Building a Career Pathways System: Policy Tools for Adult Educators Webinar for COABE Members January 8, 2016

Welcome! Sharon Bonney Executive Director Commission on Adult Basic Education

Generously Sponsored by

Today’s Presenters Judy Mortrude Senior Policy Analyst Center for Law and Social Policy Amanda Bergson-Shilcock Senior Policy Analyst National Skills Coalition

Today’s Agenda 1.Programs to Pathways to Systems 2.Policies to support career pathway systems 3.Career pathways under WIOA & Ability to Benefit: key decision points and opportunities 4.You are WIOA: Claiming your place at the table 5.Questions

Why Career Pathways? Our program participants don’t live their lives in program silos; our programs need to respond to reality of adult lives Career Pathways seek intentional alignment across education, workforce development, human services 6

Federal Interagency Career Pathway Work Group /info

New York City: One City Working Together nyc.gov/careerpathways

Intentional Alignment Across Systems

Sound Ambitious? It is. This vision of career pathways is aspirational Next, we’ll examine key policy levers that can help move toward a career pathways system Photo credit: Robert Hainer, copyright 123rf.com

Policy Example: Common Assessment Photo credit: Andrii Vergeles, copyright 123rf.com Common assessment helps avoid duplicative testing of participants One version: having Title II providers do the entire assessment Alternatively, Title II may do the academic assessment while Title I assesses barriers and “fit” for specific occupation or training

Policy Example: Pathway Navigators Legislation that funds these positions can help participants navigate complex transitions One example: Iowa’s Pathways for Academic Career and Employment (PACE) (2011 legislation)PACE Photo credit: rangizzz, copyright 123rf.com

Policy Example: Co-Enrollment Co-enrollment policies (across WIOA or otherwise) can facilitate smooth transitions along a pathway Local WIOA plans are required to describe how co-enrollment across titles will occur E.g., disconnected youth be eligible for service under both WIOA Title I Youth & Title II Adult Education Photo credit: Flickr user Justin Valas. Used by permission under a Creative Commons license.

Policy Example: Integrated Education & Training

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Building a Career Pathways System Under WIOA What policies need to be in place? How should policy development be prioritized? Who has jurisdiction and decisionmaking power in setting policy? Are there implications for non-WIOA stakeholders? Photo credit: zavulonya, copyright 123rf.com

Key Deadlines & Intervention Points State WIOA plans due to the federal government March 3, 2016 Local plan deadlines vary by state; law requires public- comment period for all Plans are broad brushstrokes; on-the-ground implementation provides further opportunity for advocacy

Claiming Your Place at the Table Local WIOA plans may allow for closer involvement by adult educators; law requires 30-day public comment period Photo credit: Flickr user Maryland GovPics. Used by permission under a Creative Commons license.

Formal Advocacy Tools Examples: Submitting public comments or testimony Policymaker education (visits, etc.) Publishing op-eds Pros: Opportunity for coalition building; educating the public; can follow established process Cons: Time-consuming; effectiveness influenced by outside factors Photo credit: Stephen Coburn, copyright 123rf.com

Informal Advocacy Tools Examples: Individual or institutional relationships Examples from peer or competitor states/regions Strategic communications Pros: Can be faster; shortcut to implementers who share practitioner lens Cons: May be less durable; vulnerable to political or personnel turnover Photo credit: Iakov Filimonov, copyright 123rf.com

The Bottom Line The best avenue to get involved depends on your local circumstances Everyone is dealing with a moving target, trying to get policies in place while determining what good policy looks like Remember: You don’t have to do it all at once! Photo credit: Sergejs Rahunoks, copyright 123rf.com

Questions? Please type your questions into the chat box.

About Center for Law & Social Policy (CLASP) MISSION CLASP seeks to improve the lives of low-income people. WORK We develop and advocate for federal, state and local policies to strengthen families and create pathways to education and work. ROLE Through careful research and analysis and effective advocacy, CLASP develops and promotes new ideas, mobilizes others, and directly assists governments and advocates to put in place successful strategies that deliver results that matter to people across America. We are nonpartisan and situated at the intersection of local practice, national research, and state and federal policy, and striving to translate each world to each other. 29

About National Skills Coalition Our Vision: We seek an America that grows its economy by investing in its people, so that every worker and every industry has the skills to compete and prosper. Our Mission: We organize broad-based coalitions seeking to raise the skills of America’s workers across a range of industries. We advocate for public policies that invest in what works, as informed by our members’ real-world expertise. And we communicate these goals to an American public seeking a vision for a strong U.S. economy that allows everyone to be part of its success.

Following the Webinar Certificate of attendance will be ed to all attendees tomorrow Check our website for more free webinars Powerpoint presentation and collateral uploaded to COABE’s Adult Educator’s Resource