The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) conducted the 2021 National TANF Directors’ Meeting from September 20 - 24, 2021. During this panel-style session comprised of “success snapshots,” speakers presented innovative strategies that enable programs to link people to jobs, to better communicate and respond to participant needs, and to provide training and skills development to the community. Presenters shared various strategies for finding employment opportunities, including work activities that are culturally relevant and responsive to the needs of their participants. This session also explored the option of Tribal TANF and NEW programs partnering with local organizations to fulfill community needs.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) conducted the 2021 National TANF Directors’ Meeting from September 20 - 24, 2021. During this concurrent workshop, panelists explored how Tribal TANF and NEW programs can consider expanding virtual services to motivate participants to pursue opportunities, especially those which may have been previously inaccessible. Speakers discussed a variety of strategies used in the past year to create virtual education and training opportunities and virtual case management services for clients, as well as how these offerings were developed, challenges along the way, witnessed successes, and recommendations for programs considering offering similar resources. This session concluded with a review of OFA’s Coaching for Success eLearning modules, which program staff can use to provide virtual coaching and mentorship to participants.

Summer jobs can provide early exposure to professional environments, equipping participants with essential skills for the workplace, including communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. Summer youth employment programs (SYEPs) are primarily workforce development programs, meaning they are intended to prepare young people, often from families with low incomes, to one day enter the workplace. This MDRC report is the synthesis of conversations with SYEP staff members as well as interviews with policy experts to better understand what makes SYEPs effective. The report represents a practitioner-informed understanding of the practices that are believed to improve youth outcomes in this understudied field.

MDRC partnered with JPMorgan Chase to promote continual improvement among their Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) grantee organizations through research. SYEPs are a workforce development model predicated on promoting socioeconomic advancement for young people ages 14 to 24 who are disconnected from school or the labor market. MDRC collected data in the form of interviews and metrics aggregated and interviewed six SYEP providers to share specific insights about a particular program component—soft-skills training. “Soft skills” refer to the general habits and competencies that make for an effective employee, such as arriving at work on time, cooperating with coworkers, taking and giving direction, communicating clearly, dressing appropriately for the workplace, and so forth. This MDRC brief presents findings that showcase ways that soft-skills training, as a workforce development intervention, can put young people on the path to high-paying jobs and socioeconomic advancement.

This fact sheet identifies four promising practices in Summer Youth Employment Programs (SYEPs) that were implemented in 2020 to respond to the economic and health challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. It draws from a survey of 73 SYEP providers and local funders and highlights how SYEPs offer short-term, paid opportunities for youth and young adults to gain career exposure, training, and work experience.

This fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Indian and Native American Programs highlights the more than $7 million in spending under the Cherokee Nation’s Respond, Recover and Rebuild spending relief plan, which is designed to increase career opportunities in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fact sheet discusses allocations for the tribe’s summer youth employment; a tribal training program known as “day work;” a work experience program; and a tuition assistance program to support careers in health care, construction, truck driving, welding, and other fields. The fact sheet also notes that the tribe is creating a career ladder program in telemedicine and health IT, expanding its online GED programs, and supporting its trade clients with technology needs.

This video recording from a virtual webinar explores the implementation of summer youth employment programs in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and what lessons can be drawn to support year-round, work-based learning and career opportunities for youth and young adults. Speakers include program staff, youth, and young adults associated with Philadelphia Youth Network, WorkReady Philadelphia, Connect Detroit, Grow Detroit Young Talent, the Boston Private Industry Council, the Mayor’s Summer Jobs Program in Boston, and the Los Angeles Opportunity Youth Collaborative, Alliance for Children’s Rights.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration’s Division of Youth Services has produced a set of three webcasts to support the planning and implementation of WIOA youth programs. Webcast topics include: Employer Engagement; Partner Engagement (to include other non-employer stakeholders who offer supportive services and training to youth participants); and the Recruitment and Retention of Out-of-School Youth.

This brief highlights the collaboration among Mesa County Workforce Center partners to deliver case management and workforce services to TANF and non-TANF clients, under the umbrella of a “Career Development Program.” The Workforce Center has structured its TANF-funded Colorado Works Subsidized Training and Employment Program (CW STEP) to mirror WIOA and provide more employment services to clients. With clients’ needs and teamwork in mind, Mesa County has also redesigned its case management spaces and prioritized cross-program collaboration with joint staff training and goal-oriented accountability tools.

Sections of the brief discuss joint service delivery, resource sharing, shared learning, and managing collaborative activities. Readers may also access links to the state TANF plan and funding information for more context and resources. This brief is part of the TANF Works! TANF/WIOA Collaboration Series, through which the Office of Family Assistance’s Integrating Innovative Employment and Economic Stability Strategies (IIEESS) initiative seeks to highlight innovative coordination strategies of TANF and WIOA programs to serve low-income or vulnerable populations.