Research by Author & Topic

Publications by Nancy M. Pindus on Job Mobility, Training and Opportunity

Spatial factors and location are often missed, but critical, pieces of the puzzle in developing public and private policies that support working families. This paper summarizes factors determining locational decisions of businesses and workers, as well as local economic growth, and suggests how employer needs as well as opportunities for low income workers might be served by successful policies in the areas of housing, transportation, education and workforce development. There are notable differences in the patterns of work and employment within and across metro areas, implying that there is no single strategy or national blueprint that will work everywhere.

Capital access programs and funds for women starting and expanding their businesses have grown dramatically over the past decade. These programs cover the spectrum from microenterprise to venture capital funds and serve highly diverse populations. Thirteen "best practice" programs and three "promising practices" (new programs that appear innovative but do not yet have a track record) are profiled in this report and are the basis for our analysis of key success factors, barriers, and constraints faced by women entrepreneurs, and our policy recommendations. We profile and analyze the programs to share best practices and lessons learned so that successful programs can be replicated. Our analysis of these best practice programs identifies six areas that can improve the strength of all capital access programs and expand their reach.

In the shift from a natural resource-based to a knowledge-based economy, there are winners and losers at the local level. Why do some communities manage to retain employers, and even attract new employers, while others seem to be left behind? This issue addresses the relationship between workforce development and economic development. The highlighted reports present findings about the role of adult education in workforce development and about how sector strategies are addressing worker and employer needs at local and regional levels.

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 (P.L. 105-220) recognized the relationship between adult education and workforce development and the need for accountability in all literacy, training, and employment programs. Enacted as Title II of WIA, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) required substantial changes in the operations of state and local adult education programs, including allocation of funds, accountability and performance measurement, and the relationship between adult education and one-stop delivery systems. This report synthesizes information from a survey of all state directors of adult education and site visits to nine local programs in five states. Findings relate primarily to the first 18 months of AEFLA implementation.

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 (P.L. 105-220) recognized the relationship between adult education and workforce development and the need for accountability in all literacy, training, and employment programs. Enacted as Title II of WIA, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) required substantial changes in the operations of state and local adult education programs, including allocation of funds, accountability and performance measurement, and the relationship between adult education and one-stop delivery systems. This report synthesizes information from a survey of all state directors of adult education and site visits to nine local programs in five states. Findings relate primarily to the first 18 months of AEFLA implementation.

In 2002, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) funded local Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) to participate in the Sectoral Employment Demonstration (SED). In the context of this demonstration, sectoral initiatives primarily seek to identify workforce needs and opportunities within a local or regional industry or cross-industry occupational group, while also focusing on economic performance and competitiveness. These efforts target a specific population--such as low-income workers, dislocated workers, or new entrants to the job market--to meet both industry needs for a competitive workforce and the needs of those targeted for improved job opportunities. This report documents the projects that were undertaken and outcomes that were achieved by the 38 WIBs that participated in the demonstration.

Recent projections indicate that it will be nearly ten years before demographic changes in the population and the aging of the existing workforce converge to create a severe shortage of nurses. Therefore, the country has the time and an opportunity to address the problem and avert a crisis situation. This paper reviews current research as well as a selection of promising practices and concludes that the country needs to adopt a multi-pronged approach that addresses recruitment, retention, and training. Policies should seek to retain those already trained in the profession, attract new entrants to the labor market, and tap into the pool of workers already employed in health care that, with further training, can enter the nursing profession.

New Jersey has streamlined many aspects of its social services and income support programs and successfully implemented Work First New Jersey (WFNJ), changing the emphasis of cash assistance from education and training to immediate employment and personal responsibility. The state continues to maintain a commitment to its low-income population through a relatively generous safety net for poor families including low-income singles and families without children. New Jersey continues to operate two separate child care systems for welfare and non-welfare families. New Jersey also retained the concept of transitional child care for families exiting welfare, and recently extended the transitional period from two to three years. While resources were unavailable in New Jersey to fund all non-welfare families who applied for child care in the years after welfare reform, in July of 1999 New Jersey transferred TANF funds to eliminate existing waiting lists for non-welfare families seeking child care subsidies.

The policy context for both welfare programs and employment and training programs operated by the workforce development system has changed dramatically in the past few years. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 requires welfare agencies to focus more than in the past on moving welfare recipients into employment. PRWORA provides funding to welfare agencies in the form of a block grant, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), to support efforts to achieve this objective. The need to move more TANF clients into work activities and jobs means that TANF agencies need to expand or develop structural and organizational arrangements that make this possible, including coordinating with the workforce development system.

There are two Highlights for each state. The income support and social services Highlights look at basic income support programs, employment and training programs, child care, child support enforcement, and the last-resort safety net. The Highlights capture policies in place and planned in 1996 and early 1997.