From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, this guide features a collection of resources for TANF administrators and other practitioners on career exploration and assessment, career pathways and sector strategies, and labor market information. These resources may be helpful for those working with TANF recipients and low-income families in connecting their clients to jobs with wages that support self-sufficiency. There are four types of resources included in the guide: 

• Research Studies
• Technical Assistance Resources
• Client Assessments
• Data Sets Related To Education And Employment. (author abstract)

In this U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) report, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. analyzed data from occupational employment projects in every state to determine promising occupations that require no more than 12 months of training beyond high school. Tables are available for each state, and each table ranks occupations from the highest to lowest number of projected annual openings. For each occupation, the report also provides the level of education or training required, growth rate, and the median wage. 

Washington State’s WorkFirst Handbook has a section with information about medical conditions, including learning disabilities, that can interfere with a person’s ability to work, prepare for work, or look for work. The handbook emphasizes the importance of obtaining medical evidence in order to appropriately accommodate any limitations, including the possibility of exemptions from program requirements on the basis of disability. The Learning Needs Screening Tool is a brief oral interview originally developed for the State of Washington’s Division of Employment and Social Learning Disabilities Initiative. Washington also has a Medical Evidence Evaluations Basic Flow Chart, which shows different participation outcomes based on screening and assessment.

This brief highlights the supports received by respondents in a qualitative study that is part of the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) evaluation, focusing on responses from 84 study participants. Respondents discussed program-provided supports and assessed their usefulness. The interviewers also asked about any public assistance they received as well as the ways in which family and friends did (or did not) provide material and emotional help. This brief is one in a series of three focusing on participants’ experiences, including their perceived challenges and motivations to participate. (author introduction)

This brief describes 84 study participants’ motivations for enrolling in career pathways programs evaluated in the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) study. In these interviews, participants discussed several topics, including: Their motivations for enrolling in a career pathways program; How they define success in their selected program, and; How they view their chances of experiencing success, whether that be completing the program or some other measure respondents deemed important. These interviews are part of a qualitative sub-study designed improve understanding of participants’ experiences. This brief is one in a series of three focusing on participants’ experiences, including their challenges and supports received. (author introduction)