About the Report

Download Report

This report describes findings from a formative study of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Navigators to better understand the implementation of Navigator positions across states. The study team collected data from TAA programs between November 2022 and October 2023 via three primary data collection activities: phone interviews with nine states; a web survey of TAA Coordinators in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico; and site visits with six states (three in-person and three virtual). To provide readers with an understanding of TAA Navigators and their deployment across the country, the report presents information drawn primarily from the web survey on the landscape of TAA Navigators. The report then presents case studies of three TAA Navigator models being implemented in 2023: Oregon’s model, Virginia’s model, and Indiana’s model. The Employment and Training Administration's Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance (OTAA) and the study team chose these three states to serve as case studies due to the length of time they had implemented their Navigator models without making major changes to what the Navigators did nor to the number of Navigators at the time of the study.

Download this Summary (PDF)

Research Questions

• What is the underlying need for Navigators? What spurred states to develop the positions?
• What states currently deploy or are planning to deploy Navigators?
• What are the different roles, responsibilities, and activities of TAA Navigators in various states?
• How are Navigators selected and trained?
• To what extent do TAA Navigators help to remove barriers to workers accessing the TAA Program?
• To what extent do TAA Navigators help facilitate employer collaboration with the TAA Program?
• What challenges have states faced in implementing Navigators and what strategies did they use to overcome those challenges? What are perceived promising Navigator strategies?

Key Takeaways

• In 2023, 14 states deployed one or more TAA Navigators, following a model initially developed by the state of Oregon in 2015.
• Case studies of TAA Navigator models in Oregon, Virginia, and Indiana found that Navigators carried out a wide variety of activities at various stages during the TAA Program’s lifecycle, including conducting outreach to trade-affected workers and helping TAA participants access needed services.
• Outreach was a key Navigator activity and included strategies to reach out directly to trade-affected workers who had been covered by a previously certified petition and to the broader community of trade-affected workers.
• Successful implementation of TAA Navigator positions requires a number of factors, including sufficient funding and numbers of participants, support from state leaders, a clear focus on specific goals and activities for the positions, supportive and trusting Navigator supervisors, careful selection and retention of Navigators, clear and ongoing communication between Navigators and their partners, and good timing.

Citation

Dunham, K., Allmang, S., Jayagoda, M., Filip-Crawford, G., Sturdevant, L., Gomez, E., Harrington, A., Edwards, A., Berk, J. (2024). Mathematica and Social Policy Research. Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Navigators. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

Download Report   View Study Profile

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.