Despite the best hopes of the past half century, black urban pathologies persist in America. The inner cities remain concentrations of the uneducated, unemployed, underemployed, and unemployable. Many fail to stay in school and others choose lives of drugs, violence, and crime. Most do not marry, leading to single-parent households and children without a father figure. The cycle repeats itself generation after generation. It is easy to argue that nothing works, given the policy failures of the past. For Lewis D. Solomon, fatalism is not acceptable. A complex and interrelated web of issues plague inner-city black males: joblessness; the failure of public education; crime, mass incarceration, and drugs; the collapse of married, two-parent families; and negative cultural messages. Rather than abandon the black urban underclass, Solomon presents strategies and programs to rebuild lives and revitalize America's inner cities. These approaches are neither government oriented nor dependent on federal intervention, and they are not futuristic. Focusing on rehabilitative efforts, Solomon describes workforce development, prisoner reentry, and the role of nonprofit organizations. Solomon's strategies focus on the need to improve the quality of America's workforce through building human capital at the socioeconomic bottom. The goal is to enable more people to fend for themselves, thereby weaning them from dependency on public sector handouts. Solomon shows a path forward for inner-city black males.

Increasing retirements & declining fertility rates could affect the labor force growth in many developed countries. To maintain the size & productivity of the labor force, many gov'ts. & employers have introduced strategies to keep workers, such as women & low-skilled workers, in the workforce throughout their working lives. The author was asked to: (1) describe the policies & practices implemented in other developed countries that may help women & low-wage/low-skilled workers enter & remain in the labor force; (2) examine the targeted groups¿ employment following the implementation of the policies & practices; & (3) identify the factors that affect employees¿ use of workplace benefits & the resulting implications. Charts & tables.

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What directions should workforce policy in the U.S. take over the next few decades in light of major labor market developments that will likely occur--such as the retirements of baby boomers and continuing globalization? This new volume edited by Harry J. Holzer and Demetra Smith Nightingale presents fresh thoughts on the topic. This book offers policy discussions that are firmly grounded in strong research and that address the critical workforce issues of the coming years.