Where are public job creation programs being developed today?
Increasing numbers of states, counties, and cities are operating, planning, or considering public job creation programs as part of their welfare reform efforts. Washington state and Vermont have state programs in place and already have created hundreds of wage-paying jobs for longer-term and harder-to-employ welfare recipients. Philadelphia and Detroit recently launched new public job creation initiatives following negotiations with state officials regarding the use of TANF and/or welfare-to-work grant funds, while Baltimore, Indianapolis, and San Francisco are finalizing plans for new programs that will begin in early 1999. Other cities in which discussions regarding public job creation strategies now are underway include Chicago, Memphis, Muskegon (Michigan), Oakland, Rochester, and Sacramento.
