CEO Library

In an effort to evaluate the Workforce Online Learning Information Portal (WOLIP) project in four states and to learn more about how best to implement online learning in state-driven workforce investment systems, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) funded the Rutgers University Center for Women and Work to conduct a formative evaluation of the WOLIP demonstration project and to provide technical assistance. The report summarizes the findings and observations from the evaluation research, which concluded September 2011.

As part of an ongoing research initiative, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has been actively exploring the use of technology-based learning (TBL) in the public workforce system and has sponsored several discrete but related studies. The report focuses on two areas of this research: 1) emerging state policies on TBL and 2) use of TBL at the local level in American Job Centers (AJCs).

The report—one component of the Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3) National Evaluation—synthesizes findings from the local evaluations of the Cohort 1 pilots. This report assesses the extent to which the local evaluations established a causal impact between the studied intervention and participant outcomes and, for interventions that had such evidence, whether the evidence indicated the intervention had improved outcomes for youth.

The report systematically documents and analyzes the use of technology-based learning (TBL) across the entire network of Job Corps centers, reporting on the TBL implementation process, the challenges TBL faced during implementation, and the best practices for TBL that instructors, managers, and directors identified.

The report is one in a series of implementation study papers of the Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3) National Evaluation, which was contracted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) on behalf of the Federal partners supporting P3. It assesses P3 four years after its initial authorization, and is based on data collected from interviews with Federal agency staff and two rounds of site visits to the nine original (Cohort 1) pilots, conducted between 2016 and 2018.

The literature review focuses on understanding more about technology-based learning (TBL), how it has been used for work-related skills and training, and whether it has been effective. It examines the literature on TBL interventions, factors associated with effectiveness, gaps in the knowledge base, and possible directions for future research.

The report from the Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3) evaluation’s implementation study reflects on the early experiences of the nine Cohort 1 pilots. The data primarily come from interviews with pilot stakeholders conducted in spring and summer 2017. Across the nine pilots, the evaluation team interviewed 169 stakeholders, including P3 administrators, staff, and partners. The report begins by describing P3 as envisioned by the Federal government, describes the nine pilots to provide context for the emerging findings, and then presents the early findings.

Administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Job Corps program trains approximately 60,000 participants on workforce skills in a residential environment each year. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act requires DOL to present the cost per enrollee and cost per graduate of each Job Corps center every year. The report presents the methodology used to estimate cost per enrollee and cost per graduate for program year 2017. The average Job Corps center cost is $34,301 per enrollee and $57,312 per graduate.

The literature review summarizes evidence on three topics related to the intersection of employment and the opioid crisis: (1) effective and promising practices for providing employment services to people with opioid use disorder; (2) employer best practices for preventing negative effects of opioid use disorder in the workplace and creating recovery-friendly workplaces; and (3) key considerations for developing the health care workforce that is addressing the opioid crisis.

The guide provides resources to support the recipients of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) National Health Emergency (NHE) Dislocated Worker Grants, for demonstration projects and disaster recovery, as well as other interested parties, in their efforts to provide employment services to people affected by the opioid crisis, help employers address opioid use disorder in the workplace and support affected individuals, and develop the health care workforce to help address the opioid crisis.

In 2020, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and funded contractor Mathematica Policy Research to conduct the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Research Portfolio Project.

The report, the second of the Youth CareerConnect (YCC) project’s implementation study, examines the evolution of YCC program implementation, and focuses on the third and fourth years of the grant, when grant funding was scheduled to end. It also examines grantee approaches to sustainability of YCC activities and services as they approached the end of grant funding.

In July 2012, Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, Kansas, received a grant totaling $1.5 million to develop and implement the water technologies training program for residents of the Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex (KJCC) in Topeka. The goal of the training program was to increase incarcerated youth’s employment and earnings potential and reduce their recidivism rates after release from the correctional facility. Obtaining good job placements in high-demand occupations could help youth develop economic stability and, ultimately, self sufficiency.

Youth from low-income neighborhoods are at risk of poor outcomes throughout their lives. Many will drop out of school, which can lead to economic hardship and a greater chance of getting involved in the criminal justice system—making their lives even more difficult.

In 2014, law enforcement agencies made about 1 million juvenile arrests, each of which generated a record. Having a juvenile record reduces a youth’s prospects in life by limiting employment, educational, and housing opportunities long after the incident’s resolution. Yet a juvenile record does not have to permanently restrict a youth’s opportunities. Youth with juvenile records can reduce or completely bar public access to their records by expunging or sealing them.

In 2014, law enforcement agencies in the United States made nearly 1 million juvenile arrests. Roughly half of the cases formally processed resulted in youth being adjudicated delinquent. Youth with convictions face lasting collateral consequences such as decreased access to education, employment opportunities, and certain social welfare benefits, like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), aside from more direct consequences like fines, fees, or imprisonment. Recognizing this, the U.S.

Using data collected throughout the implementation of the Youth CareerConnect (YCC) grant, the final report describes how grantees recruited employer partners and maintained employer and workforce agency partnerships; the services and activities partners provided; and plans for sustaining partnerships after the grant ended. The report draws on a mix of quantitative and qualitative data from three sources that bring together information at different time points. Appendix B provides details on each of these data collection efforts relevant to this report.

The report summarizes the evidence on program models for serving justice-involved adults and young adults through connection to employment, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and case management services. The primary evidence of the effectiveness of these models comes from a review of experimental and quasi-experimental impact evaluations. Information about factors that may contribute to the successful implementation of the models comes from a review of outcome evaluations and implementation studies.

To make good decisions about investing in themselves—in the form of additional education or training—American workers need pertinent, reliable information on how the skills developed in a particular program translate into job opportunities and earnings potential. To provide this kind of information to the public, some states have created websites (termed scorecards) that allow users to browse education and training opportunities. These sites may provide information about the organizations offering education and training programs, program cost, and other information.

The Self-Employment Training (SET) pilot program was funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to test strategies for supporting dislocated workers interested in starting their own businesses. Unemployed and underemployed workers who proposed businesses in their fields of expertise were eligible to participate. SET participants received free access to 12 months of case management, customized training and technical assistance, and up to $1,000 in seed capital microgrant funds for business start-up costs.

The Self-Employment Training (SET) pilot program served unemployed and underemployed workers who proposed businesses in their fields of expertise. Participants had access to 12 months of case management services, customized training and technical assistance, and seed capital microgrants of up to $1,000. In two sites, SET participants who received unemployment insurance (UI) benefits could also get waivers exempting them from work search requirements.

The Self-Employment Training (SET) pilot program served unemployed and underemployed workers who proposed businesses in their fields of expertise. Participants had access to 12 months of case management services, customized training and technical assistance, and seed capital microgrants of up to $1,000. In two sites, SET participants who received unemployment insurance (UI) benefits could also get waivers exempting them from work search requirements.

Appendices to the Self-Employment Training (SET) Pilot Program Evaluation Final Impact Report that include design and implementation of the set pilot program, impact study methodology, descriptive tables of study enrollee characteristics and site-level implementation measures, tables of results from main the impact analysis, and tables of results from sensitivity analyses for primary impact measures.

As of January 2017, 1.9 million people remained in the ranks of the long-term unemployed (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2017). Starting a business, or self-employment, may offer a path for some of these people to return to work. The Self-Employment Training (SET) pilot program, which operated from 2013–2017, was funded by the Employment Training Administration (ETA) at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to test and evaluate strategies to support dislocated workers who wanted to start their own businesses.

Appendices to the Self-Employment Training (SET) Pilot Program Evaluation Final Implementation Report that include SET program design, evaluation, findings from analysis of set baseline application, findings from analysis of MIS data, analysis of survey and interview data on implementation, and analysis of interview data on participant perspectives on SET.