Given the potential to build a more equitable economy and provide opportunities for upward mobility, apprenticeships have become a key tool in California’s workforce development toolbox. In July 2022, California’s Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) and the Labor & Workforce Development Agency released a five-point plan of action to aid the expansion of the number of apprentices. One point called for expanding youth apprenticeship opportunities and recommended the state convene stakeholders to develop definitions and quality standards to support apprenticeship pilots, provide technical assistance, and take steps to support better alignment of funding. This New America blogpost highlights the creation of the California Youth Apprenticeship Committee and the California Youth Apprenticeship Grant Program.

The federal government currently has five primary programs designed to feed school-age children: the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), the School Breakfast Program (SBP), the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the Seamless Summer Option, and the Summer Food Service Program. Each program has distinct meal costs, eligibility requirements, and reimbursement processes for the meals served. While all public schools have the option to participate in each of these federal meal programs, they may choose to opt out of any of them. Recognizing the multitude of benefits for students, families, and schools, this report illustrates how five states—California, Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, and New Mexico—have acted to independently serve free school meals for all students. In the absence of continued federal investment, this strategy is essential for ensuring that students are well fed and ready to learn during the school day.

CalFresh, federally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program (SNAP), is one of California’s largest safety net programs. The program provides food assistance to 4.8 million Californians, and according to the most recent estimates, lifts about half a million Californians out of poverty. During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal and state policies have increased benefit levels and expanded eligibility for CalFresh. This report goes beyond annual poverty snapshots to investigate the double jeopardy of low and unstable income and addresses two key questions: To what extent do safety net resources stabilize incomes of CalFresh participants? and How did CalFresh and other safety net resources affect family budgets at the start of the pandemic?

Linking government data between different agencies and departments is a powerful strategy to connect people to valuable benefits that they might otherwise miss. By linking data, the California Policy Lab helped the state of California measure how many Californians receiving safety-net benefits were at risk of not receiving federal stimulus payments, the state Earned Income Tax Credit, and the advanced Child Tax Credit – resulting in millions of dollars of federal aid delivered to non-filing Californians. This toolkit provides step-by-step guidance for government leadership and their staff on how to develop and execute cross-departmental data linkages by focusing on a case study on increasing the take-up of anti-poverty tax credits.

This blogpost highlights a new partnership between the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Chief Probation Officers of California that supports strategies to change juvenile probation in California. The partnership is exploring how county-level probation can work with community partners to connect young people to the guidance, opportunities and support they require to thrive at home. The partnership will include training and other technical assistance to county probation leaders and staff.

This report documents the first phase of a multiphase initiative to identify and invest in California’s “high road employers,” whose business models emphasize worker power, job quality, and career advancement. It includes the worker-led development of a new framework for assessing job quality and an interactive tool to help employers design rewarding and fulfilling jobs that reflect worker experiences and perspectives.

This collection of resources includes research, promising programs, tools, and guides that can be used to support returning citizens and those with a criminal record to enter registered apprenticeships. The compendium features programs targeting returning citizens: the Next Chapter IT Apprenticeships; the Flintridge Center Apprenticeship Preparation Program; Greyston Bakery; the VICE Media Group Media, Production, and Technology Apprenticeships; Jails to Jobs (California); and the Iowa Department of Corrections Apprenticeship.

This report reviews the use of technology-based learning (TBL), covering employability or soft skills, basic literacy and numeracy, technological literacy, job search skills, and occupational training and certification. It also examines approaches used to increase remote access for TBL, perceived barriers in implementing TBL at American Job Centers, and the American Job Center staff perceptions of the effectiveness of existing TBL services. The report is based on site visits at five state workforce agencies (in Massachusetts, Kentucky, Utah, Minnesota, and California) and nine American Job Centers in these states as they were developing policies for expanding the use of TBL.

This report examines family treatment courts (FTCs) that address the needs of families affected by substance use disorders. FTCs coordinate service delivery from child protective services, treatment professionals, court personnel, and community partners; this coordination helps ensure that children have safe, nurturing, and permanent homes, parents achieve stable recovery, and each family member receives needed services and supports. The report covers key FTC components, including multisystemic collaborative approaches, governance structures, and integrated and parallel program models, and presents FTC examples in Jefferson County, Colorado; King County, Washington; and Sacramento County, California.

This report examines how organizational culture, office design, and office procedures contribute to the client experience with TANF, the services offered, and the potential outcomes. It highlights examples of productive client-oriented office settings, organizational processes and culture, and the day-to-day influence of organizational culture on clients and frontline staff. The report’s findings are drawn from field interviews and observations at six TANF offices: Fairfax County’s Department of Family Services (Virginia); Mesa County’s Workforce Center (Colorado); New York City’s Human Resources Administration (New York); Owens Valley Career Development Center’s Tribal TANF Program (California); Santa Cruz County’s Human Services Department (California); and the Utah Department of Workforce Services.