Agenda: Improve the Training-to-Work Connection

Dialogue Findings. Training is most effective when it is designed to meet customers’ needs,
provided within a context that simulates a work environment, customized to an employer, a job or
a worksite, and matched to subsequent employment. Participants want training that provides
exposure to real work and they want to know what career opportunities are available in different

occupational areas.

Employers indicated that employment and training programs must do a hetter job of preparing
participants for the workplace. They consistently stated their preference for people who come to
work equipped with the basic skills and a strong work ethic, and indicated that they would provide
specific job skills training on the job.

Program participants and employers asked for longer-term training, more comprehensive
strategies, and extended follow-up after placement to help ensure participant success. For all
participants, better outcome measures are needed.

DOL Actions:

a Improve services to participants and employers by identifying, documenting,
disseminating and replicating model programs. Models include effective employer and
work-based training; on-the-job training; internships; entry employment experience;
customized training; and advanced career training.

The Department is moving forward in providing resources and assistance to school-to-work
initiatives at the State and local level nationwide. By July 1, 1996, programs for
unemployed youth, targeted to improve “training-to-work" w ‘ages (i.e., work-based training
opportunities, training that simulates working conditions, increased employer involvement in
training design development), will be ready for implementation by local prorrams. Funding
for these programs will be made available throu... a simplified, competitive process
designed to reward programs with innovative ideas and demonstrated commitment to
customer : atisfaction.



Selected Findings from a JTPA Title IIl-A Program
Customer Satisfaction Survey

Following are highlights from a survey of 2,100 JTPA Title Il-A participant customers:

Overal! Satisfaction

& = Two-thirds of customers rated the program as extremely or quite helpful. Although the

program was highly rated, there is still room for improvement.

About 80 percent of customers agreed that the services they received were well
coordinated.

Occupational training, either in the classroom or on the job, is the most highly valued
service provided by JTPA.

The level of satisfaction varies substantially with the type and intensity of training
received. Those receiving job skills training were most satisfied with the program.
Those receiving on-the-job or basic skills training were less satisfied, while those

receiving no training were least satisfied.

Among those employed customers who used the skills learned in training a great deal,

fully 95 percent rated the program as extremely or quite helpful.

Ways that Customer Satisfaction can be Increased
a Increase the comprehensiveness of up-front and case management services.

M Increase the focus on job skills training and increase its intensity.

TM@ ~~ “~Place participants in jobs where they use the skills learned in training.



One year ago we began this nationwide conversation with our customers, partners and
stakeholders to learn how to improve employment and training programs and services for
disadvantaged individuals. We learned a lot from everyone who participated—practitioners,
prc:,.am participants, and policymakers alike—and we owe each and every individual and
organization who worked with us a debt of thanks. Through you, we have gained a deeper
understanding of the issues and constraints that people in the field face on a daily basis. You
have helped us to define our vision and refine our agenda. We know that, given the realities of
the current environment and budget limitations, we will not be able act upon every
recommendation, and we know that the Department alone cannot resolve some of the issues

which require broad, collaborative attent:on at the Federal level.

The Department continues its commitment to lift the skill levels, incomes and prospects for all
American workers, and particularly those who are economically disadvantaged. Beyond issues of
partisanship and politics, we are charged with this mission, and dedicated to carrying it out in
partnership with our customers—program participants, employers, concerned citizens and
community leaders.

We face some uphill battles, and we will need to build consensus and seek cooperation as we
chart the future for our economy and for the American workforce. We will continue to seek
solutions to the labor market problems faced by new entrants into the labor force, the skill
development needed for employed workers, and the retraining and reemployment of workers
displaced by economic or technological changes.

We have begun to make changes—some evolutionary and some revolutionary—as we seek to
re-think how we do business, and improve the quality of our programs. Effectiveness will be the
"prism" through which we will examine our policies and programs. The very best programs in the
nation will be the standard toward which we aim. And, in the process of reinventing our policies
and re-designing our programs, we will seek to provide the flexibility desired along with the
accountability required. The framework for our efforts will be the desire to meet customers’
needs. tn such a framework, the Federal role will shift from providing prescriptive regulatory
guidance to finding and sharing important program principles, best practices, and other
information that serves as a basis for an effective and continuously improving workforce
development system.

35 an



Common Themes

continued...

Enable Participant Contribution. To receive services, some participants want the
opportunity to demonstrate their personal commitment to the program, i.e., to share

program costs or treat costs as a loan to be repaid.

Reduce Paperwork. Reduce the paperwork burden in eligibility determination,

assessment and service strategies, and referrals.

Measure Performance. Develop performance measures that reflect individual
accomplishment, competency attainment, educational achievements, economic

independence, and longer-term results.

Extend Program Follow-up. Increase post-program follow-up and services, if needed
after job placement, i.e., supportive services and trouble-shooting to improve adjustment

and job retention.

Improve Connections With Schools. Work more closely with the education system,
secondary schools and elementary schools, to better integrate schooling and work

preparation.

Improve Program Coordination. Improve program coordination at every level, beginning

with Federal agency coordination, to reduce duplication, fill program or policy gaps, and
share information.

Improve Public Image. Improve public information about and perceptions of the
programs—nationally and locally—by ensuring that accurate and timely information is

available to all who need or want services.

Continue the Dialogue. Continue the dialogue consultation as next steps are

implemented, sharing results and action agendas.



Agenda: Provide Flexibility, Simplicity and Accountability

Dialogue Findings. One consistent theme heard throughout the Dialogue was the considerable
burden in decumenting eligibility for participation. Program participants and staff cited the lack of
coordination among various Federal programs and agencies in setting eligibility criteria,
determining program eligibility, and handling paperwork. In some instances, Federal, State. or
local requirements seemed too rigid, placing a higher priority on program rules and regulations
than on individual participants’ needs.

Where possible, we must reduce regulatory and statutory prescription to allow more program
flexibility, reduce and simplify paperwork, improve incentives for exemplary performance, and
focus on results rather than on the process. However, we must balance simplicity and flexibility
with accountability, giving appropriate latitude to State and local organizations while guarding
against misfeasance or malfeasance on behalf of the taxpayers.

DOL Actions. In accordance with our current efforts to re-invent government and make it more
customer responsive and less bureaucratic, we are pursuing actions within our agency and
across Federal agencies to ease the administrative burden. Through incentives and other
administrative means, the Department will work to:

® = Streamline the participant application process. To simplify eligibility determinations for
individuals needing employment and training services, the Department is exploring
solutions developed by one-stop centers and other government reinvention efforts. These
streamlining efforts can help achieve economies of scale, improve sharing and coordination
among programs, increase returns on investments, and increase customer satisfaction.

By October 1, 1995, ETA will announce its strategy to accomplish the goals of establishing
common eligibility definitions for all employment and training programs and rescinding the
restrictive cost-categories that now burden program administrators. This strategy will
include simplification efforts currently underway, as well as initiation of additional efforts as
cond ns warrant.



tome

Synopsis of An Advocates' Agenda for Reform of Title II-A

The Department invited a broad spectrum of advocacy organizations to participate in the
dialogue, and to provide their recommendations about how to improve accountability, economic
self-sufficiency, access, and coordination. Following are some highlights excerpted from the
recommendations offered:

Accountability

a Adopt performance standards which take into account family size, age of children, local
area costs for housing, child care, food, healthcare, and community wage indices.

= Set a wage level floor or minimum standards for family self-sufficiency so that no individuals
are worse off in employment than they would be if they were on welfare.

a Enforce broad public access and involvement in local level planning, including labor,
community-based organizations, and disadvantaged populations.

Economic Self-Sufficiency

i] Fund programs that are future oriented, flexible, adaptable to an individual's needs, and
directly related to the kinds of jobs available in the local labor market.

a Withhold credit for job placements where jobs do not lift training participants out of poverty.

Access

ts] Use bi-lingual outreach workers, produce multi-lingua! outreach materials, and enable
immigrants with lower reading and mathematics skills to enter JTPA programs.

a Incorporate a detinition of “family of one" for displaced homemakers (exempt spousal
income), ensure supportive services and pre-vocational preparation activities for
Participants.

Re-design the participant eligibility form to facilitate access by limited-English speaking
Participants, and explore technology to widen access.

Coordination

a Review HUD initiatives, empowerment zone and enterprise community plans to identify

Opportunities for innovative linkages with JTPA programs.

a Explore waivers of JTPA regulations to enable greater collaboration across Federally
funded programs.



Message to Our Colleagues...

Executive Summary: What We Learned from the Dialogue...

Ww.

How the Dialogue was Carried Out.

What We Learned
Common Themes.

Perspectives from the Dialogue .........

The Department's Action Agenda...
Improve the Training-to-Work Connection ..........:00+

Meet Customers’ Needs...

Provide Flexibility, Simplicity and Accountability

improve Consumer Information and Customer Access...

Strengthen Program Coordination and Collaboration ..........

Build System and Staff Capacity ..
Provide Early and Comprehensive Youth Interventions
Timeline: DOL Action Agenda At-A-Glance ..............

Conclusion...

Acknowledgments
DOL Dialogue FAX Back .

Appendices

A. Customer Satisfaction Survey ....
An Advocates’ Agenda .........
. NYEC Findings........

Selected Research Findings.



DOL Action Agenda At-A-Glance

Action Agenda Item:

1996- 1997-
Spring Sum, Fall Winter Spring Sum. — Fall Winter Spring Sum.

Improve Training-to-Work
‘School-to-Work Implementation
Training-to-Work Linkages for Youth
Improve Performance Measures

Meet Customers’ Needs
Provide Incentives & Flexibility
Complete Youth Customer Satisfaction Survey
Complete Employer Customer Satistaction Survey

Provide Flexibility, Simplicity, & Accountal

Announce Strategy for Common Eligibility Dets.

Implement Performance Partnership

Review Paperwork Requirements

Implement Recommendations from NGA Paperwork Review

Improve Consumer Information & Customer Access
Develop Customer-Oriented Communications Plan
Kick-off Communications Campaign
Review Results of Youth & Employer Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Conduct Follow-up Sample Survey



Agenda: Improve the Training-to-Work Connection

Improve the connection to training by improving labor market information and connecting
training to labor market needs. Activities include enhancing employer involvement in
identifying training needs, tinxing employers offering high-skill, high-wage jobs, and
developing training modeis and resources that incorporate basic workplace skills. A major
ETA initiative is conimitted to implementing a state-of-the-art electronic system—America's
Labor Market Information System (ALMIS)—which soon will be available nationwide.

Improve performance standards, designing measures which reflect program quality and
results, such as 1) services to those most in need; 2) quality of training: 3) training-
compietion ratio; 4) ratio of training related placements; 5) program retention; 6) wage
gains; 7) fund utilization; 8) linkages/ coordination; and other results-oriented measures.
Work has begun ta initiate a pilot project designed to identify and measure program results
or outputs rather than inputs.



LET CS

Agenda: Improve Consumer Information and Customer Access

The Department plans to develop a customer-oriented communications plan, and will begin
to develop communications products suitable for national, State, and local distribution. A
communications campaign implementing the plan will begin in the Fall of 1995. In Winter,
1995-96, when we have the results of the customer satisfaction surveys of employers ana
of youth participants, these results will be built into our overall communications plans. In
1996-97, the Department will follow up with a sample survey to de:ermine the effectiveness
of our response to the needs identified. Results of this research will also be used to refine
our plans and activities.



Agenda: Meet C ustomers' Needs

youth customer satisfaction survey, and an employer satisfaction survey. The Department
will use these findings to help improve programs and services on a continuous basis, and
will provide technical assistance and capacity building to promote replication of programs
with high levels of customer satisfaction.

By January 1, 1996, the Departrnent will complete the youth customer satisfaction survey,
and by February 1, 1996, the Department will complete the employer satisfaction survey.
Results of these surveys will help guide and refine the Department's action agenda.



DOL Action Agenda At-A-Glance

Action Agenda Item: 1995. 196— 1997—-
Spring Sum. Fall Winter Spring Sum. Fall Winter Spring Sum. — Fall

Convene Nationa! Interagency Coordinating Team nauameuEe

Improve Program Coordination Across Agencies, Levels & Sectors maa

E
Continue
Strengthen Program Coordination & Collaboration
Announce Plans for Continuing the Dialogue Process
Build System and Staff Capacity
Provide Technical Assistance to the System
Identity, Disseminate & Replicate Promising Models IIE
Convene Capacity-Building Conference aan
Launch ETA Clearinghouse on
inaugurate Capacity-Building Electronic Service Center

Provide Early & Comprehensive Youth Interventions
Replicate the CET Model
Launch Evaluation of CET Model
Create a Promising & Ettective Program Network for Youth
Launch Replication of the Quantum Opportunities Program

Evaluate QOP Demonstration



program staff are a Self-Assessment Guide for use by local program managers, a guide
to developing and interpreting customer satisfaction surveys, a Return on Investment
primer, and an Operations Manual for continuous improvement and Total Quality
Management techniques.

Significant progress has been made by the interagency task force that is crafting
common definitions for program eligibility for the broad range of employment and
training programs.

Work continues on computerized tutorials of the JTPA technical assistance guides.
The first tutorial on Eligibility Determination has been completed and distributed;

tutorials on case management and assessment are under development.

The Capacity Building Panel of Experts, which crosses program lines and includes
representatives from Federal and State agencies, Public interest Groups, Community
Based Organizations, and program operators, has been established and is providing
guidance and direction on implementation of the ETA capacity-building strategy.
Funding has been secured to continue the Panel for an additional year.

Focus groups have been held in several States to establish a baseline for our review of
the sources of the paperwork burden connected with the administration of employment
and training programs. The National Governors’ Association is responsible for the

review.

As part of our effort to improve our public information effort, ETA sponsored a well-
received marketing seminar prior to the recent National Association of Workforce
Development Professionals conference. Additional seminars are contemplated as part of
the Targeting, Outreach, and Referral project headed up by Region X.

The replication of the successful Comprehensive Employment Training (CET)

model—a highly structured training design incorporating contextual learning
principles—has been funded and is underway. CET staff are currently working with
five local programs to implement the CET program structure.



DOL Dialogue on the Disadvantaged

Formulating the Strategic Questions. in initiating the Dialogue, the Department sought
answers to the following questions:

Who are the customers?

What are the characteristics of a customer-driven system?

What types of services work best for the disadvantaged?

How should the system be structured?

How should success be measured?

How can we develop staff capacity for delivering quality services?

How can we improve the system? What action agenda is required?

Conducting Open Outreach and Consultation. To collect the kinds of information we wanted,
the Department pursued a systematic process of broad outreach and consultation. Small group
discussions, town hall meetings, reviews of studies, surveys and reports, a notice in the Federal
Register inviting response to our questions and suggestions for improvement, customer
Satisfaction surveys, and other such methods were used to collect information. Following are

some of the activities used to open the discussion with stakeholders across the country.

Small Group Discussions in Fifteen Cities. Around the country, small groups were
convened to address questions designed to elicit information on program operation and
methods to improve program quality and effectiveness. Meetings were held in St. Louis,
MO; Des Moines, IA; Mt. Rogers, VA; Boston, MA; Bangor, ME; Tucson, AZ; Cleveland,
OH; Chicago, IL; New York, NY; Memphis, TN; West Memphis, AR; Portland, OR; San
Jose, CA; Caldwell, 1D; Great Falls, MT.



Agenda: Provide Early and Comprehensive Youth Interventions

Dialogue Findings. Evidence suggests that additional years of schooling have high payoff for
disadvantaged youth and that young people learn better and retain more when they learn in
context. Thus, programs for youth, whether they serve high school dropouts or young people
preparing for continuing education beyond high school, must increase their educational levels.
Services must be of sufficient intensity and duration that they address the "age- and stage-
appropriate" needs of youth.

The Department's strategy seeks to integrate school curricula and classroom teaching with real
work experience, to decrease dropout rates for disadvantaged youth seriously at risk of leaving

school, and retrieve and enroll school dropouts into alternative work-based learning programs.

DOL Actions. The Department has developed a strategy for transforming youth programs (JTPA
Title II-B and Title II-C) into high quality education and training programs emphasizing work-based
learning and ensuring closer ties to employers to guarantee greater training validity. This strategy
supports the national education goals as set forth in Goals 2000 and the School-to-Work
Opportunities Act. To that end, the Department will:

a Replicate the Center for Employment Training (CET) model. Ten CET sites are already
operating. and additional sites are being provided technical assistance. Evaluation of
replication sites is scheduled to begin in the Fall of 1995.

Expand work-based learning and school-to-work systems. The Department will re-
direct funding for non-college bound youth initiatives, and enhance dropout prevention

programs through the expanded use of work-based learning.

Identify and replicate successful youth training programs. The Department will identify
programs that develop youths’ employment potential, as opposed to simply providing
traditional social services. identify mcdel criteria, and disseminate best practice models to
each State and substate area



Agenda: Build System and Staff Capacity

Dialogue Findings. Cusiomer feedback about their needs and how we can best meet those
needs forms the foundation for the Department's efforts to build system and staff capacity. To
enhance the system's capacity to serve customers’ needs, we need to ensure continuous growth
and development of staff. And the best way to build staff capacity is to create a learning network
through which staff learn from each other, take responsibility for their own skill development, keep
Current on research and best practice, and have opportunities for greater exposure to innovative
and new approaches through direct experience, colloquia and seminars, and through technology,
including on-line computer networks. Best practice and model programs must be collected,
validated, disseminated, and replicated.

We must accelerate our efforts to build Federal, regional, State and local system and staff
capacity using contemporary technology and techniques, making itformation available through
print and electronic means. We need to foster staff exchanges, internships, peer-to-peer
networking, and other such activities.

We need to take lessons from the private sector, studying how they build capacity within their own
organizations and their vendor networks, how they leverage their investments, and how they
measure the effectiveness of their training. We must work to ensure that staff in our system are
connected into our own clearinghouses and electronic data bases and those of other social
service systems. This represents a significant investment in technical assistance and capacity

building.

DOL Actions. To accelerate our efforts to build capacity and improve customer service
throughout the system, the Department will:

a Continue to consult with the Capacity-Building Pane! of Experts, representing all
levels and sectors of the employment and training community. This panel provides
guidance on the direction and implementation of the Department's Capacity-Building
strategy.



What We Learned from the Dialogue

In April 1994, the Department of Labor initiated a system-wide dialogue to examine new
directions to improve job training and employment preparation for the economically
disadvantaged—directions based on customers’ needs. The Dialogue was designed to help
achieve broad consensus among system partners on goals, overall strategy, and next steps for
improving current programs and services, and to serve as a model of ongoing communication and

feedback with customers and partners to ensure continuous improvement.

To collect the information needed, the Department pursued a broad outreach and consultation
process. Small group discussions, town hall meetings, reviews of studies, surveys and reports, a
notice in the Federal Register inviting response to our questions and suggestions for
improvement, a customer satisfaction survey, and other such methods were used to collect
information

The message we heard loud and clear is that we need a workforce skilled and prepared to
compete in a high tech, global economy. Through the Dialogue, we learned that our customers,
partners and stakeholders believe that these programs are essential, the system can be
improved, and that in every locality, there are some model programs that provide quality,
comprenensive services to disadvantaged individuals and to employers seeking a quality
workforce. In short, there is no workforce problem in America that is not being solved
successfully, somewhere.

To bring exemplary programs to scale, and to pick up the pace of reform in workforce
development, we need to craft a coherent response based on national economic goals and
market needs, and built upon the broadest Federal/State/local and public/private collaboration.
We must discard programs that cannot meet the market test, and seek out bold and innovative
approaches that dare to break the mold. We continue to distill what we heard in the dialogue
process and turn it into an action agenda. We are open to fresh experimentation, and willing to
take prudent risks.

Putting it cimply, we are building immediately upon what we learned during the Dialogue:



U.S. Department of Labor Assistant Secretary for
Employment and Training
Washington. D.C. 20210

May 24, 1995

Dear Colleagues:

In less than 2,000 days, we will enter the new millennium. The 21st Century brings hope
that as a nation, we will achieve even greater productivity 1d prosperity, and as a
citizenry, we will be prepared to compete in a high-tech, givbal economy. The new
Century workforce will need new skills, higher skills, and higher levels of education

to create their own employment security in a workplace that may be less secure. It is
our desire to equip all Americans to make their own way in the economy, and it

is our particular duty to ensure that the economically disadvantaged are empowered to
earn their way into the American dream.

We aim to accelerate the agenda of reform: streamline and consolidate the current
maze of adult education and job training programs, and reform and revitalize current
program deign. But reform is no longer enough--we need to reinvent lifelong learning.
To that end, in April 1994, the Department initiated a Dialogue on the Disadvantaged--
a nationwide conversation with our customers, partners, and stakeholders to learn how to
improve employment and training programs and services for disadvantaged individuals.

We view this Dialogue as an opportunity for those of us entrusted with he stewardship of
the Federal government to engage in our own continuous learning and continuous
workforce development system improvement.

This is a Report on the first phase of the Dialogue--what we set out to do, how we did it,
what we have learned thus far from the process, and what directions we are taking.

What follow is an unfinished story, encompassing national, State and local level effort.
At this writing, and in view of the changing environment, our actions agenda as a result
of the Dialogue is still being formulated--but the direction for our actions was shaped by
the honest feedback from our customers, partners, and stakeholders, and is being fine--
tuned by ETA’s dedicated persistent staff.

We are grateful for your candor and your commitment to excellence, and we offer the

Same to you s we continue to search for new and better ways to ensure that all
Americans are equipped to lead productive working tives.

Employment and Training Administration



@ = The major portion of the project validating the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs)
needed by front-line staff has been completed; the next step in the process is the

development of curricula and standards for employment and training professionals.

The Oregon Option project, a prime example of inter-agency and federal-state
collaboration, is close to initiating a “performance partnership” that will introduce new

and better ways of using program outcome measures as program management tools.

As a result of the Dialogue, Workgroups have been formed within the Employment and Training

Administration to develop detailed action plans and begin to implement these pians. Following is
a brief summary, providing highlights of the Department's action agenda:



Using these guiding principles, the Department has already begun implementing many of the

agenda items. While some of our action plans are long-term in nature, and some will require
changes in legislation, the Department has already initiated and/or is continuing specific policy,
administrative, budgetary, research and demonstration, and technical assistance activities

desig :2d to improve program performance and increase customer satisfaction.

This Report summarizes the Department's Action Agenda in seven key arenas: 1) improve the
training-to-work connection; 2) meet customers' needs; 3) streamline program administration; 4)
improve consumer information and customer access; 5) strengthen program linkages; 6) build

system and staff capacity; and 7) provide early and comprehensive youth interventions.

With the changing environment and within budget limitations, we will do what we can to
implement each element of this Agenda, continuing .0 move in the directions suggested during
the Dialogue.



Agenda: Provide Flexibility, Simplicity and Accountability

Reduce regulatory and statutory restrictions. The Department is working with other
agencies to address interagency common core definitions, create a new definition of
poverty, and explore whether the changes sought must be made through legislation,
regulation, or administratively. The Department is also exploring immediate administrative
solutions which provide greater flexibility to the States.

By January 1, 1996, a new tool kit will be developed in partnership with the employment
and training system. This tool kit will promote new and effective kinds of performance
measures—measures which form the basis for “perfoimance partnerships" that will
empower program managers to focus on quality and results rather than »rocess and
procedural requirements. The “performance partnerships" will be based on the
groundbreaking work of the Oregon Option and other performance-based models being
developed in the system.

Reduce paperwork. The Department is reviewing the system's paperwork requirements to
identify problem areas and recommend specific solutions. This review, being conducted by
the National Governors’ Association (NGA) is designed to ascertain the locus of
responsibility for establishing paperwork requirements and to examine possible steps to
alleviate the burden. Our reinvented federal role is to de-emphasize control and inspection
and focus instead upon 1) providing information, 2) providing resou.ces, 3) identifying and
certifying experts for use by system builders, 4) providing opportunities for State and local
choice, and 5) eliminating unnecessary workload and burdens for grantees, allowing them
to focus on solving problems and improving customer service. We will establish an
interagency task force to make recommendations based on the NGA findings.

By July 1, 1996, the Department will implement the recommendations emerging from the
National Governors’ Association (NGA) study of the paperwork burden within the JTPA
system



DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 403 420 CE 073 268

AUTHOR Reingold, Janet

TITLE Dialogue on the Disadvantaged. Response to
Stakeholders.

INSTITUTION Reingold (J.R.) and Associates, Inc., Washington,
DC.

SPONS AGENCY Employment and Training Administration (DOL)
Washington, D.C.

PUB DATE Jun 95

CONTRACT J-4942-5-00-81-40
46p
Reports - Research/Technical (143

EDRS PRICE MFO1/PCO2 Plus Postage.

DESCRIPTORS Agency Role; Change Strategies; Cooperative Planning;
*Economically Disadvantaged; *Educational Needs;
*Focus Groups; “Job Training; National Programs;
Needs Assessment; Outreach Programs; Prevocational
Education; Program Improvement; Public Agencies;
*Strategic Planning; *Vocational Education

IDENTIFIERS “Department of Labor

ABSTRACT

In April 1994, the U.S. Department of Labor initiated
a systemwide dialogue to identify ways of improving job training and
employment preparation for economically disadvantaged individuals.
The dialogue process was intended to help achieve broad consensus
among system partners and serve as a model of ongoing communication
to ensure continuous improvement. It included the following
outreach/consultation activities: small group discussions in 15
cities; 5 town hall meetings; meetings with partners and
stakeholders; meetings with foundations; minidialogues with
low-income advocacy groups; Federal Register Notice; customer
satisfaction survey; meetings with researchers and academics; review
of current research, and National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC)
report. The following principles identified during the dialogue were
used to develop an action agenda to improve job placements and
customer satisfaction: customer needs should drive program decisions;
federal/state/local partnerships are essential; quaiity and high
performance must become standards; and accountability should rest in
program outcomes. The action agenda addressed the following key
areas: improving training-to-work connections; meeting customers'
needs; streamlining program administration; improving consumer
information and customer access; strengthening program linkages;
building system and staff capacity; and providing early and
comprehensive youth interventions. (Appended are the following:
findings from a customer satisfaction survey; advocates' agendas;
NYEC findings; and selected research findings.) (MN)

IE SHES TCSII ISAT SITIO TA OIA OTIS OIA TTT TSAI SOTA OI ISOS I IE

* Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made *

* from the original document. *
JET OE! SAA II ISP IOI GUDOT ISHS T SOO IAI TOIT ITI TTI



Customer Satisfaction Survey. A survey was commissioned to ascertain customer
satisfaction levels among Title lI-A participants. Social Policy Research Associates
conducted a survey of 2,100 adult customers. Among the 66 percent who responded, 68
percent indicated the program was very helpful or extremely helpful. A summary of survey
findings is provided in the Appendix.

Meetings with Researchers and Academics. Three meetings were sponsored by the
Department's Chief Economist with leading academics, researchers, program evaluators,
and economists. The first meeting focused on the role of job training in improving the
employment and earings of the Disadvantaged. The second meeting examined next
steps in youth demonstrations and experiments, arid the third meeting focused on

performance standards. A summary of key research findings is provided in the Appendix.

Review of Current Research. The Department conducted a review of currently available
studies, surveys and reports about job training systems for the economically
disadvantaged.

National Youth Employment Coalition Report. The Department comn: ssioned the
National Youth Employment Coalition which represents 83 national, State and local youth
serving organizations, to conduct meetings and discussions nationwide to focus exclusively
on issues pertaining to disadvantaged youth. The NYEC engaged a broad spectrum of
youth practitioners to assist in determining the elements and criteria needed to strengthen
and improve outcomes for youth, particularly out-of-school youth. Their Report,
summarized in the Appendix, suggests immediate and longer term steps to improve
services and program results for at-risk youth.

The following section synthesizes what we learned from all of the above Dialogue activities.



The discussions resulted in a list of common themes that are presented on pages 6-7 of
this Report. Groups at each site included adult and youth participants, employers, front-line
staff, program managers, and policy makers. Several sites also included participants who.
did not complete their programs, to determine why and solicit their suggestions to make it
work for them in the future.

Five Town Hall Meetings Nationwide. These Town Hall meetings—in Des Moines, IA;
Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Memphis, TN; and San Jose, CA—were convened to elicit
diverse viewpoints from an entire community, as well as from our customers and partners.
Again, feedback was sought on the success of current employment and training programs.

for the disi Jvantaged, and on ways to improve service.

Meetings with Partners and Stakeholders. Meetings with partners and stakeholders
were held in April and August of 1994. At the first meeting, the Dialogue process was
described, and aclive participation was solicited. The second meeting was held to advise
stakeholders of the preliminary Dialogue findings and engage them in analyzing the
findings and suggesting next steps.

Meetings with Foundations. A meeting was held in July 1994, with prestigious
foundations which provide funding and/or services to the disadvantaged. Findings of the

Dialogue were discussed as Assistant Secretary Ross posed questions to the group.

Mini-Dialogues with Low-income Advocacy Groups. In June 1994, small dialogues
were conducted with representatives of advocacy groups representing low-income wage
earners, and the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs. A similar session was
convened in July at the national meeting of the National Council of LaRaza. A summary of

feedback from these discussion sessions is provided in the Appendix.

Federal Register Notice. On May 18, 1994, the Department published a notice in the
Federal Register announcing the Dialogue and inviting public response to the Dialogue
questions. More than 100 responses were received, analyzed, and considered in
developing the Department's action plans.



Selected Research Findings on At-Risk Youth

What Researchers Found

There is a high correlation between teen parents and dropouts and prison populations.
Eighty percent of prison inmates were school dropouts, and only 20 percent had jobs
when they committed the crimes for which they were incarcerated.

By almost any set of measures, the economic and social well-being of disadvantaged
American youths and young adults—those with limited education or skills, from poor
families and impoverished neighborhoods, and from minority backgrounds—
deteriorated substantially over the last two decades. In the early 1990's, the real hourly
pay of recent male high school graduates was more than 20 percent below that of their
counterparts twenty years earlier.

Increasingly, disadvantaged young men and women are idle—not in school, not
working, and not looking for work. Roughly 50 percent of out-of-school American youth
(16 to 24 years old) without a high schoo! degree are currently not employed. The non-
employment rate for 20 to 24 year old non-white makes increased from 22 percent in
1964 to 42 percent in 1992.

On average, the public spends roughly $5,000 educating a youth who drops out of
school, compared to $25,000 educating a youth who graduates from college.

Currently, inner-city, predominantly minority high schools have dropout rates of around

50 percent. Predominantly Hispanic high schools in Chicago have dropout rates as
high as 70 percent.

Peer pressure is an important indicator of job success. Researchers find that young
people are sensitive to status among their peers, and how their jobs and treatment on.
the job is viewed by their peers. There is a disconnect for minority youth between
street values and work values.

Early and comprehensive intervention is important. Comprehensive services and

perhaps two or three years of follow-up may be required to get a person on the right
track.

What These Findings Mean

More resources devoted up front to human capital development would save much
money in the long term on social welfare and criminal justice costs.

Dropout prevention and college-bound efforts are important.
Early and comprehensive interventions are needed.

Resources should be concentrated where poverty is most severe and persistent



Agenda: Build System and Staff Capacity

Establish a capacity-building electronic service center, to link the employment and

training community, to provide timely access to information, share best practices, and

improve program performance.

By October 1, 1995, the Capacity-Building Electronic Service Center will be inaugurated,
which will link all partners in the employment and training system, providing convenient
access to best practices, up-to-date information, and innovative training courses and

learning modules.



Agenda: Build System and Staff Capacity

Make technical assistance and training resources available to the entire employment
and training system, focusing on enhancing the ability of the system to improve services
to all customers—participants and employers—while adapting to the changes in program

structure now being implemented.

By November 1, 1995, resources aimed at helping local programs develop accessible,
state-of-the-art training capabilities to improve the effectiveness of front line staff will be in
place. Funded by ETA, these technical assistance initiatives will be organized by local and
State training providers now most active in running such programs.

identify and validate promising training models. Catalog programs for participants and
for front-line program staff that incorporate concepts rooted in work-based and/or
contextual learning principles. The ETA clearinghouse will be expanded to provide
information on program modets and best practices designed to improve program

performance

Promote the successful concepts and provide technical assistance to the system on
replicating the innovations demonstrated by the ETA capacity-building challenge grantees.
Examples of the projects are a labor me” ‘ information training system, distance learning
models, training curricula adapted to meet the needs of consolidated programs and the
introduction ot One-Stop configurations, and improved methods for designing programs to
increase customer satisfaction.

Provide support for the development of local training capability for front-line staff.
An August 1995 conference will inaugurate the project, featuring a coordinated system of
“peer-to-peer” technical assistance provided by those States, organizations and individuals
now delivering quality front-line staff training



Common Themes from the Dialogue

Match Training to Employers’ and Participants’ Needs.

Meet Employers’ Expectations for Workplace Skills.

Make Program Information Accessible to Employers and Program Participants.
Provide Flexibility and Simplicity, while Ensuring Accountability for Results.
Simplify Eligibility Determination and Unify Systems.

increase Availability of Supportive Service...

Provide Comprehensive Services, including Case Management.

Enable Participants to Demonstrate their Commitment.

Reduce the Paperwork Burden.

Develop Performance Measures that Reflect Results.

€xtend Program Follow-up to Improve Job Adjustment and Retention.

Improve Connections With Schools to Better Integrate Education and Workforce
Preparation.

Improve Federal/State/local Program Coordination.
Improve Consumer Information and Customer Access.

Continue the Dialogue.

As a result of wnat we learned during the Dialogue process, the Department has developed and
begun implementing an Action Agenda designed to improve the quantity and quality of job
placements and increase customer satisfaction—both participant and employer—with
employment and training programs and services. This Action Agenda is built around certain
fundamental principles that emerged from. the Dialogue:

Customer needs should drive program decisions
Federal/State/local partnerships are essential
Quality and high performance must become standards

Accountability should rest in program outcomes.



Agenda: Meet Customers' Needs

Dialogue Findings. For both participants a 4 employers, we must ensure service quality. For
panicipants, this means keeping the bureaucratic requirements to a minimum, assessing their
needs and interests, and matching education, training, and supportive services to their needs,
rather than matching people to available training slots. It also means providing the intensity and
duration of service and supportive serv ces necessary to help them gain employability skills and
become employed—no more, no less. We heard many complaints that eligibility determination
was cumbersome and redundant, and that program “process” requirements often take
precedence over participants’ needs. This validated that we have "missed the mark" in making
our workforce development system truly responsive to and driven by customers’ needs.

Employers need assurance that individuals trained in the public system and placed into their jobs
are as good as or better than those they find elsewhere. We need to measure employer
satisfaction and develop appropriate mechanisms to respond to employer feedback.

DOL Actions:

Provide incentives and flexibility for local programs to meet customers’ needs.
Amend program regulations to increase the availability of financial assistance, child care
services, transportation services, follow-up services, and employer support for participants.
Encourage service providers to use a holistic approach and promote strategies that involve
family members.

By September 1, 1995, the Department will develop a systematic series of actions to
provide local program operators with information about and incentives to provide additional
child care, transportation, follow-up services, and employer support—helping them develop

creative solutions to better meet the employment and training needs of customers.

Measure—and improve—customer satisfaction. As part of the Dialogue process, the
Department conducted a customer satisfaction survey for JTPA Title II-A participants. To

further measure and improve customer satisfaction, the Department will conduct a national

19
BEST COPY AVAILABLE



The Department of i.cdor wishes to continue our nationwide conversation begun during the
Dialogue process We welcome your ideas, suggestions, and comments.

We'd like to hear from you!

| Piease place me on your mailing list. I'd like to continue to learn about the Department's
actior: agenda in response to the Dialogue.

1d like to share my thoughts about this Report:

Ly I'd just like to say:

Name:

Title:
Organization:
Address:

City, State, Zip:
Telephone:
FAX:

If you experience difficulty sending this fax, please call (202) 219-5229. Thanks!



Appendix

Selected Findings
from the Dialogue

Employment & Training Administration

A0qvT fo quaujivdag “SA



Agenda: Strengthen Program Coordination and Collaboration

Dialogue Findings. There is great interest in promoting cooperation and collaboration among
Federal, State and local programs and agencies with common workforce development goals and
objectives. We must improve linkages across different agencies, at different levels, and among
different sectors, including schools. Many statutes, including JTPA, require coordination, and
many governance or oversight bodies—Private Industry Councils, State vob Training
Coordinating Councils, Human Resource Investment Councils, State Councils on Vocational
Education, and others—have coordination responsibilities.

Within our own workforce development programs, the Department must work to build a more
coherent system, with systematic coordination and collaboration across programs, sharing

information about exemplary programs and best practices.

To ensure that we reach out to our customers where they are, we need to work closely with
community based organizations (CBOs). As part of our “supplier network" helping the most
severely disadvantaged become economically self-sufficient, contributing citizens, CBOs need

access to the Department's capacity building and technical assistance.

DOL Actions:

L | Strengthen interagency linkages and promote interagency coordination. The
Department will continue our work with the interagency team focusing on common
definitions and other program eligibility issues—setting common criteria, sharing common
forms, accepting others agencies’ determinations, and reducing redundancy among

systems, thus improving program coordination and customer service.

By September 1, 1995, ETA will convene a National Interagency Coordination Team,
consisting of representatives of federal agencies involved in employment and training,
which will work to improve the coordination of programs, strengthen program linkages and
reduce duplication of effort and conflicting program policies.



Dialogue on the
Disadvantaged

Response to

Stakeholders

Employment & Training Administration

June 1995

10qv7] fo Juaujsvdag ‘SQ



Perspectives from the Dialogue

As we traveled the country, and spoke to our customers—program participants and
employers—we col:2cted their views on haw the system should work. Here is a synthesis of

what is desired:

A View from the Participant's Perspective...

An individua! seeking assistance comes to a convenient tocation or taps into an electronic
system where his or her individual needs are assessed and various options and
onportunities to address those needs are presented, selected, and immediately available.
Supportive services help the participant to take full advantage of programs and services.
Participants gain the education, work readiness, employment skills, and hielong learning
skills needed to secure quality jobs with career potential. Self-sufficient and self-assured,
the participant supports his or her own family, and becomes a contributing member of the

community, helping others do the same.

A View from the Employer's Perspective...

Prospective employees come to the workplace equipped with the skills, knowledge, and
experience needed to be fully productive and promotable. They are able to adapt as
market needs, technology or other factors change. They take responsibility for their own.
growth and development, and help employers meet their bottom line, knowing that this
builds greater security for the participants and for the company. Employers’ training
investments are geared to their industry's own standards, and produce substantial and
documentable bottom line returns. As a consequence, their human resource investments
are the single best investment they make. The people they employ thus become assets
which appreciate in value, rather than costs to be cut.



training system. The best place for deciding upon the needs of disadvantaged clients is most
often at the level closest to the customers. Thus, the Department will act to remove barriers,
such as statutory and regulatory provisions, which do not add immediate value to this level of

customer decisionmaking.

Federal/State/Local Partnerships Are Essential. One barrier to program success has
been the iack of consistent coordination and partnership across Federal agencies, and
among levels of government—Fedzral, State, and local. The Employment and Training
Administration (ETA) is committed to establish meaningful partnerships with other Federal
agencies that share responsibility for workforce preparedness and development. ETA is also
strengthening partnerships with State and local entities committed to high-quality customer
service.

Quality and High Performance Must Become Standards. The success and quality of
training and employment programs depend upon well-prepared training and employment
professionais and readily available information on the most effective program strategies and
models. ETA will provide maximum support toward both of these ends by undertaking
activities that will contribute to the highest level of professional staff capacity, and through
continuous efforts to identify and promote the most efficient and effective program

techniques.

Accountability Should Rest ir: Program Outcomes. It is appropriate for the Federal
partner, in consultation with States and localities, to set an outcomes-based framework for
determining success in Federally-funded programs. ETA will focus its efforts to ensure that
such outcome measures (rather than input measures) become the ultimate basis for

evaluating program effectiveness.

Elements of Our Action Agenda Already Underway. While many of our action plans are long-
term in nature, and some may require changes in legislation, the Department has already initiated
and implemented Dialogue-related activities designed to improve program performance and
increase customer satisfaction. Among the activities currently underway are the following:

TM@ With close links to the Enterprise Council, the "Simply Better" initiative is designed to

help local employment and training agencies improve services to their customers.

Among the products being developed by the team composed of Federal, State, and local



Janet. Reingoid,”

; BEST COPY AVAILABLE



The United States Department of Labor wishes to extend our particular thanks to the hundreds
and thousands of our customers, partners and stakeholders who took the time and the trouble to
provide their good counsel to us in a spirit of constructive and continuous improvement. Without
their efforts at the national, State, and local leve!, the Dialogues would never have been possible.
Because of their efforts, we are inspired and encouraged to continue to seek new and better ways
to serve the economically disadvantaged, and enable them to become self-sufficient and self-
fulfilled.

The Department extends its gratitude to the many organizations that helped sponsor and/or
implement Dialogue related activities, including the National Youth Employment Coalition;

Technical Assistance and Training Corporation; Jobs, Education, Employment & Training

Working Group, National Immigration Law Center, and National Employment Law Project; Social
Policy Research Associates; numerous Foundations; SDAs throughout the country; and
Department of Labor Regional Offices.



Agenda: Improve Consumer information and Customer Access

Dialogue Findings. We need to make it easier and more efficient for our customers—
prospective program participants, and their prospective employers—to get the information they
need about programs and services, so that they can make informed decisions and take
advantage of those options and opportunities best suited to their needs.

We need to improve public information about available programs and services, improve employer
recess to information, ensure timely and accurate information about options and opportunities,
and increase our capacity to communicate about effective program models. We will design new
and different approaches to sharing public information about our programs, using appropriate
technologies and systems.

We will take some lessons from the private sector—how they identify their target audience, how
they target their messages, how they package their products for their customers, how they

promote public confidence, and how they capture and sustain customer interest.

DOL Actions:

= improve prospective participarit and employer access to Information about available
programs and services. The Department aims to ensure that all customers—individuals
needing service, and employers needing competent workers—have access to accurate and
timely information about available programs and services. To do this, the Department will
improve its communications systems using our established network of partners,
stakeholders, and service providers.

The Department will conduct outreach through electronic, print, and broadcast
communications to work toward continuous program improvement and upgraded services.
The Department will use its Clearinghouse and its system-wide communications network to
spread the word about available programs and services, and to increase communication

about success stories in local communities.





Agenda: Provide Early and Comprehensive Youth Interventions

Create a promising and effective program network for youth. The Department will
work in concert with a National Working Group to design a “promising and effective"
programs network (PEPNET) for youth. The purpose of the Network will be to recognize
programs that have made significant differences for youth, to identify programs that meet or
exceed established standards of excellence, to provide models for replication by service
providers, to serve as a vehicle for sharing knowledge among program operators, and to

expand the network as programs meet the criteria for excellence.

Replicate and evaluate the Quantum Opportunities Program (QOP). The Department
will fund a replication and evaluation of the Quantum Opportunities Program, a multi-site,
multi-year youth development demonstration that provides education (computer-assisted
instruction, peer tutoring, and homework assistance), developmental activities (life and
family skills training, and planning for college and jobs), and service activities (performing
community service, helping with public events, and holding regular jobs) for disadvantaged
youth. The grant announcement was published on April 9, 1995, and the demonstration is
scheduled to begin in the Fail of 1995.



NYEC's Principal Findings on How We Can Better Serve At-Risk Youth

The National Youth Employment Coalition calls for a national re-thinking of how we plan, implement, and
measure efforts to develop young people in our country, and offers the following findings and suggestions:

Finding #1:

What We Need:

Finding #2:

What We Need:

Finding #3:

What We Need:

Finding #4:

What We Need:

Finding #5:

What We Need:

Quick Fixes are Ineffective. Evaluations have only confirmed what our
Coalition members already knew from direct experience—that short-term,

single focus programs are usually largely ineffective for youth at risk.
Long-term Coherent Youth Development Services. Our nation needs

coherent youth development policies and programs which incorporate
positive youth development principles and strategies that support them.

Current Quality Assurance Mechanisms Are inadequate. The current
mechanisms for and investments in quality assurance, including
measurement tools, management touls, and staff development supports, are
inadequate.

High Standards, Outcome Measures, and Professional Development. Our
nation needs goi.ls, standards, and outcome measures for youth
development that are commensurate with what we are trying to achieve.
Likewise, we need professional development that builds capacity to more
effectively serve youth most at-risk.

Youth Program Governance is Fragmented. Rearranging the existing
organizational boxes within a particular Federal agency will not provide the
type of cross-cutting, integrated Federal, State, and local governance
structure needed to radically improve the quality of services we provide to
young people.

A National System for Youth Program Planning and Accountability. Our
nation needs a national system or infrastructure that fortifies the Federal,
State, local, public and private collaborations on behalf of youth.

There are Only Islands of Excellence in a Sea of Mediocrity. While there are
many individual programs that work and professionals who succeed, we have
not managed to transfer expertise, transmit knowledge and replicate success
at the scale or pace that is needed.

Bridges to Connect Best Practices. Our nation needs to invest in replication
of best practices and adaptation of successful program models,
experimentation with incentives, cross-fertilization with other youth serving
fields, and other strategies that build capacity and expand effective programs
for youth most-in-need.

Administrivia Gets In The Way. The paperwork involved in administering the
programs—extensive and redundant documentation, lack of common
definitions across programs for elements as fundamental as eligibility
determination—creates a bureaucratic bog.

A Seamless, Simplified Management Information System. Our nation needs
a ccmputerized management information system that is coordinated,
streamlined, accessible and portable across programs and agencies—from
eligibility to intake to case management through follow-up,

42



Agenda: Strengthen Program Coordination and Collaboration

Improve program coordination across agencies, levels, and sectors. The Department
is working on an ongoing basis to improve cocrdination among our own programs—School-
to-Work, One Stop Career Centers, Skill Standards, the work of the Enterprise Council, and
others. We are reviewing options for program consolidation, including vouchers, skill
scholarships, and other alternatives.

Continue the dialogue precess. To ensure broad-based coordination and collaboration,
the Department will continue its outreach and conversations with diverse constituencies.
including our supplier network, community-based organizations, public interest groups,
partner associations, and other stakeholders. This will ensure that we remain close to our
customers, partners and stakeholders, and responsive to their needs.

By August 1, 1995, ETA will announce plans for continuing the Dialogue.



hat We Learned

Throughout the Dialogue, there was striking consensus on what should be done to improve
program efficiency and effectiveness. Following is a summary of what we learned from our

customers, pariners and stakeholders in these areas.

Common Themes

Match Training to Needs. A better match is needed between labor market needs,

individual participants’ needs and training provided.

Meet Employer Expectations. Employers want employees who come equipped with

workplace skills and realistic workplace expectations.

Make Information Accessible. Employers and program participants need easy access to

accurate information on available programs and services.

Provide Flexibility and Accountability. Reduce statutory and regulatory prescription,
provide clear expectations about desired results. and let local programs determine how

best to achieve those results.

Improve Eligibility Determination. Simplify eligibility documentation and unify systems
where possible.

Increase Supportive Services. Ensure availability of adequate supportive services during
program participation—child care, transportation, medical insurance, and housing

assistance.

Provide Comprehensive Services. Employ a holistic approach, including case

management. and attention to the needs of the entire family.

continued...



introduction. The Action Agenda outlined on the following pages is built around what we heard
throughout the Dialogue process, and is based upon what we know works. Our plans include
fast-track action plans that are already underway, and longer term activities to try to bring about
systemic change. With the changing environment, we will do what we can, continuing to move in
the directions suggested during the Dialogue.

Goals of this Action Agenda. This Action Agenda is based on the understanding that
technological advances, global competition, shifting markets, and structural changes in the
workplace have created a different environment, requiring more highly educated, highly skilled
workers. Now, more than ever, the disadvantaged must compete in the market place with
workers displaced through ccrporate realignments, restructuring and re-engineering. These
factors, in turn, are having a significant impact on the way we need to respond at the Federal

level.

This Action Agerda is designed to improve the quantity and quality of job placements and
increase customer satisfaction—both participants’ and employers'—with employment and training
programs and services. To accomplish these goals, the specific actions described in the

following pages focus on:

Improving the training-to-work connection;

Meeting customers' needs;

Providing flexibility, simplicity and accountability;

Improving consumer information and customer access;

Strengthening program coordination and collaboration;

Building system and staff capacity for continuous program improvement; and

Providing early and comprehensive youth interventions.

Principles Guiding the Development of Our Action Agenda. To accomplish the above goals,

certain principles guided the development of the Department's plans:

1, Customer Needs Should Drive Program Decisions. The needs of the disadvantaged
should be the basis for the services and activities provided through the employrnent and