Presentation on funding career pathways and career pathway bridges given at Education Works! event hosted by United Way Central Iowa.

1. How Federal Policy Can Support Career
Pathways and Bridge Programs for Lower-
Skilled Adults
Education Works! Strategies Linking Adult Literacy with Workforce Skills
Des Moines, IA
Marcie Foster, Policy Analyst
November 1, 2011

2. CLASP: Policy Solutions that Work for
Low-Income People
• CLASP develops and advocates for policies at the
federal, state and local levels that improve the lives of
low-income people.
• Our Center for Postsecondary and Economic
Success seeks to improve policy, increase investment,
and strengthen political will to increase the number of
low-income adults and youth who earn the postsecondary
credentials essential to open doors to good jobs, career
advancement, and economic mobility.
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3. Overview
• Economic Imperative for Iowa to Grow a More Skilled
Workforce
• Introduction to Career Pathways Bridges
• State Policy Levers to Implement Bridges
• Finding Federal Funding for Career Pathways and
Bridges Using A Braided Approach
• Update on Special Funding Opportunities

4. Increase in
demand for
higher educated
workers and
payoff for a
postsecondary
degree Need to provide
more and better
opportunities for
adult workers to
upgrade their
skills, access
postsecondary
education.
Decreased in the
number of HS
graduates
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5. Career Pathways
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6. Career Pathway Bridges
• Help lower-skilled adults and youth earn the skills to enter and persist in
postsecondary education by combining basic academic and English
language content with postsecondary occupational content.
• Features of bridges:
 Combine basic skills and career-technical content,
 Contextualize basic skills and English language content to the
knowledge and skills needed in a specific occupation or groups of
occupations.
 Use new or modified curricula articulated to the next level in the college
and career pathway.
 Change how classes are delivered (paired or integrated courses)
 Support student success through comprehensive student services
 Connect to local employer and community needs
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7. Why State Policy?
• A top-down approach helps ensure a clear message and
sets guidelines/standards for how students are served.
• State and federal funding that flows through the state can
be better targeted to support these types of interventions.
• All about scale and sustainability.
• Often, local innovation comes first or can be used as a
foundation.
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8. Core Policy Levers to Embed Career
Pathway and Bridges
• Raise awareness
• Developing a Common
Vision
• Inclusion of Adults in
the Completion Agenda Lever #1:
• Set goals and measure Providing Lever #2:
progress Leadership Defining the
and Regulatory
Strategic Environment
Direction
Lever #4:
Lever #3:
Identifying
Using Data
and
and
Integrating
Performance
Funding
Measures
Streams
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9. Core Policy Levers to Embed Career
Pathway and Bridges
• Change the rules and
regulations within and across
agencies to support and
embed career pathways
• Common programs/policy
Lever #1: areas:
Providing Lever #2: • Workforce Investment Act
Leadership Defining the • Postsecondary Education
and Regulatory • Temporary Assistance to
Strategic Environment Needy Families
Direction
Lever #4:
Lever #3:
Identifying
Using Data
and
and
Integrating
Performance
Funding
Measures
Streams
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10. Core Policy Levers to Embed Career
Pathway and Bridges
Lever #1:
Lever #2:
Providing
Defining the
Leadership
Regulatory
and Strategic
Environment
Direction
Lever #4:
Lever #3:
Identifying
Using Data
and
and
Integrating
Performance
Funding
Measures
Streams
• Strengthen data systems
• Analyze and document skill levels
and outcomes for low-skilled adults
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11. Core Policy Levers to Embed Career
Pathway and Bridges
Lever #1:
Lever #2:
Providing
Defining the
Leadership
Regulatory
and Strategic
Environment
Direction
Lever #4:
Lever #3:
Identifying
Using Data
and
and
Integrating
Performance
Funding
Measures
Streams
• Multiple sources of
funding
• Use different sources
for different phases of
your initiative.
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12. System-Level Challenges to Linking Adult
Literacy with Workforce Education
• Adult Education programs (WIA Title II) are desperately
underfunded yet the demand for services is growing.
• Basic skills programs are administratively
disconnected from other state education, workforce, and
human services systems.
• Program funding dictates structure and is often silo’d
and may even have conflicting performance
accountability systems and goals.
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13. Funding Challenges to Scale and
Sustainability
• Generally funded with one-time grants
• Foundation grants, WIA discretionary funds, State general
revenue, Federal special grants.
• Often within just one agency or system
• Key partners missing from the initiative.
• Remains an innovation, never “new normal”
• Pilot funding vs. FTE’s, ADA’s, and ITA’s
• Programs must do many “work-arounds” of existing
policies.

14. Funding CP/CP Bridges Toolkit
 State-level administrators in
interagency teams can
identify federal resources to
support career pathways
and pinpoint state policy
changes needed.
 Local programs can use
program summaries to
better understand federal
resources that can be used
at the regional or local level.
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15. Federal Programs
• Workforce Investment Act Title I (Adults and Youth)
• Workforce Investment Act Title II (Adult Education and
Family Literacy Act)
• Trade Adjustment Assistance
• Registered Apprenticeship and Pre-Apprenticeship
• Employment Service (Wagner-Peyser Act)
• Pell Grant
• Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Employment and Training (SNAP E&T)
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16. Workforce Investment Act: Title I
• The Workforce Investment
Act (WIA) authorizes the
Opportunities Limitations
nation’s federally funded
workforce development Industry engagement
Required to fund training using ITAs,
with some exceptions.
system.
• WIA provides funding for
Cannot be used for curriculum
“one-stop” career centers in Tuition
development.
which employers and job
seekers can access a wide Restricted to individuals unable to
Case management obtain other grant assistance (Pell)
array of employment and or need additional grant support.
training services.
Support services
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17. WIA Title II:
Adult Education and Family Literacy Act
• AEFLA provides states with
funding for a variety of services to Opportunities Limitations
help adults develop basic skills
and English language
State Funds can be used to incent career
competency. pathways: RFP, incentive funding,
Funds can only be used for services below
the postsecondary level.
enhanced funding for partnerships.
• The services it supports can open
doors to career pathways
programs for those whose low States cannot commingle funds from
Contextualize academic content to particular
skills or limited English might occupational areas.
separate funding streams (but can use in
conjunction with other funds).
otherwise keep them out.
• Funds must only be used for
students who: Create new delivery models, such as co-
Eligibility is restricted (but broader than most
instruction and IET that help students speed
think).
 lack a high school diploma or its their progress through pathways.
equivalent, or
 function below that level (even if
the student has a high school Dual enroll students in adult education/
English language services and
diploma), or postsecondary education and training.
 be unable to speak, read, or
write the English language.
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18. Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical
Education
• The Carl D. Perkins Career and Opportunities Limitations
Technical Education Act of 2006
(Perkins IV) supports secondary
State funds can supporting partnerships Federal dollars may be used for the
and postsecondary programs among local institutions, adult education delivery of prerequisite courses but not
that build the academic, career, providers, and other entities those that are remedial.
and technical skills of young
people and adults. State funds can help providing Any course funded under Perkins IV
professional development opportunities also must meet all parts of the new
• Eighty-five percent of funds go for CTE teachers and faculty. definition of CTE.
to local secondary and
postsecondary institutions; 15 Local funds may be used for critical
percent is reserved for state implementation activities such as :
leadership activities. •provision of mentoring and support
services,
• Must ensure access for special •expansion of flexible delivery formats
that make CTE accessible to all
populations. students.
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19. Did You Know?
• In Washington, Perkins leadership funds were instrumental in the
development of I-BEST. Leadership funds supported ten I-BEST
demonstration projects in 2004-2006 and have been used over the years to
support I-BEST professional development opportunities.
• Arkansas invests about $12 million in federal TANF funds annually to help
low-income parents earn credentials in career pathways at the two-year
colleges across the state. The Arkansas Career Pathways Initiative (CPI)
model provides a network of campus- based case managers at 25 campuses
who assist low-income parents to persist in their studies.
• Wisconsin initially supported career pathways with state adult education
funding. Currently, the state is expanding them with additional resources.
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20. Funding Minnesota’s FastTRAC
• 2008-2009 – Developed ABE occupational bridge courses leading to
postsecondary customized training
 Joyce Foundation
 AEFLA (WIA Title II)
 WIA Title IB
• 2010-2011 – Developed ABE occupational bridge courses leading to credit-
bearing postsecondary pathway education
 Joyce Foundation
 AEFLA (WIA Title II)
 WIA Title IB
 Human Services
 United Way
 MnSCU
Source: Minnesota FastTRAC (October 2011)
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21. Funding Local I-BEST Programs
State
Legislated Workforce
Postsecondary Perkins ARRA FIPSE
Funding Investment Act
Source
1.75 Opportunity
reimbursement Grants that Curriculum
per I-BEST help low- Development
FTE income adults
train for high- Improvement
wage, high- of program
Staff time for a
demand General selection,
part-time
careers up to program costs registration,
coordinator
45 credits. and support
Students may processes.
also be able to
access Other Start-Up
additional Costs
supports.
Source: Community College Research Center, How I-BEST Works: Findings
From a Field Study of Washington State’s I-BEST Program (September 2010).
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22. Special Federal Opportunities (Recent)
• DOL/ED/HHS Career Pathways Institute
 Funded several states to develop interagency teams and
develop a plan to implement career pathways.
• Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career
Training Grants (TAACCT)
 $2B funding opportunity; at least $2.5 million will go to each
state.
 First round of grants released in October 2011.
 Additional rounds may be announced soon.
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23. Special Federal Opportunities (Potential)
• Workforce Innovation Fund
 Provides for competitive grants to states, consortia of states and
other entities (such as regional partnerships).
 Designed to seed and test innovative workforce strategies.
 Notice for grant applications expected by the end of this year.
 Innovation Blog – submit your innovations!
• Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career
Training Grants (TAACCT)
 $2B funding opportunity; at least $2.5 million will go to each
state.
 First round of grants released in October 2011.
 Additional rounds may be announced soon.
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24. American Jobs Act
• Largely focused on an extended payroll tax cut, and other
tax incentives, investments in infrastructure, and an
extension in unemployment insurance.
• Other components that may support pathways efforts:
 $5 billion for Pathways Back to Work Fund, including:
o $2 billion for paid work opportunities for unemployed adults
o $1.5 billion for youth employment opportunities, and
o $1.5 billion for competitive grants for promising and research-
based training strategies.
• The American Jobs Act is still in play!
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25. A New Federal Focus on Pathways and
Bridges
• ED Office of Vocational and Adult Education:
 Non-regulatory guidance describes how states can use Adult
Education and Family Literacy Funds on Integrated Education
and Training Models (June 2010)
 Performance accountability changes will impact the way
progress is measured for students. Programs must move from a
goal-setting model to a cohort model for some students. (Will be
implemented July 2013)
• DOL Employment and Training Administration:
• A 2010 guidance letter from the Employment and Training
Administration emphasizes credential attainment by participants
in the public workforce system. (December 2010)
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26. A Word About the Federal Budget
• The federal budget debate is
protracted and unpredictable.
• Despite fiscal austerity, funding
options remain.
• Braided funding is increasingly
important on the federal, state,
and local levels. (And don’t
forget CBOs!)
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27. Questions for Discussion
• What partnerships have you already set in place that
could serve as a foundation for interagency collaboration
to improve outcomes for low-skilled adults?
• What are the challenges that you see to developing adult
education, community college, and workforce
partnerships?
• Have you tried pursuing a braided funding model? What
did you encounter?
• Are there particular types of services that are harder to
fund? (tuition, transportation, emergency funds)
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28. Where To Find Us
• Email
 Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success
Updates and In Focus Posts: All new reports and
upcoming events plus CLASP commentary on state and
federal policy developments and the latest research on
postsecondary and economic success. (Click and sign up
to receive updates.)
• Social Media
 Facebook
 Twitter: @CLASP_DC
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