Employer Benefits and Costs of English@Work Participation

Evaluation of English@Work’s benefits and costs for participating employers.The Ray Marshall Center (RMC), with support from the Literacy Coalition of Central Texas (LCCT), has conducted an evaluation of English@Work’s benefits and costs for participating employers, a required component of LCCT’s grant from the Houston Center for Literacy-English@Work which was launched as a small nonprofit in Austin in 2005 and was subsumed by the LCCT in January 2014, is a unique approach to teaching English-language skills by contextualizing, customizing, and providing them in the workplace. Early results indicated that this approach substantially outperformed more traditional approaches that rely heavily on classroom instruction, provide few hours of actual instruction per week, and/or fail to contextualize and tailor instruction in the setting and language of the workplace. Students made larger gains on various literacy measure more quickly than these more traditional approaches. And, students indicated that they felt more motivated to learn in a cohort of their peers that was situated within their workplace. After three years evolving and growing under the auspices of the LCCT, the Texas Workforce Commission’s (TWC) Site-based Workplace Literacy Project has provided grant funding to scale up English@Work in Austin and expand it to the Houston area over the period from May 2016 to June 2017. The grant from TWC supports literacy and career services for more than 700 participants and plans to provide credentials or certificates of completion for around 490 of these participants over the grant period.Literacy Coalition of Central Texas and Houston Center for LiteracyRay Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resource

Moving Forward as a Family: Crafting a 2-Generation Strategy for Central Texas, PRP 192

United Way for Greater Austin commissioned this policy research project to guide their focus on helping low socioeconomic families achieve greater financial stability through the development of a Two-Generation (2-Gen) strategy for the Central Texas region. Two-Gen programs emphasize the importance of education as a means for better economic outcomes. High-quality early childhood education programs allow children to make critical neural connections during a period of substantial growth and development, ultimately better preparing them for pre-kindergarten programs and academic success in subsequent years. Adults working low-paying jobs encounter barriers to career advancement due to lacking credentials or relevant education. It is not uncommon for parents working long hours for low wages to have at least one child in need of high-quality early childhood education, yet they are unable to enroll their child in such programs due to issues such as cost, transportation, and time away from work. Two-Gen programs seek to resolve the issues complicating this problem of financial instability by providing high-quality educational and training programs for both parents and children, which are even more effective when intentionally coordinated so that the family develops as a single unit in a positive direction. The research consisted of a literature review; a program scan at the local, state, and federal levels; and site visits within Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio, as well as Boston and Miami. Data collected specific to the Central Texas region include a labor market analysis, a needs assessment, and a mapping of current organizational assets. Obtaining and analyzing this data allowed the team to better understand 2-Gen program development, outcomes, impact measurements, and areas for improvement. The research team developed practical applications for the information collected, ultimately contributing to the proposed anti-poverty strategy through the intentional coordination of 2-Gen services by leveraging existing organizational assets to best address the area’s most salient needs. In addition, the team proposed an evaluation strategy involving cost-benefit equations, program evaluation metrics, and a screening tool to predict the likelihood of a program achieving successful outcomes. The report concludes with policy recommendations at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as a summary of the populations affected by financial instability and future directions for this field.United Way for Greater AustinPublic Affair

CareerAdvance® Implementation Study Findings through FY 2018

This report examines the implementation of the third year of HPOG II services in a five-year grant cycle, including post-HPOG sustainability planning for CareerAdvance®. This report focuses on how and why the program has changed and adjusted to meet the requirements of HPOG II, while responding to the needs of the participants being served, the local job market, and the partners working together to implement and sustain the program. First, this report briefly describes the organizations partnering to implement the HPOG II version of CareerAdvance®. It then examines changes made to the program components, including the eligibility requirements, recruitment, assessment, and selection process, support services, training options, and other program elements. Also, it describes the HPOG II FY 2018 (September 1, 2017-August 31, 2018) cohorts enrolled in training, including assessment scores and detailed demographic information on the participants and their families, as well as program completion and certification attainment of all HPOG II participants (April 2016-August 31, 2018). A final section addresses CareerAdvance® sustainability planning issues, options and opportunities. This report draws from previous CareerAdvance® reports, information on the HPOG II program participants and their families, and interviews with CAP, Tulsa Tech, Family and Children Services, and Tulsa Community WorkAdvance leadership and staff.Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesRay Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resource

Welfare and Work in the 1990s: Experiences in Six Cities

Our study examines the dynamic structure of welfare participation and the labor market involvement of recipients starting in the early 1990s and extending through 1999 in the core counties containing six major urban areas: Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, and Kansas City. By focusing on six major cities, we can examine the extent to which differences in state and local policy, administrative directives, and local labor market conditions contribute to observed trends.Welfare Reform

Identifying Gaps and Setting Priorities for Employment and Training Research

The report summarizes recent workforce and employment related research, to identify current gaps in employment and training research and makes recommendations for future research processes and priorities that could better inform policy makers, practitioners, job seekers and employers. The report reviews workforce and related research funded by several federal agencies, including the US Departments of Labor, Education, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development, the National Science Foundation and other federal entities, as well as research undertaken by regional, state and local workforce agencies and philanthrophic organizations

Workforce Data Quality Initiative

Texas’ Workforce Data Quality Initiative aimed to develop a comprehensive system for analysis of workforce and education participation and outcomes. In partnership with the Texas Workforce Commission, the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) is working to build, test, improve, and expand data linkages across linked individual-level, longitudinal education, and workforce records. Through this project, researchers would be able to identify and assess postsecondary pathways and transitions between education, employment, and other outcomes for students exiting the public school system as well as analyze the performance of the human capital development system in Texas, spanning secondary education through postsecondary education, and workforce training and employment.This report seeks to examine and analyze the postsecondary labor market outcomes of Texas high school graduates from the classes of 2008 and 2009. One advantage of looking at these two particular cohorts stems from differences in when they encountered the Great Recession: the class of 2008 graduated prior to the start of the recession in Texas and the class of 2009 graduated immediately after the start of the recession. It is likely that class of 2009 graduates factored in the regional changes in availability of employment as they weighed whether or not to apply for and enroll in college.Texas Workforce CommissionRay Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resource

Workforce Data Quality Initiative

Texas’ Workforce Data Quality Initiative aimed to identify and assess postsecondary pathways and transitions between education, employment, and other outcomes for students exiting the public school system as well as analyze the performance of the human capital development system in Texas, spanning secondary education through postsecondary education, and workforce training and employment.U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration and Texas Workforce CommissionRay Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resource

National Benefit/ Cost Analysis of Three Digit-Accessed Telephone Information and Referral Services

iven the enhanced profile and prospects for a national three-digit accessed (2-1-1) network for health and human services information and referral (I&R), United Way of America has contracted with the Ray Marshall Center to estimate the net value to society created by public and private investments in the system. Researchers will quantify the observed benefits and costs associated with eleven fully operational state and local 2-1-1 programs as a basis for estimating the net value of a national system, should policymakers and legislators decide to support such a system.Researchers will employ established methodologies to estimate benefits and costs. Research tasks conducted between March and August 2004 included a review of the I&R and benefit/costs literatures; recruiting and preliminarily screening sites; formally requesting fiscal and operational data; site visits and interviews with program administrators and staff; and conversations with professionals and individuals across the general public who have used 2-1-1 to address their health and human service needs.United Way of AmericaRay Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resource

CareerAdvance® Implementation Study Findings through FY 2020: The impact of COVID-19 on service delivery

RMC and its partners have undertaken a dual-generation approach to poverty reduction that strengthens the investment in early childhood development by equipping Head Start parents with workforce training and gainful employment opportunities. This approach employs a more holistic model than traditional workforce development programs, as it also includes employee counseling and other support services to help parents complete training and adult basic education, retain their jobs, advance in their careers, and become economically self-sufficient.Health Profession Opportunity Grant Program Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesRay Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resource