Case Managing Youth Under Common Measures: Uncommonly Complicated

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Case Managing Youth Under Common Measures
Uncommonly Complicated
Presented by Jodie Sue Kelly Cygnet
Associates www.cygnetassociates.com
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Think about Longer Term Programs that Appeal to
Employers and Youth
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DOLs Strategic Vision

• Grow up ready for work, college and military
  service
• Meet the demands of business by providing youth
  with the necessary educational, occupational and
  other skills training and services needed for
  high demand occupations.
• Out of school youth are an important part of the
  new workforce supply pipeline needed by
  businesses.

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What Employers Are Facing

• US DOL estimates that by 2010, the United States
  will be short 10,000,000 workers.
• Labor shortages will affect specific industries
  with different levels of intensity (and already
  have)
• Skilled workers will be in the shortest supply.
• Today we are at the crossover point where supply
  of workers versus demand for those workers has
  started to diverge. Labor shortages are
  predicted to accumulate.

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A Perfect Storm People are Aging Out of the
Workforce

• Baby boomers versus the birth dearth
• Arent enough workers to replace them
• Jobs that go unfilled cause employers to cut back
  production and in some cases close the business
• How can your program be a feeder program for
  these industries?
• Many industries will need to grow their own
  employees

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How will employers cope with the following trends?

• Aging workforce
• More women
• More ethnic diversity
• Increasing variety in lifestyle choices
• Tightening labor market
• Shortage of skills and experience
• Shortage of workers
• Shortage of educated candidates
• Pressure on training and development
• Tension around current HR policies, practices and
  benefits

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Balancing Labor Supply and Demand The Overall
Options

• Raise Productivity
• Export jobs
• Import Workers
• Increase skills of current workers
• Expand the labor pool
• Develop retention strategies that keep workers at
  the company in the face of competition
• Polish and publicize the company as a great place
  to work so that more prospects will consider that
  company
• Improve targeting, attracting and hiring methods
  to gain market share of likely employees

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Sample Employment Sectors

• Construction
• Manufacturing
• Trade, Transport and
• Utilities
• Information
• Professional and Business Services
• Educational and Health Services
• Leisure and Hospitality
• Other Services
• Government

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All Are Experiencing Labor Shortage

• What is your program or services doing to train
  youth to prepare for specific industries?

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Opportunities for Work Experience

• Paid Internships
• Paid Work Experience
• Paid Direct Hires
• Youth Incubators
• Youth Build Model
• Work Crews (on contract to provide services)

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Whats Your Model?

• Options
• Full time Literacy First and then Work,
  Post-Secondary, or Military.
• Part-time Literacy and Part-time Work.
  simultaneously. Must do one to do the other.
• Full time work with part time literacy.
• ??

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Program Components for Long-Term Results

• Literacy/Numeracy
• Skill Training for Jobs
• Work Habits and Attitude
• Real Work Experience
• Motivational Component
• Structured Focused Guidance toward job, military
  or post-secondary education/advanced training

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Required Elements

• Tutoring, Study skills training
• Alternative secondary school offerings
• Summer employment opportunities directly linked
  to academic and occupational learning
• Paid and unpaid work experiences including
  internships and job shadowing
• Occupational skill training
• Leadership development opportunities
• Support Services
• Adult mentoring
• Follow-up Services
• Comprehensive guidance and counseling

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Questions for Youth Program Design
Overarching question How will you motivate them
for education and placement? How will you
design program so they dont do education but not
placement or placement but not education? Does
obtaining one service have to be contingent on
ongoing involvement in the less desirable service?
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Recruitment
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Neediest Youth

• Out of School
• High School Dropouts
• Runaway and homeless
• Foster care
• Court involved
• Children of incarcerated parents
• Migrant youth
• Native American
• Youth with disabilities

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Out of School Youth

• An eligible youth who is
• A school dropout OR
• Has received a secondary school diploma or its
  equivalent but is
• Basic skills deficient
• Unemployed
• underemployed

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Recruitment Program Guidance

• Think about how you will recruit these targeted
  populations (emphasis on the word details)
• Make sure recruitment is a budget line
• Create for a loading chart
• Programs need to recruit approx. 3x as many
  participants as they need to serve have you
  accounted for those numbers?

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A Balancing Act
Younger Youth
Older Youth
Where do you want to put your resources?
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Participation
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Program Participation

• A participant is an individual who is determined
  eligible to participate in a program and receives
  a service funded by the program (either physical
  location or remotely)
• The participation date is the date of the first
  service is received after the individual is
  determined eligible
• An individual must be a participant in order to
  count in the performance calculations

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Key DefinitionParticipant
Self-directed job search is a service but
self-directed job search alone does not initiate
participation in the WIA Youth program.
Not a Service Determination of
Eligibility Caseload management of an
administrative nature that involves regular
contact with the individual or employer to
obtain information regarding employment or
educational status. Post-employment services
designed to ensure job retention.
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So What is a Service?

• Service includes
• In-program WIA activities
• Basic skills assessments
• Creating individual service strategies
• All but one of the 10 program elements

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Suitable Youth Must be Interested in Those
Activities Measured in Performance

• Youth
• Placement in Employment or Education
• Literacy or Numeracy Gains
• Attainment of degree or certificate

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Key Questions

• Are they committed to the outcomes of the
  program?
• Are those outcomes covered in promoted in
  recruitment ads, outlined in orientation and
  covered upfront, clearly stated
• on the ISS?
• Get a job
• Enroll in College
• Enroll in Advanced Occupational Skill Training
• Join the Military
• Become an apprentice
• Earn my GED, HS Diploma or Earn a Credential
• Increase my Basics skills in English, Math, etc.
• Are they likely to fully participate in the
  outcomes?

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Participation Program Questions

• Among all of the youth you recruit, beyond
  eligibility how will you decide whom to enroll
  into your WIA funded program? What are the
  characteristics of someone who is likely to
  benefit from your services and what are the
  characteristics of someone who is not likely to
  benefit?

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Assessment

• The regulations require that a pre-test must be
  administered within 60 days of participation.
• Test results will set the standard for literacy
  and numeracy gains.

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In-School Youth Not in Literacy/Numeracy
In school youth get tested enough in school so
requiring more testing would be redundant.
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Literacy and Numeracy Gains
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Literacy and Numeracy Gains (cont.)

• Excludes persons who are not basic skills
  deficient
• Excludes all In-school Youth (measure applies
  only to Out of School Youth this is a change
  from earlier guidance
• Includes individuals with learning disabilities
• TEGL 17-05 includes new language on testing youth
  with disabilities including accommodations and
  use of alternate assessment tools for youth with
  severe disabilities

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Literacy and Numeracy Gains (cont.)

• To be included in the numerator, an individual
  must advance one or more Adult Basic Education
  (ABE) or English as a Second Language (ESL)
  functioning levels
• Gain can occur in literacy or numeracy can
  pre-test at different levels in each category
• Levels consistent with Adult Basic Ed. National
  Reporting System (NRS)
• See TEGL Attachment D for updated Educational
  Functioning Levels for the NRS

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Literacy/Numeracy

• Requires the use of the same
• standardized test for both pre and post
  assessments
• (pre-test must occur w/in 60 days of date of
  participation)
• Individuals should be post-tested by the end of
  one year of participation and compared to
  pre-test results obtained during the initial
  assessment
• If an individual continues to be basic skills
  deficient after the first 12 months of
  participation, they should continue to receive
  training in literacy and/or numeracy skills
• Participants should be post-tested and included
  in the measure at the completion of the 2nd year
  if they complete two years in the program

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Assessment Tool

• Must use one of NRS cross-walked tests or equate
  alternate test to NRS scale (by going through
  DOL/DOE)
• Tests cross-walked with ABE and ESL levels
  include
• Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Instrument
  (CASAS)
• Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE)
• Adult Basic Learning Examination (ABLE)
• Student Performance Levels for ESL
• Basic English Skills Test (BEST) for ESL
• WorkKeys (for the top 3 ABE levels)

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Comparison to Current Measures

• Creates specific focus on basic skills rather
  than broad focus on work readiness, occupational
  skills, and basic skills
• Does not mean work readiness and occ. skills no
  longer important (impact of those skills will be
  seen in placement rate)
• Standard for success much higher than with
  less-defined skill attainment rate

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Assessment Program Questions

• What instrument will you use?
• Who will administer the tests?
• What accommodations will you make for those
  participants who have a disability?
• When will you administer the pre-test?
• How often will you post-test?
• What strategies will you use to convince a high
  school graduate that he/she needs to be assessed
  and perhaps participate in basic skills classes?

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Assessment Program Questions

• What are the costs associated with the test and
  have you budgeted accordingly?
• Since even students who arent post-tested will
  be included in the literacy/numeracy measure,
  what strategies will you use to post-test the
  highest number of participants possible?
• The participant needs to make a gain of one level
  in one test area. What strategy will the program
  use to insure that a level gain occurs?

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Attainment of a Degree or Certificate
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Degree/Certificate Attainment
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Attainment of Degree/Certificate (cont.)

• Education refers to those in secondary,
  post-secondary, adult education, or any other
  organized program of study
• Those in secondary school at exit are now
  included in the measure
• Diplomas, GEDs, or certificates can be obtained
  while a person is still receiving services or at
  any point prior to the end of the 3rd quarter
  after exit

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Definition of Certificate

• A certificate is awarded in recognition of an
  individuals attainment of measurable technical
  or occupational skills necessary to gain
  employment or advance within an occupation. These
  technical or occupational skills are based on
  standards developed or endorsed by employers.
  Recognition of generic pre-employment and/or work
  readiness skills are not considered certificates.

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Definition of Certificate (cont.)

• Awarding Institutions include
• A State educational agency
• Institution of higher education
• Professional, industry or employer organization
  or a product manufacturer
• Registered apprenticeship program
• Public regulatory agency
• A program approved by the Dept of Veterans
  Affairs
• Office of Job Corps
• Indian Tribe Higher Education Institution

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Definition of Diploma

• The term diploma was not defined in the
  original guidance
• Diploma, as defined by TEGL 17-05 means any
  credential that the state education agency
  accepts as equivalent to a high school diploma

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High school graduates who are basic skills
deficient may need to earn an additional
Certificate.
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Comparison to Current Measures

• This measure is similar to a combination of the
  YY Diploma Rate and OY Credential Rate, but with
  a tighter definition of certificate
• Narrower denominator than current credential
  measure includes only those in education
• Does not have employment component as the current
  credential measure does

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Two Options for In-School Youth

• Plan to keep them in the program until they
  graduate or
• Take a negative exit on placement and diploma.
• (No impact on literacy/numeracy.)

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Degree or Certificate Program Questions

• Secondary students will be included in this
  measure. If you opt to propose to work with high
  school students, what age students will you
  select? How will you insure that they will
  receive their diplomas?
• What types of certificates will you be prepared
  to help youth earn in addition to their diplomas?
• What strategies will you use to persuade high
  school graduates to acquire a second
  certification?

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Placement in Employment or Education
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Placement in Employment or Education
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Placement (cont.)

• Those in secondary
• school at exit are now included
• Individuals in post-sec, employment, military at
  date of participation are excluded
• Status at date of participation based on
  information collected from participant
• Advanced Training definition is more long-term,
  outcome oriented

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Comparison to Current Measures

• Similar to current YY Retention measure in that
  it recognizes the same outcomes improvement
  from OY Entered Employment
• However, it includes first quarter after exit
  only no concept of retention or earnings change
  in common measures for youth programs
• Tighter definition of Advanced Training

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Analysis of Performance
Services to younger youth is not prohibited
however services to younger youth can make it
more difficult to meet the performance measures.
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Think, discuss, plan.implications for younger
youth programming
TO HERE
FROM HERE
With no more than 90 consecutive days of no
interest or participation.
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Returning dropout youth to school is great but it
still isnt a placement and wont exclude them
from placement in employment or education
standard.
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Placement in Employment or Education Program
Guidelines

• Your options for youth include post-secondary
  education, employment or military. Think about
  your linkages for each of those options.
• Think about your approach to promoting the
  military.
• Think about your strategy to working with
  employers to get your participants placed?
• Think through your approach to helping
  participants apply for school and acquire
  financial aid.

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Exiting
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Program Exit

• Exit occurs when a participant does not receive a
  service (funded by program or partner program)
  for 90 consecutive days and is not scheduled for
  future services
• There is no more concept of hard exit only what
  was a soft exit
• The exit date is the date of the last service for
  the participant
• In concept, exits are always retroactive to the
  last quarter
• For measures using UI wage records, the exit
  quarter is the quarter containing the exit date

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Exclusions to Performance

• Participants are excluded from all (common and
  current) measures for the following reasons
• Institutionalized
• Health/Medical or Family Care
• Reservists called to active duty
• Relocation to a Mandated Residential Program
• Deceased
• THESE MUST BE EXPECTED TO LAST LONGER THAN 90
  DAYS!

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Exclusions A Change from Current

• Exclusions can be taken until the third quarter
  after exit.

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Planned Gap

• Participants should not be considered as exited
  if there is a planned gap in service of greater
  than 90 days in one of the following
  circumstances
• Health/medical condition or providing care for a
  family member with a health/medical condition
• Delay before the beginning of training
• Temporary move from the area that prevents the
  individual from participating in services.
• Gap should last no more than 180 days. Maybe do
  an additional 180

and is not scheduled for future services does
not apply to a participant who voluntarily
withdraws or drops out of the program.
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Implication of Exit Procedure
Keeping youth motivated and participating is
critical. 90 days of no service means an exit
will occur.
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Exiting Program Guidance

• What is your strategy for keeping youth actively
  engaged in your program without having a ninety
  day lapse in service?
• What motivational components will you design into
  the program to keep youth participating?
• How will you track and document gaps in service
  as well as situations that could occur that would
  lead to the exclusion of the youth from
  performance measures?

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Meaningful Follow-Up or Law Breaking Stalking?
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Follow-Up Services

• Required for 12 months beyond placement by law.
• Consider the nature of the follow-up contact, the
  frequency, who will provide the follow-up
  service, how the service will be documented.

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Client Side

• Follow-Up Has Value to Customers that can be
  translated into dollars and cents.
• Sell Follow-Up as Income Improvement not
  Follow-Up and Retention.

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Employer Side

• Follow-Up and Retention Services have definite
  value to employers. And that value can be
  translated into dollars and sense.

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Work to positively exit all youth who can not
meet the new measures ASAP.
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Current Measures/Common Measures Meeting Them
Both

• Older Youth Entered Employment and Placement in
  Employment or Education
• All youth (younger and older) need to have a
  goal of going to the military, college, technical
  school, advanced education or a job. Tip
  Design IEP so goals are pre-listed.

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Current Measures/Common Measures Meeting Them
Both

• Younger Youth Diploma, Older Youth Credential,
  Attainment of Degree or Certificate

If a youth attends any type of organized program
of study he/she will be in this standard. Work
toward the tougher standard degree or
certificate with every youth and you will meet
both current and common measures.
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Current Measures/Common Measures Meeting Them
Both

• Younger Youth Goal Attainment and
  Literacy/Numeracy

Implications for Work First Model. Might have
trouble engaging youth in education. No matter
what the skill attainment goal is for younger
youth, work for one level of attainment within a
year.