The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) created a new policy and program framework for workforce preparation and employment. Under the WIA, states and local areas must establish workforce investment boards to oversee the delivery of a broad array of services for youth, adults, and dislocated workers, including federally funded job services. Job-seekers and business are expected to benefit from a One-Stop delivery system designed to offer a full range of employment and career counseling services to the general public via a single location or a system of linked service centers. These One-Stop Job Centers are expected to provide customers with:
Through One-Stop Job Centers, employers are intended to have a single point of contact to provide information about current and future skills needed by their workers and to list job openings, creating a single system for finding job-ready skilled workers who meet their needs.
Many One-Stop Job Centers are just now being established in response to initiatives by the U.S. Department of Labor, and in response to federal and state welfare reforms. Some of these centers have been operating long enough to develop an understanding of how well they serve different client groups. The purpose of this study is to examine some of the most promising One-Stop models to better understand what makes them work well and the potential they offer for moving people from welfare to self-sufficiency.
The evolving nature of these workforce development models can be illustrated with the following example. We had just finished reviewing the new computer network designed to provide 14 different agencies on the Tarrant County Resource Connection campus with user-friendly communications and access to a cutting edge data system. The system has the capacity to automatically assess the potential eligibility of each client for all assistance programs on campus, and allow the case manager to enable each agency where the client is potentially eligible for help to gain controlled access to the appropriate information to help the client. We had tracked Donald Duck and other fictitious characters through the system, which was only hours away from being placed into operation. "It's not quite perfect yet," declared Sheryl Kenny, "but we're fixing to change that real quick."
"Fixing to change" is an appropriate description for much of the restructuring of state and local agencies around federal welfare reforms, One-Stop Job Centers, and the introduction of new technologies into social and human service delivery systems.(4) Systems are being redesigned to place a stronger emphasis on coordinating public resources to move welfare recipients into employment and hopefully, to self-sufficiency. In most local labor markets, these changes have only just begun, and oftentimes as the result of prompting by federal and state policy initiatives. However, in a few areas these changes have been underway for several years, frequently prompted by major upheavals in the structure of the local economy, and encouraged along with federal grant assistance.
While the concept of consolidated service delivery is not new, the Department of Labor's interest in bringing together employment and training programs under one roof has resulted in renewed interest in the One-Stop service delivery concept. One-Stop models take many forms; the Department of Labor lists four principles as keys to their idea of what constitutes a One-Stop:
They have used these standards to make funding decisions to One-Stop models around the country, but the range of services provided by the different models often goes well beyond these four features.
The purpose of this study is to examine some of the most promising One-Stop models in five locations around the country to better understand what makes them work well and the potential they offer as a format for moving people from welfare to self-sufficiency. This study is not an attempt to provide a formal evaluation of these models, but rather to identify those approaches and practices that seem to be working well in different locations. From this information, this study also attempts to glean a better sense of the assistance that the One-Stop models might offer to welfare recipients of different backgrounds as they seek employment to support their families.
The methodology used for this study combines the use of on-site focus group discussions and administrative data analysis. Local One-Stop models were selected based on a national scan of state and local One-Stop systems and plans. A more in-depth discussion of the site selection is included in the first chapter.
At the outset, selected One-Stop models were asked to provide several items of background information. These included a summary of the One-Stop structure and agencies involved, summary data on employer and welfare client characteristics in the One-Stop service area, One-Stop staffing information, and information about the accessibility of administrative data.
Focus group discussions were conducted with several groups at each of the five sites. Separate focus groups were held with One-Stop officials, staff, and clients (including current and former welfare recipients as well as employers). Topics raised in each of the focus groups included:
Virtually every group was invited to be "President for the day" and offer their suggestions for improving the One-Stop and its related programs. Information and comments collected in these focus group discussions serve as the primary source of information for the analysis presented in Chapters 2 through 5 of this report.
In addition to the focus group discussions, each One-Stop was asked to provide administrative data on the characteristics of the welfare population in their service area, and for a random sample of anonymous One-Stop clients, limited data on the services provided or accessed via the One-Stop and subsequent records of employment and wages. This data request had three components:
As with any applied policy research project, the data available and provided did not always correspond to that desired and requested. However, a good faith effort was made by all parties to fulfill the requests, and the analysis attempts to make the most of the data provided. As a result, the data analysis for some of the One-Stop models is more robust than for others.
This report is organized into six chapters. Chapter 1 describes the selection of the One-Stop Models, summarizes the features of each model, and assesses the common and unique elements of each model. Chapter 2 identifies successful models and program elements, including those institutional factors that seem to be contributing factors. Chapter 3 discusses the question of what groups are best served by the One-Stop model, based on information from the focus group discussions. Chapter 4 examines the occupational strategies and employers who are working with the model One-Stop programs, including the linkages and levels of connection between public services and private employers. Chapter 5 discusses the linkages between the One-Stop models, welfare reform, and other public sector initiatives related to workforce development. Chapter 6 works with the data provided by the five models to develop an empirical assessment of the potential of these models for making successful transitions from welfare to self-sufficiency.
The Appendix to the report contains additional details on each of the model One-Stop programs included in the study.
4. Note that the term "welfare" is used in this report as being synonymous with Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) or Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF). Because the timeframe for this study encompassed the transition from AFDC to TANF, this term is used to avoid conceptual confusion. Where a distinction between AFDC and TANF is necessary to articulate a change in policy, these more specific terms are used.
5. In most cases, these employer focus groups were fairly representative of the employer community making the highest use of the One-Stop for hiring welfare clients.
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