The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) recently announced an application solicitation to award cooperative agreements to state agencies for participation in a TANF Policy Academy for Innovative Employment Strategies (PAIES). PAIES is a series of technical assistance activities developed to help state TANF programs design, plan, and implement innovative and comprehensive approaches to increase employment outcomes for TANF participants through coaching and career pathways. The PAIES work will document and disseminate emerging and promising strategies, and awardees will receive 18 months of funding, subject to funding availability. Applications are due May 29, 2018. For more information on coaching grants, please see https://ami.grantsolutions.gov/HHS-2018-ACF-OFA-FJ-1280. For more information on career pathways grants, please see https://ami.grantsolutions.gov/HHS-2018-ACF-OFA-FJ-1345.

This report from ICF for the Baltimore County Department of Economic and Workforce Development summarizes the implementation and evaluation of the Accelerating Connections to Employment (ACE) program. The ACE program is designed to improve workforce and employment outcomes for low-skilled workers with partnerships between Workforce Investment Boards and community colleges. The results of the evaluations found positive outcomes for low-skilled workers and fidelity to the program model between various sites.

This paper from MDRC highlights the work of YouthForce NOLA, which works to prepare New Orleans public high school students for post-secondary education and careers in three in-demand local industries: health sciences, creative media and technology, and skilled crafts. The paper provides an overview of the main principles and elements essential to creating a career pathway for high school-aged youth. MDRC is currently completing an implementation evaluation of the program.

This informational Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program video intends to assist grantees in establishing their own employer partnerships by highlighting established in-demand healthcare trainings used across 21 states to meet growing employer need. The video illustrates relationships between HPOG 2.0 grantees and their employer partners.

This journal article from The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences outlines a plan for utilizing Head Start and career pathways services offered through a community college to create a two- generational human capital approach to serving low-income families. The article outlines policy and funding that would encourage this type of collaboration across anti-poverty programs. It highlights recent research that has shown that this model can work and produce positive outcomes as evidenced by a program in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

SNAP to Skills will host the webinar Better Jobs and Increased Incomes: Integrating SNAP E&T into Career Pathways Programs on March 22, 2018 from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. EST. The webinar will focus on how career pathways can help SNAP participants upgrade their skills and advance to higher paying jobs by completing training and obtaining credentials in industries with strong employment opportunities. Webinar participants will learn how SNAP E&T can integrate with career pathways programs to create expanded opportunities for SNAP participants, leverage other funding, and fill service gaps to increase impact. It will include opportunities to hear from specific communities on how they have integrated SNAP E&T with career pathways to create opportunities for participants to obtain better jobs and increase earnings.

Learn more about Wisconsin’s journey through career pathway policy alignment and system change at the local, regional, and state levels. In this webinar, participants will hear from Scott DuBenske, Education Director at the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS). He will provide a detailed look at the primary drivers of success in Wisconsin’s journey to scale career pathways. Join the webinar to learn the details of this innovative career pathways operation and gain insights into how to scale initiatives state-wide. WTCS’s career pathways initiative was supported by funds from a Round 4 Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant.

The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and PHI published this report which explores the role of leaders beyond just the workforce development field, but also across professional, business, government, and other sectors to promote better quality jobs in a coordinated and efficient way. Initiatives engaged across a variety of fields would expand economic opportunity while encouraging public and private partnerships and change across policies and practices. This report shares efforts that have already been successful, while also making recommendations for future opportunities.

This brief examines the Accelerating Opportunity initiative that began in 2011, which helps adults with low basic skills obtain well-paying jobs through increasing their credentials. It reviews the implementation, impact, and cost benefits evaluations of the program in Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, and Louisiana. It showed promising gains for low-skilled adults in the area of education, but earnings impacts were mixed.

This report examines evidence on the Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement, which is a program that connects low-income students and local employers. The initiative helps participants earn a living wage, and employers find skilled workers. The program was effective at increasing full time college enrollment and future reports will identify gains for participants in employment and earnings.