This case statement highlights the collaboration between American Job Centers (called WorkSource) and TANF agencies in Spokane, Washington. WorkSource and partners have restructured staffing, resource allocation, and approaches to workforce development services with a customer-centered design. Leaders are also investing in organizational change through staff training, cross-program communication, and building support among staff at all levels.

This brief is part of the TANF Works! TANF/WIOA Collaboration Series, through which the Office of Family Assistance’s Integrating Innovative Employment and Economic Stability Strategies (IIEESS) initiative seeks to highlight innovative coordination strategies of TANF and WIOA programs to serve low-income or vulnerable populations. Sections of the brief describe joint service delivery, resource sharing, shared learning, and the management of collaborative activities. Readers, especially TANF programs looking to scale or replicate the practices, may also access links to the state TANF plan and funding information for more context and resources.

As described in this case statement, TANF and WIOA programs at the Employment Services Centers of Weld County are maximizing resources to serve target populations by sharing a work-based learning team, infrastructure costs, and flexible staff across programs. This collaboration also facilitates the coordination of two-generation and immigrant/refugee services.

The brief is organized into sections on joint service delivery, resource sharing, shared learning, managing collaborative activities, and a special focus on immigrant and refugee populations. Readers may also access links to the state TANF plan and variations in funding for more context and resources. This brief is part of the TANF Works! TANF/WIOA Collaboration Series, through which the Office of Family Assistance’s Integrating Innovative Employment and Economic Stability Strategies (IIEESS) initiative seeks to highlight innovative coordination strategies of TANF and WIOA programs to serve low-income or vulnerable populations.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report reviews the Carreras en Salud program, established by Instituto del Progreso Latino, a nonprofit organization in Chicago, Illinois. This program strives to help low-income Latinos improve their basic skills and enroll in occupational training for Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) jobs. Evaluation findings show that the program succeeded in engaging and enrolling students and helped them advance to higher-level training and secure employment in the healthcare field.

This Urban Institute brief examines how variations in work schedules for participants in TANF and other safety net programs affect their ability to comply with weekly work requirements for reasons beyond participants’ control. Some challenges participants face include nonstandard work schedules, fluctuation in number of weekly working hours, capacity to receive advance notice of work schedules, and controlling or setting the number of hours per week they can work. While facing these challenges, participants also need to address work requirements so they can receive food assistance and attain child or dependent care or other case assistance.

The U.S. Department of Labor will host a webinar on June 20, 2019 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET to discuss common activities that state workforce agency managers undertake when they plan for and manage time needed to evaluate Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) activities. Moderated by a representative from the U.S. Department of Labor and featuring presenters from Abt Associates, the webinar will include an overall evaluation timeline and discussion of the six phases of evaluations: planning, designing the evaluation document, launching the evaluation, data collection, data analysis, and findings dissemination.

This Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice guide, with funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, was developed to assist juvenile justice and social service professionals who support re-entering youth after their confinement or court-ordered out-of-home placement. The guide includes model programs, anticipated outcomes, and mechanisms to meet the needs of justice-involved youth in housing, health, education, and employment.

This Child Trends report examines the impact of extended foster care on older youth (over 18 years old) as they transition to adulthood. The report analyzes the relationship between extended foster care and attainment of young adult outcomes in education and employment, as well as independent living. Data in this report are drawn from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) Foster Care File, the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) Services File, and the NYTD Outcomes File.

This blogpost, written by an ICF analyst and featured in the National Community Action Partnership’s In Focus online magazine, identifies the importance of creating strategic partnerships among organizations that serve job seekers with multiple barriers to employment. The article highlights how these partnerships can streamline service delivery under a “No Wrong Door” approach, leverage multiple funding streams through blending or braiding funding sources, and integrate non-employment supports that can lead to increased employment outcomes.

This Committee for Economic Development report reviews three tools that address increasing pathways for employment for individuals who do not earn a bachelor’s degree. These tools include models for career navigation and improved career counseling, expansion of apprenticeship programs, and the increased use of competency-based hiring and assessment, rather than relying solely on levels of educational attainment.