Access to Work Supports

Overview

Program/Practice Name: Northern Connections, Inc.

Contact Information:

Maureen Kenney 150 2nd Street SW, P.O. Box 390 Perham, MN 56573 Phone: (218) 346-2555 (direct) Phone: (218) 346-4624 (general)

Type of Program/Practice:

Northern Connections, a nonprofit organization serving rural west-central Minnesota, is a proactive, outbound communication center that blends innovative technology with high-touch, intensive human services provided by skilled professionals. Participants are individuals and families moving from the Minnesota Family Investment Program or Diversionary Work Program to self-sufficiency.

Description

Program/Practice Description: Northern Connections offers a variety of services including:

• Job retention counseling to build problem-solving skills that promote longevity on the job.
• Re-employment counseling and services, including job searches, resume building, skill assessment, and job readiness skill building.
• Career advancement counseling for career paths and educational planning.
• Asset accumulation counseling to connect customers to checking and savings account resources, financial counseling, and education on home ownership opportunities.
• Human service referrals to necessary agencies and follow-up on behalf of agencies.
• Information sharing calls to inform customers about important services such as Earned Income Tax Credit clinics, job fairs, or other events or leads that promote self-sufficiency.

Background/Program History: As part of West Central Initiative's Family Economic Success project, a team including West Central Initiative, regional organizations serving low-wage families, and Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program (a Minnesota WorkForce Center) visited Connectinc in North Carolina and determined that it was possible to replicate the North Carolina program in Minnesota. Representatives from the Department of Human Services and Department of Employment and Economic Development visited Connectinc and determined that the program was worth replicating. A grant was awarded from West Central Initiative in mid-2005 and, by August 2006, Northern Connections was operational.

Innovations and Results: Although still in the early stages of program operations, Northern Connections has made an impact, demonstrating a 95-98 percent participation rate.

Operations: All services are provided by telephone using the software developed by Connectinc. On a monthly basis, data are downloaded from the Minnesota Department of Human Services for the previous month showing participants who have gone off TANF cash assistance. Northern Connections' program goals are:

1. Job retention for individuals with little work experience:
   • Help build work history
   • Help participants get and maintain jobs
2. Career advancement for individuals who have career aspirations:
   • Prepare them for different jobs
   • Support individuals who would like to obtain a GED/high school diploma
3. Asset accumulation in partnership with Family Assets for Independence in Minnesota:
   • Credit restoration
   • Provide financial literacy training
4. Employment/reemployment for individuals who are not employed or employed part-time and moving to full-time:
   • Help put together jobs
   • Interview preparation
   • Prepare and connect with job fairs
   • Access job leads (through www.MinnesotaWorks.org or other sources)

Funding: Northern Connections is a nonprofit organization with funding from various sources (State appropriations and grants from private foundations, including Northwest Area Foundation, Bush Foundation, Otto Bremer Foundation, West Central Initiative, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Minnesota Department of Human Services Innovation grant).

Staffing: Northern Connections emphasizes staff training and learning about resources and services staff can then pass on to clients. Because of the partnership with Connectinc, Northern Connections benefited by having staff trained at Connectinc. In addition, each Northern Connections staff member was assigned a Connectinc mentor.

Implementation

Tips to Implementation: By learning first hand from Connectinc, Northern Connections began program operations successfully. In addition, the lessons learned and successes of Connectinc have helped Northern Connections secure funding.

Keys to Success:

• Reliable software - Used software developed by Connectinc, which has reduced the need for Northern Connections to develop and test new software.
• Credibility - Part of West Central Initiative, which lends credibility to Northern Connections.
• Efficient - Counseling staff average 30 contacts a day.
• Proactive, intensive approach - Outbound calls proactively identify issues and solve problems, averaging 30-35 contacts per customer.
• Accessible - Operates 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.
• Coaches and models - Overcomes participant inertia or fears through use of its three-way calling technology. During the call, the contact is made rather than relying on follow-up action after the contact.
• Flexible - Approach can be modified for multiple types of services, thereby generating efficiencies in operations.

Tools

"There are no tools associated with this program."

Overview

Program/Practice Name:Project EARN, San Diego, a Work Advancement and Support Center (WASC) Demonstration Site

Agency Name: South County Career Center, a division of the San Diego Workforce Partnership, Inc.

Contact Information:

Linda Weber Assistant Director South County Career Center 1111 Bay Boulevard, Suite E Chula Vista, CA 91911 Phone: (619) 628-0312 Fax: (619) 429-9524 lindaw@workforce.org

Jessica Mosier Program Specialist San Diego Workforce Partnership 3910 University Avenue, Suite 400 San Diego, CA 92105-1326 Phone: (619) 228-2900 Fax: (619) 528-1423 jessicam@workforce.org www.sandiegoatwork.com Jaye Yoshonis Assistant Deputy Director County of San Diego Health & Human Services Strategic Planning & Operational Support Phone: (619) 515-6538

Type of Program/Practice: A collaborative effort offering job retention strategies and advancement services to enable workers to make informed choices about employment and benefits.

Description

Program/Practice Description:Project EARN, San Diego was a partnership among the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA), the South County Career Center, San Diego Workforce Partnership, and social policy research firm MDRC, and was designed to support low-wage workers in job retention and advancement. The demonstration program stemmed from the national study of the Work Advancement and Support Center (WASC) model, which uses the Income Calculator. Project EARN consisted of two parts: enhancing job retention and career advancement services for low-wage workers and building on federal and State income security policies that seek to engage low-wage workers in work support programs, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and Food Stamps, which can help increase the income of low-wage workers. Through technology and career coaching, the program not only provided access to these financial supports, but also helped low-wage workers advance in their current jobs.

The WASC demonstration project has concluded and the Project EARN, San Diego program has ended. To learn more about the findings of MDRC, visit: http://www.mdrc.org/publications/519/overview.html

Innovations and Results: The WASC program was established in one of San Diego's One-Stop Career Centers, which was created under the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 to help low-income workers find jobs. This agency tended to work in isolation from the closely related HHSA, which administers the TANF program and also works with clients to help them find employment. The WASC program represented one of the first programs to combine the efforts of the two distinct agencies, and co-located several HHSA staff on One-Stop property. MDRC research on the 2004 pilot indicated that both employers and human services staff responded positively to WASC efforts to identify advancement opportunities for clients. About 65 percent of clients showed advancement over three months.

Operations: The program recruited low-wage workers through numerous outreach media (mailings, advertisements, phone calls, and contact through colleges and universities), and then conducted a pre-screening to determine whether they meet the program criteria of being under 200 percent of the poverty level, are legal residents, and are working at least part-time. If a client met eligibility requirements, the client was assigned randomly to either a control group or treatment group. The latter group then received information and one-on-one counseling to determine their current situation and how they might advance within their jobs. After the initial meeting, which was scheduled immediately or at a later date, the case manager monitored test cases through follow-up calls, initiating about one contact per month, and completed tracking forms. WASC had a planned system of incentives to encourage clients to advance in their work; for example, if they participated in GED training, they could receive $20 grocery cards by demonstrating successful performance. In monitoring, case managers considered an increase of $0.50 per hour as advancement; the program tended to see evidence of these advances after six to nine months of participation, and most showed progress within a year.

Funding: The WASC program describes itself as very labor intensive and thus expensive. In fact, funding was the biggest challenge that the center faced when initiating the program. Although the initial plan was to write grants to support the center, with a large portion of monies intended to come from Department of Labor Title I and WIA funding, the plan fell through. When only $125,000 of an anticipated $500,000 was received, the One-Stop asked for a waiver to access discretionary funding, but was turned down. Thereafter, the program changed the enrollment process to co-enroll clients in WIA as well as Project EARN, so it was able to leverage WIA funding. However, this proved to be a difficult application process and ultimately it was the center's partnership with HHSA that led to necessary funding. The budget, which previously dedicated a large sum of money to child care, was redrawn to shift money to core programming, as not all clients had children.

Staffing: The program included one county clerk and five workforce coaches. The coaches handled a sizable caseload, so the program chose experienced case managers who have demonstrated high performance. Case managers must be flexible thinkers to handle the complexity of WASC supports and must make themselves available at irregular hours to ensure a connection with clients, who also are working individuals. Staff participated in introductory training on the software and study procedures prior to beginning the program.

Implementation

Tips to Implementation: San Diego's implementation of Project EARN depended largely on the successful coordination of the One-Stop Career Center and the Department of Health and Human Services. It required that staff be co-located, flexible, and well trained, and that they remained in constant communication. Additionally, the program succeeded because of dedicated individuals who were able to think creatively to overcome hurdles such as insufficient funding and challenges in conducting outreach.

Keys to Success: Project EARN, San Diego leveraged the WASC Income Calculator, which performed three functions:

• Quantifies changes in income that would result from increases in earnings through both wages and work supports.
• Identifies eligibility "cliffs" that may affect a client's receipt of work supports.
• Synthesizes a client's financial picture, taking into consideration changes in work supports, taxes, and work-related expenses.

Tools

<p>The following tools are associated with Project EARN, San Diego, a Work Advancement and Support Center (WASC) Demonstration Site. Please send us an email at <a href="mailto:upitoolkit@blhtech.com" class="mailto">upitoolkit@blhtech.com<span class="mailto" aria-label="(link sends e-mail)"></span></a> for more information about these tools.</p> <p><strong>Pre-Screening Questions for Random Assignment </strong></p> <p><strong>WASC Baseline Information Form </strong></p> <p><strong>Project EARN Income Calculator </strong></p> <p><strong>ESL Incentives Flyer </strong></p> <p><strong>Project EARN Income Improvement and Advancement Plan </strong></p> <p><strong>Project EARN Meeting Outline </strong></p> <p><strong>Project Earn Participant Packet </strong></p> <p><strong>Coaching for Advancement: Information Gathering Questionnaires </strong></p> <p><strong>Overview of Project Earn </strong></p> <p>Strategies to Help Low-Wage Workers Advance: Implementation and Early Impacts of the Work Advancement and Support Center (WASC) Demonstration: <a href="http://www.mdrc.org/publications/519/overview.html" style="line-height: 1.53em; font-size: 13px;" class="ext" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.mdrc.org/publications/519/overview.html<span class="ext" aria-label="(link is external)"></span></a></p> <p> </p>