In today's rapidly evolving job market, the importance of social capital, connections, and robust networks for youth career success cannot be overstated. Social capital plays a critical role in helping young people navigate the complexities of career development, and building it requires intentional effort and strategic planning. The National Youth Employment Coalition is hosting a webinar on September 26, 2024 at 2:30 p.m. ET to discuss the transformative power of social capital and potential strategies to help young people build it.

The Rehabilitation Services Administration funds the Disability Innovation Fund-Subminimum Wage to Competitive Integrated Employment (SWTCIE) projects designed to decrease subminimum wage employment and increase competitive integrated employment for people with disabilities currently employed in or contemplating subminimum wage employment. This Mathematica practice brief explores how SWTCIE staff promote their projects to potential participants and employers. It summarizes interviews with four SWTCIE projects from agencies in Connecticut, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Texas. The brief shares promising practices including (1) meeting people where they are and proactively addressing their concerns, (2) engaging a wide network in their communities, (3) consulting external resources such as communications firms to shape their branding, and (4) promoting success stories and using family and peer mentors. The lessons learned could help vocational rehabilitation agencies and other organizations interested in implementing aspects of their programs.

Social safety net programs can help low-income people afford necessities like food, health care, and utilities. However, many older Americans do not receive assistance from the government programs they are eligible for. Understanding where these gaps in eligibility and participation exist is an important step in reaching older adults and providing them with the resources to improve their economic security. This Urban Institute paper reviews information on US households from the American Community Survey to estimate how many people ages 65 and over are eligible for each of three programs that provide essential support to older adults: the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the Medicare Savings Program (MSP).

In 2016, the Annie E. Casey Foundation launched Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP™), a national initiative that helps youth and young adults who have been involved in the foster care or justice systems or who have experienced homelessness succeed in school and work by building and expanding education and employment pathways. Through partnerships with public agencies, postsecondary education, housing, service providers and more, LEAP partners are working toward improving policies and practices that place more systems-involved young people on positive economic trajectories. This Annie E. Casey Foundation brief shares the key takeaways from an evaluation conducted to better understand their efforts in tackling the root causes of disconnection from education and careers with systems-involved youth.

The Department of Labor’s Division of Youth Services will be hosting a webinar on August 28, 2024 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET, which will explore different frameworks of youth engagement in the decision-making processes of workforce development. This session is designed for anyone interested in understanding and enhancing youth participation in workforce development.

In October, the Department of Labor (DOL) will be hosting the National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) to celebrate the value and talent workers with disabilities add to America’s workplaces and economy. While NDEAM takes place each October, its purpose is to confirm our commitment to ensuring disabled workers have access to good jobs, every month of every year. This DOL webpage contains resources to help celebrate NDEAM 2024: Access to Good Jobs for All.

This National Association of Workforce Development Professionals virtual event will take place on September 25, 2024 at 1:00 pm. ET, and participants will learn how to build a resilient and dedicated workforce by hiring and upskilling returning citizens.

WorkforceGPS is hosting a virtual event on August 22, 2024 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET that will provide front facing resources to American Job Center (AJC) staff serving veterans. Participants will learn about the various roles AJC and public workforce system staff play in serving veterans. They will gain a refresher on services available to veterans through Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Wagner-Peyser, and Jobs for Veterans State Grants programs. Participants will also learn about resources available through the National Veterans’ Training Institute to improve service delivery to veterans.

The COVID-19 pandemic began during the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) demonstration project, which tested a new approach to child support service delivery. The PJAC demonstration project integrated principles of procedural justice into enforcement practices in six child support agencies across the United States. This MDRC report uses data collected during the public health emergency to examine how three child support agencies experienced the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on how employment, earnings, and unemployment insurance patterns changed for members of the PJAC sample after the onset of the pandemic.

Black entrepreneurs face persistent systemic barriers to starting, maintaining, and growing businesses. Education, training, and workforce development organizations can be a source of support. This Urban Institute brief investigates how organizations within this space support Black business owners and help remove structural barriers.