| Principal Investigator: | Christopher T. King, PhD Co-Principal Investigator: Tara Smith, MPA |
| Sponsor: | U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration |
| Research Partners: | Texas Workforce Commission |
| Project Duration: | December 2010 – June 2014 |
| Description: | Texas’ Workforce Data Quality Initiative aims to develop a comprehensive system for analysis of workforce and education participation and outcomes. In partnership with the Texas Workforce Commission, the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) is working to build, test, improve, and expand data linkages across linked individual-level, longitudinal education, and workforce records. Through this project, researchers will be able to identify and assess postsecondary pathways and transitions between education, employment, and other outcomes for students exiting the public school system as well as analyze the performance of the human capital development system in Texas, spanning secondary education through postsecondary education, and workforce training and employment. Additional data sources that will be linked into workforce and education records include corrections, Vital Statistics, and federal and military employment from the Federal Employment Data Exchange System (FEDES). The project will also identify barriers to linking these data systems and present possible options for addressing these barriers. Outcomes and data from the Workforce Data Quality Initiative will be used to enhance program improvement, performance management, and research. This will provide researchers and local ISD administrators, as well as state and local policy makers, with information that could ultimately be used to improve young adult connections with the workforce system and help students and parents identify career pathways to high-wage employment. |
| Reports Available: | Postsecondary Education, Training and Labor Market Transitions in Texas: A Regional Analysis Authors: Greg Cumpton, Kristin Christensen, Christopher King, Charles Demakis, and Tara Smith Date: June 2014 Publication Type: Report, 64pp. Findings on Student Outcomes: Results from an Employer Survey Pilot Project Workforce Data Quality Initiative Research Brief 7 Workforce Data Quality Initiative Research Brief 6 Workforce Data Quality Initiative Research Brief 5 Workforce Data Quality Initiative Research Brief 4 Workforce Data Quality Initiative Research Brief 3 Workforce Data Quality Initiative Research Brief 2 Workforce Data Quality Initiative Research Brief 1 The Texas WDQI Project TAKS-ing Students? Evaluating Exit Exam Effects on Long-Term Student Outcomes in Texas The Effects of Institutional Inputs on Time to Degree for Traditional and Nontraditional College Students Work-study Financial Aid and Student Outcomes: Evidence from Community Colleges in Texas |
Two-Generation Strategy Initiative
| Principal Investigator: | Christopher T. King, PhD |
| Sponsor: | Foundation for Child Development |
| Project Duration: | April 2011 – June 2016 |
| Description: | In partnership with the Foundation for Child Development, the Ray Marshall Center is implementing a Dual-Generation Strategy Initiative. This project seeks to create and promote the field of “dual-generation” strategies, those in which children simultaneously participate in high-quality early and primary education (PreK-3rd) while their parents participate in leading-edge workforce development and education programs ultimately leading to long-term learning and economic success for low-skilled, low-income families in the United States. The goals of the project are to improve the understanding of dual-generation strategies among policymakers, researchers, and funders, as well as foster the implementation of dual-generation strategies at the federal and state levels. The project potentially has four (4) phases, the first two of which FCD is funding through the Center:
The Foundation for Child Development (FCD) is a national private philanthropy in New York City dedicated to promoting a new beginning for American education from PreKindergarten through Third Grade (PreK-3rd). PreK-3rd Grade Education is a seamless learning continuum, connecting high-quality PreK programs with high-quality elementary schools, to create a well-aligned primary education for all our nation’s children. The Foundation promotes the well-being of children, and believes that families, schools, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and governments at all levels share complementary responsibilities in the critical task of raising new generations. |
| Reports Available: | Promoting Two-Generation Strategies: A Getting-Started Guide for State and Local Policy Makers (Revised and Updated) Author: Christopher T. King, Cynthia J. Juniper, Rheagan Coffey, and Tara C. Smith Date: August 2016 Publication Type: Report, 55pp Austin Two-Generation Pilot Project Evaluation – UWGA Promoting Two-Generation Strategies: A Getting-Started Guide for State and Local Policy Makers Dual-Generation Strategy Initiative Research Brief Investing in Children and Parents: Fostering Dual-Generation Strategies in the United States |
Jobs to Careers: Promoting Work-Based Learning for Quality Care (R. W. Johnson)
| Principal Investigator: | Christopher T. King, PhD |
| Sponsor: | Robert Wood Johnson Foundation |
| Research Partners: | Johns Hopkins University and University of Baltimore |
| Project Duration: | December 2007 – December 2009 |
| Description: | Researchers at the University of Texas’ Ray Marshall Center, in combination with those at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Baltimore propose to advance the understanding of work-based learning (WBL) and career advancement strategies and bolster the business case for these strategies by applying a rigorous return-on-investment (ROI) approach to two Jobs-to-Careers Projects, the Austin Healthcare Collaborative and the Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare. The research will offer a framework for applying state-of-the-art ROI to frontline health/healthcare worker efforts, compute initial ROI estimates for participants (e.g., employees, employers), taxpayers and society and address their implications. Questions to be addressed are:
The research will feature theoretical/conceptual analysis and fieldwork in year one, and data collection, impact and ROI estimation in year two. It will contribute to understanding the business case for WBL and career advancement strategies for frontline health/healthcare workers, guide future investments in frontline worker strategies, and increase understanding of the burden sharing of costs. |
Achieving Change for Texans Demonstration Waiver Evaluation
| Principal Investigator: | Deanna Schexnayder, MBA |
| Sponsor: | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Texas Health and Human Services Commission (formerly Texas Department of Human Services) |
| Research Partner: | Texas Health and Human Services Commission (formerly Texas Department of Human Services) |
| Project Duration: | 1997-2002 |
| Description: | Using random assignment in sites around the state of Texas, this evaluation project analyzes the net impact of time limits, the personal responsibility agreement, increased resource limits and other features of the 1995 Texas welfare reform legislation (HB 1863) on a number of outcomes. Impacts of these reforms will be measured for the following client and family outcomes: welfare dynamics, economic self sufficiency, participation in workforce development services, education and immunization of children, access to subsidized child care, and use of child protective services. Net impacts will be measured over a five-year period. |
| Reports Available: | Achieving Change for Texans Demonstration Waiver Evaluation: Net Impacts Through December 1997 Authors: Deanna T. Schexnayder, Jerome A. Olson, Daniel G. Schroeder, Alicia Betsinger, and Shao Chee Sim Date: December 1998 Publication Type: Report, 69pp. Achieving Change for Texans: Evaluation of the Texas Welfare Reform Waiver: Final Summary Report Achieving Change for Texans: Evaluation of the Texas Welfare Reform Waiver: Final Summary Report (presentation) Achieving Change for Texans: Evaluation of the Texas Welfare Reform Waiver: Final Impact Report Achieving Change for Texans: Evaluation of the Texas Welfare Reform Waiver: Final Process Evaluation Report, by the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Project Management, Texas Department of Human Services (January 2003). For printed copies, contact Debora Morris, Texas Department of Human Services, (512)438-3353. Achieving Change for Texans: Evaluation of the Texas Welfare Reform Waiver: Understanding Time Limits: Supplement to the Final Process Evaluation Report, by the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Project Management, Texas Department of Human Services (January 2003). For printed copies, contact Debora Morris, Texas Department of Human Services, 512/438-3353. Achieving Change for Texans: Evaluation of the Texas Welfare Reform Waiver: Texans Who Receive a One-time Benefit: The Year After, by Laura Lein, Karen Douglas, Susan Jacquet, Audrey Steiner, Greg Ellis, and Veronica De La Garza, Center for Social Work Research, School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin (January 2003). For printed copies, contact Debora Morris, Texas Department of Human Services, (512)438-3353. Achieving Change for Texans: Evaluation of the Texas Welfare Reform Waiver: Texans Who Timed Out of Welfare: The Year After, by Laura Lein, Karen Douglas, Audrey Steiner and Greg Ellis, Center for Social Work Research, School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin (January 2003). For printed copies, contact Debora Morris, Texas Department of Human Services, (512)438-3353. |
Study of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Impact on Workforce Services and Policies
| Principal Investigator: | Christopher T. King, PhD |
| Sponsor: | U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration |
| Research Partners: | Capital Research Corporation, Johns Hopkins University, Institute for Policy Studies, National Association of State Workforce Agencies/Center for Employment Security Education and Research, The Urban Institute |
| Project Duration: | April 2009 – June 2012 |
| Description: | States face a range of policy and fiscal challenges as they try to meet the demands of the severe economic recession and implement the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). This project examines the types of policy actions states take in their workforce development and unemployment insurance systems to meet these challenges. The goal is to measure state progress and challenges in implementing the workforce and unemployment insurance provisions of ARRA, to highlight new and promising practices, and to provide technical assistance.
The Ray Marshall Center and its partners are conducting this research through several mechanisms. First, the National Association of State Workforce Agencies conducted online surveys in fall 2009 and will conduct a second round in fall 2010. Second, researchers will conduct two rounds of site visits to 20 states and two local workforce investment agencies per state. Finally, researchers will analyze data that states provide to the Department of Labor on the delivery of workforce services to determine differences between pre- and post- ARRA implementation. |
| Reports Available: | Implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Workforce Development and Unemployment Insurance Provisions Date: October 2012 Publication Type: Final Report, 374 pp. Publisher: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration Early Implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Workforce Development and Unemployment Insurance Provisions Interim Report |
Texas Workforce Return-on-Investment Analysis Plan
| Principal Investigator: | Christopher T. King, PhD |
| Sponsor: | Texas Association of Workforce Boards |
| Project Duration: | September 2007 – August 2008 |
| Description: | Researchers at the Ray Marshall Center are providing research and technical expertise to the Texas Association of Workforce Boards (TAWB) to update and refine the methodology for estimating the return on investment (ROI) from workforce services and to produce ROI estimates for Texas as a whole and up to 26 of the 28 workforce areas in the state. As part of the project, the researchers will also develop a guide to ROI estimation for use by the boards subsequent to this analysis. Center researchers demonstrated the feasibility of using a simple ROI estimation methodology and in 2003, producing “first-approximation,” taxpayer-perspective ROI estimates for 18 participating workforce areas as well as a composite board ROI estimate. The current project will improve on the earlier work in a number of important respects:
|
| Reports Available: |
Returns from Investments in Workforce Services: Texas Statewide Estimates for Participants, Taxpayers and Society Authors: Christopher T. King, Ying Tang, Tara Carter Smith, and Daniel G. Schroeder; with assistance from Burt S. Barnow Date: August 2008 Publication Type: Report, 50pp. |
Biotech Workforce Evaluation
| Principal Investigators: | Robert W. Glover, PhD |
| Sponsor: | WorkSource: The Greater Austin Workforce Development Board |
| Research Partners: | Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, Austin Community College |
| Project Duration: | September 2006 – August 2008 |
| Description: | The Ray Marshall Center is conducting an evaluation of a pilot project to enhance educational offering in biotechnology at Austin Community College. Specializations in biotechnical instrumentation and in molecular diagnostics are being developed and implemented in collaboration with industry through a series of teacher externships. In addition, the college is developing a one-semester program in Biotechnology Preparation to provide job applicants with applied skills to access entry-level jobs in biotechnology. Faculty from three ACC departments are involved in this initiative: Electronics, Biotechnology, and Medical Laboratory Technician.
The Ray Marshall Center evaluation is considering both process issues and outcomes of the demonstration. The project will monitor implementation of the project, examining whether implementation was carried out as planned, and if changed, how and why. The evaluation will document the project’s results, assess to what extent the goals and outcomes of the project were accomplished, how well the project served its targeted audiences and constituencies, the measurable returns on investment of the project, and what lessons can be learned from the experience. This pilot project is funded by the Texas Workforce Commission under its program “Meeting Industries’ Critical Workforce Needs” in biotechnology and administered by WorkSource: The Greater Austin Workforce Development Board. The program aims to foster workforce development for jobs in industry clusters targeted for economic development by Texas and by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. |
| Reports Available: | Evaluation of the Austin Biotech Workforce Education Consortium Author: Robert W. Glover Date: February 2009 Publication Type: Report, 68pp. Austin Biotech Workforce Education Consortium: First Year Report |
Creating a Sectoral Workforce Development Strategy for Tulsa
| Principal Investigator: | Cynthia Juniper, MA |
| Sponsor: | George Kaiser Family Foundation, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families |
| Research Partners: | Community Action Program of Tulsa County, Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child and Graduate School of Education, Tulsa Educare, University of Oklahoma-Tulsa’s School of Community Medicine, Northwestern University’s Institute of Policy Research, Columbia University |
| Project Duration: | July 2008 – September 2021 |
| Description: | In collaboration with a multi-disciplinary team of partners, the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) is developing and implementing a sectoral workforce development strategy for low-skilled, low-income parents of children served by early childhood programs in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There is emerging evidence that children whose parents hold stable jobs with progressively rising incomes exhibit better academic and behavioral outcomes. RMC and its partners have undertaken a dual-generation approach to poverty reduction that strengthens the investment in early childhood development by equipping Head Start parents with workforce training and gainful employment opportunities. This approach employs a more holistic model than traditional workforce development programs, as it also includes employee counseling and other support services to help parents complete training and adult basic education, retain their jobs, advance in their careers, and become economically self-sufficient. The goal is to develop a sustainable sectoral strategy that can be replicated beyond Tulsa to other communities across the nation.
In the first phase of the project (2008-2009), RMC designed a sectoral job development strategy focused on industries featuring jobs that pay well and provide much-needed employee benefits (e.g., health insurance, annual and sick leave) as well as career advancement opportunities. In April 2009, Community Action Program of Tulsa County launched the pilot, CareerAdvance®, at two Head Start sites in Tulsa involving 15 parents. The components of the CareerAdvance® are 1) GED and college readiness instruction, as needed; 2) skills training in the healthcare sector progressing from Certified Nursing Aide to Licensed Practical Nurse to Registered Nurse; 3) weekly peer support meetings addressing a flexible set of topics (e.g., life skills, work readiness, family finances); 4) conditional cash incentives (up to $3,000 a year) for participants meeting specified benchmarks to reinforce continued participation and help offset foregone earnings; and 5) workforce intermediation between healthcare employers and training institutions provided through Workforce Tulsa. The report on the project’s first year of operation is available at the link below. In partnership with Harvard University and the University of Oklahoma – Tulsa School of Medicine, a second pilot site was opened in July 2009 at a Tulsa Educare Center. The second pilot, EduCareers, includes all components described above as well as enhanced mental health services for participating households, curriculum enhancements for the children, parent engagement training, and a medical home. The CareerAdvance® project has now been expanded to 2015 with support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families. RMC and partners at Northwestern and Columbia University have been engaged to provide ongoing on data collection, implementation, and outcomes analysis of project participants. |
| Reports Available: | CareerAdvance® Implementation Study Findings through FY 2020: The impact of COVID-19 on service delivery Authors: Cynthia Juniper and Christopher T. King Date: February 2021 Publication Type: Report, 52pp. CareerAdvance® Implementation Study Findings through FY2019 CareerAdvance® Implementation Study Findings through FY2018 CareerAdvance® Implementation Study Findings through FY2017 CareerAdvance® HPOG II Transition and Expansion CareerAdvance® Implementation Study Findings through July 2015 Sustaining Two-Generation Strategies: A Case Study of Tulsa’s CareerAdvance® Program CareerAdvance® Implementation Study Findings Through July 2014 CareerAdvance® Implementation Study Findings Through July 2013 The Evolution of the CareerAdvance® Program in Tulsa, Oklahoma Expanding the CareerAdvance® Program in Tulsa, Oklahoma CareerAdvance® Implementation Report CareerAdvance® Pilot Project |
Workforce Development Employment and Earnings Outcomes
| Principal Investigator: | Christopher T. King, PhD |
| Sponsor: | Goodwill Industries International |
| Project Duration: | February 2008 – June 2008 |
| Description: | The purpose of this research program is to assist Goodwill Industries International (GII) in developing a broader and deeper understanding of the employment and earnings outcomes, both short-term and long-term, of workforce development clients of Goodwill Industries of Central Texas. The goals of this research are to (1) develop a partnership between the Ray Marshall Center and GII in conducting joint research that will extend and enhance our knowledge of the earnings and employment experiences of workforce development clients over periods of several years after program service, and how these experiences differ from their earnings and employment experiences prior to program service and/or among different groups of clients; (2) provide relevant and useful information for management decision-making; (3) provide useful aggregate information that can be shared with other Goodwill members and workforce development service providers regarding the design of workforce development programs; and (4) demonstrate cost-effective data sources and analysis methods for providing information on client outcomes. |
Manufacturing Skills Initiative
| Principal Investigators: | Robert W. Glover, PhD, Christopher T. King, PhD |
| Sponsor: | WorkSource: The Greater Austin Workforce Development Board |
| Research Partners: | CommunitySync, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce |
| Project Duration: | March 2007 – December 2007 |
| Description: | The Ray Marshall Center is conducting research on the future of manufacturing in the Greater Austin Area, in collaboration with industry and community representatives. The goal of the project is to facilitate economic development and to alleviate any identified critical skills shortages in Austin’s manufacturing industries. A key focus of the project is skilled and technician occupations.
The project collaborates with interested employers in the selected manufacturing industries to verify the shortages, examine root causes, and seek practical solutions to alleviate the potential shortages. Project results will be documented in a Critical Skills report for three selected manufacturing industries, including sections on contributing factors and root causes of the shortages, and solutions tailored for each manufacturing industry as well as cross-industry recommendations for action. The solutions analysis will also assess the applicability of existing E-learning systems in training delivery. The end result for Central Texas should be improved productivity for employers, as well as enhanced labor market success for area residents. |
| Reports Available: | Manufacturing Skills Initiative Authors: Robert W. Glover and Suzanne Hershey Date: December 2007 Publication Type: Report, 87pp. |
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