United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1998-05-29 monographic deposited born digital 27 p. GA 1.13:RCED-98-161 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-98-161 P0b002ee18039ec71 f:rc98161 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-RCED-98-161 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-98-161 RCED-98-161 Transportation research Public assistance programs Interagency relations Welfare recipients Disadvantaged persons Mass transit operations Workfare HUD Bridges to Work Program DOT Access to Jobs Program AFDC Aid to Families with Dependent Children Program Letter Report RCED Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed: (1) whether current studies and research demonstrate the importance of transportation services in implementing welfare reform; (2) the preliminary results of the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) current welfare-to-work programs and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Bridges to Work program; and (3) how an Access to Jobs program would support welfare reform.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) transportation and welfare studies show that without adequate transportation, welfare recipients face significant barriers in trying to move from welfare to work; (2) existing public transportation systems cannot always bridge the gap between where the poor live and where jobs are located; (3) the majority of entry-level jobs that the welfare recipients and the poor would be likely to fill are located in suburbs that have limited or no accessibility through existing public transportation systems; (4) FTA has funded welfare-to-work demonstration projects, planning grants, and regional seminars, while HUD's Bridges to Work research program is in the early stages of placing inner-city participants in suburban jobs; (5) although these programs began recently and have limited funding, they have identified programmatic and demographic factors that state and local officials should consider when they select the best transportation strategies for their welfare-to-work programs; (6) these factors include: (a) collaboration among transportation providers and employment and human services organizations; (b) analyses of local labor markets to help design transportation strategies that link employees to specific jobs; and (c) flexible transportation strategies that may not always rely on existing mass transit systems; (7) if authorized, an Access to Jobs program would bring additional resources and attention to the transportation element of welfare reform; (8) however, limited information about the program's objectives or expected outcomes makes it difficult to evaluate how the program would improve mobility for low-income workers or support national welfare-to-work goals; (9) the new program may require FTA and local transit agencies to undergo a cultural change whereby they are willing to accept nontraditional approaches for addressing welfare-to-work barriers; (10) the agency must ensure that the millions of dollars it contributes to welfare reform support rather than duplicate the transportation funds provided through other federal and state agencies; and (11) while FTA has begun to consider some of these important issues, addressing all of them before the program is established would help ensure that the transportation funds provided for an Access to Jobs program would be used efficiently and effectively in support of national welfare goals. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-98-161/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-98-161.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-98-161/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-98-161.pdf GAO/RCED-98-161 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-98-161 Letter Report GAO/RCED-98-161; Welfare Reform: Transportation's Role in Moving From Welfare To Work; Transportation research Public assistance programs Interagency relations Welfare recipients Disadvantaged persons Mass transit operations Workfare HUD Bridges to Work Program DOT Access to Jobs Program AFDC Aid to Families with Dependent Children Program Public Law 104-193