Transforming Impossible into Possible (TIP): A group work model in workforce development

This presentation introduces a newly developed social work group intervention model in workforce development. Transforming Impossible into Possible (TIP) program empowers participants to develop self-awareness, confidence, hope, goal-orientation, leadership, accountability, conscientiousness, and grit, it is anticipated that it improves both employment and retention outcomes

The Political Economy of Poverty in the ‘Glocal’ Context: A Multilevel Cross-National Study

The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which socio-politico-economic factors at the structural level impact individual poverty across 17 developed countries in a period of welfare state retrenchment and growing international interconnectedness. This dissertation contributes to a newly developing body of knowledge on cross-national comparison of individual poverty using multilevel analyses. This method allows for modeling various determinants of poverty (variables with different units of analysis at both individual and structural levels) together in a single analysis. The OECD and Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) data were used to conduct a cross-national comparative analysis of 17 affluent economies. The LIS is a cross-national data archive, one of the best harmonized database sources for comparative studies on poverty and income distribution. In order to examine the variations in poverty among individuals in advanced welfare states, 17 countries were selected from LIS Wave 5 (around year 2000). Focusing on labor market active age group (between 18 and 65 years of age), merging of the data for these countries yielded roughly 120,838 working-age individuals in the sample. Social welfare effort cross-nationally is found to be conditioned primarily by the socio-economic determinants in the larger global context. A series of bivariate analyses suggest that globalization and politics play a more significant positive role on social welfare effort among the advanced democracies. Globalization also has a positive effect on politics. While globalization does not have a direct effect on aggregate poverty, politics and social welfare effort have significant effects. Human capital variables significantly affect poverty, but with differential effects for the poor compared to the near poor. The multilevel analyses indicate that individuals who reside in countries with higher degree of globalization and greater left political power are less likely to be poor. Plus, those residing in countries with higher welfare state generosity and active labor market policies are less likely to be poor. Controlling for individual level demographic and human capital variables, the global and nation level structural variables were found to be significant. Implications for U.S. poverty and glocalization strategies to tackle structural poverty are discussed

A Cross-National Validation of the Short Employment Hope Scale (EHS-14) in the United States and South Korea

The Short Employment Hope Scale (EHS-14) has been developed in the United States to assess an individual\u27s level of psychological self-sufficiency—a complementary measure to the widely used economic self-sufficiency in workforce development programs. This study examined the comparability of the EHS-14 between U.S. and South Korean low-income job seeker groups. A multisample confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and a series of invariance tests were conducted to validate EHS-14 using two independent samples. A latent means analysis (LMA) was used to test the latent mean difference between the two samples. The results indicate that CFAs on both U.S. and South Korean samples verified the four-factor structure of EHS-14. The study also found evidence for cross-national equivalence, based on satisfying configural, metric, scalar, and factor covariance invariance. LMA results found no significant difference between the two samples. EHS-14 was found to be a reliable and valid measure with cross-cultural applicability in the South Korean socio–politico–economic context. EHS-14 can be used to benchmark the client empowerment process and monitor individualized human development paths to employment success

The Employment Hope Scale: Measuring an Empowerment Pathway to Employment Success

This chapter presents findings on revalidation of the Short Employment Hope Scale (EHS- 14) using a recently collected independent sample of 661 low-income jobseekers. This client- centered measure captures an aspect of multi-dimensional psychological self-sufficiency (SS) as a process-driven assessment tool. The original employment hope metric was constructed as a 24-item six-factor structure from its earlier conceptualization resulting from client focus group interviews. The EHS measure was initially validated using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), resulting in a 14-item two-factor structure with Factor 1 representing ‘psychological empowerment’ and Factor 2 representing ‘goal-oriented pathways’. In the following revalidation process using a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), this 14-item two-factor EHS was modified into a 14-item four-factor EHS-14, with two higher order components, based on the original theoretical suggestion. The CFA result on the modified model adds another evidence for generalization, indicating that EHS-14 is a consistent and valid tool

Structural Reinterpretation of Poverty by Examining Working Poverty: Implications for Community and Policy Practice

This exploratory research focused on the structural context of working poverty, thereby transcending its individual or behavioral aspects. Two major questions guided this study: (1) How are the working poor different compared to the working nonpoor? (2) How do structural conditions affect the chances of one being working poor? Central findings of the study were that four primary sets of factors—demographic, human capital, employment barriers, and labor market positions—contribute to an individual\u27s likelihood of being among the working poor. The structural factors—employment barriers and labor market positions—significantly contributed to the effects of human capital and demographic variables. All four factors require attention in community and policy practice to improve the lot of American workers in an increasingly global marketplace

Transforming Impossible into Possible (TIP): a bottom-up practice in workforce development for low-income jobseekers

This paper discusses an evidence-informed bottom-up transformative social work practice model that holistically encapsulates multi-system levels of practice. Based on 12 years of empirical evidence on psychological self-sufficiency (PSS), the Transforming Impossible into Possible (TIP) program was developed to focuses on the ‘process’ of human agency development that leads to economic self-sufficiency (ESS) ‘outcomes’. It attempts to bring together various modalities of social work practice into a transformational leadership development framework that reflects a bottom-up, participant-centered approach to empowering individuals to impact larger systems. In workforce development practice, it is being regarded that constructs reflected in TIP improve both employment and retention outcomes

Facilitating Transformation in Workforce Training: Using Clinical Theory to Understand Psychological Self-Sufficiency

Acknowledging the scarcity of a bottom up social work practice model in facilitating the development of success in workforce development programs, this study explores Psychological self-sufficiency (PSS) as an emerging social work practice theory. Phenomenological studies of low-income jobseekers in employment training along with the empirical validation of measures of the core constructs of PSS – employment hope scale (EHS) and perceived employment barrier scale (PEBS) – and testing of the theoretical model resulted in the emergence of a new theory of PSS. PSS was conceptually defined as a dynamic and internal drive that activates the process of transforming cognitively and affectively perceived barriers into hope driven action – the process that enables individuals to move forward toward goals. Based on the evidence of PSS, a participant-centered group intervention model called transforming impossible into possible (TIP) program was developed. This article delineates the trajectory of PSS theory development by critically reviewing various streams of practice theories influencing the PSS theory. Next, the conditions that necessitated the creation of the TIP program and its core principles underlying the functions of PSS are explained. By depicting the TIP program with direct quotes of clients’ experiences, authors exemplify the successful self-discovery process through enhanced PSS skills as a result of participating in the TIP program

Pathways to Careers in Health Care

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010 effected major changes in the financing and delivery of health care in the United States. It also authorized creation of the Health Profession Opportunity Grants program (HPOG), a demonstration effort within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide opportunities for education and training that lead to jobs and career advancement in health care for recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and other low-income individuals and to respond to the increasing demand for health care professionals. As a demonstration program, HPOG also featured a mandated federal evaluation to assess its success and a corresponding research program—the HPOG University Partnership Research Grants (HPOG UP), a collaborative effort between the program operators and academic researchers from different disciplines—to observe various aspects of its operations. HPOG unites two important innovations in workforce development programming for serving low-income populations in recent decades, career pathways and sector strategies, by actively fostering the use of the former in the context of one major sector—health care. Health care is one of the only sectors that continued to exhibit growth year after year in periods of general economic expansion as well as decline. Health care employment even continued to expand in most states and communities across the United States through the Great Recession in 2008–2009. In addition to offering insights into these strategies and their evolution, the authors in this book present the findings, lessons, and recommendations that emanated from HPOG research and evaluations for consideration by policymakers, program operators, and other researchers.https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1279/thumbnail.jp

A bottom-up definition of self-sufficiency: Voices from low-income jobseekers.

Self-sufficiency (SS) is the epitome of America’s ‘reluctant’welfare state. It is generally accepted in social welfare policycircles as a concept related to independence and financialstability. Nevertheless, SS is not a term agreed upon inpractice by policymakers, researchers, or service providersand is frequently used without a clear common definition.In this sense, the purpose of this study is to explore the extentto which the top-down definition of ‘economic’ SS as thesocial policy goal is consistent with how the clients of job training programs perceive the term. Using a groundedtheory approach, a bottom-up definition of SS was derivedfrom a focus group of low-income jobseekers. The focusgroup was transcribed for a content analysis from which a client-centered definition of SS was drawn. Findings suggestthat SS is a process of developing psychological strength properties and a goal-oriented progression toward realistic financial outcomes.Implications for evidence-based community interventions for client empowerment and workforce development are suggested

Validation of the Employment Hope Scale: Measuring Psychological Self-Sufficiency Among Low-Income Jobseekers

The Employment Hope scale (EHS) was designed to measure the empowerment-based self-sufficiency (SS) outcome among low-income job-seeking clients. This measure captures the psychological SS dimension as opposed to the more commonly used economic SS in workforce development and employment support practice. The study validates the EHS and reports its psychometric properties. Method: An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted using an agency data from the Cara Program in Chicago, United States. The principal axis factor extraction process was employed to identify the factor structure. Results: EFA resulted in a 13-item two-factor structure with Factor 1 representing “Psychological Empowerment” and Factor 2 representing “Goal-Oriented Pathways.” Both factors had high internal consistency reliability and construct validity. Conclusions: While findings may be preliminary, this study found the EHS to be a reliable and valid measure, demonstrating its utility in assessing psychological SS as an empowerment outcome among low-income jobseekers