The National Governors Association (NGA) selected Idaho, Indiana, Minnesota, and North Carolina to participate in the Policy Academy to Strengthen Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) Delivery. These four states will receive technical assistance through the policy academy to identify and address barriers to successfully implementing SNAP E&T programs in their states. This NGA resource describes how workforce and human services agencies in these states will receive technical assistance to elevate their SNAP E&T programs to drive more resources and opportunities for economic self-sufficiency.

The Rehabilitation Services Administration funds the Disability Innovation Fund-Subminimum Wage to Competitive Integrated Employment (SWTCIE) projects designed to decrease subminimum wage employment and increase competitive integrated employment for people with disabilities currently employed in or contemplating subminimum wage employment. This Mathematica practice brief explores how SWTCIE staff promote their projects to potential participants and employers. It summarizes interviews with four SWTCIE projects from agencies in Connecticut, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Texas. The brief shares promising practices including (1) meeting people where they are and proactively addressing their concerns, (2) engaging a wide network in their communities, (3) consulting external resources such as communications firms to shape their branding, and (4) promoting success stories and using family and peer mentors. The lessons learned could help vocational rehabilitation agencies and other organizations interested in implementing aspects of their programs.

In 2016, the Annie E. Casey Foundation launched Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP™), a national initiative that helps youth and young adults who have been involved in the foster care or justice systems or who have experienced homelessness succeed in school and work by building and expanding education and employment pathways. Through partnerships with public agencies, postsecondary education, housing, service providers and more, LEAP partners are working toward improving policies and practices that place more systems-involved young people on positive economic trajectories. This Annie E. Casey Foundation brief shares the key takeaways from an evaluation conducted to better understand their efforts in tackling the root causes of disconnection from education and careers with systems-involved youth.

The Department of Labor’s Division of Youth Services will be hosting a webinar on August 28, 2024 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET, which will explore different frameworks of youth engagement in the decision-making processes of workforce development. This session is designed for anyone interested in understanding and enhancing youth participation in workforce development.

In October, the Department of Labor (DOL) will be hosting the National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) to celebrate the value and talent workers with disabilities add to America’s workplaces and economy. While NDEAM takes place each October, its purpose is to confirm our commitment to ensuring disabled workers have access to good jobs, every month of every year. This DOL webpage contains resources to help celebrate NDEAM 2024: Access to Good Jobs for All.

Sectoral training programs prepare people for high-quality jobs in industries that have strong local demand and offer the opportunity for career advancement. This MDRC video highlights the history of sectoral training, the evidence of its effectiveness, and success stories from participants in some of the best programs.

This National Association of Workforce Development Professionals virtual event will take place on September 25, 2024 at 1:00 pm. ET, and participants will learn how to build a resilient and dedicated workforce by hiring and upskilling returning citizens.

Black entrepreneurs face persistent systemic barriers to starting, maintaining, and growing businesses. Education, training, and workforce development organizations can be a source of support. This Urban Institute brief investigates how organizations within this space support Black business owners and help remove structural barriers.

HireAbility Vermont, Vermont’s state agency meant to help those with disabilities prepare for, obtain, and maintain meaningful careers, designed Vermont Career Advancement Project (VCAP) to address barriers to employment and encourage enrollment in training programs for high-wage occupations. VCAP will train more people for career pathways by connecting participants with programs and educational opportunities that result in a credential, postsecondary degree, or higher-paid job. This Mathematica brief describes how VCAP connects people with disabilities with opportunities for career training.

In 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) launched the Youth Employment Works strategy to set a clear vision for young people in the workforce system and its public and private sector partners. This work is urgent and necessary to promote high quality career pathways for young workers to ensure they are prepared and empowered to engage in a dynamic labor market full of opportunities. This DOL resource lays out a roadmap for how they are aligning their programs and funds to advance this vision. The resource highlights additional links that provide guidance outlining promising practices for partnership and service delivery through the youth workforce system as well as the national Call to Action on Youth Employment.