Work Activities

Overview

Program/Practice Name: Community Based Training (CBT)

Agency Name: Office of Economic Development, Division of Workforce Development (OED–WD)

Contact Information:

Curt Pesicka Manager of Operations Office of Economic Development, Division of Workforce Development 1200 Federal Blvd. Denver, CO 80204 Phone: (720) 944–2736 Fax: (720) 944–4131 curt.pesicka@denvergov.org

Type of Program/Practice: CBT allows Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants to meet their work participation requirements, while giving them the opportunity to develop job skills and work experience needed to secure employment.

Description

Program/Practice Description: CBT provides TANF participants a chance to meet their work participation requirements through formal community service placements. CBT is targeted toward individuals who have little work experience and allows participants to develop skills needed to obtain meaningful employment. Placements include unpaid work experience in nonprofit, for–profit, and government agencies, along with community service activities in schools, churches, and other nonprofit community organizations. Participants access CBT through three avenues:

• OED–WD;
• TANF contractors through OED–WD; and
• Independent CBT identified by the TANF participant.

Placements vary among participants but, on average, have lasted one to three months. The maximum time a CBT placement may last is six months, unless otherwise agreed to by all parties. Employers who participate in CBT are required to provide a job description and outline the skills that participants will learn or practice during their placement. In addition to basic cash assistance, participants receive child care, transportation, and related supportive services. CBT placements are also subject to requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). According to Colorado policy guidance CBT participants are compensated at minimum wage. The TANF grant food assistance grants are used in determining the number of hours a participant may work in a month. OED–WD issues FLSA payments to participants who work hours above the basic cash and food assistance grants.

Background/Program History: This program evolved from another program called Work Pool. Through Work Pool TANF participants were placed in work experience placements at Denver Human Services to help them develop work experience and job skills in a structured, stable, and flexible work environment.

Innovations and Results: CBT allows individuals with little to no work experience and multiple barriers to employment to gain valuable job experience and develop marketable job skills to help them secure employment. This is done in a structured environment where participants have access to supportive services. Participants work closely with an OED–WD Business Development Associate to address barriers to employment, find a placement that aligns with the participant's employment goals, and follow up with the participant and employer. OED–WD also contracts with 19 community based organizations to provide workforce development services, including CBT, to TANF participants. On average 22.4% of Denver's TANF caseload participates in CBT on a monthly basis; 48.8% of TANF participants achieving the federal work participation rate are engaged in CBT, often in combination with GED/basic skills, vocational education, job search, or other work activities. CBT participants often have the opportunity to transition to subsidized and unsubsidized employment at their CBT site.

Implementation

Tips to Implementation:OED-WD focuses on managing two customer populations: the TANF participant and the CBT employer. The CBT program addresses barriers to work from initial engagement with TANF participants so that participants are more likely to succeed in CBT placements. Cultivating and developing relationships with employers willing to participate in CBT has been key to program success. Employers are provided formal (subsidies, tax credits) and informal incentives to encourage participation.

Keys to Success: CBT placements mirror the world of work as much as possible. Since many participants have never worked before, this experience allows them to adapt to the world of work, which sometimes involves difficult adjustments. However, in CBT, participants are able to make mistakes in an environment where Business Development Associates can work closely with the customer and the employer to overcome workplace challenges.

Challenges:

• Cultivating and maintaining relationships with employers.
• Developing CBT placement opportunities that include a broad range of industries, occupations and job skills.
• Rising caseloads and shrinking budgets means sufficient contractors or OED-WD Business Development Associates are not available to make CBT site visits on a regular basis.
• Business Development Associates must act as mediators and job coaches.
• Managing employer expectations and commitment to training.

Tools

The following tools are associated with Community Based Training. Please send us an email at upitoolkit@blhtech.com for more information about these tools.

Business Development Associate Job Description

Summary of CBT Program

Client Intake Packet

Colorado Works Individual Responsibility Contract (IRC) Addendum, Employment and Training Action Plan

Employer Outreach Packet

Community Based Training Work Pool Hand Book for the TANF Participant

Community Based Training Handbook for the Site Supervisor

Joint DHS/OED Policy on Fair Labor Standards Act and CBT

Overview

Program/Practice Name: Local Investment Commission (LINC)

Agency Name: Local Investment Commission

Contact Information:

Tom Jakopchek LINCWorks Director 3100 Broadway, Suite 1114 Kansas City, MO 64111 Phone: (816) 303-0660 tjakopchek@lincworks.org www.lincworks.org

Type of Program/Practice: LINC partners with local citizens to identify and act upon community challenges and strengths in the support of initiatives on employment, aging, safe neighborhoods, childhood development, education, health and other critical human services that lead to self-sufficiency for low-income families.

Description

Program/Practice Description: Through its "community partnership" approach, LINC brings together state agencies, local human services organizations, citizen leaders, and program participants to continually evaluate and modify the local welfare-to-work system. LINC uses this community knowledge to create a system that is participant-driven, non duplicative, and focused on moving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants to full-time, unsubsidized employment.

The LINCWorks initiative provides TANF participants with help on the path from welfare to skills and work. Services provided by LINCWorks include placement in countable work activities, ongoing case management, assistance with transportation and work-related expenses, and referral to partner organizations for job training, employment placement, child care, warrant relief, trauma counseling and education assistance.

LINCWorks refers clients to services offered at more than 60 LINC Caring Communities sites. Through the Caring Communities initiative, LINC places a site coordinator at a school or neighborhood site to work with parents, neighbors, and school staff to develop services in support of children, parents, and neighborhoods. Services range from afterschool programs to emergency assistance to financial literacy and more. Specific services vary from site to site and are based on needs as determined by citizen-led site councils. Because LINC Caring Communities sites are located primarily at schools in low-income neighborhoods, and because LINCWorks clients often have children who attend those schools, there is a significant population overlap between the two initiatives. LINCWorks case managers and LINC Caring Communities site coordinators can work together to ensure TANF participants are able to access the full array of services on offer.

LINC improves LINCWorks clients' access to and quality of child care through two early childhood education initiatives. The LINC Educare initiative provides childcare provider training on child development, safety, first aid, business development and other topics. The LINC Subsidy Services initiative provides registered child care providers with payment agreements, payment processing, and technical assistance.

Background/Program History: LINC began operation in 1992 at the instigation of the Missouri Department of Social Services.

Innovations and Results: In all areas of its work, including welfare to work, LINC engages the community at a deep and genuine level. LINC has found that often the most effective and insightful strategies for moving adults from welfare to work come from individuals and families in the community. LINC's work is guided by a knowledgeable board of volunteers, and the LINCWorks initiative is guided by a committee of equally knowledgeable and committed volunteers.

The support of these volunteers, together with the support and insight of families at the LINC Caring Communities sites, employers, local institutions, and partner agencies, allows LINC to respond to opportunities as they arise and to connect participants with very specific employment support, both short- and long-term.

LINC also enjoys longstanding relationships with the Missouri Department of Social Services Family Support Division and the Full Employment Council, with whom it has partnered in local welfare-to-work efforts since 1992. These long-established partnerships allow for strong communication and a flexible approach to addressing problems as they arise.

Results for the LINCWorks participants include reduced barriers to employment and increased work experience leading to placement in paid employment and self-sufficiency.

Operations: Collecting, converting, and disseminating data to the community drives much of LINC's' work. LINC develops data systems to monitor performance and progress, case manager efficiency, and outcomes of participants and the organization. Ensuring information is useful and easy to comprehend, and holding individuals accountable for the work they do, are critical components of LINC's operations.

Partners in the LINCWorks initiative include the Missouri Department of Social Services Family Support Division, Full Employment Council, Bishop Sullivan Center, Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault, Legal Aid of Western Missouri, Metropolitan Community Colleges, and more than 60 LINC Caring Communities sites.

Implementation

Tips to Implementation: For organizations that are considering establishing similar programs, LINC suggests implementing the following strategies: (1) work in partnership with local constituents to find out exactly how local challenges and strengths are affecting self-sufficiency efforts for low-income families; (2) community meetings need to involve key individuals with the power to enact immediate decisions; (3) do not be afraid to experiment, but be quick to change direction if strategies are not working; and (4) approach clients with a strengths-based management perspective; clients respond best to positive reinforcement that recognizes their achievements and builds on current strengths.

Keys to Success: In its 20-year history, LINC has discovered numerous best practices and overcome many challenges in delivering human services as a citizen-directed organization:

• Paramount to all its work is establishing close partnerships with local stakeholders. Partnering with community members who are caring, engaged, and motivated has led to program results that are more effective and sustainable.

• The key to successful job retention is case management that continues after job placement; achieving job retention requires closely supporting clients even after employment has occurred.

• LINC has benefited greatly from leadership that has allowed staff to be flexible and creative in designing training and implementing programs.

• Having staff who remain energized and passionate about their work.

Tools

The following tools are associated with Local Investment Commission. Please send us an email at upitoolkit@blhtech.com for more information about these tools.

Local Investment Commission Welfare-to-Work Orientation

This employer training manual includes an overview of welfare reform as it relates to issues of employment, covering tax incentives, training development funds, support systems, and retention strategies.