A Person‐Centered Perspective to Welfare‐to‐Work Services: In Pursuit of the Elusive and the Unattainable

Abstract

Because of changes in legislation regarding the U.S. welfare system, there is an urgency now that has never before existed, except perhaps during the Great Depression, for career counselors to advocate for those of their clients who are on welfare and for their minor dependents. E. B. Lent (2001) has revitalized the debate over the role Rogers's person‐centered perspective should play in career development with welfare‐to‐work (WTW) clients. The usefulness of such an approach with today's clients was explored within the context of inherent limitations of Rogers's person‐centered perspective. Potential ethical conflicts for career counselors working with WTW clients were identified.

Stuck in a Loop: Individual and System Barriers for Job Seekers With Disabilities

“…Because career counseling is a core service under WIA legislation and is a service element to be included in Welfare-to-Work plans, counselors have the opportunity to address these issues as they work with job seekers who have disabilities. In the context of this study, culturally relevant services recommended by Weinrach (2003) for the welfare population must expand to include those that directly address disability and the accompanying challenges for both customer and provider. Having said this, we do not advocate a more clinical approach to providing services to people with disabilities.…”

“…The ultimate goal for two of America's national public assistance programs, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF; Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996) and the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), is that their clients become more self-sufficient through employment. Weinrach (2003) recommended that career counselors expand their role beyond traditional notions of career development to include providing culturally relevant support to clients of these major employment programs. For example, a career counselor working in a WIA workforce center may encounter a client who needs life skills training and reading instruction more than he or she needs counseling or a single mother who needs a job at her current skill level with access to public transportation and affordable child care rather than counseling to learn a new set of skills (Weinrach, 2003).…”

“…Over the course of three studies, we investigated the ways in which the TANF (one study) and WIA (two studies) systems could better meet the needs of job seekers with disabilities; we observed a pattern of low selfesteem among consumers with disabilities and low disability awareness among service providers that, together, produced an often endless loop without results (i.e., employment). Thus, this article takes Weinrach's (2003) notion of culturally relevant support one step further by exploring how job seekers with disabilities interact with program staff in TANF and WIA workforce center settings and discussing the implications for career counselors.…”

An asset-based approach in career facilitation: Lessons for higher education training

“…Gothard, Mignot, Offer and Ruff (2001, 42-43) emphasise the importance of 'the nature of the relationship between the participants in the career helping process, i.e. that the Rogerian core values of respect, genuineness and empathy need to be present ...', while Weinrach (2003) believes that the person-centred perspective can contribute to career counselling in modern times. In this regard, Multon, EllisKalton, Heppner and Gysbers (2003) stress the significance of a working alliance between the counsellor and client.…”

Exploring Women's Multiple Identities as They Negotiate Welfare-to-Work: The Intersection of Race, Class, and Gender

“…In order to understand more about the experiences of women going through WTW and their attempts to find sustainable employment, it is helpful to review the research that has been done in the field of women's career development. Many WTW programs have looked to the field of career counseling for guidelines and best practices as they choose how to implement work-first policies and requirements (Lent, 2001;Juntunen, et al, 2006;Weinrach, 2003) Many critics (Carter & Cook, 1992;Betz, 1993;Fitzgerald, Fassinger & Betz, 1995) have pointed out that the field of vocational or career psychology was developed and has been primarily focused on the "vocational behavior of middle class men" (Tyler, 1978, p. 40). From the inception of the field by Parsons in 1909, the goal has been to understand men's vocational interests, career patterns, and vocational behavior (Fitzgerald, Fassinger, & Betz, 1995).…”