Making Education and Employment Work for High School Students

Making Education and Employment Work for High School Students. Urban Institute. Molly M. Scott, Jessica Shakesprere, Kristen Porter. June 18, 2020

Teens often feel compelled take on adult economic responsibilities when their families struggle to make ends meet. Our schools can make it incredibly difficult for young people to balance these responsibilities and stay on track to graduate. This toolkit provides practical recommendations for school systems, as well as state and federal policymakers, on how to identify young people before they fall behind; make mainstream educational systems more flexible and supportive; better align career and technical education (CTE) with paid work opportunities; and improve access to employment. These reforms are fundamentally an issue of equity, but they can also make education and employment more humane for all students. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 37 pages].

An Early Assessment of Opportunity Zones for Equitable Development Projects

An Early Assessment of Opportunity Zones for Equitable Development Projects: Nine Observations on the Use of the Incentive to Date. Urban Institute. Brett Theodos et al. June 17, 2020

Opportunity Zones (OZs) are gaining momentum, and now that the rules regulating them are clearer, investors, local officials, developers, and businesses have been engaging with the incentive. In the two years since the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 created the incentive and Treasury-designated Zones, hundreds of Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOFs) have been created, and OZ investment was beginning to flow until the COVID-19 crisis began. But has this capital been reaching projects that benefit low- and moderate-income households and communities? Although the program is still maturing, and the COVID-19 crisis now poses new challenges whose resolution is unknown, this report offers an early, qualitative assessment of how well OZs have channeled capital into projects aligned with equitable development goals. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 52 pages].

Philadelphia Playful Learning Landscapes: Scaling Strategies for A Playful Learning Movement

Philadelphia Playful Learning Landscapes: Scaling Strategies for A Playful Learning Movement.  Brookings Institution. Jenny Perlman Robinson. October 24, 2019

Playful Learning Landscapes seeks to transform everyday spaces into playful learning opportunities to maximize “the other 80 percent” of time that children spend outside school. It lies at the intersection of the growing Child Friendly City movement and a global development agenda that calls for access to high-quality early childhood education for all. A joint project of Temple University’s Infant and Child Laboratory and the Brookings Institution, Playful Learning Landscapes is a broad umbrella initiative that marries community involvement and learning sciences with placemaking in order to design carefully curated playful experiences in everyday spaces. As it focuses on learning outcomes, particularly for children and families from under-resourced communities, Playful Learning Landscapes offers a new way to involve families in the kinds of experiences that enrich relationships and enhance children’s development. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 36 pages].

Parents’ Access to Work-Family Supports

Parents’ Access to Work-Family Supports. Urban Institute. Shirley Adelstein, H. Elizabeth Peters. October 11, 2019

Three work-family supports—paid leave, workplace flexibility and control, and support for child care—are crucial to the ability of parents to effectively manage work and family. This research used national survey data to examine patterns in working parents’ access to these supports; variations in access by parental characteristics like socioeconomic advantage; and the need for these work-family supports among working parents.Three work-family supports—paid leave, workplace flexibility and control, and support for child care—are crucial to the ability of parents to effectively manage work and family. This research used national survey data to examine patterns in working parents’ access to these supports; variations in access by parental characteristics like socioeconomic advantage; and the need for these work-family supports among working parents. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 43 pages].

The Intersection of Low-Wage Work and Public Assistance: Workers’ Experiences in Minnesota

The Intersection of Low-Wage Work and Public Assistance: Workers’ Experiences in Minnesota. Urban Institute. Amelia Coffey, Heather Hahn, Yuju Park. July 18, 2019

This is a qualitative study of low-wage workers in two Minnesota communities who recently experienced either voluntary or involuntary job separation. The study confronts a false dichotomy that people are either working or on public assistance. The study analyzes workers’ experiences in low-wage, unstable jobs, reasons for separating from jobs, and the roles public assistance and other supports play in their lives. The study offers key insights from workers themselves on how jobs and assistance programs may be improved to help them achieve greater stability and economic security. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 56 pages].

Strategies to Meet the Needs of Young Parent Families: Highlights from Interviews with 14 Programs

Strategies to Meet the Needs of Young Parent Families: Highlights from Interviews with 14 Programs. Urban Institute. Alan D. Dodkowitz, Yuju Park, Shayne Spaulding. September 18, 2018

 In 2013, there were nearly 4.6 million young parents between the ages of 18 and 24 in the United States, with approximately 80 percent (3.6 million) living with at least one of their children. These young parents face a host of challenges, ranging from difficulties accessing child care, higher rates of public benefit receipt, and troubles obtaining positive educational and employment outcomes. Despite these issues, there is no overarching strategy to improve the outcomes for young parents. The Urban Institute interviewed 14 different young parent providers across the nation serving a variety of subpopulations, to understand what strategies they used to serve this population. This paper provides an overview of the strategies used to serve young parents, including methods of providing improved education and employment services, connections to support services, and parenting workshops. This paper also highlights the perspectives of service providers on what approaches are needed to serve this population, as well as their views on the many challenges young parents face. This research highlights different methods of improving young outcomes for this population, implications for policy, and where further research should focus. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

 [PDF format, 30 pages].

Workforce Development and Low-Income Adults and Youth: The Future under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014

Workforce Development and Low-Income Adults and Youth: The Future under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014. Urban Institute. Lauren Eyster, Demetra Smith Nightingale. September 26, 2017

After years of continuing resolutions, Congress replaced the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (WIOA). WIOA continues WIA’s emphasis on universal services for both job seekers and employers, but includes provisions intended to improve the workforce development system overall. As state and local agencies and workforce boards implement changes introduced with WIOA, they must consider how they will serve customers with barriers to employment and improve current practices. This brief examines how services for low-income adults and youth may evolve under the new law, given experiences under WIA. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 16 pages, 259.95 KB].