Employment and training for America's homeless

This document is a how-to guide to help employment and training agencies tailor their delivery systems to be more effective in training, placing, and retaining homeless individuals in gainful employment. The guide is written from the perspective of an employment and training agency and based largely on the experiences of 63 organizations from across the United States that provided comprehensive services for homeless individuals and their families under the Job Training for the Homeless Demonstration Program (jthdp). Chapter 1 is an introduction that examines the problem of homelessness in the United States and a comprehensive model for providing services needed to break the cycle of homelessness. Chapters 2-5 discuss the following topics: initial services (recruitment, intake, assessment, case management); the road to self-supporting employment (basic skills training, occupational skills training); services to help clients get and keep a job (job search, development, and placement services and postplacement services); and the final ingredients in maintaining employment (housing services, other support services). Chapters 2-5 focus on the challenges of and strategies for providing the services discussed. Appended are the following: overview of the Job Training for the Homeless Demonstration Program; materials from a jthdp job search workshop; and example jthdp housing assistance plan. (Mn).