INTERORGANIZATIONAL COOPERATION AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF WELFARE REFORM:

This analysis of the Community Work Experience (CWEP) component of the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills program under the Family Support Act of 1988 examines the service delivery framework and management challenges of welfare policy reform. We focus on the interagency relationships that must be built and maintained to provide work experience to welfare recipients. In particular, we examine three questions: Why do agencies that provide placement sites participate? What problems are encountered and how are they resolved? How does the management of the program affect the experience of the placement site agency? Answers to these questions are vital to the success of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 that transformed the American welfare system by establishing time limits on welfare benefits and creating work requirements for recipients. The analysis is based on a set of interviews with state and local JOBS managers and managers of CWEP placement sites in eight states. Copyright 1998 by The Policy Studies Organization.