Individuals who receive a diversion payment must agree that they will not apply for welfare benefits for 3 months or else repay the amount given. Program staff have found that this one-time infusion of funds can prevent an individual from joining the more costly welfare rolls. The aim is to help participants overcome their barriers to employment and enable them to become employed or placed in a community service position within 1 month of application. During the 6-week training period, the core activity for participants is the job club. The job club is held on-site at the Job Service office, and is designed to help participants find a job while providing a supportive environment.
Participants engage in job-readiness training, which emphasizes job seeking and job keeping skills.
Another job club activity is using the telephones at the Job Service office to call potential employers with job openings. These calls are monitored by staff who critique the telephone conversation and offer recommendations. Participants in the training programs may also receive a diversion payment to pay for expenses such as clothes for interviews or to help pay bills until the individual receives a paycheck. The state Office of Child Care Services provides participants with a coupon to pay for child care services while participants attend the job club or other training services. If, after 4 weeks, participants have not found a job, they will be placed in unpaid community service positions to gain work experience.