This Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation report is the result of a literature review, a listening session, and individual conversations with stakeholders about the growing need for healthcare workers and the unnecessary hiring restrictions against people with criminal backgrounds. There are five things to consider in this area: some individuals with criminal records are qualified to satisfy the growing healthcare demand; effective screening methods are already being used throughout the country; certain occupations like Emergency Medical Technicians have already been filled by the previously incarcerated; federal and state governments and communities are trying to lower unnecessary barriers to entry into the healthcare sector; and those with criminal records can strengthen the healthcare workforce if properly screened. Examples of programs, state initiatives, and screening criteria are listed in the report to inform future policies and practices.

This brief comes from an event hosted by the Center for Law and Social Policy on the importance of career pathways and evidence-informed practices that can bolster career pathway interventions. The research shows positive earnings and educational results from career pathway programs, although some study results have provided mixed reviews of their effectiveness. To better evaluate career pathway outcomes, the report emphasizes the need to collect better data and more indicators of performance, build more awareness between workforce development and child and adult education systems, and eliminate TANF work requirements that constrain funding on a narrow scope of work activities. The report ends with components of effective career pathway interventions and includes tangible guiding and research questions for practitioners and program designers.

The National Governors Association (NGA) produced a white paper to outline the challenges persons with disabilities face entering and maintaining employment. Drawn from NGA’s participation in the State Exchange on Employment and Disability (SEED) initiative supported by the U.S. Department of Labor, the white paper also includes strategies as a result of a learning lab in May 2018. Strategies reflect four priority areas: preparing people with disabilities for careers; supporting and retaining employees with disabilities; engaging employers in education and training; and coordinating services and supports across state agencies.

Mathematica researchers studied the intensity of direction that caseworkers gave to voucher recipients selecting a job-training program. In particular, study findings indicated that those recipients who received the most directive approach from caseworkers had higher survey-reported earnings than those recipients who did not. Findings will be published in the Journal of Human Resources.

The Office of Family Assistance has published a series of success stories from the HPOG program. Each of the dozen stories reflects the first-person narrative of an HPOG participant, drawn from Tribal and non-Tribal HPOG grantees, who has successfully completed the program and has entered into employment in allied health professions.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (OFA) Regions I through IV hosted the OFA Regions I-IV East Coast TANF Directors’ Meeting, Leveraging Partnerships to Help Families Achieve Economic Stability, on July 24-26, 2018 at the Westin Boston Waterfront in Boston, Massachusetts. The meeting convened representatives from TANF programs from Regions I-IV and provided TANF representatives with an opportunity to learn about promising practices, discuss shared challenges faced by TANF programs, and share ideas with peers from other states about how to respond to the needs of low-income families. The meeting also included practitioners and researchers who shared information about their own work, and who looked to TANF representatives and federal partners for future research opportunities. Representatives attended presentations from experts and program administrators, and worked with other states to think of innovative practices during Team Work sessions.

This report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce outlines challenges faced by low-income students who work longer hours than their higher-income peers while at the same time aiming to complete their postgraduate education. The report distinguishes between these two groups of students, both on the extent of their financial safety nets and the applicability of their choice of study. It concludes with recommendations to provide support for low-income students in completing their higher education to close the opportunity and education gaps they face.

This infographic from the Aspen Institute outlines seven steps that employers can take to increase their employees’ soft skills, which are necessary for organizational sustainability. These crucial soft skills that lead to organizational success include teamwork, communication, and problem solving. Some of the tips include guidance on how to identify target audiences for soft skill training, how to determine which soft skills are critical for different roles, and how to establish baselines for soft skill competencies.

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) prepared a toolkit with findings from a multi-year research project covering 28 main ways that the Federal Government supports tribal innovation within workforce development. Also included are four case studies of approaches that some tribes use to address workforce development.

Apprenticeships play an important role in preparing workers for successful and sustainable careers. This set of three tools, created by the U.S. Department of Labor, provides guidance on developing and expanding apprenticeship programs that can engage potential new workers. Within the toolkit are Strategies in Action, which provides examples of how apprenticeship programs can be promoted and address organizational challenges in their design; Talking to Businesses, which gives guidance on how to speak the employers’ language when engaging with potential and participating employers; and a Business Engagement Quick Guide, which outlines three phases of working successfully with employers towards the goal of apprenticeship.