In the early 1990s, the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) recognized the importance of addressing economic opportunity as a key component of a larger set of strategies needed to create family economic success for low-income families. Joblessness and lack of family sustaining income have devastating consequences, not only for families, but also for communities as a whole. Improving child outcomes clearly requires increasing the employment and earnings opportunities of low-skilled, low-income adults. To address that challenge, the Casey Foundation embarked on the Jobs Initiative (JI), an eight-year effort in six cities to connect inner-city young men and women to family-supporting jobs in the regional economy and to improve the way urban labor market systems work for low-income, low-skilled workers. The work of the Jobs Initiative has resulted in a number of key findings, and the attached wheel and examples reflect the foundation's "take" on the key components necessary to implement a large-scale and successful workforce initiative. Communities must develop strategies based upon data about employer needs, the regional economy, and the skill levels of its job seekers and incumbent workers. These assessments will guide a community in implementing the workforce strategies described in the attached material. This document is intended as a guide to the development and implementation of work force development.