WWW.WORKFORCEADVANTAGE.ORG identifies and documents the most innovative practices for enhancing employment opportunities for entry-level and low-skill workers in the nation's inner cities. Launched by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) and Jobs for the Future, the user-friendly Web site features case studies and implementation tools that show employers why and how to reach out to these workers.

WWW.WORKFORCEADVANTAGE.ORG bursts with innovative, entry-level workforce development practices pioneered by fast-growing inner-city companies, the ICIC-Inc Magazine Inner City 100. The Web site's 17 Promising Practices offer replicable strategies and examples of how to tap and advance an inner-city workforce while increasing company competitiveness.

To use the new Web site, go to: www.WorkforceAdvantage.org.

WWW.WORKFORCEADVANTAGE.ORG is part of "Promising Practices of Inner City Companies: Enhancing the Skills and Income Capacity of the Entry-Level Workforce," a three-year collaboration by ICIC and JFF.

The marketplace for e-learning software and services is bypassing the education and training needs of low-income youth and adults. With funding from the Atlantic Philanthropies, Jobs for the Future commissioned Leapfrogging Over the Status Quo: E-Learning and the Challenge of Adult Literacy, an examination of the potential of e-learning to: respond to the challenges of adult literacy and skill development; and stimulate significant, effective change in the systems providing education and basic workforce preparation services to low-skill adults. In November, JFF brought together key stakeholders and potential investors, with the goal of identifying investment opportunities, challenges, and next steps based on the analysis in the report.

Download Leapfrogging Over the Status Quo

MetLife Foundation and JFF are collaborating on an awards program to recognize community colleges that promote educational and career advancement for traditionally underserved youth and adults. Beginning in April 2003, institutions will be invited to apply for the second MetLife Foundation Community College Excellence Awards; the winners will be announced in spring 2004. The first MetLife Foundation Community College Excellence Awards were made in 2002.

For more information, please contact Anne Newton at 617.728.4446, anewton@jff.org or go to: www.jff.org.

Early College High Schools are small schools where students earn both a high school diploma and two years of college credit toward a Bachelor's degree. They are places for learning, designed to help young people progress toward the education and experience they need to succeed in life and family-supporting careers.

To download Early College High Schools: Core Principles and read more about the initiative, go to: www.earlycolleges.org.

• Young People and the Election: Student Voices
• Building Bridges to Opportunity and Economic Growth in Ohio
• Fast Forward: The Business Case for Workforce Development
• Building a Career Pathways System: Promising Community College Practices
• Key Issues in Workforce Development: An On-Line Course

YOUNG PEOPLE AND THE ELECTION: STUDENT VOICES: What Kids Can Do offers news stories about youth involvement in Tuesday's elections. Over one million youth cast their own votes for candidates and registered opinions on such ballot issues as preschool for four-year-olds in Florida, bilingual education in Colorado, and safe drinking water in California. JFF was a founding partner of What Kids Can Do, which documents the value of young people working with teachers and other adults on projects that combine powerful learning with public purpose. For WKCD's special election coverage, go to www.whatkidscando.org.

BUILDING BRIDGES TO OPPORTUNITY AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN OHIO: THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF THE STATE'S COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGES IN EDUCATING LOW-WAGE WORKERS: This report from KnowledgeWorks Foundation looks at current conditions and promising policies and practices for students and workers, as well as for state and local governments and institutions. JFF's Richard Kazis and Marty Liebowitz provided the research and writing that became the core of this paper. To download, go to: www.kwfdn.org/Resources/publications.html.

FAST FORWARD: THE BUSINESS CASE FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT: In the current economic downturn, partnering with welfare-to-work programs can help companies save money and realize new economic benefits, notes San Francisco Works in Fast Forward. This new report looks at welfare-to-work partnerships from the perspective of business, chronicling the economic costs and benefits of participation by five Bay Area employers. To download, go to: http://www.sfworks.org/WhatsNew/WhatsNew.htm.

BUILDING A CAREER PATHWAYS SYSTEM: PROMISING PRACTICES IN COMMUNITY COLLEGE-CENTERED WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. In this new report from the Workforce Strategy Center, Julian L. Alssid and colleagues examine how community colleges can promote career pathways for economically and educationally disadvantaged adults. To download, go to: www.workforcestrategy.org/publications.html.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE: The Milano Graduate School of the New School University, with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, is offering two graduate-level, practice-focused courses on key issues affecting workforce development. The courses are delivered online, giving participants more flexibility to participate and to be in contact with peers and experts across the country. The first course began in October; the second will take place this spring. Participation is free. For more information, contact Nestor M. Rios, RiosN@newschool.edu or go to: http://www.newschool.edu/milano/cdrc/flyer.htm.