance recipients must seek employment or engage in activities that can lead to employment, such as formal education or job training. As part of the process of placing public assistance recipients in work-related activities, local social services districts are required to assess the skills, work experience and employability of the recipients. However, in our prior audit report 99-J-1, we found that employability assessments often were not completed by the districts, and many of the assessments that were completed were not done in a timely manner or did not include an assessment of such critical skills as the recipient’s literacy. We also found indications that recipients’ skills and prior experiences were not adequately taken into account during job placements, and significant barriers to employment may not have been identified and addressed through education and training. As a result, even if the recipients were initially able to be placed in jobs, they may have been less likely to maintain economic self-sufficiency and more likely to remain on or return to public assistance.

In our follow-review, we found that some action had been taken to implement the recommendations contained in our prior report. However, most of the recommendations had not been fully implemented, and some recommendations had not been implemented at all.

For a complete copy of Report 2001-F-64 click here.
For a copy of the 90-day response click here.