This report from JFF with a select group of community college practitioners, makes the case for policymakers, employers and practitioners to invest in and strengthen short-term credentialing programs to rapidly retrain unemployed workers for better career prospects, especially workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes key commitments…

Youth unemployment has been a cause for concern in the United States for years. Youth unemployment costs society--through the loss of talent and costs of social supports and subsidies. Jobless young people are more vulnerable to a range of challenges, including the ills already plaguing their communities: high rates of unplanned pregnancy,…

A number of states are considering policy proposals to update credential or degree requirements for early educators. Practitioners, policy experts, and researchers have expressed concern, however, that well-intentioned policies to raise educator qualifications without sufficient supports may have negative consequences for the adequacy; stability;…

Research shows that nearly half of all children born in the US today will be eligible for child support before they reach the age of 18. Many low-income, noncustodial fathers--who often struggle to make these payments--will seek services from workforce development organizations. Yet, understanding the child support enforcement system can be…

Designed to help California community colleges develop plans and applications for Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act (VATEA) funds, this handbook reviews the purposes and mandates of the VATEA and provides instructions for plan development. The first section presents an overview of the Act, indicating that it…

Describes creative responses of six colleges and universities to the information-technology personnel shortage, salary differentials with marketplace, recruitment and retention difficulties, and the need to support institution-wide technology growth. Institutions include: Alamo Community College District (Texas); Texas A&M University; Wake…

The different ways that colleges and universities can assume expanded responsibilities in national renewal are considered. After reviewing federal policy toward higher education, the American economy and competition from other countries are considered. The need for social and political renewal is also addressed, including the imperative for civic…

This guide is designed to assist unions, companies, and educational providers in analyzing the educational needs of workers and employers and in developing effective workplace literacy and workplace education programs to meet those needs. It is based on the success of Project ELI (Education, Labor, and Industry). An introduction defines terms.…

Brief descriptions are provided of 16 model literacy initiatives undertaken by community colleges in conjunction with local businesses or community groups. Following introductory comments by Barbara Bush, Tony Zeiss, H. James Owen, and Roy Romer, "Literacy: America's Great Deficit," by Earnestine Thomas-Wilson-Robertson and Tony Zeiss, reviews…

This guide, which is designed to assist individuals responsible for implementing the provisions of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), places the WIA in context and examines its major provisions and the implications of those provisions for educators, trainers, and others involved in the development, funding, and delivery of workforce…

Progress in integration of state-level welfare and work force development systems in the Midwest was examined through case studies of 10 communities in 7 states. The case studies focused on local-level coordination and/or integration between the welfare and work force development systems. Despite legislative mechanisms to encourage collaboration,…

This document, which is part of a toolkit for policymakers, donors, governments, nongovernmental organizations, and practitioners, presents the results of case studies of a group of 30 workforce development programs that were selected (during a 2-day workshop by a panel of 14 experts) as representing a balance among geographic regions served and…

Project QUEST (Quality Employment through Skills Training) was begun in 1992 to provide unemployed and working poor residents of San Antonio, Texas, with employment training and job placement services. The program provides tuition subsidies and ancillary support services to low-income San Antonio residents enrolled in two-year associate's degree…