The Federal Partners in Transition is hosting a webinar on May 17, 2024 from 3:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET which will include a presentation that focuses on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workforce, potential future use of AI, and current policy, regulations, and laws surrounding AI at the state and federal level. Presenters from the Office of Disability Employment Policy will lead a conversation on the intersection between AI and Disability Employment.

The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center at Virginia Commonwealth University is hosting a webinar on May 22, 2024 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET where Federal, State, and Tribal representatives will discuss effective models in service provision to Indigenous youth and young adults, including individuals with disabilities. There will be discussions on the challenges faced and the actions taken to form Indigenous Service Models. Examples of culturally-focused youth camps, WIOA-funded workforce programs, federal and state initiatives, and vocational rehabilitation best practices will be showcased.

Workforce Communities of Inquiry (WCI) is a flexible, replicable model that provides workforce development practitioners with the training, tools, and support needed to engage in community-driven research. The asset-based approach is designed to uncover specific behaviors, practices, and solutions that improve outcomes for a specific population or geography. Conversations held during the WCI pilot provides a better understanding of how occupational segregation is occurring across the Deep South and its impact on Black communities. The research also identifies immediate actions workforce organizations can take to improve the outcomes of Black learners and workers who utilize the public workforce system. This Jobs for the Future resource highlights key research insights and conversational themes that emerged during the pilot.

Child support programs across the country serve millions of families with low incomes. They establish paternity and child support orders, and they collect child support payments that can help increase family financial stability and contribute to positive long-term outcomes for children. However, many parents with child support obligations struggle to make regular payments. This can result in less financial support for their children, strained parenting relationships, and a potentially substantial accumulation of debt. This Building Evidence on Employment Strategies brief describes the efforts of two county child support agencies in Ohio to increase the availability of supportive services to parents who owe child support, with the goals of improving their employment outcomes, increasing their ability to meet their child support obligations, and improving their relationships with their children. This brief is a part of the BEES Project, which is studying a range of approaches to improve economic mobility and stability for families.

This MDRC toolkit provides guidance, drawn from learning and experience, on how to use data to inform program improvements. It collects concrete strategies and practitioner-tested tools designed to advance these efforts. These materials were developed in pilot projects with local Temporary Assistance for Needy Families agencies as part of the TANF Data Collaborative (TDC).

It is organized according to the five phases of completing a data analytics project used in the TDC’s framework:

1. Laying the Groundwork
2. Accessing the Data
3. Preparing the Data
4. Analyzing the Data
5. Communicating the Results

The Urban Institute and the Berkeley Opportunity Lab are co-hosting a webinar on May 23, 2024 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET where presenters will explore the impacts of providing cash assistance to low-income families with children, including the impact of cash assistance on investments on early childhood outcomes, reductions in child maltreatment, and long-term employment and educational outcomes of children. There will be discussions on how policymakers and researchers can leverage these insights to improve the well-being of some of the nation’s most vulnerable children.

Sector-focused employment programs aim to improve the economic mobility of people with low incomes by training them for quality jobs in sectors that have strong local demand and opportunities for advancement. By partnering with local employers, these programs provide them with a skilled and able workforce. In this Evidence First podcast episode, MDRC talks with Per Scholas, a national nonprofit offering training and employment services.

The YouthNPower: Transforming Care Collective launched the first direct cash transfer (DCT) pilot for youth transitioning from foster care in 2023 and designed with young people who have lived expertise in the child welfare system. This New York City pilot is part of a larger research and advocacy project to document the impact of unconditional cash support for young adults who have recently left the child welfare system to learn more about the conditions facing young people as they navigate life after foster care, and to advocate for policy and program changes that will enrich their lives and help them thrive. This Center for the Study of Social Policy recording highlights a panel that shared:

• An introduction to the intergenerational YouthNPower collective and its approach combining research, advocacy, and organizing;
• Information about the Direct Cash Transfer pilot design; and
• Preliminary findings of the pilot’s Participatory Action Research.

The first-ever Youth Apprenticeship Week started May 5, 2024 and is a nationwide effort to spotlight the ben­e­fits of Reg­is­tered Appren­tice­ship pro­grams for youth and young adults. This Annie E. Casey Foundation resource highlights resources and data on the ben­e­fits of youth appren­tice­ship for both young peo­ple and employers.

People with low incomes may face various challenges to improving their financial situations. Employment and training (E&T) and financial capability services can help improve people's financial circumstances by providing them with useful skills, knowledge, and access to resources and opportunities. The Integrating Financial Capability and Employment Services (InFin) study, funded by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE), was designed to learn about ways in which organizations provide E&T and financial capability services in an integrated manner. This OPRE report summarizes the study’s key findings about the approaches that organizations use to integrate these services, their motivations for doing so, details on the types of financial capability services involved, and participant perspectives on integrated services. It also discusses considerations for future research on the effectiveness of integrated models.