How Effective Are Workforce Development Programs? Implications for U.S. Workforce Policies

Researchers: Christopher T. King and Carolyn Heinrich
Date: June 29, 2012
Publication Type: Presentation. 31pp.

This presentation, prepared for the 2012 Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Policy Summit on Housing, Human Capital, and Inequality, reviews the conventional wisdom on workforce development policies, public spending in the area, types of workforce development programs, evidence and impact to date, and implications for policy and policymakers.

CareerAdvance ®: A Model Two-Generation Program Lessons Learned

Researchers: P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale (Northwestern University, Christopher King (Ray Marshall Center), and Teresa Eckrich Sommer (Northwestern University)
Date: May 3, 2012
Publication Type: Presentation (Prepared for the Ascend Visit to CAP Tulsa)

This presentation covers: the theory of change that links education and workforce training with early childhood education; an overview of the study; lessons learned by the program; and lessons learned by the family.

Evaluation of Local Workforce Services
(Prepared for the Travis County Commissioner’s Court, Austin,TX) 

Authors: Christopher T. King and Tara Smith
Date: March 27, 2012
Publication Type: Presentation. 26pp.
Researchers present evaluation findings from two sets of local workforce investments:  (1) County-funded workforce development demonstration projects, and (2) County-funded workforce services providers. The presentation also includes findings from the return-on-investment study for Capital IDEA, a local longer-term workforce investment program.

Dual-Generation Strategy Initiative Research Brief

Author: Tara Smith
Date: February 2012
Publication Type: Research Brief, 4pp.

Expanding the CareerAdvance® Program in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Authors: Robert W. Glover, Christopher T. King, and Tara Smith
Date: January 2012
Publication Type: Report, 58pp.
(Prepared for the Health Professionals Opportunity Program, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

This report provides the background, rationale, and overview of the first year of implementation of the CareerAdvance® program. The program aims to improve family economic security by providing low-income parents of children in Tulsa’s Head Start and Early Head Start programs with workforce development services and training in high-growth potential sectors such as healthcare and nursing, in addition to adult education programs, peer support, and performance incentives. After the first year of implementation, early signs indicate participants showing high rates of completion.

Evaluation of Local Workforce Demonstration Projects – Travis County’s REM and GEM Projects

Authors: Tara Smith, Christopher T. King, and Daniel G. Schroeder
Date: January 2012
Publication Type: Report, 14pp.

This report presents finding from two workforce demonstration projects: the Rapid Employment Model, or REM project, and the Gainful Employment Model, or GEM project. This report builds on four prior evaluations for the REM project (2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011), and it also introduces the GEM project and provides outcomes for 2009-2010 GEM participants.

Return on Investment from Capital IDEA

Author: Tara Smith
Date: August 2011
Publication Type: Research Brief. 1pp.

CareerAdvance: A Dual-Generation Program’s Effects on Families and Children
(Presented at Meeting for HPOG University Partnership Research Grants, Washington D.C.)