The Noncustodial Parent Employment Program (NCEP) was established as a pilot project by the 1995 Florida Legislature in Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough Counties. The goal of the program is to reduce the amount of welfare (TANF) paid out due to non-support, and to increase the amount of court-ordered child support collected. Unemployed and underemployed noncustodial parents who are not making their child support payments, and have children who receive public assistance, are court-ordered into the program. Participants are assisted in establishing a pattern of regular child support payments by obtaining and maintaining unsubsidized employment. The project bypasses traditional education and training programs, and encourages participants to obtain paid employment as quickly as possible by providing job placement and close monitoring services. Participants must be continuously employed for six months to complete the program. The NCEP program also makes special efforts to help fathers increase the frequency and quality of contact with their children.

Funded by Workforce Florida, Inc. and contracted through WorkNet Pinellas, Suncoast Workforce Board, and South Florida Workforce, the program is closely coordinated with and enjoys the strong support of the Florida Department of Revenue (Division of Child Support Enforcement) and the Courts.

More than 8,000 clients have been enrolled in the program in the program since its inception and has benefited over 20,000 children. In 2002 and 1999 an independent evaluations of the cost-effectiveness of the program were conducted by Dr. William Blount, former Chairperson of the Department of Criminology at the University of South Florida.

Ticket to Work: An employment program for people with disabilities who are interested in going back to work. Gulf Coast is an Employment Network that can assist ticket holders with the following services: Resume preparation, interviewing skills, job coaching, job search assistance and job placement.

V.R- Employment Vendor: As an Employment Vendor for Vocational Rehabilitation, Gulf Coast provides employment services to people with disabilities that are seeking employment and for whom competitive employment has not traditionally occurred. The main goal is to assist the client in becoming self sufficient through employment.