I am pleased to be able to share with you some updates on the division's Strategic Plan, and to commend the organization for your accomplishments so far. DPA's Leadership Team has been reflecting on all of the accomplishments and new initiatives of the past year, while also looking ahead and refining our plans. The Strategic Plan that was rolled out last year emphasized a strong focus on outcomes, performance measurement, continuous improvement, and building new teams and teamwork on the heels of reorganization. DPA is delivering on all accounts!

This report analyzes the experiences of welfare “cyclers,” a group that has received relatively little attention in previous research on welfare dynamics. For this study, “cycling” is defined as receipt of welfare benefits during three or more discrete spells during a four-year observation period. The goals of this report are to understand the incidence of cycling and the types of families who cycle on and off the rolls, and, if possible, to shed light onto why they repeatedly return to assistance. The report also considers whether welfare cyclers appear to be more advantaged or more disadvantaged than other welfare recipients in the labor market.

Congratulations DPA! Your hard work is paying off ... again!

A departmental press release will go out soon announcing that Alaska will receive a federal High Performance Bonus of over $3.1 million dollars for federal fiscal year 2003! This will be the third year in a row that Alaska has received this award. The 2003 award recognizes our success in helping adults in Temporary Assistance families enter the job market and the efforts of the Child Care Program Office, Resource and Referral Agencies, and Local Child Care Administrators to deliver quality child care to Alaskan families.

It has been a year since we began our Better Than Average Food Stamp Program accuracy campaign. At that time, we set what seemed a lofty goal for ourselves, improving our payment accuracy rate from the worst in the nation to 93% in one year. I remember a distinct feeling while meeting with you last fall to kick off the campaign of my doubts quickly shifting to a strong belief that "we can do this". Every office acknowledged the importance of work quality and was confident that we could improve it. And indeed you have! Our food stamp accuracy rate now stands at 93.6%.

Over 700 visitors representing a wide range of ages and cultural diversity passed through the first-ever Public Safety Career Fair held on September 29th at the Anchorage Job Center - Muldoon. The event was presented by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The event drew recruiters from across the United States from as far away as Washington DC, Chicago, Kansas City to Juneau, AK.