[ OUR PROGRAMS ]

BRIDGE PROGRAM

The University Center for Academic and Workforce Development provides local education programs and local social service districts technical assistance in:

• implementing TANF policy and programs;
• developing education and training programs for individuals on public assistance;
• designing services targeted to specific employers; and
• staff development and audit accountability.
  

The University Center for Academic and Workforce Development also manages the State University of New York's flagship Welfare to Work Bridge program. Bridge serves counties through the University's ten Educational Opportunity Centers (EOCs), seventeen community colleges, one College of Technology, one State University College and an Urban League.

The Bridge program's priorities include:

• increasing self-sufficiency for TANF recipients, through high-quality training and education, case management and employment services;
• enhancing local workforce and economic development
• demonstrating the value of interagency coordination a cooperation in implementing public policy.

Since its inception in 1993, Bridge has:

• enrolled more than 32,000 welfare recipients in employment preparation activities;
• placed more than 10,000 recipients in unsubsidized employment, with average wages of approximately $7.1 per hour with an average work week of 32 hours;
• saved the State and its localities rnore than $40 million welfare grants and tax levies;
• established over 1,200 partnerships with business and industry; and
• achieved 125% of placement targets and increased public assistance recipients' earnings by 150%.