Below you will find the most recent publication from the Ray Marshall Center. You can also search the categories to the right. Our publications can also be found on the University of Texas Repository and the LBJ School’s Research Portal via the links below. Reports are published by the Ray Marshall Center unless specifically stated otherwise.
*Please note: Working papers are often shared by RMC researchers as a way of sharing research in a more timely manner and gathering pre-publication feedback. If you wish to cite a working paper, please contact the author directly for permission. Staff contact information can be found at Meet our Staff.
Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development 2023 Update
Authors: Cynthia Juniper, Patty Rodriguez, David McCoy, Heath Prince (Principal Investigator), and Thomas Boswell
Date: November 2023
Publication Type: Report, 173pp.
INTRODUCTION
In FY 2016–FY 2022, Travis County invested over $16 million to support a continuum of adult education, training, and employment services. The adult education programing supported by the County includes English as a second language, basic adult education, high school equivalency and GED classes. Sectoral occupational training includes healthcare professions, information technology, skilled trades, manufacturing, and other occupations in area growth industries with good prospects for career advancement, improved economic stability, and access to employee benefits.
Four of the Travis County workforce development grantees receive county-funded assistance as a consortium, the Workforce Education and Readiness Continuum–Travis County (WERC-TC). WERC-TC providers are Workforce Solutions Capital Area Career Centers, Goodwill of Central Texas, Austin Area Urban League, and American YouthWorks. Four additional community-based organizations maintaining workforce development contracts with Travis County are included in this report: Literacy Coalition of Central Texas, Capital IDEA, LifeWorks, and Skillpoint Alliance. In addition, WERC-TC grantee American YouthWorks also delivers services to participants through Travis County funding that is not WERC-TC.
To understand program participant outcomes and the impact of these services, the county has contracted with the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources (RMC), an organized research unit in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas, to conduct a longitudinal evaluation of its investments. This evaluation report presents findings and analyses of programs funded during a seven-year on-going evaluation (FY 2016–FY 2022).
