This issue brief, published by Mathematica Policy Research, Social Policy Research Associates, and the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration, describes the business services provided by 28 randomly selected local Workforce Investment Boards (LWIBs). These LWIBs participated in the Workforce Investment Act Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs Gold Standard Evaluation. The study measured how LWIBs met local business needs.

The Employment and Training Administration recently released a report on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Pay for Success pilots. This Training and Employment Notice details the report and provides background on the pilots.

This video from the Annie E. Casey Foundation highlights Rural Integration Models for Parents and Children to Thrive (Rural IMPACT). Launched in 2015, this public-private partnership aims to combat poverty in ten rural and tribal communities around the country. The initiative provides technical assistance and a peer learning network to help these sites adopt a two-generation approach to address the needs of parents and children together.

This fact sheet and press release from the U.S. Department of Education highlights a joint commitment between the U.S. Departments of Education, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Treasury. The agencies are committed to aligning federal supports to promote college access and completion. These efforts will help many Americans break down barriers they face in accessing the knowledge and skills needed to get a well-paying job, support their families, and contribute to their communities.

The Administration for Children and Families has provided information to TANF agencies to clarify the appropriate application of 409(a)(7)(B)(i)(II)(aa) of the Social Security Act (the Act) and 45 CFR 263.5(b), commonly known as the “new spending test,” which limits a state’s ability to count state maintenance-of-effort (MOE) expenditures for certain programs that existed in fiscal year (FY) 1995 to the amount that exceeds the FY 1995 expenditures.

This article from Indian Country Today discusses how the science of epigenetics suggests that human genes can carry “memories” of trauma experienced by ancestors, and may influence how individuals react to their own trauma and stress. According to Lee Bitsoi, a Research Associate at Harvard University, “Native healers, medicine people, and elders have always known this and it is common knowledge in Native oral traditions.” The article describes the research being conducted on this topic and its implications for Native Americans.

Language assessment and proficiency tools are often the best gauges of language acquisition. There are a variety of tools that language projects can use, such as the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages or ACTFL. Choosing the right assessment tools and providing staff training and support in their use can be difficult. Ku Kahakalau is the Project Director of the Institute for Native Pacific Education & Culture or INPEACE’s Administration for Native Americans (ANA) Funded Project located in Kapolei, Hawaii. The webinar was presented by ANA's Alaska Region Training and Technical Assistance Center on the Indigenous Language Proficiency Scale and other language assessment tools.

In this compendium, the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) details their language projects organized by state from 2010-2012 as a way to demonstrate the breadth and diversity of language activities funded under ANA’s Native Languages program area.