Research by Author & Topic

Publications by Nancy M. Pindus on Employment

Nurses are health care's backbone, spending the most time with patients, and working with teams of caregivers in institutions and serving as advanced practice nurses in primary care settings. Short-term shortages wax and wane, but concerns about a shortage are more serious now because the next decade may see more older nurses retiring than new ones entering the workforce. Education needs to be augmented and improved, but no precise estimation method can show how many nurses society "should" produce. Policy should focus more on nurses' scopes of practice and aligning how they are treated and paid with the value they add to patient care.

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.

The Jobs for Veterans Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-288) has the overall objective of "revising and improving employment, training, and placement services furnished to veterans." One provision of the Act requires workforce development programs funded in whole or in part by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to provide priority of service to veterans and, under certain circumstances, spouses of veterans. DOL's Employment and Training Administration contracted with The Urban Institute to synthesize information about service delivery for veterans among some programs that are already providing veterans with priority of service. Through hands-on exploration of electronic tools, discussions with experts, and site visits, various strategies were identified that can be applied to a broad range of programs.

American Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages have embraced the goals, objectives, and programs associated with welfare reform, but the lack of jobs threatens the success of tribal programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Welfare-to-Work (WtW). Recognizing the scope and importance of this problem, the federal government has promoted business and economic development (BD/ED) in Indian country. This report describes (1) examples of BD/ED activities and the federal programs and initiatives utilized by a convenience sample of eight tribes and two Alaska Native corporations; (2) the legal, historical, and cultural context of tribal BD/ED; and (3) the challenges tribes/Native corporations face in pursuing BD/ED, as well as the promising approaches they are developing to minimize or overcome them.

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.