Cross-System Coordination Across Youth Programs

1. April 26, 2019 Cross-System Coordination Across Youth Programs NAWB Forum 2019

2. Sara Hastings Unit Chief / Division of Youth Services USDOL/ETA

3. Emphasizing the power of partnerships (Title I, IV and TANF) • How did this partnership come together? What was the driving force behind this partnership? What need did it fill? • What allowed the partnership to happen? What steps were taken to get there? Who or what was critical to the partnership development? • What were the challenges? • What were the lessons learned? • Advice to other state or local areas that may want to try this back home?

4. WIOA Youth Title I and Title IV Collaboration

5. Courtney Arbour Division Director / Workforce Development Division Texas Workforce Commission

6. March 2019 Texas’ Summer Earn and Learn (SEAL) Program Creating Pathways to Employment for Students with Disabilities

7. Summer Earn and Learn (SEAL) Overview SEAL is a statewide strategy in partnership with Local Workforce Development Boards. Work-based Learning Experiences are available to students with disabilities that provide: pre-employment work readiness training and preparation for the work experience placement; work experience to help participants gain familiarity with the workplace environment and develop transferable job skills; and paid compensation for time worked on the job. 1 SEAL meets the WIOA requirement of spending 15 percent of Texas’s federal VR grant (over $40 million of its $278 million grant in 2017) to deliver pre-employment transition services to students with disabilities throughout the state .

8. Partnerships 2

9. Collaboration 3 Three factors that helped to launch and sustain the SEAL program: Program collaborating under the same umbrella organization Committed leaders at all levels Clear communication between all partners

10. Lessons for developing similar initiatives Allow a generous planning runway Have honest conversations at the local level in the planning stages Invest in training Build capacity 4

11. Success Story – Brendan Pham Summer Earn and Learn intern, Brendan Pham was placed in a five-week internship with Hops and Heroes, a local Comic Book Store in Austin, TX. Brendan’s internship included customer service, merchandizing, sales and more. Brendan thoroughly enjoyed his internship and first ever work experience. Overtime, Brendan grew more confident in his work skills and became a mentor to his peers. During the internship, Brendan’s supervisor, took interest in his artistic talent. Brendan was assigned the task of designing and painting a mural for the store. (pictured below). Since his internship, Brendan has enrolled at Austin Community College and is studying art. His goal is to become a Concept Artist and to one day publish his own comic book. For now, he is focusing his time on studying and hopes to participate in Summer Earn and Learn again next year.

12. Texas’ SEAL Information For detailed information about the SEAL program please visit: • https://twc.texas.gov/partners/board-vr-requirements/summer-earn-and-learn • TWC Vocational Rehabilitation – Youth& Students • For detailed information about the SEAL program please visit: https://twc.texas.gov/jobseekers/vocational-rehabilitation-youth-students

13. WIOA Youth Title I and TANF Collaboration

14. Jennifer Meek Eells Executive Director Stark Tuscarawas Workforce Development Board

15. Using WIOA and TANF to serve youth: Ohio’s Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program • What is CCMEP? CCMEP is an innovative program that can help low-income young adults build career paths, find employment and break the cycle of poverty. It offers a wide range of services specifically tailored to each individual. • Who is eligible for CCMEP? Most low-income young adults ages 14 to 24. http://jfs.ohio.gov/factsheets/CCMEP-fact-sheet.stm

16. Using WIOA and TANF to serve youth: Ohio’s Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program • What services are available? The following are some examples, depending on each individual’s unique needs: • Paid and unpaid work experiences • Career coaching • Education and career training • Tutoring • Preparing for college or work credential training • Supportive services, including transportation, child care, housing, uniforms and work-related tools • Help starting a business • Help with budgeting • High school equivalency training • Counseling • Mentoring • Leadership development • What is unique about CCMEP? CCMEP integrates funding from both the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act youth program and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program to offer more coordinated, individualized services. Ohio was one of the first states in the nation to attempt this degree of cross-program integration. Unlike many other anti-poverty programs, CCMEP engages participants in meaningful employment and training activities that can help them build lifelong, sustainable careers. It focuses on people, not programs, and gives caseworkers the flexibility to offer more constructive services that build on participants’ strengths, increase their skills and meet their unique needs.

17. Using WIOA and TANF to serve youth: Ohio’s Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program • The Workforce Board’s Role in the CCMEP partnership • The Board authorizes the use of the local WIOA funding for the program. • The Board also procures CCMEP (WIOA Youth) program providers through a competitive process. Many counties in Ohio are performing joint procurement (TANF and WIOA) methods to contract with CCMEP providers. • In my local area, the Board provides consultation and assistance in program design, development, and delivery through the OhioMeansJobs (One-Stop) Center. • What does the CCMEP partnership look like? • In Ohio, the CCMEP is delivered by a lead agency, either the County Job and Family Services (TANF) agency or the Workforce Development (WIOA) agency. The county commissioners in each county have the authority to designate the CCMEP Lead Agency. • Regardless of who is the Lead Agency, there must strong communication, mutual agreement in the referral process, and strategy designed in the program implementation between both the TANF and the WIOA agencies.

18. Using WIOA and TANF to serve youth: Ohio’s Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program • How did the partnership come together? State Level • Governor Kasich’s administration looked at the opportunity presented with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014. • The Governor and the General Assembly passed legislation to create CCMEP and utilize WIOA and TANF funding to provide an array of services to low-income and barriered youth. • The program mirrors most of the WIOA youth program elements and performance metrics. • How did the partnership come together? Local Level • In Stark and Tuscarawas Counties, we were already looking at the opportunities presented in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 for youth programs. • We were looking at ways to better serve Out-of-School Youth. • The Board was excited about the opportunity to use WIOA Youth funding to pay for training. • We had been completing a community scan of available services for young adults.

19. Using WIOA and TANF to serve youth: Ohio’s Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program • Who was critical to the partnership development at the local level? • When the General Assembly passed legislation to implement CCMEP statewide, our county commissioners designated our local workforce development agency (Workforce Initiative Association) to be the CCMEP Lead Agency. • Both the Stark and Tuscarawas Counties Job and Family Services agencies were critical partners and were included in discussions to pilot a referral and process model. • What the unique partnership looks like? • Both County Job and Family Services agencies refer applicants for TANF cash assistance who are work-eligible to the OhioMeansJobs Center to be assessed for CCMEP participation. • CCMEP Case Managers assess, test, and assist the customer to create an Individual Opportunity Plan (IOP) for their participation in the program. • The IOP takes the place of the Individual Service Strategy (ISS) for WIOA-eligible youth.

20. Using WIOA and TANF to serve youth: Ohio’s Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program

21. Using WIOA and TANF to serve youth: Ohio’s Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program • Challenges • The differences in participation versus performance between DOL WIOA and HHS TANF programs. • Ensuring that CCMEP case managers are trained in effective goal-setting techniques, motivational interviewing practices, and establishing strong rapport with the customers. • Lessons Learned • Both TANF-eligible and WIOA-eligible young adults who participate in short-term training are achieving great success in finishing their programs and securing employment. • TANF and WIOA funding can expand the opportunities presented to our low-income and barriered youth.

22. Using WIOA and TANF to serve youth: Ohio’s Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program • The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton was interested in exploring the value of intensive case management in helping low-income individuals transition from poverty. The Foundation had recently funded an intensive case management program called Dream to Achieve, operated by Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio in Canton. The Foundation included the CCMEP early implementation project in its evaluation efforts. Dr. Peter Leahy from with Kent State University’s College of Public Health was commissioned to conduct the evaluation. Dr. Leahy tracked and compared the following groups: • Group 1: 26 CCMEP pilot participants who were work-eligible and voluntarily began the program. • Group 2: 26 CCMEP participants who voluntarily entered the program to secure assistance for classroom training in an in-demand occupation. These randomly selected participants began the program after July 1, 2016. • Group 3: 50 CCMEP participants who entered the program as Ohio Works First work-eligible referrals. These randomly selected participants started the program after July 1, 2016. • Dr. Leahy also conducted focus groups with CCMEP participants in August 2016 and August 2018, and surveyed CCMEP case managers and SCJFS staff in 2016.

23. Using WIOA and TANF to serve youth: Ohio’s Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program Findings from the local evaluation: • 19% of Group 1 participants (voluntary pilot participants) completed 1,840 hours of occupational skills training, compared to only 10% of Group 3 participants (OWF work-eligible referrals), who completed 688 hours of training. • 92% of Group 2 participants (voluntary, seeking training) secured an occupational skills license or credential, compared to 11% of Group 1 participants and zero Group 3 participants. • Group 1 participants earned a higher wage ($9.10) than those in Group 3 ($8.69). • Group 1 participants also worked more hours per week (32) than those in Group 3 (27). • Group 2 participants worked 13.7% more hours than Group 1 participants and earned an average of $5.06 more per hour. • Overall, Group 2 participants earn 76.9% more in wages than Group 1 participants, an estimated difference of $11,270 annually.

24. Using WIOA and TANF to serve youth: Ohio’s Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program Advice to other states: Co-enrollment for participants eligible for both TANF and WIOA is extremely helpful when using both funding sources. Ohio received waivers from DOL to help include the use of TANF funding in the calculations for both work experience and out-of-school youth expenditures for WIOA. The state of Ohio created a services matrix bridging the activities under WIOA to those under TANF. This tool is extremely helpful and could be a great starting point for states looking to explore effective ways to integrate WIOA and TANF, especially for TANF cash recipients who are work-eligible. The services matrix along with the rules and other resources is included in the CCMEP link located in at the end of this presentation. Thank you!

25. Ohio’s Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program (CCMEP) For details regarding Ohio’s use of TANF and WIOA funding for an innovative case management program for youth ages 14-24, please see: • http://jfs.ohio.gov/owd/CCMEP/index.stmName of reference item

26. Jennifer Meek Eells Executive Director Stark Tuscarawas Workforce Development Board • jmeekeells@omjwork.com • 330-491-2627

28. youth.workforcegps.org

29. Sara Hastings Unit Chief, Youth Policy and Performance USDOL/ETA • Hastings.sara@dol.gov • P 202-693-3599