Client engaged in workshop at America Works
// Our Impact

Proven impact for the hardest-to-serve.

America Works delivers performance-based employment outcomes for welfare, disability, reentry, and homelessness programs across multiple states under rigorous oversight and evaluation.

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Overview

America Works at a glance

Independently evaluatedby third-party organizations

Proven performance in federal, state, city and county workforce programs

Specializes in hardest-to-serve populations(welfare/SNAP, disability, justice-involved, homeless veterans)

Operates under performance-based contracts, paid on outcomes

Multi-state, multi-yearcontract experience with complex public systems

Regularly advise the White House and Congresson welfare reform and TANF improvements

Innovation

National reach. Startup agility.

We have more flexibility to innovate than any other organization in our field. We’re big enough to scale, small enough to adapt, and always asking: does this actually work?

Customizable by design

We operate nationwide but function like a nimble organization that adjusts to the specific needs of each funder. Your priorities become our program design.

Effectiveness-obsessed

Our focus is always “will this work?” We test new ideas, measure outcomes rigorously, and scale what succeeds. If something isn’t working, we change it.

At the forefront of workforce innovation

Pre-trial bail reform

Diverting newly arrested individuals from incarceration to employment

Community intervention

Multi-tiered programs working directly with gang-involved individuals

Mental health integration

Employment services embedded directly within mental health facilities

Digital & financial literacy

Computer skills and personal finance training integrated into job prep

Faith-based partnerships

Collaborative programs leveraging community and religious organizations

Approach

A space designed for success.

The environment where people prepare for work matters. Our offices are designed to be welcoming, professional, and focused. Staff greet participants by name. Conversations happen face-to-face. From the first visit, the message is clear: you belong here.

Client-centered service model

We use the term "client" intentionally. The people we serve aren't here to serve us. We're here to serve them with the same attentiveness and respect they'll experience in the workplace.

Small caseloads, real relationships

Career specialists maintain manageable caseloads so they can provide individualized attention, track progress, and respond quickly when challenges arise.

Professional environment, professional outcomes

Our offices model workplace standards. Participants engage in a setting that reinforces the expectations and norms of professional employment.

Hands-on support

Our staff work alongside participants on practical barriers: transportation, childcare, documentation, interview preparation, and workplace navigation.

Validation

Independent evidence & external validation

America Works has been studied, profiled, and selected by respected evaluators and government agencies. A sampling:

Ernst & Young – Welfare-to-Work Study

  • Reviewed early America Works welfare-to-work programs.
  • Found 85–90% of clients still employed one year after placement.
  • Highlighted performance-based contracts as improving outcomes and value for municipalities.
Why this matters: Long-term retention for welfare populations, verified by a major global firm.

Manhattan Institute – Ticket to Work Case Study

  • Profiled America Works as a leading Ticket to Work Employment Network.
  • In one year: 1,295 disability beneficiaries enrolled; 626 placed into gainful employment.
  • In New York, 75% of successfully hired clients reached at least 12 months of employment.
Why this matters: Proven sustained employment for disability beneficiaries under a federal, performance-based program.

Fraser Institute, NYS Dept. of Labor & Others

  • New York State data showed 88% of people placed by America Works remained off welfare three years later.
  • Analyses by the Fraser Institute, Social Market Foundation, and National Center for Policy Analysis highlighted America Works as both effective and lower-cost than comparable government programs.
Why this matters: Independent confirmation of durable welfare exits and strong value for money.

Urban Institute – Criminal Justice Employment Model

  • The Urban Institute profiled America Works’ Criminal Justice Program as a national example of employment-focused reentry.
  • Early evaluation results: hundreds of people leaving incarceration placed into jobs, with strong 90-day and 6-month retention.
Why this matters: Shows impact with justice-involved individuals, a high-priority, high-risk population.

Manhattan Institute – "Making Welfare-to-Work Fly"

  • Published an issue brief by founder Peter Cove on performance-based social service contracts.
  • Highlighted America Works’ model as delivering better results and better value than traditional training programs.
Why this matters: Positions the model itself as a reference point in welfare reform, not just another vendor.

USDA / Mathematica – SNAP E&T Rapid-Cycle Evaluation (DC)

  • America Works selected as one of the providers in a USDA-funded SNAP E&T innovation pilot in D.C.
  • Implemented an enhanced, goal-based case management model tested by Mathematica using rapid-cycle evaluation methods.
Why this matters: Trusted to deliver in a federally sponsored, data-driven pilot focused on engagement and outcomes.

U.S. HHS / OPRE – TANF Job Search Evaluation (NYC)

  • Included as one of the vendors in the Job Search Assistance Strategies Evaluation, alongside Goodwill.
  • Operated job-search assistance sites in Brooklyn and Queens as part of a federal evaluation of alternative TANF models.
Why this matters: Demonstrates the ability to operate within rigorous federal evaluation frameworks.

HHS / ASPE – Federal Review of Welfare Privatization

  • The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), commissioned "Privatization of Welfare Services: A Review of the Literature."
  • That review identifies America Works as a key example of a for-profit, performance-based employment services provider working with welfare recipients across multiple states.
Why this matters: America Works is singled out in a federal research overview as a notable case of performance-based private welfare service delivery.
Populations

Where America Works already delivers results

America Works designs programs around specific populations and funding streams. Below is a snapshot of who we serve and the types of programs we operate.

Welfare & SNAP Recipients

Program TypesTANF, SNAP Employment & Training, welfare-to-work

What we do: Work-first model with job readiness, rapid job search, employer connections, and retention support.

Impact: Independent evaluations document high 12-month retention and reduced long-term reliance on benefits.

Disability Beneficiaries

Program TypesTicket to Work (EN), benefits counseling, WIPA-related services

What we do: Benefits counseling, individual work plans, job readiness, placement, and long-term coaching.

Impact: Hundreds of beneficiaries placed each year; majority of successful hires sustaining at least 12 months of work under Ticket to Work milestones.

Justice-Involved Individuals

Program TypesReentry employment programs, criminal justice employment initiatives

What we do: Outreach in corrections settings, structured readiness training, supported job search, and follow-up after release.

Impact: Documented placements and multi-month retention outcomes for individuals returning from incarceration.

Homeless & Homeless Veterans

Program TypesHomelessness and veteran-focused employment programs

What we do: Employment services integrated with housing and support partners; attention to practical barriers like clothing, transportation, and documentation.

Impact: Thousands of homeless individuals—including homeless veterans—placed into employment using a model adapted from welfare-to-work successes.

Youth, Young Adults & Other High-Barrier Groups

Program TypesYouth employment, young adult workforce, non-custodial parent programs

What we do: Soft-skills training, entry-level job placement, and pathways to better-paying roles via experience and credentials.

Impact: Consistent application of a work-first + wraparound support model across multiple high-priority, high-barrier populations.

Partnership

Government partner scorecard

A quick view of why America Works is a low-risk, high-impact partner for large public contracts.

Contracting & Scale

  • Multi-state operations across a range of policy and labor-market environments.
  • Experience with multi-million-dollar, multi-year contracts in workforce and human services.
  • Ability to stand up new operations quickly when required by contract timelines.

Compliance & Reporting

  • Comfortable under performance-based contracts with strict audit and monitoring requirements.
  • Built-in tracking of participant engagement, job placements, retention milestones, earnings and benefit changes.
  • History of successful audits and evaluations at city, state, and federal levels.

Prestige & Policy Involvement

  • Praised by a U.S. Vice President as a "fantastic example" of market-oriented solutions.
  • Engaged as expert partners during 1996 welfare reform, working with the White House and congressional leadership.
  • Leadership invited to testify before the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means on improving TANF outcomes.
  • Leadership recognized with national honors including Socially Responsible Entrepreneur of the Year.
Mission

A company with a conscience

Called “a company with a conscience”, America Works was founded in 1984 by social activist and entrepreneur, Peter Cove, who wanted to put his ideals about poverty and the American dream into practice.

Joined by Dr. Lee Bowes as the CEO, America Works has helped over 10 million individuals increase their self-sufficiency through gainful employment, including military veterans, welfare and SNAP recipients, young adults, the criminal justice involved, homeless, non-custodial parents, persons receiving disability, among others.

America Works is a 100% Women-Owned Business. Our mission is to equip each individual who comes to our offices with the right tools so that they are able to provide for themselves and their loved ones. We believe the most effective approach in helping people out of poverty is by assisting them in finding meaningful employment. Our proven methods, services and experienced staff offer the right combination for success.
Leadership

Our Founders

Peter Cove
Founder

Peter Cove

Peter Cove, a social activist and businessmen, is one of the nation’s leading advocates for private solutions to workforce development and alleviating poverty.

As the founder of America Works in 1984, Peter Cove has worked to link private-sector investment and employment with welfare reform. Peter Cove has also devoted his energy to prisoner reentry initiatives, advocating tirelessly for second chance legislation on a national level, to inform policy makers that the work first model of services is the answer for successful reintegration of ex-offenders into communities.

Peter Cove has a book published, Poor No More: Rethinking Dependency and the War on Poverty, as well as numerous articles in the New York Post, Real Clear Policy, the Huffington Post, and elsewhere.

Dr. Lee Bowes
CEO

Dr. Lee Bowes

Dr. Lee Bowes is one of the leading experts on Welfare to Work and Prison to Work Workforce Development policies. In the 1990’s, Dr. Lee Bowes and her husband, Peter Cove, were instrumental in educating both political parties about the merits of implementing a national “Work First” policy.

She is a frequent guest and speaker at associations that deal with welfare to work policies. She has been a speaker at The Public Welfare Association, the Democratic Leadership Council, The Renaissance Weekend, and the Association of Community Development Corporations.

Dr. Lee Bowes has held the position of CEO since 1987. Dr. Bowes was an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. She lectures on Human Resource Management, Social Policy, and Innovative Management Techniques.

Dr. Lee Bowes has a book published, No One Need Apply: Getting and Keeping the Best Workers, as well as numerous articles in the New York Post, the Huffington Post, and elsewhere.

Ready to see what this could look like in your state?

  • 30–60 minute briefing on how our model would adapt to your TANF, SNAP E&T, disability, reentry, or youth programs
  • Concrete examples of program designs and performance metrics from comparable jurisdictions
  • Opportunity to speak directly with peer agencies that have contracted with America Works
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