Why Don't They Just Get a Job?

Book excerpt: WHY DON'T THEY JUST GET A JOB? describes the journey and the incredible results of Dave and Liane Phillips efforts to help those in poverty find their way to self sufficiency. Under the premise that existing job-readiness programs only focus on job placement and not retention to help the unemployed and underemployed, Dave and Liane Phillips created a poverty to economic self-sufficiency program with an 80% one-year employment retention rate. In the past three years this organization, Cincinnati Works, has brought $25 million in wages locally to over 1500 families. The not-for-profit offers a complete spectrum of free, lifetime employment services for the entry-level job-seeker to sustain and advance in today s work climate. The model is a winner of the 2009 Manhattan Institute Social Entrepreneur Award. Following its success, Dave Phillips is now volunteering as a consultant for similar programs in other cities.