A shift to skills-based hiring instead of degree-based hiring is not only a sensible public sector reform to find qualified workers in a tight labor market but can also unlock economic mobility for millions of workers who have been overlooked for decades. Numerous states are reviewing roles to determine which ones have unnecessary degree requirements, while others have already removed degree requirements from 90% of state jobs. This Brookings blogpost explores these low-cost actions as pathways to open state hiring processes to more applicants and improve economic mobility for qualified workers who have been excluded from state hiring systems.

Regardless of their size, agencies and organizations need to demonstrate the success of their kinship programs to their funders and other stakeholders. Showing success requires a strategic approach and an understanding of general principles that support effective data collection and evaluation. The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network will host a webinar on July 17, 2023 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. ET which will explore the foundational principles and strategies to demonstrate success. 

An estimated 80% of the people served by workforce programs are trauma survivors. Trauma changes the physical elements of the brain in ways that create barriers for survivors to participate in their programs and impact motivation, the job search, employment, and job retention. The National Associate of Workforce Development Professionals is hosting a webinar on July 25, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. CDT where participants will be provided with ways to assist people eliminate this powerful hidden barrier to employment. There is a registration fee for participation.

Nearly one in five jobs in the United States are in the service sector, including in retail, grocery, pharmacy, fast food, and fulfillment, but there are countervailing views on who works these jobs and to what end. One assumption is that service sector employment is dominated by workers who are temporarily in this line of work and using it as a source of extra income or as a first rung on a ladder towards career growth and economic opportunity. The alternative belief is that service sector workers rely on this work to get by in supporting their families, and that these jobs may be more poverty traps than mobility ladders. This Shift Project brief draws on data from surveying 2,601 workers in these sectors to examine their experiences of material hardship, economic security, and their expectations for future upward mobility, and how job quality shapes those forecasts. This data provides an unprecedented view into the personal histories, economic realities, and career trajectories of service sector workers.

When schools closed in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 30 million children lost access to the free and reduced-price school meals that help reduce hunger, support health, and ease the pressure on household food budgets. Congress created the Pandemic EBT Program to replace the school breakfasts and lunches families lost when schools closed. The program provides an EBT card with grocery benefits to families whose children are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. This report by the Food Research & Action Center explains the impact of providing grocery benefits to families when their children lose access to free or reduced-price school meals and the experience families had in accessing benefits.

There is an increasing understanding of how poverty can impact children’s development and create persistent gaps between children raised in poverty and their higher-income peers. Early childhood programs do much to support young children by providing a variety of vital services to stabilize families, but stability is tenuous for families living persistently in poverty. Numerous innovative early childhood programs are now focusing on promoting parental economic mobility and working alongside families to build skills and promote their attainment of bigger goals. This EMPath paper presents the importance to early childhood programs, particularly those whose mission is to support children living in poverty, of integrating economic mobility coaching for parents to strengthen outcomes for kids.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey estimates that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men experience intimate partner violence in their lifetimes. Survivors of gender-based violence often face multiple barriers to employment, including limited skills, gaps in their education and work histories, housing instability, and mental health and substance use needs. Urban Institute conducted an evaluation of the Career Readiness Training Program, Sanctuary for Families’ workforce development program in New York City designed specifically for domestic violence survivors. This Urban Institute report explores the findings of the evaluation – for example, after completing the program, clients were more successful in overcoming critical barriers to employment such as low self-esteem, gaining employment, and improving financial self-sufficiency.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Hunger Clearinghouse aids low-income individuals or communities by providing food assistance and other nutrition and social services information. The clearinghouse is accessible by phone and text.

Most families and individuals who meet the program’s income guidelines are eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program). The size of a family’s SNAP benefit is based on its income and certain expenses. This paper provides a short summary of SNAP eligibility and benefit calculation rules that are in effect for federal fiscal year 2023, which began in October 2022.