The North Dakota Department of Human Services/Career Options Roundtable was held in Bismarck, North Dakota from May 5-6, 2009. Attendees included representatives from seven Rural Communities Initiative sites as well as administrators and case management staff from Career Options, Inc. Based on Career Options’ presentation during the Rural Communities Academy in September 2008, a number of Initiative sites requested follow-up on certain aspects of the programmatic work taking place at the organization. Specifically, sites expressed interest in Career Options’ organizational development model, child care and education programs, and case management strategies for hard-to-serve participants. With these requests in mind, the Roundtable was designed to include a series of in-depth breakout sessions that focused on the unique tools and case management approaches utilized by Career Options. In addition, as a way to show the diversity of Career Options’ caseload, Roundtable attendees participated in a site visit to the Standing Rock Reservation where they visited with case management staff and toured the Reservation. During the close-out session, attendees discussed their next steps for taking strategies from this Roundtable and replicating them in their local areas.

This report was written for the U.S. Department of Labor, Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and Employment and Training Administration. The Reclamando Nuestro Futuro (Reclaiming our Future or RNF) program is run by the Latino Coalition for Faith and Community Initiatives of Bakersfield, California to assist at-risk and adjudicated Latino youths to obtain needed education or training, to find employment, and to avoid involvement with the juvenile justice system. This final report resulted from an evaluation of the program which includes outcomes experienced by participating youth in the program.

In California, as in much of the country, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)/California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) welfare-to-work program has been highly successful in reducing welfare caseloads. California has reduced its welfare caseload by 50 percent since 1996 and has shown marked success in implementing employment services and supports that help TANF participants overcome barriers to work and become more self supporting. However, many California counties are currently facing greater challenges moving their remaining CalWORKs participants into the workforce and meeting the new federally mandated work participation requirements. The state of California and its county partners are looking for new and effective programs and tools to aid them in reengaging sanctioned individuals; developing new opportunities for participants in the labor market; and linking these individuals to the skills training they need to become “work ready.” Faced with this challenge, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) partnered with the U.S. Department of Human and Health Services Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Family Assistance (OFA), to develop the California Counties Technical Assistance (TA) Academy as a way to focus on solutions and strategies to enhance California’s work participation rate. This Academy was a facilitated two and a half day event designed to introduce staff from 18 California counties to new programs, strategies, and ideas in order to strengthen their capacity to achieve higher levels of work participation rates.

This report provides an executive summary of the Rapid Response Technical Assistance event in Chicago, Illinois, sponsored through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance. In response to a joint technical assistance request from Regions V (Chicago) and VII (Kansas City), the Rapid Response project team conducted secondary research and telephone discussions on a variety of TANF issues, identified as being of concern to the constituent States of these regions, to present at the event. This report includes an overview of the meeting as well as the descriptions of TANF promising practices from around the country that were discussed by participating States.

This publication is through the U.S. Department of Labor and includes a series of snapshots of partnerships between employers and faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs). Faith-based and community organizations can support populations with multiple barriers to work in promoting long-term job retention. This document highlights successful partnerships between FBCOs and employers, and shows how such partnerships can be beneficial for both FBCOs and employers.

This resource is from the U.S. Department of Labor on how workforce investment board (WIBs) and faith-based and community organization (FBCO) grantees have worked effectively together. Such partnerships can transform the performance and capacity of the workforce system, communities, and regional economies. The grantees have developed programs that can help local communities align resources, support families with multiple barriers in transitioning into the workforce, and sustaining and growing collaboration.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, in conjunction with the Council of State Governments Justice Center published this resource for state government officials and representatives of faith-based and community organizations. This guide offers information on how to create and sustain collaborative efforts to reduce recidivism and to help people returning to the community from prisons or jails lead productive and law-abiding lives.

This Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network site exchange was conducted to support the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families in exploring the WeCARE (Wellness, Comprehensive Assessment, Rehabilitation, Employment) program of the Human Resources Administration (HRA) in New York City. The site exchange took place on October 31, 2008, and the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network facilitated the visit and interaction between the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, staff from the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) and Arbor, the contractor who operates WeCARE in Brooklyn. The site exchange featured presentations by both HRA and Arbor staff responsible for the program, tours of the Brooklyn facility; a tour of a community partner’s office, a tour of the medical facility at a local hospital and dialogue among participants to discuss the details of operations and the implementation of the current program.

On November 13-14, 2008, the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network sponsored a two-day site exchange to New York City (NYC) Human Resources Administration (HRA). The purpose of the Technical Assistance (TA) was to provide the Hawaii Department of Human Services the opportunity to observe NYC’s use of JobStat, which allows the city to set goals, monitor, and measure outcomes of performance indicators established for NYC Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants, workers, job centers, and vendors. Hawaii was also able to learn about NYC HRA’s Wellness, Assessment, Rehabilitation, and Employment (WeCARE) program that serves NYC TANF and Safety Net participants who have clinical barriers to employment.

This Teleconference took place on November 18, 2008 as part of a follow-up to the Rural Communities Academy that occurred in September 2008. Many participants expressed some interest in learning more about how to utilize AmeriCorps volunteers in their program, as well as in their community. This teleconference includes five presentations on how to utilize AmeriCorps in rural programs as well as a question and answer session.