Moving Forward: A Transportation Toolkit For Welfare Reform [Executive Summary]

007968792000PDFResearch PaperState governmentTransportation planningTravel patternsWelfare recipientsBest practicesDecision makingFinancingGrant aidGuides to informationLegislationUnited StatesUniversity of New MexicoEspinosa, Judith M.Baca, MatthewEstelle, AmyWhite, MaryUniversity of New Mexico. ATR InstituteNew Mexico. State Highway and Transportation Dept.NTL-LAWS AND REGULATIONS-State Laws and RegulationsAGR-PASSENGERS-Welfare to WorkUS Transportation CollectionThe lack of adequate transportation is one of the greatest barriers impeding people's transition from welfare to work. This Executive Summary describes a Toolkit, developed by the University of New Mexico's ATR Institute, to address these transportation shortfalls systematically. The Toolkit contains several databases, such as the composite database of publicly funded vehicles, that will be helpful in transportation planning and decision making. Textual information includes clear and concise explanations of federal funding sources for welfare to work transportation and tools for financial decision making and grant management. The Toolkit presents this enormous amount of information in an organized and easily accessed format, contained in over 225 pages of printed text, maps, figures, and appendices as well as in an electronic database. This Toolkit is designed to provide State and local policymakers, planners, and program administrators with the best information currently available about transportation as related to welfare reform. In addition, it provides information to facilitate the public's participation in transportation decision making. The Executive Summary also includes information on the following: Quantifying Transportation Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Recipients' Transportation Resources; Travel Patterns and Destinations of TANF Households; Public and Human Services Transportation Funding; Pulling Together: Best Practices on Overcoming Welfare to Work Transportation Barriers; Financial Decision-Making and Grant-Management Tools; A Composite Database of Public Publicly Funded Vehicles; A Survey of Transportation Providers Regarding Coordination Barriers; and Recommendations and Legislative Proposals.75