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The report includes findings from a 2-year implementation study of the Urban Employment Demonstration Grants for Youth and Young Adults, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Chief Evaluation Office (CEO). In 2015, DOL’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) awarded seven urban cities with 2-year grants to develop projects to address the workforce needs of disconnected youth and young adults (ages 16–29) in U.S.

The issue brief series explores emerging findings from a 2-year implementation study of the Urban Employment Demonstration Grants for Youth and Young Adults, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Chief Evaluation Office (CEO). In 2015, DOL’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) awarded seven urban cities with 2-year grants to develop projects to address the workforce needs of disconnected youth and young adults (ages 16–29) in U.S. cities and communities experiencing high unemployment, crime, and poverty rates, and low high school graduation rates.

The purpose of the report is to explore implementation of Youth CareerConnect (YCC) about two years after funding began. This report draws information from five sources: (1) a grantee survey describing YCC as it was implemented in one of its schools, (2) grantees’ quarterly progress report narratives, (3) visits to 10 grantees, (4) YCC’s Participant Tracking System, and (5) a survey of parents and students in YCC in 8 of the grantees visited.

A key challenge facing policymakers and program administrators is how to develop effective strategies to help Americans facing economic challenges, particularly the long-term unemployed, to succeed in the labor market. During the deep recession of 2008-2009, an unprecedented number of workers lost their jobs and many remained under- or unemployed, even as the economy recovered.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO), in collaboration with the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), contracted with IMPAQ International, LLC (IMPAQ), to investigate the public workforce system’s involvement in the Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) Ticket to Work (TTW) program. The TTW program is designed to reduce or eliminate reliance on SSA disability benefits by increasing beneficiaries’ financial independence.

In 2014, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employment and Training Administration and funded contractor MDRC to conduct An Introduction to the World of Work: A Study of the Implementation and Impacts of New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program. The study aims to examine both the implementation of New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) and its effects on participants’ education, employment, and earnings outcomes.

The report examines the impacts of the nation’s largest summer youth jobs program — New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) — on young people’s education, employment, and earnings. The evaluation, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and a private foundation, includes a sample of nearly 265,000 young people who applied to SYEP for the first time between 2006 and 2010. The analysis uses an experimental design that relies on SYEP’s randomized lottery application system.

The executive summary of the An Introduction to the World of Work A Study of the Implementation and Impacts of New York City's Summer Youth Employment Program Final Report that examines the impacts of the nation’s largest summer youth jobs program — New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) — on young people’s education, employment, and earnings.

In the paper the researchers analyze if the share of agricultural employment can contribute to strengthening employment resilience in Indian Country. They define Indian Country as all reservation territories within the contiguous United States. They construct employment data by sector for Indian Country based on Zip Code level data from 1990 to 2015. They analyze employment growth in Indian Country across recessions and recovery periods and find Indian Country generally to be less affected by recessions than the United States as a whole.

The brief highlights the goals of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant program and provides an overview of evaluation activities for the four rounds of TAACCCT grants. Using information from grantee documents, third-party evaluation plans, and the solicitations for grant applications (SGAs) from all four rounds of grants, the brief describes grant requirements, proposed evaluation designs, and TAACCCT grant funding for evaluations. This brief concludes with a preview of the national evaluation of the TAACCCT grant program.

The brief provides an overview of the types of Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grants awarded, the geographic distribution of grant funding, and characteristics of the colleges receiving TAACCCT funding from the grants across the four rounds awarded (2011–14). This brief uses information from grantees’ original proposals and supporting documentation and data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System to obtain a richer understanding of the types of institutions participating in TAACCCT.

The brief provides an overview of the various approaches the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grantees planned to implement, the industries targeted at the start of their grants, the degrees and certifications they planned to develop, and the types of partnerships grantees would leverage during the grants. These activities are the core of what the grantees intended to do during their grant period.

The brief presents preliminary results on key outcomes and characteristics of grant-funded program participants from the first four years of Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT). The TAACCCT grant program is primarily focused on capacity building and sustainability, with grant funding directed at institution building rather than at tuition assistance for students to help them pay for education and training.

In 2017, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) and commissioned contractor Mathematica and its subcontractors, the Urban Institute and Social Policy Research Associates, to conduct the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP) Evaluation.

The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, administered by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), seeks to assist U.S. workers who have lost or may lose their jobs as a result of foreign trade. The program provides adversely affected workers with opportunities to obtain the skills, credentials, resources, and support necessary to (re)build skills for future jobs.

A main goal of the U.S. Unemployment Insurance (UI) program is to provide temporary income support to workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. Benefits supply only partial wage replacement and are time-limited, so as to balance providing income support during unemployment and preserving incentives for benefit recipients to return to work. Most UI claimants who begin receiving benefits during non-recessionary periods can collect them for up to 26 weeks.

Individuals who lose their jobs may have the skills and desire to start their own businesses. Some states have taken action to help unemployed workers create their own jobs by establishing Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) programs, which allow Unemployment Insurance (UI) eligible individuals who meet SEA program requirements to receive a weekly self-employment allowance while they are setting up their businesses. This allowance is equal in amount and duration to regular UI benefits.

The report of the Evaluation of the Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment (REA) Program, and as a precursor to an impact study analysis, describes the implementation of the REA program in the four states in which the evaluation study was conducted: Indiana, New York, Washington, and Wisconsin. This report and its analysis support the broader impact evaluation in two distinct ways. Most important, this report describes in detail the REA program as it was implemented across the four participating states during the study period.

Labor force participation and the characteristics of older American workers (aged 55 and over) have changed a great deal since the mid-1930s, reflecting changes in the broader labor force. No longer are men the sole supporters of their families, working in jobs that require physical labor and expecting to fully retire by age 65. During and after World War II, women surged into the labor force. Health and life expectancy have increased, especially for more educated workers.

As the Baby Boomer generation moves toward retirement age, a chief concern facing U.S. policymakers is how to accommodate this demographic shift. For the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and other agencies, the workforce dynamics of older workers is of particular concern.

Retirement patterns have changed substantially in the United States in the last 30 years. During the period from 1900 to 1980, there was a continuous decline in the labor force participation of older individuals. However, this trend has reversed since the 1980s. Americans are now retiring later and expect to continue doing so. Recent research suggests a number of significant changes that have increased the labor force participation of older workers. These include the following:

In 2015, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and funded contractors Mathematica Policy Research and Social Policy Research Associates to conduct the Linking to Employment Activities Pre-Release (LEAP) Program Evaluation. The evaluation aims to examine program implementation at each of the 20 LEAP pilot locations through site visits at each location, phone interviews, focus groups, and analysis of grantees’ quarterly performance reports.

Between the critical ages of 16 and 24, many low-income youth are at risk of becoming disconnected from school and the labor market. Previous research suggests that more than 30 percent of high school dropouts in this age range are unemployed, partly because they lack postsecondary credentials, labor market experience, and other forms of human capital. Low-income and minority youth who obtain a high school degree and enroll in college are less likely than their peers to complete their degree, often lacking the guidance and resources needed to succeed in postsecondary education.

Between the critical ages of 16 and 24, many low-income youth are at risk of becoming disconnected from school and the labor market. Previous research suggests that more than 30 percent of high school dropouts in this age range are unemployed, partly because they lack postsecondary credentials, labor market experience, and other forms of human capital. Low-income and minority youth who obtain a high school degree and enroll in college are less likely than their peers to complete their degree, often lacking the guidance and resources needed to succeed in postsecondary education.

The brief draws on data from visits to all 20 Linking to Employment Activities Pre-Release (LEAP) sites and focuses on the strategies the grantees used during the early planning and implementation period to build common ground between jail and workforce staff in promoting successful reentry for participants.