Contact:	Anne Canty						For immediate release
		212-854-5579
		ac263@columbia.edu



Study by Columbia, 
New York City Urban League
To Assess Local Impact of Welfare Reform


	The New York City Urban League and Columbia University's School of
 International and Public Affairs (SIPA) are collaborating to study how the new 
national welfare regulations will unfold on the local level. 
	Working in one New York City community  -- Jamaica, Queens -- 12 
graduate students in SIPA's Master's of Public Administration (M.P.A.) 
program will test the assumption of last year's welfare legislation that former 
welfare recipients will readily find jobs as their benefits are terminated.   The 
students will interview local business owners and welfare recipients to assess the
 match between the current and future personnel needs of Jamaica's business 
community and the skills possessed by potential employees who currently receive 
welfare.
	"The actual success of the new welfare reform legislation will depend to a 
great extent on the willingness and ability of private sector employers to hire 
former welfare recipients as they make the Federally-mandated transition off 
welfare," said Dennis Walcott, President of the New York City Urban League.  
"We see this study," said Walcott, "as the first step in an extended partnership 
with Columbia University to analyze the business community's capacity to employ 
individuals entering the job market in this era of welfare reform."	
	"This study reflects our program's commitment to providing students with 
both technical training and input on critical policy issues," said Steven Cohen, 
Associate Dean of the School of International and Public Affairs.  "It is also part of
our focus on preparing our students to play key roles in public service," said 
Cohen.
	Jamaica, Queens was chosen as the location for this study for several 
reasons.  It is a mixed-income neighborhood in transition; home to many new 
immigrants and a thriving small business community; and already the site of an 
Urban League job training program.   Students will spend three months 
collecting and analyzing data; conducting interviews, in English, Spanish, 
Creole, Russian, Korean, Wolof, and French.
	In addition to determining the match -- or mismatch -- between business 
owners and the welfare recipient labor pool, the study will provide baseline 
demographic information and data on the potential for local economic growth.  
Due for completion in May, data gathered and analyzed in this study will be used 
by the New York City Urban League for future program development and 
adjustment and as a basis for policy recommendations.
	This joint New York City Urban League-Columbia University study is one 
of nine field studies being conducted this semester by second year (M.P.A.) 
students. The faculty advisor for the study is Professor Mark Gordon, who until 
last year was the General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning 
and Development in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The project team includes:  Julie Beglin, Alan Cohen, Dominique Duval, Dierdra 
Gray, Lisa-Beth Harris, Pam Jones, Annie Nam, Mimi Park, Bartolome Rios-
Hamman, Juliette Smith, Verna Vasquez, and Jina Yoon.

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