This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report, a summary of the Job Search Assistance (JSA) Strategies Evaluation, compares the effectiveness of different approaches for finding and keeping jobs among individuals applying for or receiving assistance under TANF. The report reviews findings from three sites: Genesee and Wayne Counties in Michigan; New York City; and Sacramento County, California. In each of these sites, TANF applicants or recipients were randomly assigned to one of two programs that provided employment-related services. The study measured outcome differences (in public benefit receipt, employment, and earnings) between people assigned to each of the two programs in each site. The report’s findings address three key questions regarding the frequency, mode, and content of the employment-related services for the TANF recipients in the two programs; the two programs’ impacts on employment and earnings; and the effects on receipt of TANF and SNAP due to participation in the two programs.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) will host a webinar on December 14, 2020 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET which will cover the agency’s vision for implementation of the Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 07-20. The TEGL describes the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) requirement that individuals who are basic skills deficient, low-income, or public assistance recipients must receive priority when receiving individualized career services training under the WIOA Adult program. ETA staff will highlight the requirements in TEGL 07-20, ETA’s method of monitoring these requirements using performance data, and how other resources can be leveraged to support WIOA adult priority populations.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation will host a webinar to examine the findings from a series of surveys conducted from June to November 2020 which addressed the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on working parents, the childcare industry, and employers. This free virtual event will be held on December 9, 2020 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.

This report reviews models and success factors of successful American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI) grantees. AAI, which commenced in 2015, was a $175 million five-year grant program with a goal of registering 34,000 new apprentices in health care, IT, and advanced manufacturing by 2020. AAI success factors discussed in the report include sustainability of funding from other federal sources, partnerships with employers and industry to design apprenticeship programs, a simplified process for identifying and registering apprenticeship programs at the state level and for complying with federal and state regulations on these programs, and flexibility to meet employers’ and apprentices’ needs.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration hosted the third plenary session of the H-1B Apprenticeship Virtual Grantee Convening on October 22, 2020 to discuss innovative sector-based approaches to apprenticeships. These approaches can help improve apprenticeship programs, quicken employer recruitment, and benefit smaller employers. Speakers included representatives of the Aspen Institute/UpSkill America, Lorain County Community College (Ohio), the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, and the Alabama Community College System.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief presents four models to illustrate how program activities of Responsible Fatherhood (RF) programs may contribute to intended outcomes. The four models in the brief depict linkages between RF activities and, as measured in the Parents and Children Together (PACT) Evaluation, four intended outcomes of RF programs to include healthy relationships between co-parents, father development and well-being, consistent employment, and parenting skills and father involvement. The models also include research question recommendations for future evaluations to build the evidence base.

This fact sheet summarizes the features and functions of the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation’s Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse, which offers reliable information about what works to help low-income job seekers find and keep gainful employment. The Pathways Clearinghouse contains a listing of interventions intended to improve employment outcomes, address employment barriers, and support self-sufficiency among low-income populations, including TANF-eligible individuals. The Clearinghouse identifies studies of these evaluations, rates those studies on their quality to assess the evidence provided, and determines the evidence of effectiveness for those interventions. The Clearinghouse shares these results, along with other products such as synthesis reports, to help users understand how this evidence could apply to their questions and contexts.

State and local workforce agencies worked to ensure that effective employer engagement, customer outreach, and service delivery occurred during the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration brought together experts from the U.S. Department of Labor, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the Utah Workforce Development Program, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, and the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment to cover challenges states addressed to help job seekers, and the strategies they executed to assist both businesses and job seekers in a changing workforce.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) report examines the impact of the Health Careers for All program that supported TANF recipients in accessing and completing healthcare occupational training. The report reviews the three-year impact on employment and earnings as well as the credentials earned by participants. Health Careers for All included four key components: navigation and case management services; access to healthcare occupational training at the foundational (career discovery), entry-level and advanced levels along a healthcare career pathway; employment services (to include resume development and interviewing skills); and financial support to address barriers in completing training or entering employment. Health Careers for All is one of nine programs evaluated by OPRE under the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) project.

The Urban Institute will host a webinar on November 13, 2020 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET to discuss apprenticeship policies and practices and ways to utilize apprenticeship programs in the future. Speakers include representatives from the Urban Institute, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Oberg Industries, CareerWise Colorado, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, the House Committee on Education and Labor, New America, and Jobs for the Future.