In the years following passage of the 1996 welfare reform law, unprecedented numbers of former welfare recipients — many of them single parents — entered the workforce, often taking entry-level jobs that do not pay them enough to allow their families to become economically self-sufficient. These new labor market participants joined the already large ranks of the “working poor,” who have long subsisted on low-wage employment and struggled to acquire the skills and pursue the lifelong learning that have become prerequisites for job security, career advancement, and income growth in today’s fast-changing economy. To help this vulnerable group secure jobs that will lift them and their families out of poverty, the policymakers and program managers who seek to assist them face three major challenges: (1) to help newly employed low-wage workers hang onto the jobs they have long enough to gain the work experience that would enable them to qualify for wage increases; (2) to increase access, whether through the labor market or educational institutions such as community colleges, to job advancement services and training that lead to better-paying careers; and (3) to broaden participation in financial work supports, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, food stamps, and subsidized health and child care, that can augment household income during the lean periods as low-wage workers pursue career advancement opportunities.
MDRC is engaged in two studies that seek to identify services that help low-wage workers remain steadily employed and advance in the workplace. The Employment Retention and Advancement project is a comprehensive effort sponsored by the federal Department of Health and Human Services to explore what strategies and services — from new approaches to case management to investments in upgrade training — promote stable employment and career advancement among welfare recipients and other low-wage workers. The United Kingdom's Employment Retention and Advancement demonstration (UK ERA) marks a new direction in Britain’s evolving welfare-to-work and antipoverty policies toward developing services that aim to improve job retention and career advancement prospects for Britain’s low-wage workforce.
Building on these studies, MDRC hopes to launch two new demonstration projects designed to enhance the effectiveness of the workforce development and community college systems, the two principal institutional systems that serve low-wage and low-skilled workers. The National Work Advancement and Support Center Demonstration is an effort to expand the role of Workforce Investment Act One-Stop Career Centers and other workforce organizations by bringing together in one place the full range of job retention and advancement services and financial supports available to low-wage workers. MDRC is exploring a number of potential institutional homes for Work Advancement and Support Centers — primarily One-Stops — and also a number of community-based venues, including Family Resource Centers.
Key Documents on Job Retention & Advancement
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