From Welfare to Work: Corporate Initiatives and Welfare Reform

From Welfare to Work focuses on the challenge of moving welfare recipients from welfare roles to working roles. It offers a detailed, in-depth analysis of how private corporations and industries can become effective partners with government in training and hiring welfare recipients for permanent positions. The core of the text offers a compelling success story using a case example of how Pennsylvania Blue Shield trained, hired, and retained several hundred welfare recipients on its work force. It proved to be an innovative training and employment program: the corporation benefited from the participants new skills and loyalty, and society benefited as welfare costs were cut. Moreover, Pennsylvania Blue Shield has increased its pool of workers while making a contribution to both its community and society, proving that, with appropriate assistance from the government, private industry can make a difference. Ideal for students of social policy and business ethics, From Welfare to Work presents a broad discussion of welfare reform, public policy, and corporate social responsibility. It offers a practical explanation of the specific steps needed to establish a welfare to work program, including corporate tax incentives, business and government collaborations, and the special needs of welfare recipients. Demonstrating that it is possible for corporate America to combine bottom-line goals with socially responsible goals, this text is essential reading for all corporate executives who combine concern for the well-being of their companies with a sense of social responsibility. It is also fundamental reading for all legislators on the federal and state levels, as it calls attention to the essential role of the public sector in making possible the involvement of the private sector.

"Contains a good synthesis of issues and past program successes and failures."--Irene R. Bush, School of Social Work, Rutgers University

"Perlmutter details a positive example of private-public sector collaboration relevant to welfare reform. She helps us to identify the circumstances conducive for private companies to do "good by doing well" by employing former welfare recipients."--Thomas W. Dunfee, Kolodny Professor of Social Responsibility, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

"Today a company's success should not be judged entirely on its profit margins, but also by its community initiatives. Dynamic companies in the 1990s are being led by executives who combine concern for the well-being of their company with a sense of social responsibility. Nowhere is this more evident than at Pennsylvania Blue Shield. From Welfare to Work details the extraordinary program designed to train and hire women making the journey from welfare to work. The Pennsylvania Blue Shield experience, as detailed by Temple University expert Felice Davidson Perlmutter, reveals that cooperation between public and private sectors can provide support for the needs of society while serving the interests of fiscally responsible corporations. All corporate executives should pay especially careful attention to the book's final chapter, and learn to apply Pennsylvania Blue Shield's strategy in achieving this goal." --Charles P. Pizzi, President,Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce

Using a case example of how Pennsylvania Blue Shield trained, hired, and retained several hundred welfare recipients on its work force, From Welfare to Work offers a compelling success story and a broad discussion of welfare reform, public policy, and corporate social responsibility. It also offers a practical explanation of the specific steps needed to establish such a program, including corporate tax incentives, business and government collaborations, and the special needs of welfare recipients. Demonstrating that it is possible for corporate America to combine bottom-line goals with socially responsible goals, this book is essential reading for all corporate executives who combine concern for the well-being of their companies with a sense of social responsibility.

Felice Davidson Perlmutter is a Professor of Social Administration at Temple University. She is the author of seven books and 70 articles on social administration, social policy, and nonprofit organizations. As a Fulbright Scholar, Perlmutter has extensive international experience as a teacher, consultant, and researcher.

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

I. Background

1. From Welfare to Work

2. Doing Good While Doing Well

3. How One Corporation Got Involved

II. Training

4. Planning for Success

5. The Importance of Staff

6. A Win-Win Game

7. Trainee Perspectives

III. Employment

8. Integrating the New Workers

9. Perceptions of the Trainees as Corporate Employees

IV. Toward the Twenty-First Century

10. Where Do We Go From Here?

Index