The Center on the Developing Child from Harvard University released a Question and Answer sheet assessing the "Long Reach of Early Childhood Poverty" report. The report was authored by Greg Duncan and Katherine Magnuson. This piece reviews the evidence linking early childhood poverty to long-lasting consequences and discusses strategies to combat the effects of poverty-induced stress on vulnerable families with young children. The new data shows that when children experience poverty, it affects their later-life outcomes. Children's eventual labor market success appears to be compromised much more by poverty experienced early, rather than later, in childhood.

The Employment Training Administration released a guide of relevant sources that will allow individuals to shed light on labor or skill shortages, skill mismatches, and skill deficiencies. Skimming for Skills provides links to surveys, reports, and customized data tools. Each entry notes whether the survey or source supplies information on current or projected employment, job openings, occupational or industry data, and earnings. Skill-related topics include information on the education, training or skills required for jobs; educational attainment; educational field (e.g., college major) or coursework; and the skills individuals possess, including skill assessments. Each entry also lists availability at the national, State or local level, and the time period covered. For the user's convenience, the numerous skill-related sources are classified by those pertaining to adults, postsecondary students, secondary students, and longitudinal surveys that span ages from student to adult. The guide concludes with a list of supplementary resources for understanding occupational, industry and instructional classification codes; science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) classifications; and other sources on State and local workforce data and how to use it.

In 2008, Virginia set out to design and implement a statewide career pathways initiative to better meet the needs of regional employers. This report is a case study of Virginia's experience and highlights lessons learned through the process. Virginia's system has garnered attention because it was developed with very little additional funding, a reality for many States in the current economy.

In April 2012, the U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor released a letter endorsing the concept of "Career Pathways" as a promising approach to address the country's challenge of how to prepare workers of all skill levels to participate fully in the country's economic future. The Departments defined Career Pathways as a series of connected education and training strategies and support services that enable individuals to secure industry relevant certification and obtain employment within an occupational area and to advance to higher levels of future education and employment in that area and encouraged the constituency of each Department to work together to create seamless systems that would result in workers gaining industry-recognized credentials and jobs with family-sustaining wages.

These standards were developed by the Workforce Solutions Collaborative for the City of Philadelphia, which has a high rate of unskilled workers compared to available unskilled jobs. The standards are separated into seven content areas and reflect best practices for high-quality basic skills programs aimed at increasing employment outcomes for individuals. In addition to the standards, a self-assessment tool is included which can be used to determine an agency's capacity to provide services and as a road map to create development plans for future use.

This toolkit provides self-assessment tools for programs seeking to enhance their bridge programs and other transitional services to adult learners. It provides three documents -- the first is the Team Survey, which measures program service usage as perceived by program staff. Next, a Service Usage Evaluation is included, which is designed to give an accurate picture of how services are actually being used. Finally, toolkit users complete a Service Improvement Plan to help prioritize any needed improvements to existing services.

This report was developed for workforce development professionals in the United Kingdom; however, it highlights career pathways and cluster programs in several States. From the profiles of the different programs, lessons learned and policy implications are drawn which are helpful to those in the U.S. wishing to replicate a career pathway model.

This toolkit, provided by the U.S. Department of Labor, provides a guide for States and localities interested in developing a career pathways initiative. The toolkit centers around six key elements that are essential to developing an initiative. Promising practices are highlighted, and specific tools are included in this step by step, user friendly resource for human service administrators.

The United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report that examined long-term unemployment (more than 27 weeks), entry into and out of long-term spells of unemployment, and the effect of long-term unemployment on average wages. The period of study covered the mid-1980s through 2009. More than 22 percent of the men in the study experienced at least one long-term spell of unemployment from their labor market entry through 2009. On average, the first long-term unemployment spell lasted 55 weeks. The majority of men eventually found another job, although the average hourly wage declined more than 17 percent from two years before the beginning of the first long-term unemployment spell to the year after it began. Hourly wages began to trend upwards in the years following the first long-term unemployment spell. However, four years after onset of the first long-term unemployment spell, average hourly wages were still at seven percent below what they were four years before the spell began.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy released the "Soft Skills to Pay the Bills" video series and discussion guide on DVD. The activities in this publication were created to provide an introduction to the "basics" of soft skills. These materials have been designed with youth service professionals in mind – specifically, those working with in-school and out-of-school youth, ages 14 to 21, on career and workforce readiness skills. The basic foundation for the structure of these activities includes convenience, cost-effectiveness, and creativity.