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Chapter 3: Homeless Population and Current Service Capacity Mainstream job training and job placement programs often lack the resources or the experience with the homeless population to meet all of the multiple needs that homeless trainees and job seekers present. Programs such as the Job Training Partnership Act, _ which focus on quick results rather than long term employment goals are less well equipped to serve homeless people. Nevertheless, JTPA and other broad-based training programs are available in the County for some homeless people. - More frequently, homeless people seek training and placement assistance through programs targeted to their overlapping needs. Several homeless programs in the County target the specific needs of homeless people seeking job training and linking them to support services. A list of these programs appears at the end of this chapter. The HUD regional initiative which covers the nine counties of the Bay Area includes a - large job training and placement component which is directed at comprehensively serving the job training, placement and support needs of homeless people and their families. These services will become even more critical as welfare reform begins to impact homeless people receiving benefits. Support Services and Health Care Child Care/Education- Resources for child care for low-income families are scarce, and lack of child care is J one of the primary factors preventing homeless and low-income women on income supports from finding work. A 1991 report by the County of Alameda Child Care _ Block Grant Task Force made infant care and school-age children in emergency and transitional housing programs one of the top five priorities. A recent focus group at Sunrise Village in Fremont echoed this need, with one participant emphasizing the need _ for older child care as well. An Alameda County study of children in emergency and transitional programs found two of 20 shelters surveyed offered on-site child care where parents could leave the premises. Transitional housing programs studied had a limited number of vouchers for child care slots in other facilities, but more were needed to meet the demand. -- For school-age children, homelessness creates difficulties attending school. Homeless children move frequently and are often forced to change schools. If homeless families do not have access to their children's records, including immunization records, they may be denied access to school. Once in, homeless children have a hard time keeping up, due to the stress in their lives as well as the lack of a place in which to do - homework. In the above cited study, less than 15 percent of the shelters studied had structured tutoring programs on site and less than one-quarter have quiet space for children to use for studying. Alameda County-Wide Homeless Continuum of Care Plan: April 1997 26