Employer Engagement by Community-Based Organizations

Record Description
This report from the Urban Institute highlights the work of three community-based organizations taking part in the JPMorgan Chase’s New Skills at Work Initiative. It showcases promising approaches and strategies to engage employers to fill their employment needs and train workers to meet these needs.
Record Type
Combined Date
2018-04-30T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2018-05-01
Section/Feed Type
Latest Information from Network (Home)

Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County Health Careers for All Program: Implementation and Early Impact Report, December 2017

Record Description

This study from the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation examines the implementation and early impacts of the Health Careers for All program operated by the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County under the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education study sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families. Health Careers for All helps low-income adults access occupational training and increase their earnings as part of a career pathway program. The report provides a detailed overview of the program, study findings, and future research to be conducted.

Record Type
Combined Date
2018-05-21T09:17:25
Source
OFA Initiatives
Region
City/County

OFA Webinar: Post-Employment Services and Strategies for TANF Programs

Record Description

Post-employment services that align with individual’s interests, strengths, and abilities are necessary to ensure they can maintain or advance in employment. Unfortunately, many TANF participants tend to obtain low-skill/low-wage jobs with little room for advancement and can experience difficulty retaining jobs. TANF programs strive to address this issue by offering a variety of post-employment education, training, and supportive services designed to help TANF families sustain long-term livable wage employment and occupational advancement. Given the significant flexibility TANF programs have in the type of post-employment support offered, these services vary across states and programs, depending on the needs of TANF participants. During our interactive webinar, Post-Employment Services and Strategies for TANF Programs on August 2, 2017 from 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. EST, TANF programs shared how they continue to support TANF participants post-employment through a variety of approaches.

Record Type
Combined Date
2017-08-02T09:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
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Encouraging Evidence on a Sector-Focused Advancement Strategy

Record Description

This report from MDRC summarizes the two-year findings of a rigorous random assignment evaluation of the WorkAdvance model, a sectoral training and advancement initiative launched in 2011.

Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2016-05-31T20:00:00
Source
OFA Initiatives
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2016-06-01

The Value of Credentials for Disadvantaged Workers: Findings from the Sector Employment Impact Study

Record Description

This study, completed by the Aspen Institute Workforce Strategies Initiative in 2015, explores whether individuals who obtain credentials work more and earn more over time than they would without such credentials. The study is the first to estimate the causal impact on earnings from obtaining a credential for low-income job seekers.

Record Type
Combined Date
2014-12-31T19:00:00
Source
OFA Initiatives
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2015-01-01

ACT WorkKeys

Record Description

ACT WorkKeys is a job skills assessment system that helps employers select, hire, train, develop, and retain a high-performance workforce. This series of tests measures foundational and soft skills, and offers specialized assessments to target institutional needs. As part of ACT's Work Readiness System, ACT WorkKeys has helped millions of people in high schools, colleges, professional associations, businesses, and government agencies build their skills to increase global competitiveness and develop successful career pathways. Successful completion of ACT WorkKeys assessments in Applied Mathematics, Locating Information, and Reading for Information can lead to earning ACT's National Career Readiness Certificate (ACT NCRC), a portable credential earned by more than 2.3 million people across the United States.

Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2016-03-10T19:00:00
Source
OFA Initiatives
SFS Category
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2016-03-11

Employment Strategies for Low-Income Adults Evidence Review: Standards and Methods

Record Description
Disadvantaged U.S. workers with limited work experience often have difficulty finding and keeping gainful employment. Targeted employment and training interventions can help this population rise up in the labor market and improve their employment and earning potential. The Employment Strategies for Low-Income Adults Evidence Review (ESER) is a review of research on employment and training programs for low-income individuals. The review aims to identify programs and services that help low-income adults get and keep jobs and become self-sufficient.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2015-06-25T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2015-06-26

Embedding job and career advancement services in Healthy Marriage programs: Lessons from two programs in PACT

Record Description

This brief provides a general overview of the two Healthy Marriage (HM) grantees involved in the Parents and Children Together Evaluation (PACT), provides participation rates in services, and documents how the two grantees integrated job and career advancement services for parenting couples into their programs. This brief uses data obtained through staff interviews and program observations during site visits; ongoing interactions with program leadership; and data from a management information system that programs use to record data on couples’ receipt of services. (author abstract)

Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2015-04-12T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2015-04-13

Sector-Focused Career Advancement Model for Low-Skilled Adults

Record Description
Published by MDRC, this report highlights the early results on how program providers in New York City, Tulsa, and Cleveland implemented the WorkAdvance framework into a workable program. The WorkAdvance program encompasses sectoral as well as job retention and career advancement strategies. This report offers lessons learned to assist organizations seeking to implement a similar sector-focused career advancement program.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2014-09-30T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2014-10-01
Innovative Programs

Keystone Education Yields Success (KEYS) Program

Mission/Goal of Program

The Keystone Education Yields Success (KEYS) program is operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW). The KEYS Program assists low-income individuals in earning a career-specific, credit-bearing certificate or an associate's degree to enable them to secure jobs that provide family-sustaining wages with benefits and greater opportunities for advancement.

Programs/Services Offered

This program is designed to provide an opportunity and the corresponding support for Pennsylvania's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants to pursue a degree or credit or noncredit-bearing certificate at a Community College in Pennsylvania. Working in partnership with Pennsylvania's Commission for Community Colleges, KEYS was developed in response to growing research that demonstrates that TANF participants, who earn a certificate or degree, are better able to get jobs with family-sustaining wages, benefits, and opportunities for advancement.

Services offered include academic services, financial services (e.g., tax assistance, financial literacy), referrals to supportive services, coaching/counseling/mentoring, financial/material supports (eg. scholarships, emergency funds, computers).

A limited number of individuals enrolled in the SNAP program (20 percent of KEYS slots) and all TANF participants planning or currently attending one of Pennsylvania's 14 community colleges are eligible to participate in the KEYS program. Participants are provided with a KEYS student facilitator who assists with course scheduling and career guidance. Special allowances for supportive services are also available to support students' participation in KEYS. DPW's Special Allowances for Supportive Services can pay student registration fees for education and training programs and provide students with transportation and childcare assistance, books, and clothing.

KEYS participants have 30 months to complete their studies, though a range of shorter-term options, including one-year certificate programs, is also available. DPW has instituted a system for documenting and verifying KEYS students' work participation hours. Each student is provided with a schedule that includes classes, independent and supervised study hours, and all other countable activities. KEYS facilitators document and verify KEYS students' activities. This system of verification has increased the number of reported work participation hours.

The KEYS program reports that participants have shared that facilitators are the most crucial aspect of the program. Facilitators help in identifying careers with available jobs and assist in designing a course schedule that prepares students for these positions. Facilitators assist with financial aid applications, transportation and childcare arrangements, and maintain an open line of communication with DPW public assistance staff to ensure KEYS students are meeting requirements and receiving needed support services.

Start Date
Saturday, January 1, 2005
Type of Agency/Organization
County/Local TANF Agency
Geographic Area
Rural
Suburban
Urban
City
Harrisburg
State
Pennsylvania
Geographic Reach
Onesite
Clientele/Population Served
Participants enrolled in Pennsylvania's TANF and SNAP programs who are interested in obtaining a postsecondary certificate or associate's degree. KEYS currently serves approximately 1,100 TANF and SNAP participants.
Topics/Subtopics
Employment
Employment Advancement
Education and Training
Supportive Services
Post-employment Supports