Spring_2009 Unemployment

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Plus:The NationalCommunityStabilization Trust

Periodic Paymentof the EITC

San FranciscosWorking FamiliesCredit

Dr. CRA

SPRING 2009

VOLUME 21NUMBER 1

Unemploymentin Low-Income Communities

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco


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CI Notebookby Laura Choi, Editor

When people learned that this issue of Community Investments would focus on unemployment, many of them said,how timely. Indeed, the topic seems to be on everyones

mind. A recent national poll indicated that worries aboutunemployment have tripled over the past year, making it the primary economicconcern among respondents. As the labor market continues to soften andhistoric rates of unemployment persist, workers from virtually every industryare affected. Weathering a job loss is challenging enough for the averageworker, but for many low-income individuals who are already stretched thin,the slightest loss of income can be devastating. In addition, low levels of educational attainment and weak technical skills can create signi cant barriersfor low-income workers looking for employment, particularly as more and moredisplaced workers compete for a limited number of available jobs.

In this issue, we address some of the challenges that low-income communities

face in times of high unemployment and examine a range of complex issues,such as the particular employment challenges facing immigrant communitiesand the role of community colleges in meeting the training and education needsof low-income workers. We also explore the workforce development efforts of community development corporations and consider how the lessons learnedfrom the past two decades of workforce development apply in todays economicclimate.

In addition, were pleased to introduce some changes to Community Investments,beginning with the new look you may have already noticed. Inside, youll

nd new features, such as Dr. CRA, an advice column in which our residentregulatory experts address todays most challenging CRA questions, ResearchBriefs, short summaries of recently published community developmentresearch, and Data Snapshot, which highlights data from the 12th District andthe nation as a whole. We will continue to have a special focus for each issue,but weve also made room for a broader range of relevant topics in the newEye on Community Development section. This quarter, we provide informationon the new National Community Stabilization Trust and consider potentialimprovements and innovations in the Earned Income Tax Credit, including acloser look at the City of San Franciscos Working Families Credit.

Times are tough for everyone right now, but low- and moderate-income workersare especially vulnerable. We hope this issue of Community Investments

informs and encourages your efforts to serve these communities in times of need. As always, we welcome your comments and feedback, and hope that youenjoy the new CI!

Laura Choi

Community Development DepartmentFederal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

101 Market Street, Mail Stop 640San Francisco, CA 94105

www.frbsf.org(415) 974-2765 / fax: (415)393-1920

Joy HoffmannGroup Vice PresidentPublic Information andCommunity [email protected] TurnerVice President, Community [email protected] Mercado-BriososAdministrative [email protected]

RESEARCH STAFFDavid EricksonManager, Center for CommunityDevelopment [email protected] GallowayInvestment [email protected] ReidManager, Research [email protected] CytronSenior Research [email protected] ChoiResearch [email protected] PachecoResearch [email protected]

FIELD STAFF

John OlsonDistrict [email protected] BontragerRegional ManagerArizona, Nevada, [email protected] Winter NavaRegional ManagerSouthern [email protected] NolteRegional ManagerAlaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, [email protected]

Lena RobinsonRegional ManagerNorthern [email protected] RutherfordRegional ManagerSan Joaquin [email protected]

This publication is produced by the CommunityDevelopment Department of the Federal ReserveBank of San Francisco. The magazine serves asa forum to discuss issues relevant to communitydevelopment in the Federal Reserves 12th Districand to highlight innovative programs and ideas thhave the potential to improve the communities inwhich we work.


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In This IssueSpecial Focus: Unemployment in Low-Income Communities

Addressing the Challenges of Unemployment in Low-Income Communities ................................. 2Widespread unemployment poses signi cant challenges for low- and moderate-incomecommunities; this overview sets the stage for an exploration of possible solutions.

Lessons for a New Context: Workforce Development in an Era of Economic Challenge ............... 8The lessons learned from the past two decades of workforce development efforts canhelp address the employment challenges of today.

Back to School and Back to Work: Community Colleges and Workforce Development ................ 14Community colleges are vital partners in the workforce development eld and can help

retrain displaced workers to re-enter the labor force with greater skills.Workforce Development Needs for Immigrant Job-Seekers .......................................................... 19Immigrants make up a sizeable share of the labor force but these communities faceadditional barriers to employment, such as limited English pro ciency and cultural differences.

Back to Our Roots, Just Greener This Time: CommunityDevelopment Corporations and Workforce Development ............................................................ 21Community development corporations are well suited to act as workforce developmentintermediaries and can play an important role in the green jobs movement.

Eye on Community Development

Foreclosure Update: The National Community Stabilization Trust ................................................ 24The new National Community Stabilization Trust brings key stakeholders together tostem the decline of communities with high concentrations of foreclosed properties.

Beyond Lump Sum: Periodic Payment of the Earned Income Tax Credit ........................................ 26The Earned Income Tax Credit is a vital resource for working families, but it may be timeto transition from the lump-sum payment to a more frequent periodic payment.

San Francisco Works to Support Working Families ........................................................................ 32Learn more about the City of San Franciscos Working Families Credit and recent updatesto this successful program.

Quarterly Features

Data Snapshot: Trends in Unemployment ...................................................................................... 35

Dr. CRA......................................................................................................................................... 34More and more banks are engaging in foreclosure prevention activities, but will theyget CRA credit? Dr. CRA answers your questions.

Research Briefs ............................................................................................................................. 36The effect of gentri cation on equity gains, surprising ndings on loan modi cations,and other recently published community development research.

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco


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Introduction

Boeing plans to lay off 10,000 workers; Yahoo announces 1,500job cuts. Home Depot, Sprint Nextel, and Caterpillar all an-nounce large reductions in their workforces. 1 Nothing evokesthe effects of the current recession more than the daily reports of addi-

tional layoffs across a broad range of industries. Since the downturnbegan in December 2007, the U.S. economy has lost approximately4.4 million jobs, pushing the unemployment rate up to 8.1 percent inFebruary, the highest in a quarter century (see Figure 1.1). More than12.4 million people are currently looking for work. Not captured inthese statistics are people who are underemployedforced to workpart-time or in a job for which they are overquali edor those whohave dropped out of the labor market entirely, so the toll of the reces-sion is likely to be much higher than the 8.1 percent gure suggests.And most economists predict that this rate will continue to increasein the near future, though much hinges on federal efforts to stimulateeconomic recovery.

Within the Federal Reserves 12th District, the impacts of the down-turn in the housing market and economy have been especially severe,and the unemployment rate has grown faster and more sharply thanfor the United States as a whole. Several states have been particularlyhard hit: the unemployment rates in California, Nevada and Oregon alltopped 10 percent in February (see Figure 1.2). In fact, all of the statesin the 12th District except Alaska have seen considerable drops in theirnonfarm payroll employment, with jobs in the construction, manufac-turing, tourism, and professional business sectors showing the great-est declines (see Figure 1.3). Yet unemployment rates vary signi cantlyacross the district, with some communities harder hit than others. AsFigure 1.4 shows, the highest rates of unemployment are clustered in

Californias Central Valley and Inland Empire, as well as in Oregonsand Alaskas rural areas.Yet, even this dismal macro-economic picture likely understates the

impact that the rising unemployment rate is having on low- and moder-ate-income families and communities. Certainly there is evidence thatthe depth and duration of this recession is having broad repercussionsfor a large number of people, but even so, when unemployment rises,lower-skilled workers and those who earn less are particularly hardhit. Figure 1.5 shows the unemployment rate among different socio-economic and demographic groups. For workers without a high schooldegree, the unemployment rate now stands at 12.6 percent; for AfricanAmericans, the rate is 13.4 percent.

The consequences of unemployment for low-income communi-ties may also be higher; lower-income households experience greaterincome losses (as a percentage of income) during recessions, and ittakes them longer than higher-income households to get back on theirfeet.2 Unemployment can have particularly devastating effects on sin-gle-parent households, as well as on households that have come todepend on two full incomes to make ends meet. And consider this:for years, weve been driving home the fact that more than one in vehouseholds in the US are asset poor, meaning that they have insuf-

cient savings to subsist at the federal poverty level for three months in

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the absence of income. Today, the average unemploy-ment spell lasts ve months, meaning that many fami -

lies will be unable to meet even their basic needs if theylose their job. 3

Clearly, generating job growth and providing astronger safety net for unemployed households are toppriorities for the federal government, and these goals areembedded in the American Recovery and ReinvestmentAct signed into law by President Obama in Februaryof 2009. The Act expands unemployment bene ts andother social welfare provisions and increases domesticspending in education, health care, and infrastructure.While analysts disagree about the likely impact of thestimulus package, the Congressional Budget Of ceestimates that the Act could increase employment by0.8 million to 2.3 million by the end of 2009 and by1.2 million to 3.6 million by the end of 2010. 4 The U.S.Department of Treasury and the Federal Reserve Systemhave also been taking unprecedented actions to stabi-lize the nations nancial system and unfreeze the creditmarkets, both seen as important preconditions for long-term economic recovery.

But the current crisis also puts into stark relief theneed to invest more broadly in workforce develop-ment in low- and moderate-income communities, andto help lower-skilled workers access stable and livingwage jobs. 5 In low-income communities, the problemsof unemployment are much more longstanding, andare not limited to recessionary times. In the recently re-leased report, The Enduring Challenge of Concentrated Poverty in America: Case Studies from Communitiesacross the U.S., unemployment rates in all of the 16high-poverty case study communities far exceeded theunemployment rates in their surrounding regions andfor the nation as a whole. In West Fresno, California, forexample, the unemployment rate in 2000 was a stag-

gering 22.7 percent, at a time when the national unem-ployment rate hovered closer to 4 percent.

In low-income communities, then, it will take morethan a stimulus package to better link working ageadults with stable and well-paying jobs. Harry Holzer,an economist who has long studied workforce issues,points out that one of the great ironies of domesticpolicy has been that federal investments in workforcetraining have dramatically declined over the past fewdecades, despite the fact that todays labor marketplaces an ever-higher premium on skills and training. 6 Indeed, federal investments in comprehensive employ-ment and training policies peaked in 1979: today, theUnited States spends only 0.1 percent of its annual GDPon workforce training, far lower than almost any otherindustrialized nation. 7

And while it may be hard to justify more govern-ment spending at a time when the budget de cit is pro -jected to top a trillion dollars, Holzer also argues thatthe lack of investment in workforce development entailsdirect costs to the economy, including lost productiv-ity and direct federal expenditures for Medicaid andother means-tested programs, as well as indirect costsresulting from unemployment and its relationship tocrime, incarceration, and family breakup. 8 In Washing-ton State, which has implemented a rigorous system forevaluating the costs and bene ts of its workforce devel -opment programs, researchers found that the return oninvestment averaged between $4 and $127 per dollarspent; for participants in the primary workforce program(WIA), lifetime returns on investment were measuredat about $7-8 for every $1 in public funds invested in2006. 9 These bene ts accrued in the form of increasedlifetime earnings, increased taxes paid, and signi cantdecreases in public assistance outlays (speci cally,welfare payments, food stamps, and medical bene ts).

0

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1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008

Unemployment Rate

Recession Unemployment Rate

Figure 1.1U.S. Unemployment Rate

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Utah Hawaii Idaho Arizona Alaska

U n i t e d S t a t e s

Washington Nevada California Oregon

Figure 1.2Unemployment Rates in the 12th District

February 2009

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Seasonally adjusted

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All of this suggests that investments in workforce devel-opmentparticularly among lower-skilled adultsarelikely to have signi cant payoffs down the road.

Labor Market Issues Facing Low-IncomeCommunities

Getting to the root causes of the labor marketissues facing low-income communities is far from easy,however, and even the best intentioned policies havefaced dif culties in tackling the complicated and inter -woven barriers that keep lower-skilled adults from ac-cessing living wage jobs.

In the 1990s, federal policy towards lower-skilled,unemployed adults was focused primarily on reform-ing the welfare system, and ending a perceived cycleof welfare dependency in poor communities. Thepassage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Oppor-tunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996 signaleda major shift in welfare policy, shifting from a systemthat guaranteed cash assistance to one that emphasizedwork rst. The new Temporary Aid to Needy Families(TANF) program put time limits on welfare bene t re -ceipts and required recipients to work or participate inwork activities in order to receive cash assistance. Im-portantly, TANF was also supplemented by policies toincentivize work and help make work pay. The expan-sion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Medic-aid, and the introduction of the State Childrens HealthInsurance (SCHIP) program, all greatly increased therelative returns to work over welfare for poor womenwith children. As a result of these policy changesiniti-

ated during a period of relatively low unemploymentthe welfare rolls dropped dramatically, and many havesince heralded welfare reform as a success.

Yet the success of helping lower-skilled workersachieve nancial self-suf ciency has been much more

limited. In a review of studies of those who left welfare,Gregory Acs and Pamela Loprest found that amongthose leaving welfare, average earnings remained wellbelow the poverty line, and fewer than half had jobsthat provided health insurance coverage. 10 Indeed, mostof the research con rms that many former TANF re -cipients have become the working poor, many of themwithout medical bene ts and/or sick and family leave.Katherine Newman, a sociologist at Princeton Universi-ty, sees this as a fundamental failure of our federal poli-cies toward the unemployed. [W]e seem to feel that aslong as weve taken people off public assistance, ourjob is done, she has written. But it isnt doneit isntgood enough in a country as wealthy as this to replacewelfare-dependent poverty with working poverty. 11

Tackling working poverty is likely to be much harder,however. Even before the current recession hit, the dif-

culties facing low-skilled workers in obtaining a livingwage have grown, as changes in the US economy haveincreasingly placed more value on those with higher

0

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BADegree

SomeCollege

HighSchool

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White Asian Hispanic Black Single- ParentHouseholds(Female)

Unemployment Rate

Figure 1.5Unemployment Rates

February 2009

Total

Natural Resources& Mining

Construction

Manu acturing

Pro essional &Business Services

Leisure &Hospitality

Alaska 0.9 6.8 -0.6 0 -0.4 -1.6Arizona -6.7 -4.7 -26.8 -6.4 -10.9 -6.1Cali ornia -4 0.4 -18.5 -6.2 -4.5 -2.8Hawaii -3.1 -9.9 NA -4.6 -2.5 -6Idaho -4.5 -15.9 -14 -8.8 -8.9 -5.8Nevada -5.2 1.6 -17.9 -7.3 -6.9 -6.2Oregon -4.7 -8 -17.3 -12.4 -6.6 -3.6Utah -2.1 16.2 -16.2 -7.5 -1.5 -3.6Washington -2.8 -10.4 -10.6 -6.2 -5.5 -0.4

Figure 1.3 12 month change in employment, February 2009


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education. Earnings for workers without a high schooldiploma fell throughout much of the 1980s and 1990s,widening the gap between wages paid at the low versushigh end of the spectrum. In 2003, nearly 25 percent of all low-skilled workers earned less than $7.73 an hour;at this wage, a family of four would still be living belowthe of cial U.S. poverty line, despite full-time, year-round work (de ned as 2,000 or more hours a year). 12

Second, low-skilled workers often face other signi -cant barriers to obtaining and retaining a job. Many lacksoft job skills, which include problem-solving andcommunication skills, professionalism and work ethic,and interpersonal and teamwork skills. Others oftenhave limited English pro ciency and/or are the primarycaregivers for their children, siblings, or parents, or havehealth problems to contend with. Still others strugglewith substance abuse, are victims of domestic violence,or face discrimination in the hiring process because of

a prison record. All of these factors can in uence some -ones ability to nd and keep a job, and make it espe -cially dif cult to move up in the labor market.

While limited education and work experiencecoupled with other personal barriers to workare likelyto be the biggest drivers of unemployment in low-in-come communities, other researchers have pointed tostructural changes in the geographic location of jobs asyet another factor that can keep lower-skilled workers

from accessing employment. Known as the spatialmismatch hypothesis, this theory argues that residen-tial segregation combined with the suburbanization of jobs has prevented inner-city workers from accessingjobs and opportunities in other parts of the region. 13 Public transit systems, in particular, often dont supportreverse commutes to these jobs, making it dif cult forthose without cars to get to work. Other research sug-gests that social distancelimited social networks andknowledge about those jobsis more important thanactual physical proximity. For many, access to jobs isnot just about overcoming physical barriers and match-ing personal skills to employer needs, but requiresstrengthening the social institutions that manage con-nections between employers and jobseekers. Seminalwork by Mark Granovetter found that weak tiese.g., casual acquaintancesare more important in jobsearchers than strong tiesclose friends and family. 14

In low-income communities, these weak ties are oftenmissing or more narrowly constructed than in higherincome communities, limiting access to employment.

Linking Workers to Living Wage Jobs

So how can we best tackle these challenges? Increas-ingly, researchers and policy-makers are recognizingthe need for a multi-pronged strategy that can both train

Figure 1.4 Unemployment Rates, February 2009


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lower-skilled workers and connect them to employmentopportunities. Efforts that have focused on merely one orthe other have been less successful. For example, effortsto relocate public housing residents to higher-incomeneighborhoods through Section 8 vouchers or demon-stration projects like Moving to Opportunityhave had

rather disappointing outcomes on the employment of these adults. Researchers suspect that this is due to thefact that while the move may have brought them physi-cally closer to places of employment, it did not addressskill gaps or the need for workforce intermediaries andsocial networks in the job search process. 15

In contrast, programs that combine training, jobsearch and placement assistance, and nancial andsocial service supports have shown impressive results.For example, training programs that involve private-sec-tor employers and that prepare workers for speci c jobsin those sectors improve both employment outcomes andearnings, particularly for low-income and at-risk indi-viduals. Working with employers ensures that skills gainsare directly applicable to available jobs, and provides abetter match between employers/jobs and job seekersthan might otherwise be obtained through basic educa-tion.16 Combining job training with other nancial sup -ports and servicessuch as access to child care or healthservices, for examplehas also been proven effective forlow-income populations. And the evidence suggests thatmore intensive case managementas opposed to onlyproviding limited employment services and/or relying oncase workers with very large caseloadsis important inachieving long-term results, including opportunities forcareer advancement and wage progression.

Providing nancial incentives that improve thereturns to work can also improve employment out-comes for low-income workers. In many cases, going towork and earning more can actually have a negativeimpact on a households overall income: as wages goup, social bene ts such as housing and childcare sub -sidies go down. At the poverty line, these bene ts area critical part of a households balance sheet. The EITCaddresses this gap at the federal level by increasing the

nancial returns to work for lower-earning workers, butmany states and municipalities have also developed

nancial incentives to encourage and sustain employ -ment. When nancial incentives are combined withother employment services, the effects on employmentoutcomes can be signi cant. Jobs-Plus, a demonstra -tion project in six cities, implemented a unique strategythat provided employment and training services, nan -cial incentives, and community support networks toresidents of public housing developments. The researchfound positive impacts on earnings across racial/ethnic

subgroups, despite the fact that many residents had sig-ni cant barriers to work. 17

Because such a wide range of interventions areneeded, the most promising models of workforce devel-opment today involve partnerships among industry andemployer groups, community colleges, state and local

agencies (including workforce boards), communitygroups, and intermediary organizations, such as com-munity development corporations (CDCs). (See the ar-ticles Back to School and Back to Work and Back toOur Roots for further discussion on workforce develop-ment partnerships with community colleges and CDCs.)These partnerships are also critical to breaking downtraditional workforce silos. The Annie E. Casey Foun-dations Job Initiative, an eight-year effort in Denver,Milwaukee, New Orleans, Philadelphia, St. Louis andSeattle to improve the way urban labor market systemswork for low-income, low-skilled workers, concludedthat an effective workforce development policy re-quires systems change. Too often, policies at the federallevel con ict with state level policies and local goals,and the lack of communication across sectors (publicand private) can thwart economic and workforce de-velopment goals. Applying the lessons learned fromprevious workforce development efforts, such as theneed for building a more integrated workforce devel-opment system, will better support low-wage workersover the long-term. (For more on lessons learned, seethe article Lessons for a New Context.) In addition,improved workforce development systems must alsoaddress the ever-changing dynamics of the labor force,which include demographic shifts such as waves of re-tiring Baby Boomers and the rapid growth of immigrantlabor. (For more on the impact of unemployment onimmigrant communities, see Workforce DevelopmentNeeds for Immigrant Job-seekers.)

Conclusion

While workforce development has traditionallyexisted outside of the nuts and bolts of neighborhoodrevitalization and community development efforts,tackling unemployment is a critical component of ad-

dressing chronic poverty in our nations communities.Doing so will require a coordinated effort by all levelsof government, and a greater commitment to investmentin workforce training systems. While job placement andthe restoration of family income are immediate goals inthis period of high unemployment, the community de-velopment eld should identify ways that it can supportworkforce development efforts that lead to sustainedwage progression and economic self suf ciency.

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Lessons for a New ContextWork orce Development in an Era o

Economic Challenge By Robert P. Giloth, Annie E. Casey Foundation

The economic expansion and tight labor marketsof the 1990s brought new attention to skill short-ages, career paths, and the important linkagesbetween economic and workforce development. Thecurrent economic downturn has muted this demand atthe same time economic stimulus efforts like the Ameri-can Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)will provide new investments for workforce education,

create jobs in transportation and health care, and spurnew green industries and job opportunities. 1,2 Many of these middle skill jobs will be within reach of low-and moderate-income communities if job targeting poli-cies are matched with the industry-based skill trainingmodels developed in the 1990s. This article will highlightsome of the lessons learned from the past two decadesof workforce development and discuss how they couldhelp to address the present labor market challenges.

Defning The New Work orce ParadigmWorkforce development is a necessary component

of our nations recovery efforts if low-income, low-skilled workers are to fully bene t from new job oppor -tunities. The phrase workforce development, however,implies more than employment training in the narrowsense; it means substantial employer engagement, deepcommunity connections, career advancement, humanservice supports, industry-driven education and training,and the connective tissue of networks. Building on thelessons learned from past efforts, the new workforce para-digm contains an array of job strategies, including sector-and place-based employment strategies, adult education,and short- and long-term training programs that are cus-tomized to different employer and jobseeker groups. 3

The new workforce paradigm brings together avariety of strategies that heretofore have been discon-

Photo credit: Oregon Department of Transportation

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nected and frequently at odds with each other. Integra-tion must occur between public system institutions andthe array of neighborhood and nonpro t programs. Atthe policy level, issues of labor market retention andadvancement are increasingly being considered intandem with programs to support working poor fami-lies and enhance their skills and job experiences. This

convergence of ideas bodes well for a more uni ed andeffective workforce development system.

What Are We Learning?The new workforce paradigm provides a unique op-

portunity to learn about effective labor market practicesand apply them to our current economic situation. Sixthemes suggest some of the areas in which workforcelearning and innovation is occurring. This is not an ex-haustive list; it represents ways in which the workforce

eld is being stretched to grow in policy and practice.The themes are (1) retention and advancement, (2) em-

ployer and jobseeker customers, (3) regions and neigh-borhoods, (4) race and labor markets, (5) best practicesand replication, and (6) labor market reform. The fol-lowing discussion identi es salient learnings, tensions,and innovations, rather than providing full-blown ac-counts of speci c projects, policies, and research.

Job Placement, Retention and AdvancementAn anecdotal saying in the 1990s was that it was

relatively easy to get a job; the challenge was keepinga job. The language of workforce development changedfrom a focus on job placement to that of job retention,advancement and wage progression. 4 Yet, todays highunemployment rate means that job placement is not soeasy; in fact, low-skilled workers are competing againstan array of laid-off skilled workers for the same jobs andfor the same limited number of training slots at commu-nity colleges. Fair and targeted hiring practices will benecessary along with a focus on retention and advance-ment in all economic recovery investments.

We are now learning which types of investmentshave a positive impact on job and labor market reten-tion. Placing someone in a low-quality job with little at-tention to training or supports is unlikely to be effective

over the long-term. Instead, retention depends on thetargeting of good jobs, better up-front training and jobmatching, appropriate and effective supports (such aschild care and transportation), plus nancial incentivesfor rms and employees, changes in the practices of in -ternal labor markets, and peer supports and mentoring. 5 The successful job retention efforts of Vocational Foun-dation Inc. in New York City demonstrated the impor-tance of designing programs that create an atmosphere

of high expectation for participants, provide an array of intensive services, and stay connected to participantsthrough long-run case management. 6

The workforce eld is also learning how to bettersupport advancement and wage progression for entry-level and low-wage workers. Union apprenticeships,which are being reinvented in many industries, remainan important model for career advancement, and areespecially relevant given ARRAs investment in a widearray of physical infrastructure projects that will createconstruction employment. Even in elds without tra -

ditional apprenticeship models, employers mustsupport workplace learning and clarify to workers howincremental skill acquisition can increase productiv-ity and translate into wage and bene t increases andpromotions. Workforce projects should create maps of career advancement within and among rms, sectors,and clusters, as well as help employers understand thepayoffs from investments in skills upgrading.

Although work rst (the movement to transitionpeople from welfare into unsubsidized jobs as quicklyas possible in response to the 1996 welfare reform) in itsearly version was perceived as an impediment to career

advancement strategies, increasing exibility has pro -duced an array of initiatives that link work and learn-ing.7 One example is the Seattle Jobs Initiative, createdthrough the Annie E. Casey Jobs Initiative program, whichcombines basic skills, English as a second language,hard-and soft-skills training, internships, weekend tutor-ing by business volunteers, aggressive placement by in-dustry brokers, and self-help and reunion groups. Thesetypes of targeted supports allow low-skilled workers toengage in training and skill development with the endgoal of full-time employment, consistent with the self-suf ciency policy emphasis of welfare reform.

Dual CustomerThe new workforce paradigm focuses on compre-

hensively meeting the needs of dual customersem-ployers and jobseekers in the community. Employerdriven workforce development means valuing employ-ers as an integral part of program design and operation,using their expertise to design relevant curricula, invitingtheir participation in ongoing industry advisory groups,

Placing someone in a low-quality job with little attention to training or supports is unlikely to be e ective over the long-term.

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and using instructors from industry to better ensure thatthe training meets the needs of new occupations and in-dustries. The best indicator of employer-driven successis a satis ed business customer returning to hire addi -tional new employees from a workforce developmentprogram. Yet, an employer-driven approach must alsoinclude the commitment of employers to invest in skills,

modernization, and changing the internal culture of work in their rms to support a diverse and frequentlynontraditional workforce. 8

Workforce development programswhich are oftenrun by community-based groups that are deeply rootedin the political, cultural, and religious life of a commu-nityare also paying more attention to the customerside of their programs. Rather than concluding servicesfor a client who has been placed in a job, successfulprograms are working to foster a sense of membershipthat entails a longer-term commitment and engage-ment with the organization. Jobseekers are encouragedto come back for help to get a new job or to improveskills. In short, community-based workforce develop-ment means that jobseekers perceive the program as ahome base.

During the past decade, employers and communi-ties have engaged in some promising new efforts. Onthe employer side, health-care institutions have takenthe lead to ll allied health positions and to createcareer pathways to nursing professions. In Baltimore,eight hospitals banded together in 2005 to create theBaltimore Alliance for Careers in Health (BACH) thatprovides career coaching, bridge programs, and work-based learning. 9 One of the most promising develop-ments in community engagement has been the role of faith-based congregations and networks in recruiting,mentoring, and supporting jobseekers while also advo-cating for public policy resources. In the case of ProjectQUEST in San Antonio and Capital Idea in Austin, forexample, these faith-based coalitions have found potentallies in major business leaders. 10

Regions, Cities, and NeighborhoodsTodays new workforce paradigm argues that labor

markets are regional and not restricted by city juris-dictional boundaries, neighborhood sentiments orhistory. 11 Economic clustersinterdependent sets of

rms and sectors, such as health careare often re -gional in nature, such as the high-tech companies thatcharacterize Silicon Valley, and argue for regions as ap-propriate units for workforce planning and implementa-tion. However, most government programs and serviceproviders operate within a different sort of geopoli-ticsde ned by administrative geographies, politicalconstituencies, and turfsthat tend to be more local or

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place-based in nature. 12 Community groups may con-tribute to this more narrowly de ned approach becausetheir place-based strategies encourage a neighborhood-focused effort. 13

Although a regional approach has new adherentsand positive, long-run potential, thus far the practiceof workforce development on a regional basis has pro-

duced mixed results. The underlying concept of spatialmismatch has called attention to the growth of jobs inthe suburbs, whereas the job seeking population residesin the cities. 14 Moreover, a number of efforts to decon-centrate poverty through the provision of housing vouch-ers, including the Moving to Work Demonstration, havehad few positive employment impacts because theyhave not included job targeting and employment ser-vices. 15 Practical and effective regional linkages aroundjobs and low-income communities have been limitedbecause suburbs are scattered and often resistant topublic transit solutions and integrated and affordablehousing. Regional governance of workforce systemsoften draws skepticism from inner-city politicians, whofear that regionalism spells an additional loss of powerand resources to elites who have already abandoned thecities and neighborhoods. Alternatively, inner-city revi-talization efforts contend that inner-city assets, such aslocation, land, access to labor force, and markets, areeasier to take advantage of (and therefore more worthyof investment) than are the promises of regionalism.

Race MattersEmployers commonly complain that all they want

are workers who will show up for work; skills related towork ethic, have been named soft skills, in contrast tothe de ned skills of literacy and numeracy, and techni -cal competencies related to speci c occupations. Manyemployers and policy makers attribute a lack of softskills to minority communities, particularly to youngurban black men, although there is mixed empirical evi-dence to support this claim. 16 Efforts to create soft skillscurricula can help de ne more precisely the skills andstate of job readiness that employers require. However,these efforts frequently lack a conceptual frameworkfor understanding soft skills, which may contribute toanother round of blaming the victim without adequate-ly accounting for other barriers that confront peopleof color in their workforce experience. A more robustunderstanding of soft skills is needed. Contemporarybusinesses require skills related to critical thinking, oralcommunication, personal qualities, and interpersonaland/or teamwork, but many of these skills are newlyshaped by structural changes in the economy, technol-ogy, and new forms of work organization. They are newand challenging for all workersnot just low-income

workers. And these skills themselves differ widely ac-cording to occupation and industry. 17

In communities isolated from the economic main-stream, sometimes lacking role models of labor marketsuccess and adequate educational opportunities, manyjobseekers never learn the culture of the new work-place. 18 But this is a matter of skill building and aware-ness, not a question of attitude, work ethic, and interest.Not only are many communities isolated from businessculture, but jobseekers from these neighborhoods alsomust learn code-switching skills to navigate betweencultures of neighborhood and workthe behaviors thatde ne success in the neighborhood may be differentfrom the behaviors needed in the workplace. 19

Lack of readiness for todays workplace representsa challenge for employers as much as for jobseekers.Many employers lack the ability and willingness to nd,accept, and support workers who come from whollydifferent backgrounds. This happens during the hiringprocess in which skills and aptitudes are frequentlymisread and ignored, although many employers viewthe personal interview as the most reliable hiring tool. 20 This is one more reason that employers frequently relyon the weak-tied networks (friends and associates) of

current employees to nd new employees.21

A number of recent innovations related to job

readiness, supervisory training, changing internal labormarket and hiring practices, and diversity training arehelping to overcome barriers and build the skills of em-ployers and jobseekers. 22 These innovations reveal anew willingness of employers and the new capacities of workforce practitioners to collaborate on key issues thataffect labor market functioning. Nevertheless, racismpersists and will require committed action to changeover time, especially in a time of high unemployment.Workforce practitioners must develop a more robust

understanding of race and job readiness if signi cantresults in job retention and advancement are to beachieved for communities of color.

Ideas, Best Practices, and ReplicationThe workforce eld is constantly challenged to inno -

vate new approaches, build solid evidence for effectivepractices, and scale up or replicate promising modelsso that they are adopted more widely. Multiple strate-

Lack o readiness or todays workplace represents a challenge or employers asmuch as or jobseekers.

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gies are being explored and can help the workforce eldaddress these challenges. The sector-based approach,which creates employment opportunities within a re-gional cluster of rms that share markets, technologies,or suppliers, requires strong partnerships between busi-nesses, community colleges, public workforce institu-tions, and community groups. Sector-based approaches

have had some success but now need to go beyondstrategy and think clearly about the organizational ca-pacities required to build enduring partnerships. TheNational Fund for Workforce Solutions (NFWS) is a newnational venture fund established by philanthropic andpublic sector investors that is partnering with 21 localand regional funder collaboratives to adapt the work-force partnership approach to regional economies. 23 Itis a mechanism for replicating and scaling; at the sametime, it is demonstrating new variations on how work-force partnerships can be pursued with communitycollege and public sector partners.

While workforce partnerships build connections tosectors and regions, workforce pipelines improve thepreparation and readiness of jobseekers with a focus onneighborhoods and speci c populations. These pipe -lines, sometimes referred to as bridges or on ramps,are built speci cally to support sector-based projects.Unfortunately, millions of dollars are spent on partsof workforce pipelines that are not always connectedto upstream training and job opportunities. The CaseyFoundation has been developing neighborhood-basedworkforce pipelines in its Making Connections initiativesites.24

Workforce interventions alone are frequently notenough to support low-income, low-skilled workers asthey enter the labor force or attempt to upgrade theirskills. Other economic and social supports are needed.A range of workforce-plus efforts attempt to bundlework supports like child care and the Earned IncomeTax Credit (EITC) with appropriate and affordable -nancial services to increase the economic well-beingof families and to strengthen workforce interventions.Seedcos Earnfair Alliance in New York City exempli-

es this approach as does LISCs network of Centersfor Working Families (CWF) in Chicago. The CWF ap-proach centralizes access to essential economic sup-

ports in a community based location that helps familiesbuild self-suf ciency, stabilize their nances, and moveahead. The Annie E. Casey Foundation is now launchingCWFs in a cohort of community colleges, based uponpromising evidence from early work with Central NewMexico Community College. 25

Another area of innovation and replication in-volves the establishment of targeting and accountabilitymechanisms that ensure that jobs created with public

investments are accessible by low-income, low-skilledworkers. Accountability progress across a number of major infrastructure projects has occurred in Los Angelesand now the LA Development Agency has committed toconnect all of its investments to construction trainingprograms. Community bene ts agreements (CBA) are aninnovative approach to accountability and the Partner-

ship for Working Families is spreading emerging lessonsin multiple cities. 26 CBAs are legally enforceable con-tracts setting forth a range of community bene ts thata developer agrees to provide as part of a developmentproject. These lessons and practices are especially im-portant for the implementation of the ARRA of 2009.

Too often best practices in workforce developmentare in the air rather than being backed by solid evi-dence. This remains a major challenge for a eld that islacking in common, agreed upon outcomes, measures,and benchmarks. Public/Private Ventures Benchmark-ing Project is a promising effort that has engaged 150workforce providers to anonymously share their dataso that performance benchmarks can be established.The hope is that shared information will spur change toadopt the most effective practices. 27

Systems Change and Labor MarketsCreating change in the functions of the labor market

as a whole, as opposed to individual job programs,promises the scale, sustainability, and structural changesneeded to create good jobs and accessible career laddersfor low-income jobseekers. Taking the route of policychange and systems reform, however, is not withoutperil; it requires a conceptual framework that identi esopportunities for change in labor markets, the capac-ity to build political alliances around change strategies,access to signi cant public and private resources, anda commitment to produce measurable results for low-income jobseekers.

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 is nowmore than ten years old and has received a boost of funding from the ARRA of 2009 after years of budgetcuts. WIA reauthorization is also likely to occur afteryears of Congressional inaction. WIAs infrastructure of one-stop centers is seeing increased numbers of custom-

ers as dislocated workers throughout the country seekemployment and training assistance. Yet WIA has notsucceeded in coordinating local and regional fundingsources and improving overall system performance,failing to make strategies like education and skills en-hancement and linkages between workforce and eco-nomic development priorities. As WIA is considered forreauthorization, the lessons that are emerging as part of a new workforce paradigm should inform its redesign.

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Two contemporary advocacy campaigns representthe next generation of workforce policy and systemschange. Skills2Compete is a national campaign led byThe Workforce Alliance (TWA) that is advocating forpublic and private commitments to ensure that every-one has the opportunity to obtain post-secondary cre-dentials. The Working Poor Family Project (WPFP) is a

network of 24 state advocacy efforts that is trying to bringabout policy change for education and skills enhance-ment, work supports, and economic development. 28

ConclusionThe new workforce paradigm that is emerging repre-

sents a pattern of convergence of outcomes, practices,and policies among practitioners of the elds of em -ployment and training, welfare reform, community de-velopment, and regional economic development. Thecommon concerns around retention and advancementin the labor market have brought these elds together in

many respects, although much diversity in strategy andpractice remains.But we should not assume that policy makers and

practitioners will build upon the success of this newworkforce paradigm in a time of economic challeng-es. Sometimes new challenges and resources bolsterthe efforts of the past rather than spur new innovationand reform. Progress on at least ve fronts is requiredin todays environment. First, engaging employers mustextend their focus from the issues of job placementto the arenas of retention, advancement, nancing,and shaping civic workforce agendas. Employer lead-

ership is key to long-term reform. Second, workforceinnovations have to attain scale and sustainability byinvesting in best practices, benchmarking, informationsystems, and continuous improvement. In particular,we need to understand the types of leadership neces-sary to grow workforce innovations in different con-texts. Third, investment in the capacity of community

organizations to become effective workforce partnersis important because outreach and recruitment, assess-ment, support, and follow-up are desperately needed,not only to achieve job placement but also for retentionand advancement. Fourth, attention should focus onconcentrating employment and economic opportunitiesin speci c neighborhoods experiencing poverty; overallemployment increases do not automatically saturateplaces with job opportunities, resources, labor marketconnects, or the con dence to nd and keep a job.Finally, we must train and support human resources forthe workforce development eld if we seriously intendto advance practice and policy.

Many innovations in workforce and skills develop-ment grew out of the experience of economic growthin the 1990s and the acknowledgement of future skillshortages. Todays economic recession challenges thesestrategies in the short run but also underscores their im-portance related to public and private investments ininfrastructure, transportation, health care, and energyef ciency and renewable energy. Adopting the lessonsof the new workforce paradigm can make these publicinvestments for jobs and careers more effective andlong lasting.

Photo credit: Washington State Department of Transportatio

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Back to School and Back to WorkCommunity Colleges and Work orce DevelopmenBy Laura Choi

Introduction

As the nation waits for economic recovery,workers from a variety of sectors and skill levelsare struggling to recover from job losses. In pastdownturns, displaced workers could utilize unemploy-ment insurance bene ts to get by until the contractionended, businesses expanded, and jobs were restored.But given the severity of job losses that have occurredin such a short period of time, displaced workers mayface an entirely different employment landscape in theeconomy that emerges from this recession. A recentarticle in the New York Times reported that layoffs in keyindustries, such as manufacturing, nancial services andretail, have accelerated so quickly that many companiesmay abandon whole areas of business; entire sectorsof employment may not be restored and workers willhave to be retrained for other careers. 1 This shift createsdif culties for displaced workers across the socioeco -

nomic spectrum, but will be particularly impactful onlow-wage, low-skilled workers trying to re-enter, oreven make their rst entry, into the labor market. Thesejob seekers may face a barrage of additional challengesincluding limited work experience, weak informationand labor market contacts, spatial mismatch (the geo-graphic disconnect between good paying jobs and theneighborhoods where low-income workers live), and

discrimination.2

The nations community college system has a stronghistory of inclusive education and can play a signi -cant role in low- and moderate-income (LMI) workforcedevelopment efforts. From the rst community collegebuilt in Joliet, Illinois in 1901 to the more than 1,600campus branches across the U.S. today, the system hasexpanded its reach signi cantly and presently serves11.7 million students. 3 Well known for open-door ad-

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missions policies, low tuition, exible scheduling andaccessible locations, community colleges have longbeen a valuable resource for LMI individuals seekingpostsecondary education. In addition to their traditionalroles of granting Associates degrees and transitioningstudents into four-year university programs, commu-nity colleges have also become increasingly involved

in local workforce development efforts. In light of the current state of the economy and the fragile labormarket, worker training will likely become an evenmore important component going forward. This articleexplores the role that community colleges can play inpreparing and connecting LMI adults to higher payingjobs and long-term career advancement.

Meeting the Demand or Skilled LaborOver the past two decades, researchers have predict-

ed the creation of an hourglass labor force, character-ized by rising job growth in the high-skill and low-skilloccupational sectors. The declining share of middle-skill jobs, those requiring some training beyond highschool but not a college level degree, has been cause forconcern but recent data suggest that projected demandfor these occupations will remain robust. According toone study, nearly half (about 45 percent) of all job open-ings between 2004 and 2014 will be in middle-skill oc-cupations, as compared to 33 percent of job openingsin the high-skill occupational categories and 22 percentin the low-skill service occupations. 4 It is projected thatfuture growth in the supply of labor for these middle-skill jobs, including plumbers, electricians, healthcareworkers, legal assistants and positions in the rapidlygrowing green building and clean technology sectors,will fall short of the growth in labor market demand, es-pecially in light of the demographic shifts resulting fromthe immigrant labor force and retiring baby boomers. 5 Despite the current economic downturn, this projectedshortage signals an important opportunity for LMI indi-viduals to engage in skill building activities today thatwill allow them to transition into higher paying middle-skill jobs in the future.

One potential resource for connecting LMI workerswith skill building opportunities and local jobs is the

career one-stop system, created by the WorkforceInvestment Act (WIA) of 1998. One-stops were imple-mented as a response to the fragmented federal em-ployment system and sought to ef ciently provideemployment and training services for workers whilesimultaneously linking employers with a skilled locallabor pool. However, a Government AccountabilityOf ce (GAO) study found that employers predominant -ly utilized one-stops as a source of low-skilled labor: of

the 9 percent of new employees hired through one-stopcenters, two-thirds were low-skilled, in part becauseemployers thought that labor available from one-stopswere predominantly low-skilled. 6 Employers reportedthey would hire more job seekers from one-stops if theyhad the skills for which they were looking. These nd -ings suggest that community colleges should play a vitalrole in addressing this skill de ciency by partnering withWIA one-stops to retrain low-skilled adults. In morethan half the states, community college representativesserve on local Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs),providing important leadership and program capabil-ity, and valuable knowledge of what happens on theground where service delivery occurs. Beyond servingon local WIBs, some community colleges are also op-erating one-stop centers, meaning they handle the dayto day operations of the center. Community college of-

cials explained that the bene ts of this arrangementwere cost ef ciencies, cost savings, or access to otherfunding opportunities. 7 GAO reports that 11 percent of one-stops are operated solely or jointly by a commu-nity college and 34 percent have community collegestaff located at one-stop centers. 8 This type of collabora-tion adheres to the underlying intent of the one-stops toaddress fragmentation and increase ef ciency, given theexisting educational infrastructure available at commu-nity colleges and their experience in serving LMI adultswith diverse educational backgrounds. In addition,formal partnerships with trusted educational institutionscan lend greater credibility to the training capacity of one-stops, which may change employer perceptionsabout the quality of available labor.

Community colleges can also leverage their institu-tional strengths to improve the training and educationalcomponent of sectoral initiatives. Sectoral approaches

rely on local employers and industry clusters to identifyskill gaps and future labor demands, which can then bemet through a variety of strategies carried out throughcommunity partners, such as community based nonprof-its, local government agencies, or faith based organiza-tions. Many sectoral strategies have proven successful,but are limited in their ability to achieve scale and servea large number of workers and employers. 9 A growingnumber of sectoral initiatives are utilizing community

Community colleges can also leverage their institutional strengths to improve the training and educational component o sectoral initiatives.

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colleges as the sole training providers, allowing themto take advantage of resources such as a vast networkof physical campuses, administrative competencies inadmissions and nancial aid, and faculty members spe -cialized in a variety of subjects, all of which can leadto valuable increases in capacity. But perhaps the mostimportant bene t of partnering with community colleg -es is their institutional expertise in understanding andmeeting the needs of disadvantaged students.

Addressing the Unique Challenges Facing

Low-Income Adult WorkersLMI adult workers face a number of challenges that

may hinder them from engaging in bene cial workforcetraining opportunities. These may include limited nan -cial resources to pay for tuition and educational sup-plies, limited English speaking ability, weak literacy andmath skills, as well as in exible work schedules and thedemands of caring for dependent children. In addition tothese challenges, welfare reform in the nineties createdadditional barriers to educational attainment by institut-ing a work rst policy that encouraged labor force par -ticipation among welfare recipients as soon as possible.

Employment rates increased in response to the policychange but research suggests that these gains came atthe cost of reduced educational attainment, particularlyfor low-income single mothers in low-wage jobs. 10

Community colleges can partner with state Tempo-rary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) programs tobridge educational opportunities with work activitiesand transition welfare recipient students into long-termself-suf ciency. The California state TANF programknown as CalWORKS partners with the California Com-munity Colleges (CCC) system to offer: service coor-dination between county welfare of ces, other publicagencies and campus services; subsidized child care;job placement and job development services; and thedevelopment of new short-term, open entry/exit voca-tional programs. These shorter programs are especiallyvital in light of federal time limits for assistance, as TANFrecipients must engage in work activities after reachinga trigger limit of no more than 24 months. Work-study isanother important component of CCC CalWORKS thatallows students to meet TANF work requirements while

simultaneously gaining valuable work experience andadditional income. 11 Program implementation is doneat the local level so courses can be geared towards eldswith strong local labor market demand, and work studyplacements can become employment pipelines. Forexample, the Los Angeles Community College Districtworks directly with Los Angeles government agenciesto place CCC CalWORKS participants in public sectorjobs. The CCC system reports that those in vocationalprograms and those who left with certi cates or associ -ate degrees increased their median annual earnings by65-85 percent one year after completing their schoolingand even CalWORKs recipients who entered withouta high school diploma increased their earnings by 40percent one year after exiting. 12

But the challenges described above reach beyondTANF recipients, affecting the broader population of low-skilled, low-wage workers as well. One of the keystrategies to increasing access to higher learning forlow-skilled adults is to provide comprehensive sup-ports, such as quali ed career advisors, personal casemanagement, affordable childcare, exible schedulingand accessible locations. In Oregon, Portland Com-munity College and Mount Hood Community Collegehave developed Career Pathways, accelerated shortterm training programs for low-skill working adults. LMIadults may have academic de ciencies and lack theproper educational background to complete college-level technical courses; the pathways couple basic adulteducation with targeted employment training, allowingstudents to progressively move to higher-wage positionswithin an occupation as they complete more training. 13 The pathways model, which is being implementedstate-wide, provides multiple entry, exit and reentrypoints into a broad range of programs which providesscheduling exibility for working adults who may onlybe able to attend in short intervals. 14 These modular-ized career pathways are broken down into manage-able pieces, imparting speci c skills valued by localemployers and leading to more rapid career progres-sion.15 LMI workers may have to overcome a number of other day-to-day hurdles on the path to skill attainment,such as limited means of transportation or geographicisolation from central city campus locations. The Wash-ington State Institute for Extended Learning (part of theCommunity Colleges of Spokane District) addresses thisneed by operating more than 100 off-campus sites suchas churches and community centers throughout the six-county district, including rural areas. Community col-leges across the country are becoming more sensitive tothe needs of LMI working students and are adapting toincrease access and address attrition.

One o the key strategies to increasing access to higher learning or low-skilled adults is to provide comprehensive supports . . .

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The Role o Noncredit EducationMany of the workforce development and training

courses offered by community colleges are considerednoncredit education, meaning they do not earn aca-demic credit toward completion of a degree. Noncrediteducation makes up a signi cant part of communitycollege activity; according to the American Associa-tion of Community Colleges, 43 percent of the nationscommunity college students were enrolled in noncrediteducation in 2008. Workforce training is becoming anincreasingly large component of noncredit education atcommunity colleges and generally operates outside thecon nes of traditional academic programs, which offerscertain advantages such as shorter terms, exible coursedesign and rapid responsiveness to local labor markettrends. This can also be appealing to LMI students, whobene t from easier enrollment, exible schedules, andless formal and less intimidating classroom environ-ments. 16 A recent report by the Community College Re-

search Center (CCRC), part of the Teachers College atColumbia University, found that several community col-leges now promote workforce development as a majorcollege mission and that federal and state funds havealso spurred the development of noncredit program of-ferings in new technologies. 17 For example, WenatcheeCommunity College, located in central WashingtonState, offers a noncredit program in geographic infor-mation systems and the City College of San Franciscouses state economic development initiative funds to

EnrollmentTotal 11.7 millionCredit 6.7 millionNoncredit 5 million

Enrolled ull time 40%Enrolled part time 60%

Student DemographicsWomen 58%Men 42%Black 13%Hispanic 16%Asian/Pacifc Islander 7%Native American 1%First generation to attend college 39%Single parents 17%Non-U.S. Citizens 8%

Average Annual Tuition and Fees

Community colleges (public) $2,4024-year colleges (public) $6,585

Source: American Association of Community Colleges.As of January 2009

Community College Fast Facts

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bring advanced manufacturing, such as rapid prototyp-ing and nanotechnology, into the classroom. However,noncredit education programs usually dont havetuition limits and are free to charge what the marketwill bear, which could signi cantly impact equity andaccess issues for LMI students. According to CCRC,in 2008, more than half of the states provide general

funds for noncredit workforce education, which helpsto offset student costs. States allocated general fundsfor noncredit education in a variety of ways: Californiaand Oregon provided funds based on contact hours,or the amount of time students spend in class; Utah andArizona allocated an annually determined xed amounttoward noncredit education; and in Alaska and Idaho,individual community colleges had discretion over howthey choose to divide general funds between credit andnoncredit education, while Washington, Nevada andHawaii did not allow any general funds to be appliedtoward noncredit education.

Some groups have been resistant to support non-credit education, since it does not lead to a degree andmay not lead to career advancement in the same wayas degree programs. Past critics of noncredit educationcontend that low-funding levels and lack of outcomeaccountability may perpetuate class distinctions withinthe system as many noncredit programs serve a largeshare of LMI students. 18 But research has also shownthat noncredit education can be an important point of entry into for-credit postsecondary education for thissame reason, as many LMI students are introduced tothe college experience through noncredit programs. 19 States are beginning to cultivate connections betweennoncredit and for-credit education and are creating in-novative mechanisms to link the two, such as offeringretroactive credits for students transferring from non-credit to for-credit programs and actively recruiting LMIstudents from noncredit programs into degree grantingprograms. 20 State policy can also play a role in increas-ing access to credit programs; CCRC found that collegesin states that provide general fund support for noncrediteducation were more likely to integrate noncredit andcredit programs and to connect noncredit students todegree granting programs. 21 With the proper academicand comprehensive supports described above, students

who may have otherwise never considered postsecond-ary education may be able to transition from workforcetraining to a college degree, allowing them to enter theworkforce at higher wage levels, with greater long termcareer potential.

ConclusionAs the country waits for economic expansion and

the resulting restoration of jobs, the community de-velopment eld has a timely opportunity to promoteworkforce development efforts. The recently passedAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 includes support for community colleges andtheir students, recognizing the importance of a skilledworkforce for economic recovery. Additional nancialassistance comes in the form of increased Pell Grants,a $200 million expansion of the federal work-studyprogram, the new American Opportunity Tax Creditthat offers up to $2,500 toward eligible student expens-es, as well as state scal stabilization funds which canbe used toward postsecondary educational and generalexpenses and facility modernization. 22 In addition,$250 million will go towards the development of state-wide data systems that strongly emphasize the inclusionof postsecondary workforce information.

Community colleges that offer well designed occu-pational training programs should be considered valu-able partners in the LMI workforce development effort.While such efforts in times of high unemployment maynaturally focus on rapid job placement, the longer termgoals of skill building and wage and career advance-ment should not be overlooked. As workforce develop-ment practitioners, policymakers, and community col-leges continue to collaborate and innovate, the resultingimpact on LMI communities will be signi cant. Going

back to school today can make it easier to go back towork tomorrow, but more importantly, the additionalskills and training will lead to a lifetime of economicstability and self suf ciency.

. . . students who may have otherwise never considered postsecondaryeducation may be able to transition romwork orce training to a college degree,

allowing them to enter the work orce at higher wage levels, with greater long term career potential.

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For the past decade, immigrant workers have beenmaking up an increasingly large share of the work-force, composing nearly 16 percent of the labor

force in 2008. For much of this time period, they haveenjoyed a higher employment rate than their native borncounterparts. But data released in March, 2009 from theBureau of Labor Statistics indicate that these trends arereversing, and that for the rst time since 2004, the unem -ployment rate among the foreign-born has edged up tomatch that of native-born workers. 1 For both groups, thejobless rate at the end of 2008 had risen to 5.8 percent,but for immigrant workers, the rate rose more steeplythroughout 2008. Foreign-born Hispanic workerswhocompose nearly 50 percent of the immigrant work-forcesaw a particular rise in unemployment, with an 8percent jobless rate at the end of last year. 2

The disproportionate rise in job losses among immi-grant workers largely stems from the fact that their recentemployment gains have been mostly concentrated in onlya few sectorsconstruction, production, and service oc-cupationssectors that have seen mounting job lossesover the past year. 3 Employment in these sectors had also

Workforce Development Needs forImmigrant Job-seekers By Naomi Cytron

been driving wage progression for immigrant workers,who, while still composing a disproportionate share of the low-wage workforce, had recently begun to moveout of the lowest end of the wage distribution. 4

The downturn has thus placed immigrant workersat particular risk of losing the foothold they had begunto gain in the U.S. economy. But they are additionallyvulnerable because safety-net and job training resourc-es that the native-born can utilize to help weather hardtimes are either more dif cult for immigrants to access,or not available to them at all. For instance, One-Stopcenters, the primary outlet for federal workforce de-velopment resources, often do not have bilingual staff who can assist immigrants with limited English skills.Additionally, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families(TANF) funds, which can be used not only for cash ben-e ts but also for vocational education, English classes,and pre-employment skills training, are not accessibleto legal immigrants until they have been in the U.S.for at least ve years. 5 Undocumented immigrants facehigher barriers still, as they can utilize only core ser-vices at One-Stop centers, which include access just to

The Highline Community College Phlebotomy I-BEST program offers integrated ESL and career training.

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information on local labor market needs and job-searchassistance, and are ineligible to participate in intensiveskills and literacy training programs.

Immigrants also face workforce barriers associatedwith limited educational attainment. While some im-migrants arrive in the U.S. with very high skills andeducation credentials, many more do not. In 2008, forinstance, 26 percent of the foreign-born labor force 25years and older had not completed high school, com-pared with 6 percent of the native born workforce. 6 Notonly does this limit job and earnings prospects for im-migrants, it can also interfere with participation in jobtraining programs, which can require not only spokenEnglish pro ciency but also higher reading and mathskills, or even a GED. A sequential path through variouseducation programs in language, math and jobs skillsmay simply take too long for immigrant workers seekingjob placement or advancement.

However, training programs speci cally gearedtoward overcoming some of the above noted hurdles

have begun to operate around the country. These pro-grams, typically cross-sector partnerships between localnonpro t groups and community colleges, and some -times drawing in corporate partners, aim to improve jobplacement, retention, and advancement for immigrantworkers by pairing the hard language, math and jobskills needed by immigrants with softer cultural ac-climation and on-the-job social skills.

In Chicago, for instance, the Instituto del ProgresoLatino, a community based organization incorporatedin 1977, has partnered with the Humboldt Park Voca-tional Education center, which is a campus of the City

Colleges of Chicago, to connect Hispanic immigrantsto jobs and skills. Their programs provide both basicEnglish as a Second Language (ESL) classes as well asvocation-speci c ESL (VESL) classes to prepare workersto participate in bilingual courses in advanced manu-facturing (a Bridge program), and then place trainedworkers in area rms. An estimated 90-95 percent of participants in the Insitutos Bridge program are rst-generation immigrants. The Instituto also offers classesthat help transition students with limited English-lan-guage skills into Licensed Practical Nursing positions.Here in the 12th District, Washington States IntegratedBasic Education and Skills Training program delivers aninnovative curriculum that integrates specialized au-tomotive skills , ESL, and employability skills throughSeattles Shoreline Community College. This programhelps immigrants successfully complete an AutomotiveService Associate Degree program, which in turn offersopportunities for workers to move up the career ladderto middle-management positions. Shoreline has alsobeen able to secure additional state funding in orderto offer other supportive services, including childcare

and assistance with transportation, to enhance studentsuccess rates.

While there is limited research regarding the most ef-fective ways to retrain and upskill displaced or under-employed immigrant workers, evaluations of individualprograms indicate that this kind of integrated trainingyields signi cant increases in earnings, job quality, andstability over programs that focus solely on one skill set. 7

Yet most of these integrated programs operate at a verysmall scale, training 20-40 students on an annual basis.Going forward, many will not have the capacity to meetthe growing ranks of displaced immigrant workers whocould likely bene t from job training and placement ser -vices. Growingor in some places, creatingthe capac-ity to meet the needs of displaced immigrant workersshould be a high priority, particularly in areas that haveseen a considerable increase in low-skilled immigrantpopulations, including a number of 12th District states.Nevada and Arizona, for instance, rank as the states withthe highest growth nationwide in their shares of foreign

born residents from 2000-2007; Washington State ranks12th. 8 While immigrants from Latin American countrieshave composed a great deal of this growth, signi cantnumbers of immigrants have also arrived from othercountries, including the Philippines, Vietnam, India aswell as a number of African nations.

Growing the capacity of integrated programs willthus not only entail simply creating spaces in the class-room, but will also necessitate expanding the respon-siveness of programs to the array of cultural and linguis-tic needs of job seekers. It may also require improvedoutreach to immigrant workers who may not be awareof the programs available to them. 9 Close collaborationsbetween community colleges or other established adulteducation centers and community based organizationsthat have effective outreach channels can facilitate thiskind of support for immigrant job-seekers. Aiming inthese ways to meet what will likely be growing work-force development needs of immigrant job-seekerswill be essential in the times ahead, as it can enableimmigrants to progress beyond low-wage work as theeconomy recovers.

Growing the capacity o integrated programs will thus not only entail simply creating spaces in the classroom, but will also necessitate expanding the responsiveness o

programs to the array o cultural and linguistic needs o job seekers.

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Introduction

Community Development Corporations (CDCs)were created in the late 1960s to help lowwealth communities address the range of prob-lems associated with economic and political exclusion.Although CDCs initially engaged in a broad array of activities, from community organizing to economicdevelopment and job services, many developed analmost exclusive focus on affordable housing devel-opment during the 1980s. 1 A survey conducted bythe Urban Institute indicated that by the early 1990s,only about half of the responding CDCs (55 percent)engaged in workforce development. 2 As the economycontinues to struggle and layoffs persist, CDCs have atimely opportunity to return to their roots as providers

Back to Our Roots,Just Greener this Time

Community Development Corporationsand Work orce Development By Makini Hassan, Executive Director, Marin City Community Development Corporation

Seattle Vocational Institute (Pre-Apprenticeship ConstructionTraining Program) students show the demonstration solar roof they built. Photo credit: Green For All

of workforce development services that target under-served communities.

Workforce development provides skills training andcareer preparation services that prepare jobseekers forentry and advancement into high-demand occupationsin rapidly growing industries. The results of such effortsare careers that provide living wages, bene ts (such ashealthcare and paid sick leave), and marketable skillsthat improve the economic viability of communityresidents. This article will discuss the role of CDCs inproviding workforce development services and high-light some of the strategies and innovations, such as thegreen jobs movement, that will shape the future of thisimportant eld.

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The Role o CDCs in Work orce DevelopmentCDCs are well positioned to provide direct work-

force services because of their strong community tiesand their established presence as a trusted resource.Many CDCs provide a range of workforce services andalign pre-vocational services such as classes in job read-iness, basic training in math and writing, and computerskills courses.

For example, West Angeles Community Develop-ment Corporation (WACDC), located in south LosAngeles, offers work-readiness skills training, mentor-ing, and career counseling to help low-income jobseek-ers secure quality employment. WACDC also providesaffordable housing and asset development services andhas linked credit repair counseling and homeownershipservices to its workforce development efforts. WACDCmaintains an in-depth knowledge of its client base andhas a deep understanding of the requirements for successin the modern workplace; it can utilize these strengthsto provide customized coaching and support. Accordingto Dr. Lula Ballton, Executive Director of WACDC, thosewho have been chronically unemployed can be whatthey can see. In other words, as these clients gain skillsand con dence through workforce development servic -es, they can begin to see the real prospects and bene tsof steady employment. WACDC provides leadership de-

velopment and mentoring, and focuses on developingstrong math, speaking, and writing skills to make clientsjob-ready. In addition, they provide con ict resolutiontraining, which is an important workplace skill thatimproves job retention and encourages overall careersuccess. WACDC partners with the local Urban Leagueand Workforce Investment One Stop Career Center toconnect job seekers to occupational skills training andmore advanced employment services.

Successful CDCs can extend the reach of their ser-vices in the workforce development eld even further.Those organizations that demonstrate expertise andhave a proven track record of accomplishment havebecome excellent providers of technical assistance toother workforce development CDCs. For example, afterreceiving numerous requests for technical assistance,

Marin City Community Development (MCCDC) decidedto develop this core competency and now supports ca-pacity building for workforce development service pro-viders. In addition to helping to promote best practices,this new business line contributes to MCCDCs nancialsustainability through the fee for service contracts.

CDCs also play a role as policy intermediaries, en-suring that the public workforce and economic devel-opment systems provide meaningful services to under-served populations, and that community and faith-basedorganizations remain integral to the workforce deliverysystem. CDCs can encourage the effective implementa-tion of policies that prioritize underserved populationsfacing multiple barriers to employment. One importantstrategy is to actively participate on the local or regionalWorkforce Investment Board, which has oversight of anareas primary workforce development efforts. CDCsoften have the required core competencies to provideintensive services within the workforce developmentsystem, and are able to enhance results because of theirspeci c expertise with target populations. CDCs canalso help to bring together other workforce institutionswithin the community. For example, CDCs have the

exibility to work with targeted industries, the publicworkforce system, educational institutions, and occu-pational skills providers to support the complex effort of sectoral workforce development strategies.

CDCs are particularly well-suited to serving asworkforce intermediaries, since they tend to be more

exible and entrepreneurial. One example of this is therecent policy and industrial shift to green industriesand the mission to create green collar jobs.

The green jobs movement is an important part of thefuture of workforce development, as it seeks to improvecareer opportunities for low-wealth communities whilesigni cantly improving the environment. Van Jones,who recently became the White House Special Advisor

for Green Jobs, Enterprise, and Innovation, is an impor-tant leader in this movement. As the former ExecutiveDirector of the Ella Baker Center in Oakland, he helpeddevelop the Oakland Green Jobs Corp Program with theApollo Alliance. This innovative work of connecting en-vironmental advocacy issues with the emerging growthof the green sector caught the attention of SpeakerNancy Pelosi. The idea that this new green economycould lift all boats by ensuring that underserved pop-

Participants in a job training seminar at Marin City CommunityDevelopment Corporation.

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ulations become priorities in occupational skills train-ing spurred the creation of the national Green Jobs Act,which authorizes up to $125 million to establish jobtraining programs for green industries. 3 There was anoverwhelming national and international response, withmany other governmental entities requesting assistanceto craft similar legislation. The organization Green for

All was established on January l, 2008 to focus speci -cally on green jobs policy.The green jobs movement is an exceptional ap-

proach to community economic development, as itengages low-income communities in creating social,economic, and environmental change. Recognizingthis opportunity, Marin City CDC has developed aworkforce development sectoral strategy for the greenindustry. The work of MCCDC initially began with solarindustry employers providing photovoltaic installationtraining to job seeking clients, after initial classroombased preparation, academic advancement instruction,and a variety of other comprehensive career supports.As green sectors became more easily identi able andopportunities in the energy ef ciency industry wereprojected to increase, MCCDC realized the potential tolink workforce training efforts to the agencys housingpreservation services for local low-income homeown-ers. MCCDC partners with GRID Alternatives, a provid-er of low cost solar installation services, to promote aworkforce development strategy that provides increasedtraining, energy ef ciency measures, and realizedsavings for low-income residents of the community. Thisproject has also helped reach underserved residents,who bene t greatly from authentic job skills trainingwhen it is offered in their own community, along witheasily accessible vocational supports. In addition, theirtraining contributes to the community in a meaningfulway. The next phase of the program will include trainingfor weatherization and other energy ef ciency servicesand is close to implementation. These types of programsoffer meaningful bene ts for jobseeking clients as wellas community residents as a whole.

ConclusionCDCs can utilize a variety of funding sources to

provide skills training to address the current challengesof unemployment in low-income communities. Invest-ments into workforce development efforts are varied

and have recently increased with new governmentalcommitments to job creation and environmental pro-tection. Many public entities, such as the Departmentof Health and Human Services, Department of Energy,and HUD, are strengthening support for workforce de-velopment efforts. Philanthropic organizations, manyof which have reduced support in recent years and arestruggling with diminished corpuses in the current eco-nomic climate, have formed effective workforce fundingcollaboratives throughout California and other regions

in the country. These collaboratives develop and expandinvestments of foundations, the public sector, and privatebusinesses, and increase exibility by combining a di -versi ed funding approach with collaborative and coor -dinated decision-making on grants. 4 The private sectoris an important contributor to workforce developmentthrough direct involvement in training and the provisionof resources; collaboration with an industry partner oftenauthenticates the relevance and core business value of an initiative. Many large companies and industry asso-ciations have foundations or other sources of revenue tosupport workforce development and many banks and -

nancial institutions support this effort through their Com-munity Reinvestment Act commitments.Effective workforce development strategies are

strategically aligned with the mission of communitydevelopment corporations, which began with a focuson employment and career training services. Housingdevelopment and asset building strategies recognizethe importance of successfully increasing incomes asan essential element to building self-suf ciency. Withthis mission to increase income and expand employ-ment opportunities in high growth industries, such asthe new green economy, community development cor-porations have the chance to reconnect with their roots,and become even more e

Documents

Spring_2009 Unemployment