Social Policy Research Associates (SPR) partnered with the Washington Employment Security Department to evaluate a workforce development model and poverty reduction initiative, the Economic Security for All (EcSA) initiative. EcSA provides increased skills development, supportive services, and coaching that helps low-income families move out of poverty, an approach that SPR termed “WIOA Plus.” This SPR resource highlights their findings, including that participants’ median quarterly wages increased by 71 percent after completing EcSA. Although the new program has not yet been rigorously studied, the evaluation of its first few years suggests that its model of increased service intensity and individualized case management is a promising approach to addressing the needs of low-wage workers that could be adopted elsewhere.

Child Trends partnered with Generation Work, an initiative that connects employers to young adults, especially young people of color and those from low-income families, with stable jobs. As a result, they developed a series of three case studies to explore how employers can use positive youth development practices to better support young workers. These case studies highlight discussions from focus groups at Generation Work sites in Chicago and Birmingham and interviews with workforce development practitioners.

WorkforceGPS is hosting a three-part webinar series on the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration’s 2024 Sector Strategies Framework. Sector Strategies are industry-driven approaches to identifying and addressing industries’ workforce and talent development needs at a regional scale. This series is designed to build state and local systems' understanding of and capacity to implement the Framework. The first session will be hosted on September 12, 2024 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET, and will convey the vision and value proposition for deeper implementation, expansion, and championing of the expansion and scaling of sector strategies. This session will explore key definitions and roles, including the relationships among sector partnerships, sector strategies, and sectoral training programs and the roles of intermediaries and other critical partners.

In 2021, the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) began a community engagement effort called Community-Driven Policies and Practices (CDPP). CLASP facilitated a series of power-building sessions in Baltimore, Las Vegas, and Tribal Nations in the Pacific Northwest to establish a safe space for people experiencing poverty to dream up policies with the potential to deliver economic justice and strategies to advance them. The sessions culminated in an advocacy plan to implement a policy goal that each group believed would advance their vision for economic justice. This CLASP report summarizes CDPP, including the project’s guiding principles, planning team, and engagement strategy. It also spotlights the advocacy plans that community members drafted while participating in CDPP power-building sessions.

Non-degree credentials continue to gain attention and investment from workers, employers, and states, making it critical to ensure these credentials lead to good jobs and equitable outcomes. Given the significant role of life circumstances in people’s ability to enroll in and complete postsecondary programs, access to holistic supports, like food, housing, childcare, and emergency aid, along with career and academic coaching, and student-centered, family-friendly campus policies, should be a key component of evaluating the quality of non-degree pathways. The National Skills Coalition (NSC) hosted a Policy Action Lab to focus on expanding holistic support for students pursuing quality non-degree pathways. The event brought together more than sixty postsecondary, workforce, human services, and advocacy leaders from twenty states to examine state progress, innovations, and promising strategies tied to providing holistic supports to students pursuing quality, career-oriented non-degree programs and pathways at community and technical colleges. This NSC resource highlights key themes and considerations, as shared by states.

Despite rising college costs, a postsecondary education remains one of the most reliable pathways to good jobs and well-paying careers in the United States. Postsecondary education carries an immense earnings premium: One recent study found that a bachelor’s degree holder earns about $964,000 more over their lifetime than someone with a high school education. However, access to higher education remains strongly divided by demographic factors such as race and socioeconomic status. Programs that promote postsecondary access for underrepresented groups remain more important than ever; one such program is Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), which helps increase college enrollment and success for low-income students. This Center for American Progress resource describes GEAR UP, their services, and program outcomes.

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) annual block grant dedicates $16.5 billion in federal funds for states to support families with financial need, for instance through monthly cash assistance and through nonrecurrent short term benefits (NRSTs). While ongoing cash assistance comes with several restrictions, including work requirements, NRSTs have more flexibility, both in terms of who is eligible and what actions are required of recipients. Research has shown that cash payments can have strong positive outcomes for parents and children, including improved health, reduced child abuse and neglect, better education and work opportunities, and increased food, housing, and financial security. This Urban Institute summary provides an overview of key facts and considerations related to using TANF funds to support certain types of cash transfers to families with low incomes.

States have broad flexibility over the use of state and federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds, and many have used that flexibility to divert funds away from income support for families and toward other state budget areas often unrelated to TANF’s goals. In 2021, states spent only about a fifth of the funds on basic assistance to meet essential needs of families with children; yet research shows that investments in cash assistance can improve academic, health, and economic outcomes for children in families in poverty. This Center on Budget and Policy Priorities resource consists of fact sheets for every state, detailing how each spends its TANF funds.