This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) report assesses the impact of the Year Up model over a three to five-year follow-up period. Year Up, one of nine programs that OPRE is evaluating in the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education project, is a national, yearlong training program for youth between 18 and 24 years old. The program provides instruction in technical skills, business communications, and behaviors for success at work in the first six months, followed by a six-month internship with local employers.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced the availability of the Emergency Broadband Benefit to support families and households struggling to afford internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Emergency Broadband Benefit program will provide a discount of up to $50 per month towards broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price. The article details program eligibility and three ways eligible households can apply.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has released a funding opportunity announcement for the Appalachian and Delta regions. Grant awards are intended to align with regional and comprehensive approaches to address economic distress and provide necessary workforce development activities so that dislocated and other workers can succeed in current and future job opportunities. ETA encourages applicants to include strategies to address the employment and training needs of individuals affected by substance use disorder. Applications are due by July 21, 2021.

This set of resources identifies toolkits, tip sheets, webcasts, and other guidance on how to address partnerships for specific youth populations under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. These resources cover several topics, such as employer engagement, serving homeless and runaway youth, collaborative opportunities for vocational rehabilitation, serving youth in foster care or with juvenile records, rural youth, and partnerships with TANF.

Second of a two-part series, this research-to-practice brief identifies the components and lessons learned from implementing the virtual coaching model within the Detroit Early Learning Coaching Initiative. Components include participant recruitment, program orientation to coaching, coaching strategies, program observations of early childhood educators, coaching topics offered to participants, and coaching supervision. Lessons learned include recruitment of teachers and providers; training for coaches, teachers, and providers specific to virtual activities using an online coaching platform; video observations of early childhood educators; and one-on-one goal setting with teachers and providers.

This report assesses the Families Forward Demonstration (FFD), which aimed to integrate employment and training within child support programs. The FFD program included free occupational skills training, employment services, and wraparound supports. FFD emphasized “responsive” child support services that helped parents understand their support obligations, and suspended some enforcement actions as parents participated in the program. FFD was implemented in five jurisdictions: Cuyahoga County, Ohio; Franklin County, Ohio; Calhoun and Jackson Counties, Michigan; Benton, Franklin, and Walla Walla Counties, Washington; and New York City.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report provides data that assesses the third cohort of Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) grantees following their grant award in 2015. Data snapshots cover client recruitment and characteristics through the end of the grant in 2020. The data highlights staffing and implementation, services offered to support healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood, and other program components.

The National Association of Workforce Boards will host its annual meeting as a hybrid event on June 24, 2021 to June 26, 2021. Sessions covering four primary topics—Thought Leaders; Demonstrating Results; the Future of Work; and Building Skills - Reaching the Learner Where They Are—support the Forum’s theme, “Pathways to Excellence” as the key areas in which workforce development boards need to focus their attention and resources to meet the individual and employer needs of their communities. There is a fee to register for this event.

The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation has released a funding opportunity announcement to provide funding and technical support for evaluation-related activities to organizations implementing interventions to improve self-sufficiency among families with low incomes. These 24-month cooperative agreements are intended for organizations that seek to strengthen and evaluate coordinated, client-centered approaches to improving self-sufficiency. No prior experience in research and evaluation is required. Grantees will work with federally funded, third-party evaluation technical assistance providers that will offer customized support to recipients in designing, implementing, and evaluating their proposed interventions. A letter of intent is due by June 2, 2021 and a full application is due by July 2, 2021.

This brief is a case study that reviews the relational factors between two Cleveland-based employment training programs–Youth Opportunities Unlimited and Towards Employment–as they came together to develop a Youth Adult Resource Center (YRC). It discusses how YRC incorporated positive youth development approaches at the staff level, and presents how these approaches helped to improve YRC’s ability to meet the needs of Cleveland’s youth and young adults.