Recently, the economic climate has refocused attention on how to design effective workforce development strategies to benefit low-wage and low-skill workers advance in the job market. However, one key barrier faced by this group is a lack of child care, caused by either high costs or limited availability of reasonable options. Without child care, it is more difficult for parents to invest the time and effort in improving their skills through training or education. This report examines the intersection of child care needs and workforce development efforts to spur a discussion of critical issues and solutions for these working parents.

This report from MDRC presents labor market trends and examines employment programs for disadvantaged youth over the past three decades. It aims to inform the search for solutions on the demand-side by discussing factors that may cause high unemployment rates among young adults, current evidence on employment-related interventions for young adults, and future directions for change involving greater employer involvement.

The Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (OFA) hosted the OFA Peer Exchange Workshop: Strengthening Collaboration between TANF and WIOA, on September 21-22, 2015 in Bethesda, Maryland. Since TANF is included as a required partner with the workforce one-stop system under the new Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), this workshop brought together teams from states across the country to develop a plan for strong TANF and WIOA collaboration.

The Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Impact Study is being designed to demonstrate how variations in program services affect program impacts. The literature on promising and innovative career pathways programs, especially in health care, is quite limited. As such, the HPOG Impact Study will fill a void in the sectoral training and career pathways literature about both program effectiveness and which types of programs or program components are most effective. Key evaluation questions that will be addressed in the study include:

1. What impacts do HPOG programs have on outcomes of interest?
2. To what extent to these impacts vary by subgroups of interest?
3. To what extent does HPOG program participation (in particular components, with particular dosage) have an impact on outcomes of interest?
4. To what extent do various HPOG program models or components have varying impacts?
5. To what extent do specific program enhancements have impacts, relative to the “standard” HPOG program?
6. How does parental participation in various HPOG program models and components affect outcomes for children? (author abstract) 

Crittenton Women's Union's Bridge to Self-Sufficiency is a theory of change that takes a multi-faceted approach to fostering economic mobility. The theory describes a person’s advancement from poverty to economic self-sufficiency as a journey across a bridge supported by five critical pillars—family stability, well-being, education and training, financial management, and employment and career management. Coaches work with clients to identify strengths and help them cross the ‘bridge” to long-term goals of economic self-sufficiency.

Developed in collaboration with the Department of Education, this Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) from the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration lays out the vision for the one-stop delivery system under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and links to key technical assistance resources to support states and local areas as they integrate this vision into their one-stop delivery system.

This report from Young Invincibles examines the many challenges faced by Millennial parents, a rapidly growing sect of the U.S. population. Young Invincibles developed and analyzed a young parent grouping in the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey data and found that due to lower wages, stagnant employment rates, and rising costs, Millennial parents have experienced the highest poverty rates of young parents in the past 25 years. The report includes comparisons between the average days of Millennials with and without children, as well as policy implications and recommendations.

This descriptive toolkit provides practice principles about supported employment, an innovative approach to implementing vocational rehabilitation for individuals with serious mental illnesses. The kit also presents practitioners and service providers with evidence-based tools for aiding this target population.

This webinar from the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Community Matters series explores the East Baltimore Revitalization Initiative. The Initiative aims to transform a neighborhood into a mixed-income community with new and renovated housing, commercial development, improved schools, better safety, more engaged residents, and a larger employment base. The speakers share the project’s efforts and achievements, as well as similar programs taking place in New Orleans.

This report dispels the idea that manufacturing is declining in the New England region, as well as assesses the region’s strengths and advantages within the industry. Additionally, the report describes future opportunities for collaboration and investment in advanced manufacturing and includes a roadmap for increased economic growth.