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The U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI) supported 46 grantees across the country to expand registered apprenticeship into new sectors, such as healthcare, and to populations historically underrepresented in apprenticeships. DOL commissioned an evaluation of the AAI grants to build evidence about the effectiveness of registered apprenticeship for apprentices and employers. This report presents findings from the outcomes study of that evaluation. It examines the characteristics, reasons for enrollment, program experiences, and post-program outcomes of AAI apprentices and pre-apprentices. The data sources include an AAI Apprentice Survey administered to a sample of approximately 2,600 registered apprentices, program records from grantees, and administrative earnings data from the National Directory of New Hires.

Most occupations projected to grow the fastest in the coming years will require postsecondary education and training. Of the 30 occupations with the most job growth projected between 2019 and 2029, 20 require at least some postsecondary education, including degrees and nondegree credentials. Millions of adults lack the postsecondary credentials needed to obtain many jobs in the current economy. Challenges to credential attainment include limited information about education and training options and their outcomes, expenses related to enrollment and persistence, and, for many students, the need to balance school with work responsibilities. This brief first summarizes the career pathways framework and associated evaluations. Then, using findings from these evaluations, it describes how programs that incorporate key features of the career pathways framework help their students persist and complete. Although not specific to working students, the strategies described can help students balance school and work. Data is used from three Administration for Children and Families-funded studies of programs adopting a career pathways framework.

The Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) project was undertaken to identify effective strategies for helping low-income parents work more steadily and advance in the labor market. The 15 ERA demonstration projects that were operating in nine states (California, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, South Carolina; Tennessee, and Texas) as of fall 2001 were evaluated by using a random assignment procedure that was tailored to each individual project. Several projects targeted "hard to employ" groups, whereas others focused on low-income working parents and helping participants advance to higher-paying jobs. In most ERA projects, case management was not seen as the main service strategy but as the starting point to deliver other services or activities, such as education and training, financial incentives, career planning, rehabilitation services, and job search assistance. Sites were responding to the challenges of encouraging and maintaining low-wage working parents' participation in the workforce with aggressive outreach, tailored services, financial incentives, and advancement strategies that do not rely on traditional classroom-based education and training. The following items are appended: descriptions of the ERA programs; a discussion of the project evaluation procedure; and key welfare rules in the ERA states. (Contains 14 tables and 29 references.) (MN)

This report examines the disability community's efforts to help individuals who have significant disabilities access and maintain employment. It identifies how welfare agencies can learn from and build upon lessons from the disability community. Chapter 1 describes the hard-to-employ (HTE) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) population and identifies barriers to employment and how states treat people with disabilities under their TANF systems. Chapter 2 highlights these four employment strategies for increasing employment among people with disabilities: workplace accommodations, supported employment, natural support, and Projects with Industry programs. A discussion of implications for the HTE TANF population follows each strategy. Chapter 3 reviews use of cash and in-kind supports to increase employment and describes four programs from the disability field. Chapter 4 describes types of transitional supports available to TANF recipients and discusses interventions designed to help people with disabilities transition to work and maintain employment. Chapter 5 summarizes these key lessons for the TANF community: expectations are important; the modified "work first" approach to employment can be successful for the HTE population; some clients need ongoing support to remain employed; some need to mix benefits and work indefinitely; and employer involvement is crucial. Appendixes contains a 100-item bibliography and description of rules governing the primary public assistance programs. (YLB)

With the transformation of the welfare system, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reviewed the employment and training components of 13 of its programs. The evaluation begins with a literature review that identifies these four groups of elements associated with positive outcomes: employment services that have an employment or education and training focus; eliminating barriers through provision of child care, transportation, and remedying substance abuse and personal problems; cash and in-kind supports that augment earned income; and transitional supports such as life skills training and peer support. These elements provided the framework for in-depth, on-site interviews with individuals from local housing authorities, employment and training agencies, welfare offices, and community-based organizations in Baltimore, Boston, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and San Antonio. Among the study's findings were the following: (1) HUD programs were generally consistent with the literature on employment and training programs; (2) Section 8 recipients have less access to employment-focused HUD programs; (3) Only Jobs Plus primarily served residents on welfare in all sites observed; (4) programs that target TANF (Transitional Assistance for Needy Families) recipients combine HUD funding streams and harness resources from the broader community; (5) strong linkages exist with labor agencies but relationships with welfare departments could be strengthened; (6) the implementation of financial incentives policies for residents must be resolved; and (7) housing authorities approach the issue of helping residents attain self-sufficiency differently. An appendix provides assessment plans for various programs. (Contains 71 references.) (KC)