This year celebrates the 85th anniversary of the passing of the National Apprenticeship Act of 1937, which established the Registered Apprenticeship Program. To celebrate National Apprenticeship Week, the Center for Advancing Policy on Employment for Youth (CAPE-Youth) will host a webinar on November 15, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. ET with apprenticeship intermediaries, which are organizations with the capacity, expertise, and network to help businesses successfully create, launch, and expand apprenticeship programs. During the webinar, these organizations will explore the evolution of apprenticeship in general, and for people with disabilities specifically. The webinar will provide a brief overview of inclusive apprenticeships and feature speakers from three to four apprenticeship intermediaries who will discuss their advancement efforts and best practices to ensure apprenticeships are inclusive of youth and young adults with disabilities.

Breaking Barriers was a San Diego-based program that provided employment services to individuals with low incomes and disabilities who were looking for work. The program used the Individual Placement and Support model. This report summarizes findings from an earlier program evaluation report and presents new impact findings based on administrative records from the National Directory of New Hires. These records include information on study participants’ quarterly employment and earnings over an extended, two-year follow-up period.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy has released a Center for Advancing Policy on Employment for Youth (CAPE-Youth) brief which discusses the ways states increased participation and performance in career and technical education (CTE) programs for students with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The brief also identifies lessons learned and how policymakers can incorporate these lessons after the pandemic to support the aims of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) conducted the 2021 National TANF Directors’ Meeting from September 20 - 24, 2021. During this innovation station presentation, the speaker showcased Workforce 1 Connect (WF1), a communication tool created by the Minnesota Department of Human Services and the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). WF1 Connect is a pilot application that participants receiving TANF, SNAP E&T, Childcare Assistance, and DEED Employment and Training Programs such as Blind and Vocational Rehabilitation Services, can download to their phone or tablet. It is a participant-driven tool that can be used to communicate with both county and tribal staff.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief describes the experiences of six employment programs participating in the Next Generation of Enhanced Employment Strategies (NextGen) Project. The brief presents key takeaways from their efforts to maintain and develop new connections with employers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Four of the programs serve people with mental illness; one serves TANF participants with disabilities or who care for dependents with disabilities; and one serves young adults with disabilities who are transitioning from school to work. The brief offers lessons for other employment programs about promising strategies for working with employers that might endure beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) conducted the 2021 National TANF Directors’ Meeting from September 20 - 24, 2021. During this concurrent workshop, representatives of the TANF Data Collaborative overviewed three pilot projects showcasing their experiences. California examined wage progression for TANF participants who have left the program. New York organized its data into cohorts and spells, which is valuable in providing information about the duration of TANF receipt, reentry, and basic outcomes, and Utah created an analytic file to examine characteristics that predict a cohort of “leavers” returning to TANF.

This case study profiles Kentucky’s Targeted Assessment Program (TAP), which provides comprehensive assessment and intensive case management for parents in the state’s child welfare and TANF systems. The program’s goals are to support participants in overcoming barriers to self-sufficiency and family safety with a focus on mental health, substance use, intimate partner violence, and learning disabilities or deficits in 35 counties statewide. The case study also notes services provided by TAP; how the program manages staffing, communication, and funding; and how program participation and outcomes are measured. The case study also highlights TAP’s promising approaches, challenges, and future plans.

(See also Resources on "domestic violence" in the Resource Library)

This Center for Advancing Policy on Employment for Youth brief identifies the extensive nature of trauma and how adverse childhood experiences have negative impacts on the employment outcomes of youth and young adults with disabilities. The brief notes how workforce systems can meet young job seekers’ mental health needs by using a trauma-informed care lens, which can reduce barriers to employment among youth with disabilities who have histories of trauma. The brief presents data on the percentage of youth who have had adverse childhood experiences and highlights state examples of care coordination and cross-system collaboration, tools and training for professional development, and culturally responsive practices.

Supportive services are one of 14 program elements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) youth program that enable individuals to participate in WIOA activities. This first set of resources on providing supportive services to youth includes information on: Supportive Services Guides and Locators; the TANF Program and state contacts; the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and State CCDF contacts; the State Child Support Enforcement Program; guidance and support for individuals with disabilities; the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; the Foster Care to Success Education Training Voucher Program; and health, mental health, and substance abuse resources.

Philadelphia Workforce Inclusion Networks (Philly WINs) is part of the Next Generation of Enhanced Employment Strategies (NextGen) Project, which seeks to rigorously evaluate employment strategies for people with low incomes and physical or mental health challenges. Philly WINs helps adults with disabilities find and maintain competitive employment and helps employers foster inclusive work environments. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report discusses the effectiveness of Philly WINs and aids stakeholders interested in replicating this model to understand the program and its operations.