This podcast, part of the Skilled America Podcast weekly series, offers a field report on how the Center for Employment Opportunities in New York and JEVS Human Services in Philadelphia are addressing increased demand for re-entry services as the jail and prison populations reduce to slow the spread of COVID-19. The podcast includes an interview with a JEVS Looking Forward Philadelphia program participant who shares his experiences in re-entry and what supports returning citizens need now and beyond their current circumstances.

This research-to-practice brief identifies programmatic solutions to support reentry for young adults who have been involved in the juvenile justice or criminal justice system as they navigate employment and education pathways. The brief summarizes best practices from nine communities under the three-year U.S. Department of Labor-funded Compass Rose Collaborative (CRC). CRC communities are: Southeast Arkansas; Los Angeles, California; Denver, Colorado; Hartford, Connecticut; Louisville, Kentucky; Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; St. Louis, Missouri; and Albany, New York.

This Urban Institute report is an evaluation of the Family-Centered Community Change (FCCC) approach, launched by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, at three pilot sites: Buffalo, New York; Columbus, Ohio; and San Antonio, Texas. The three FCCC sites adopted two-generation approaches in the areas of early childhood education and child care, partnerships with local elementary schools, after-school care, job-training opportunities for adults, financial education and literacy, and coaching to assist parents with goal setting. This five-year evaluation began in 2013 and concluded in 2018.

This Aspen Institute toolkit provides practical guidance for employers on how to approach and engage opportunity youth (young people who are neither in school nor working) and design initiatives so they are positioned for current and future economic challenges and jobs. The toolkit also offers resources on how to use labor market research as the basis of conversation between employers and youth. The approach is drawn from insights from Denver, New York, and Seattle pilots.

This Urban Institute report evaluates the expansion of New York City’s Jobs-Plus program. Jobs-Plus replicates an earlier federal program model intended to increase public housing residents’ employment and earnings by combining community supports, employment services, and financial incentives to promote work. The report includes interviews with program staff and participants and data analysis on public housing residency and quarterly earnings before and after participating in the Jobs-Plus program.

ASCEND at the Aspen Institute will host a webinar on August 28, 2019 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET to discuss the implementation of the Restoring Education and Learning (REAL) Act. The REAL Act restores Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated individuals, so that they can pursue postsecondary education. ASCEND representatives will moderate this webinar, which will feature presentations by representatives from the College and Community Fellowship, Vera Institute of Justice, and New York City Housing Authority.