should take no more than 10 minutes to write — advice any business

with copy on a website or an E-Mail newsletter should heed.

very quickly. Everything should fit into the first paragraph. Stories

should be no longer than five or six paragraphs.

catch the important content.

a link to longer text is provided.

of each story — one for the Web and one for print. There’s an

advantage to doing duplicate work, in this case: the Web story usually

captures the essence of the longer print piece, and serves as a good

outline.

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Work to Welfare: Maureen Genuardi

If, as an employer, you have had difficulty retaining

employees who are coming to the workforce from welfare, then Maureen

Genuardi can help. She has just been appointed director of the

two-year 21st Century Cities Demonstration Project, which has $2 million

from the state to help with welfare-to-work efforts. This collaborative

of 40 businesses, non-profits, and government agencies has pledged

to move at least 400 new workers from welfare to self-sufficiency

over the next two years.

"Some research nationally suggests that retention strategies help

participants maintain and keep their jobs," says Genuardi. "For

instance, a case manager can help a mom maintain child care, which

is good from both the mother’s and the employer’s point of view."

The demonstration project offers services ranging from better assessment

(to fit the right person to the right job) to job coaching (to communicate

to the new hire exactly what he or she needs to do) to "barrier

resolution." Barrier resolution is the bureaucratic way of referring

to transportation problems, day care difficulties, substance or alcohol

abuse, homelessness, or domestic violence.

Genuardi, an alumna of Slippery Rock State University, Class of 1972,

with an MSW in human services administration from Rutgers, is working

for her EdD from Widener and has taught at Trinity College, Rowan,

and Stockton State. She managed a regional service center of the Greater

Philadelphia Works Program, implemented a research and demonstration

project that helped substance-abusing welfare mothers, and served

as the REACH coordinator for the human services department of Ocean

County. Genuardi and her husband have made their careers in human

services; Peter is at Family Service of Atlantic County and one of

their two grown children just graduated from New York University as

a public policy major.

This project began as a collaborative among 40 organizations. To stave

off unproductive rivalry, the collaborative — administered by

Mercer Street Friends — awarded contracts the way that the state

does, with publicly advertised bids.

"All of the contracts have been awarded," says Genuardi. Caliper

of Mount Lucas Road won contracts worth $50,000 for job match services,

suiting abilities to demands. "Caliper will work with participants

to identify not only the abilities but also their interests, trying

to match for retention," she says.

Irwin Stoolmacher of Stoolmacher & Associates at 4093 Quakerbridge

Road won a $20,000 one-year contract for public relations services,

including brochure development (E-mail: stoolgroup@aol.com).

The human services department of the City of Trenton won the bid for

a yet-to-be named employment representative (who chooses the job candidates)

and two team leaders or case managers. Also winning bids for team

leaders are the Mercer County Board of Social Services, Greater Trenton

Community Mental Health, United Progress Incorporated, and Management

Intervention.

Because this is a demonstration project, research will be done to

track the successes and failures. Philadelphia-based Private Public

Ventures has this contract.

Employers can take advantage of this program to find entry-level workers

with a relatively high degree of stability. Call Genuardi at Mercer

Street Friends at 609-396-1506.

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Child Support Bookkeeping

If you, the company bookkeeper, must take out child

support payments from employees’ paychecks, your job is now easier.

You can mail all the checks to one place instead of to multiple probation

offices. The new system is voluntary until October 1, and then you

absolutely must make the change.

"The establishment of the centralized collection center benefits

New Jersey employers by simplifying the process of remitting checks,

and it benefits families because a simpler process helps expedite

payments," says Michele K. Guhl, human services commissioner.

Submit the following information for each employee for whom support

is withheld to the New Jersey Family Support Payment Center, CN 4880,

Trenton 08640.

Employee name

Office of Child Support case number

Employee’s social security number

Amount of payment

on Child Support at 800-599-3772.

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More Night Buses: NJ Transit

Bus service between Route 1 and Princeton comes to a

halt before 8 p.m., forcing many in the area to pack up work early

or risk getting stranded. So the Greater Mercer TMA pushed for more

"late bird" buses and NJ Transit agreed. Beginning on Saturday,

September 4, Bus 605 from Quakerbridge Mall to Palmer Square leaves

the mall at 8:45 and 9:45 p.m. and arrives at Palmer Square at 9:06

and 10:06 p.m. "The new trips," says Sandra Brillhart,

executive director of the TMA, "will allow people without cars

to shop and work on Route 1 after 7 p.m. without having to worry about

how they will get home." (http://www.gmtma.org)

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Phone Recycling: Bell Atlantic Mobile

What do you do with those old wireless phones? Now you

can recycle them. Bell Atlantic Mobile launched a "Wireless at

Work" program for the Philadelphia tri-state region that puts

your idle phone in the hands of senior citizens and people with disabilities

who can use the phones for emergencies. Each phone collected is reprogrammed

to dial 911. People who donate are receiving tax-deductible receipts.

For information on drop-off stations, call 215-880-0462 (http://www.bam.com)

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Corporate Angels: Brain Injury Info

The law office of Stark & Stark at 993 Lenox Drive,

a firm that specializes in personal injury law, has donated its copy

of the Brain Injury Resource Center to the Brain Injury Unit of the

St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center in Lawrenceville (http://www.stark-stark.com)

The Resource Center is an interactive computer program that defines

technical terms and contains personal stories from the injured and

was used to satisfy inquiries from families and friends of people

with brain injuries. Call 609-919-9292 for information.

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Other Angels

The Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation of Park Place has awarded

La Salle University $29,000 in scholarship money for "mature,

second career, women students" for the 1999-2000 academic year.

The Foundation has awarded scholarship aid totaling $654,000 to 26

colleges and universities for mature, second career women, and $327,000

in scholarships for physically disabled students at nine colleges

and universities.

The New Jersey Department of Labor provided a $739,000 grant

to continue the Rutgers/Industrial Union Council Occupational Safety

and Health Education Project, a four-year-old program aimed at preventing

occupational illness and injuries.

U.S. Trust Company of New Jersey contributed $1,000 to the Association

for Advancement of Mental Health to support its campaign for local

supported housing, a collaboration with Catholic Charities.

Top Of Page
Donations Please

Victims of May’s deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma City have

received some relief from the efforts of Jobsite magazine, a

Lambertville-based trade publication for the construction industry,

which recently teamed up with advertisers to raise funds to house,

feed, and clothe victims. Donations are still being accepted at: Tornado

Victim Relief, Dept. 999, Oklahoma City, OK 73196.

Corrections or additions?

— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.