Improving Our Response to Workforce Needs: Recommendations for Reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA)

The Chicago Jobs Council (CJC) supports the concept of a system where job seekers of all skill levels and incomes as well as employers of all sizes and industry types can get the workforce development assistance they need. Developing public institutions that are free of categorical eligibility requirements and are alternatively driven by assessment of need is a long-term vision we promote. However, in the first couple of years of Workforce Investment Act (WIA) implementation, we have seen how the nation's most needy job seekers were negatively affected by the mandate that local areas create "universal access" without the necessary resources or capacity to do so. The lack of unified planning by federal and state agencies, the existence of misaligned program requirements and performance measures, entrenchment of state agencies, and significant budget crises at the state level have put WIA's universal access goal out of reach. Rather than supporting effective strategies that help job seekers with the fewest skills access career path employment and supporting needs of employers for qualified workers, time and funds have instead been poured into developing the infrastructure for local one stop systems that often do not meet their needs. Through reauthorization, we urge our congressional leaders to refocus WIA to achieve four primary goals: - Stable, quality employment for the chronically unemployed - Job advancement for low-wage adult workers entering the labor market - Skill attainment by low-income adults with limited education - Access to work experience, literacy and English as a Second Language instruction, high school or General Equivalency Degree (GED) completion, and post secondary education for low-income youth Employers will benefit equally from this refocusing. As baby boomers begin retiring and the global economy continues to produce widening skills and wage gaps, the public workforce development system must address the large population with limited academic, technological and vocational skills. Despite a downward-turned economy, many employers in several sectors such as health care and manufacturing report job openings that have gone unfilled because of a dearth of qualified candidates

Investing, Improving, and Measuring Workplace Skills

Despite evidence that workplace literacy programs can be effective at improving the lives of workers and the bottom line of businesses, the lack of a dedicated funding source is likely to diminish the number and/or capacity of these programs significantly. Still, the growing skills gap facing the nation creates an ongoing imperative that the Congress and the federal government continue to fund strategies that are aimed specifically at upgrading the literacy and technical skills of the workforce. This paper describes some of the economic and demographic factors that impact program strategies; draws on recent research on promising programmatic and system strategies for concurrently addressing the needs of workers and businesses; and concludes with a set of recommendations for policymakers to consider that, if implemented, would support these strategies

Recommendations for Chicago's Local Plan, Title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998

This report provides a series of policy recommendations for local implementation of Title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) aimed at providing an integrated workforce development system that effectively serves both disadvantaged job-seekers and employers

Tests for neglected heterogeneity in moment condition models

The central concern of the paper is with the formulation of tests of neglected parameter heterogeneity appropriate for model environments specified by a number of unconditional or conditional moment conditions. We initially consider the unconditional moment restrictions framework. Optimal m-tests against moment condition parameter heterogeneity are derived with the relevant Jacobian matrix obtained as the second order derivative of the moment indicator in a leading case. GMM and GEL tests of specification based on generalized information matrix equalities appropriate for moment-based models are described and their relation to the optimal m-tests against moment condition parameter heterogeneity examined. A fundamental and important difference is noted between GMM and GEL constructions. The paper is concluded by a generalization of these tests to the conditional moment context.

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common, chronic disease process that has historically affected adults but is becoming more common among children and adolescents due to rising rates of childhood obesity. While the primary risk factor for NAFLD is obesity, other metabolic conditions including dyslipidemias and insulin-resistance may also contribute to increased risk of NAFLD also. NAFLD occurs when excess triglycerides and free fatty acids (FFA) infiltrate the liver and are stored as lipids inside hepatocytes. In addition to the effects of decreased liver function from damaged cells, NAFLD also contributes to increased levels of inflammatory cytokines that further disrupt metabolic processes. While often asymptomatic at its onset, NAFLD has the potential to cause more serious chronic conditions including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cirrhosis, and liver cancer. In addition, NAFLD may contribute to the development of chronic conditions that affect multiple body systems including insulin-resistance, atherosclerosis, and portal hypertension. Registered nurses (RN) and advanced practice nurses (APN) may be able to help prevent the progression of NAFLD in at-risk patients by implementing educational initiatives about the importance of healthy diets and increased physical activity as well as providing education about the importance of screening and laboratory procedures; these interventions may lead to earlier treatment and better patient outcomes long term

Maternal residential proximity to surface mining associated with preterm birth and low birth weight in Appalachian Kentucky

Objective: This study aims to examine the relationship between maternal residency in a county with surface coal production and preterm birth or low birth weight. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using birth records (n=62,766) for 54 Appalachian counties and coal production in tons. Logistic regression and chi-squared analysis was done to analyze the relationship between surface coal mining and preterm birth and low birth weight in two different birth groups. Results: After controlling for covariates, statistically significant increases were seen in Birth Group 1 and Birth group 2. Birth Group 1 had statistically significant results for preterm birth ((1.19 CI 1.07-1.33) (1.24 CI 1.13-1.37)) and low birth weight ((1.26 CI 1.11-1.43) (1.21 CI 1.08-1.35)) for both “medium-high coal production” and “high coal production”, respectively. Birth Group 2 had statistically significant results for preterm birth (1.14 CI 1.14-1.74) in the “medium-high coal production” and statistically significant results for low birth weight in the “medium-low coal production” (1.19 CI 1.05-1.35) and medium-high coal production” (1.31 CI 1.03-1.68) categories. Conclusion: There was a statistically significant relationship seen between maternal residency in a county with surface coal production and the incidence of preterm birth and low birth weight in Appalachian Kentucky. This research can be used as a guide for future studies to help determine the relationship between proximity to surface mines and birth outcomes

A symptotic Bias for GMM and GEL Estimators with Estimated Nuisance Parameter

This papers studies and compares the asymptotic bias of GMM and generalized empirical likelihood (GEL) estimators in the presence of estimated nuisance parameters. We consider cases in which the nuisance parameter is estimated from independent and identical samples. A simulation experiment is conducted for covariance structure models. Empirical likelihood offers much reduced mean and median bias, root mean squared error and mean absolute error, as compared with two-step GMM and other GEL methods. Both analytical and bootstrap bias-adjusted two-step GMM estima-tors are compared. Analytical bias-adjustment appears to be a serious competitor to bootstrap methods in terms of finite sample bias, root mean squared error and mean absolute error. Finite sample variance seems to be little affected

Skills Training Works: Examining the Evidence

In spite of public consensus that education and training lead to economic advancement, recent federal policies have made it harder for low-income Americans to get the education and training they need to succeed in today's economy. A number of recent federal policies, like the 1996 law that established the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) welfare program, have in different ways adopted a "work first" approach that encourages or requires low-income adults to find employment immediately, rather than allowing them first to develop skills that might lead to better jobs with family-sustaining wages and benefits, and opportunities for steady work and advancement. This policy shift away from skills training and toward work first strategies has come about, in part, from a misconception that "training does not work." Many policymakers have heard that government-sponsored research -- such as the National Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Study, the Greater Avenues to Independence (GAIN) Evaluation and the National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies (NEWWS) -- shows that low-income adults who receive training do no better in the job market than people who do not receive such services, or who receive only the less expensive job search assistance typical of many work first strategies. In fact, a more comprehensive look at the existing research reveals the documented effectiveness of skills training