The Mathematica Center for Studying Disability Policy will host a webinar on August 24, 2021 from noon to 1:30 p.m. ET, focusing on lessons learned from Vermont’s Linking Learning to Careers initiative. This initiative creates evidence-based practices on work-based learning for youth – a crucial strategy to improve career readiness. A discussion will be held with program leaders, transition team members, technical assistance providers, and evaluators. Additionally, youth program participants will share their experiences.

The American Public Human Services Association and the National Association of Welfare Research Statistics will host a hybrid (in-person and virtual learning) conference from August 22 to August 25, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The conference will bring together policy, practice, research, and various programs to advance the collective goal of achieving economic mobility and well-being for everyone. Workshops are being developed to help health and human service leaders, policymakers, and researchers in developing human services programs through collaboration, integration, modernization, and guidance on effectively monitoring quality control and performance management. A registration fee is required.

This report documents the first phase of a multiphase initiative to identify and invest in California’s “high road employers,” whose business models emphasize worker power, job quality, and career advancement. It includes the worker-led development of a new framework for assessing job quality and an interactive tool to help employers design rewarding and fulfilling jobs that reflect worker experiences and perspectives.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) report presents evaluation findings of Washington State’s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program. I-Best increases access to and completion of college-level occupational training for adults with low skills. The OPRE report examines the I-BEST program’s impacts on education, earnings, and other life outcomes. I-BEST is one of nine programs examined under the Administration for Children and Families’ Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education project.

The U.S. Department of Education seeks applications for the Performance Partnerships Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3). The FY 2021 P3 authorization allows pilot programs to utilize waivers of requirements that hinder service delivery or impede a holistic approach. These waivers include, for example, blending and use of other federal funds, flexibility in age or income eligibility requirements, use of alternative outcome measures, and others requested in a submitted application. P3 pilots are required to include at least two Federal programs which target disconnected youth or are designed to prevent youth from disconnecting with educational, workforce, or social services supports. Applications are due by August 23, 2021.

The U.S. Department of Labor will host a virtual webinar on July 29, 2021, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, on the characteristics of quality credentials and the types of available credentials. Speakers from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration will identify resources and tools that workforce development stakeholders can use to find relevant credentials to support them in determining the credentials that may count in meeting grant performance outcomes.

The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation has issued a Call for Papers for the Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency (RECS) 2022, to be held in-person from June 1-3, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Call invites proposals for full conference sessions, individual presentations, and roundtables on the following topics: TANF programs, policies, and populations; employment and mobility in the labor market; youth well-being and the transition to adulthood; strengthening families, fatherhood, marriages, and relationships; evaluating social programs, building evidence, and using data; and approaches to alleviate poverty and expand opportunity. A virtual information session on preparing and submitting a proposal will be held on July 22, 2021 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET. Proposal submissions are due by August 27, 2021.

Workplace mentors can impart their knowledge, skills, and wisdom to apprentices, helping them gain confidence and competence. This guide has four modules and FAQs to support mentors in their relationships with apprentices in youth registered apprenticeship programs. There is also a list of resources that mentors and employers can use when implementing youth apprenticeship programs and information on the benefits of mentoring.

The Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Community Services (OCS) announced a funding opportunity for the Community Services Block Grant CARES Act Rapid-Cycle Impact Projects. The funding will support the CARES Act goal of adapting service models to meet urgent community needs while testing proposed projects’ strategies to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Support will be provided for communities to utilize a rapid-cycle learning or continuous quality improvement approach to strengthen the effectiveness of a grant-funded program or service strategy. Up to 20 grants will be awarded. Applications are due by July 26, 2021.

This report reviews how the COVID-19 pandemic recession has had a disproportionately negative economic impact on women and persons of color in the workforce, particularly those working previously in the service industry. This impact points to a need for a workforce development approach that supports workers who must switch industries and occupations due to the potential for long-term unemployment and lower labor demand.