Brief: Conference looks at welfare and jobs

The second informational conference on welfare reform - - will address how,
if at all, jobs and job benefits can be developed so that employment can be
a permanent solution to poverty and welfare dependency.

The conference - sponsored by the UI School of Social Work, Institute of
Government and Public Affairs, Office of Continuing Education, and the
Western Illinois University Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs - was
developed in response to suggestions from participants at the spring
program.

"The Role of Employment in Welfare Reform: What Works?" will focus on
"welfare to work" programs in Illinois, Wisconsin, Oregon and around the
country in an attempt to identify the strategies that work and those that
don't.

The conference - scheduled for Oct. 31 at the Capitol in Springfield - will
provide participants with current information on the trends in jobs in the
United States and Illinois - unskilled vs. skilled and professional - and
the demand vs. supply of unskilled workers. Speakers and panelists also
will examine the challenges of creating career-path jobs, and the
importance of cooperation and coordination among welfare agencies,
employers and employment offices.

Speakers and panelists will include Rupert Downing, professor of social
work and director of field instruction; Anthony Halter, professor of social
work; Ralph Husby, professor of economics; and John van Es, professor of
sociology.

Registration is due Oct. 20. The cost is $20, which covers refreshments and
lunch. More information is available from Charles Kozoll or Nancy Young at
the UI Office of Continuing Education, 333-1444.