This study sought to investigate if the current practice of offering assistance to low income families through tax credits and other transfer methods which are conditional on the recipient working, have financially hurt these families when the labor market is particularly bad, as during the Great Recession. The authors found that work incentives are not helpful to low-income individuals during times when unemployment is high. It is suggested that work incentive policies should be better tied to the ups and downs in the labor market.

The United States Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration released a resource to help case managers guide jobseekers through the career exploration and planning process. Components of the guide include three ideas about how case managers can organize career exploration and planning, eight "At-A-Glance" templates that help case managers determine which electronic tools are most helpful to meet customers' needs, three "Career Transition Roadmaps" that show how case managers provide career exploration in three distinct scenarios, and an "E-Learning Resource Chart" that highlights additional resources for case managers who want to learn more.

In March of 2012, the WPTA Network collaborated with CLIMB Wyoming to learn more about their program's sustainability and successes with working with low-income single mothers through tailored job trainings and wraparound services.

CLIMB Wyoming engages participants using a comprehensive wraparound service that includes job training, wage reimbursement during on-the-job training, work tools, mental health counseling, life and parental skills classes, and ongoing support after job placement. This podcast highlights CLIMB Wyoming's job training, subsidized employment and wraparound services for TANF participants. Staff from CLIMB Wyoming describe the job training services offered to low-income single mothers to prepare them for entry into high-demand, high-skill, and high-wage positions, as well as how CLIMB coordinates their various funding streams and partners to leverage the appropriate resources to support their program operations.

In March of 2012, the WPTA Network collaborated with Arkansas's Career Pathways Initiative - a partnership between Arkansas's Department of Higher Education and Department of Workforce Services - to learn more about their program's growth and the successes with workforce-ready adults.

This podcast highlights the Arkansas Career Pathways Initiative (CPI), which provides a comprehensive set of academic and support services designed to enable low-income, low-skilled individuals to acquire the degrees and/or credentials required to obtain and hold jobs in high-demand, high-wage industries. Staff from the Arkansas Career Pathways Initiative explained the complexity of the collaborations necessary to provide services that enable low-income job seekers to receive educational services, as well as how to help participants understand the importance of education in addition to work activities and employment.

In March of 2012, the WPTA Network collaborated with Supporting Employment Empowerment (SEE) Hawaii Work and the Hawaii Department of Human Services to learn more about their private-public partnerships between their working participants and local employers.
 
This podcast highlights SEE Hawaii Work (SEE), which is a program that assists Hawaii's employers with their labor market needs, while placing work-eligible Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants into subsidized job-training programs. Staff from the State of Hawaii Department of Human Services provide an overview of key components and activities in the SEE Hawaii program model, discuss how the program engages, markets and conducts outreach to businesses and employers, as well as provide information on how data is collected within the program.

The Office of Family Assistance hosted the "Leveraging Private/Public Partnerships and Funding to Improve Summer Youth Employment Opportunities" Webinar on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 from 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. EST. This Webinar provided background information on funding strategies for summer youth employment activities and discussed methods for leveraging both public and private funding streams. The Webinar featured speakers from the LA Conservation Corps, the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development, ABCD Inc., and the Philadelphia Youth Network. The speakers encouraged those implementing a summer youth employment programs to collaborate with TANF agencies, the business community, community action agencies and other CSBG-funded programs, workforce investment programs, and private foundations in an effort to better serve youth, reach TANF participants, and engage key stakeholders.

On November 28, 2012, the Office of Family Assistance hosted the second Webinar in a series highlighting promising practices for building sustainable subsidized employment programs. This Webinar provided an overview of the available funding streams for subsidized employment programs; discussed the varied funding sources' requirements and restrictions and how they can be combined and leveraged; and outlined practical strategies used by peer agencies to create/expand subsidized employment programs for TANF participants and low-income workers. Presenters for this Webinar included representatives from MDRC, the Connecticut Department of Labor, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving in Connecticut, and the Ohio Human Relations Council.

The Center for Studying Disability Policy released an issue brief discussing the Youth Transition Demonstration (YTD). This study analyzes the interim findings of the YTD project evaluation, and the impact the project evaluation had on paid employment and earnings of youth with disabilities. The study identifies key components of the YTD project and further provides insight into the project for young people with disabilities.

The Office of Family Assistance hosted the "The ABC's of Creating Summer Youth Programs and Partnerships" Webinar on October 17, 2012 from 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. EDT. The Webinar featured speakers Mathematica Policy Research, the Southeast Tennessee Development District--Local Workforce Investment Area Five, the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services, and Corporate Voices for Working Families who provided an overview of strategies for developing summer youth employment programs that can work in a variety of contexts with different types of employers. Speakers also discussed the strategic partnerships, funding streams, and recruitment and placement strategies that can be utilized to increase summer youth employment opportunities.

Mathematica Policy Research prepared the "Effective Case Management: Key Elements and Practices from the Field" brief for the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. This brief provides examples of key elements and practices for effective case management in the workforce system. Examples of State and local tools, processes, and policies designed to create or improve case management are given. An annotated list of resources is also included.