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PROJECT SUMMARY <br /> <br />a) <br /> <br />b) <br /> <br />The Problem: Congress enacted the Family Support Act of 1988, or <br />"Welfare Reform", in an attempt to reshape the approach to the financial <br />support of families which rely on public assistance. In July 1991, one <br />aspect of this legislation, the JOBS Program, began in Cabarrus County, <br />North Carolina. It took a new direction in welfare reform, by helping <br />recipients become self-sufficient and better able to support their <br />families. However, this program didn't provide these same services to <br />absent parent fathers who needed to support their children. If welfare <br />reform is to truly work, this must happen. Over one-fifth of all children <br />are now living in single-parent families, and these single parent families <br />are at least three times as likely to be poor. Because of this, the need <br />to secure child support payments from "dead beat dads" has become a major <br />social problem. <br /> <br />Late in 1991, our local Social Services Board expressed concern over our <br />not being able to serve the men who were the absent fathers of the <br />children of our JOBS partioipants. They felt that if we could reach these <br />males and assist them in becoming self-supporting, we could better reduce <br />the number of families which are dependent and rely on welfare payments. <br />The statistics supported this, as there are currently 4,386 absent parents <br />in Cabarrus County in the child support system. Of this number, 3,079 or <br />70% are fathers of children who are receiving AFDC. The problem exists <br />statewide. Of the 374,106 absent parents, 239,130 or 64% have children <br />receiving AFDC. <br /> <br />The Solution: The Jobs for Dads Program was well planned with a <br />proposed budget prior to being presented to the Centralina Private <br />Industry Council (PIC) in 1992. The Counoil consists of members from the <br />public and private sector, and its primary responsibility is to serve as a <br />clearing house for the delivery of programs mandated by federal and state <br />laws and regulations. It provides policy direction for the job training <br />staff of the Council of Governments, in order for them to accomplish their <br />objectives which consist of contract negotiation and development, program <br />evaluation, oversight, monitoring, and technical assistance. <br /> <br />When presented to the PIC on December 4, 1992, the Jobs for Dads <br />Program received overwhelming approval as a potentially successful and <br />innovative program. The objectives of Jobs for Dads were quite simple and <br />straightforward. These men needed to be educated, trained in a skill, and <br />assisted in locating gainful employment which could enhance their ability <br />to pay child support. If this were accomplished, the potential for a <br />reduction of the AFDC population could be substantial. To add to this, <br />there could be additional benefits. With training and employment, the <br />self-esteem of these men could improve. They could become more positive <br />role models for their children. Children, by seeing their parents taking <br />responsibility for them, could develop stronger self-esteem and more <br />positive values. <br /> <br />When it was implemented, it was anticipated that this population would be <br />similar to the JOBS clients and the same methods and procedures would be <br /> <br /> <br />