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Contact: Carmon Cunningham 617.728.4446, 617.335.4839 (cell), ccunningham@jff.org      JFF ANNOUNCES “PORTFOLIO” OF PROVEN MODELS FOR ADVANCING LOW-INCOME WORKERS TO FAMILY-SUSTAINING INCOMES   The Founding Portfolio Members Meet Stringent Criteria and Present Best-in-Class Designs for Practitioners, Funders, and Employers, Says JFF. Boston – July 12, 2006: Jobs for the Future today announced the creation of its Career Advancement Portfolio, a collaborative effort to enhance, expand, and disseminate proven solutions for advancing low-income people to good jobs. Each of the organizations in the Portfolio operates advancement models that clearly demonstrate and document success, with well-delineated features that can be replicated or scaled up. “JFF created the Career Advancement Portfolio as central to our commitment to developing, implementing, and advocating for models, strategies, and policies that enable adults to advance toward economic self-sufficiency for themselves and their families,” says Marlene B. Seltzer, Seltzer, president and CEO of JFF. “The Portfolio brings together the most innovative workforce development practices for improving the lives of low-skilled, low-income adults. And it answers the need for effective, proven, replicable, and scalable models of approaches that advance low-income individuals to jobs with high enough wages to move families out of poverty.” Jobs for the Future has selected six organizations to be the founding members of the Career Advancement Portfolio. They are: Community College of Denver; District 1199C, National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership; Workforce Alliance and Hospital Corporation of America; WorkSource Partners; and Year Up. “Each organization meets rigorous criteria, beginning with achieving key outcomes for low-income workers,” says Jerry Rubin, vice president of JFF’s Building Economic Opportunity Group. “JFF intentionally set the standards for inclusion high: for advancement programs, they create a goal worth aspiring to; for employers, foundations, and other public and private investors in workforce development, they are benchmarks that can be applied to other efforts.” Every Career Advancement Portfolio member, through one or more of its models, meets six criteria: Advances low-skilled workers into well-paying, career-track jobs: The model advances low-income, low-skilled individuals into jobs that pay at least 80 percent of the local, metropolitan area, or state median wage, come with health benefits, and offer strong opportunities for continued wage and career growth. Responds to strong employer or labor market demand: The model develops skills for which there is high demand. Typically, employers play an important program design role in identifying skill requirements. Demonstrates results: Data on outcomes or other evidence shows that the model is successful in advancing low-wage workers. Shows strong potential for scale and replication: The model is specific and clear. It includes standardized features and operational design, viable financing, high political or employer demand for the solution it represents, etc. Offers a “best in class” approach to low-wage worker advancement: Clear strengths or advantages set the model apart from current practice. It provides an innovative service delivery or design method that addresses traditional barriers to low-wage worker advancement. Demonstrates interest by leadership in promoting and spreading the model: The “owner” of the model works with JFF to document and disseminate key features and outcomes. The owner is interested in expanding its own efforts or willing to help others adopt the model for replication. JFF has worked with each of these organizations in various capacities, providing strategic advice on growth, designing approaches to measuring individual and organizational outcomes, or assisting with marketing activities to potential funders and community partners. Collectively, the models in the Career Advancement Portfolio point to ways to promote and benefit from practices and policies that improve the economic status of low-income, low-skilled adults: The Portfolio models provide “best practice” designs for communities, employers, and others interested in developing effective advancement models. The Portfolio makes a compelling case for increased public investment. The Portfolio makes a compelling case for philanthropic and corporate investment in advancement models. “JFF is committed to making the Career Advancement Portfolio a valuable resource for those concerned about the advancement of low-income, low-skilled adults,” says Ms. Seltzer. “For organizations engaged in workforce efforts serving this population, the Portfolio models provide insight into effective practices with demonstrable results. It can also help direct public investment in effective workforce strategies—resources that are critical for such programs.” JFF will build the Career Advancement Portfolio in the coming years, with a goal of adding two to four new sites per year. Jobs for the Future is a Boston-based nonprofit that seeks to accelerate the educational and economic advancement of youth and adults struggling in today’s economy. JFF partners with leaders in education, business, government, and communities around the nation to: strengthen opportunities for youth to succeed in postsecondary learning and high-skill careers; increase opportunities for low-income individuals to move into family-supporting careers; and meet the growing economic demand for knowledgeable and skilled workers. ###     The Founding Portfolio Members In 2006, Jobs for the Future selected six organizations to be the founding members of the Career Advancement Portfolio. They are: Community College of Denver; District 1199C, National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership; Workforce Alliance and Hospital Corporation of America; WorkSource Partners; and Year Up. Each organization operates one or more models that offer proven and scalable career advancement solutions for low-skilled workers. JFF has worked with each of these organizations in various capacities, providing strategic advice on growth, designing approaches to measuring individual and organizational outcomes, or assisting with marketing activities to potential funders and community partners. Community College of Denver Responding to employer needs for skilled nurses, Community College of Denver provides a training program that enables Certified Nursing Assistants and other entry-level workers to advance to become Licensed Practical Nurses. The program accommodates employed adults by offering coursework on a part-time basis and during evenings and weekends. In addition, the classes take place at the employers’ work sites. An accelerated remedial education component increases the academic preparedness of participants. This worksite LPN training program is designed to meet employer needs for skilled nurses while providing a career advancement ladder for dedicated, frontline caregivers. As such, it relies upon employer support for its success, and they are key partners. Employers adjust the work schedules of participating employees to accommodate program demands. In addition, most employers provide funding to help participants pay for tuition and fees; some provide paid release time. The program began in 2002 with one cohort of twenty students. Since then, sixteen cohorts have begun the program, and seven have completed it. The program has achieved a remarkable retention and completion rate despite the low incoming reading and math levels of participants. Sixty-seven percent of those who began the program have either earned their LPN diploma or are still enrolled. District 1199C, National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees The District 1199C Training and Upgrading Fund provides an educational track to Practical Nursing jobs for nursing assistants and other entry-level health care workers. The program lasts 18 months and offers classes in the evenings and on weekends in order to accommodate work schedules. The program is the only union-sponsored nursing program in the country and one of the few programs that meet the needs of working adults through a part-time schedule. The fund is jointly administered by District 1199C and representatives of the approximately 55 contributing health care employers. The fund opened the Practical Nurse training program in 1999, two years after the School District of Philadelphia closed its PN program. Since opening its doors with 31 students, the new program has grown steadily and now enrolls 120 students per year. Between 1999 and 2005, 396 individuals entered the Practical Nursing program upon completing a preparatory “bridge” experience. Of those, 185 completed the program by 2005, 85 were still enrolled, and 126 did not complete it; 81 percent of graduates passed the LPN licensure examination on the first attempt. Everyone in the PN class that graduated in June 2005 passed the LPN licensure examination on the first attempt. Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership In 2005, the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership, a workforce intermediary jointly led by labor and management, placed its 2,500th community resident into a family-sustaining job in the Milwaukee area. That same year, WRTP partnered with the BIG STEP apprenticeship preparation program to launch the Center of Excellence to address an unprecedented boom in construction and a skills shortage in advanced manufacturing. The center provided for the first time a single point of contact for the workforce needs of skilled trades and industries. It placed 348 community residents at an average starting wage of $14.60 per hour plus benefits during its first year. The center has obtained support from the governor, the mayor, and an unprecedented array of public, private, and philanthropic sector partners. Partners include the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Department of Transportation, and Department of Corrections, the City of Milwaukee, national and local foundations, business and labor organizations, educational institutions, and community organizations. For the industry and for job seekers, the center has streamlined services, including the identification of training resources, the job referral process, employment projections for construction projects, training requirements, and the need to develop marketing materials related to career opportunities in skilled trades and industries. The pinnacle of center programs is BIG STEP, which increases access to the building and construction trades for women and minorities. BIG STEP focuses on developing the academic skills needed to pass the apprenticeship entrance exam required to work in the field. Between 2001 and 2005, BIG STEP placed 200 of its low-income graduates in skilled trade apprenticeships, more than all the other programs in the area combined. Two-thirds were people of color and 14 percent were female. Depending on the trade, earnings at placement varied from about $12 to $15 per hour. Workforce Alliance and Hospital Corporation of America The Workforce Alliance (the Palm Beach, Florida, Workforce Investment Board) partners with three Hospital Corporation of America facilities to provide working adults with access to a Licensed Practical Nurse training program. The part-time, two-year program meets twice a week for nine hours. Participating employers offer flexible work schedules that enable employees to continue earning an income while in the program. The Academy for Practical Nursing and Health Occupations, an accredited, not-for-profit postsecondary training institute that specializes in serving less-formally educated, low-income adults, delivers the LPN training program. ACS State and Local Solutions provides case management services to students, and the Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition provides remedial reading, writing, ESL and math instruction to help candidates prepare for entrance exams. The program enrolled its first class of 36 LPN trainees in January 2002; 23 of them successfully completed the LPN training. Since then, the program has launched two additional classes, one in December 2003 and another in December 2004, enrolling a total of 73 students. Of these, 56 were still enrolled in the program in 2005 and on target to graduate in December 2005 and December 2006. Across the three classes, over 150 employees have participated in remedial literacy and math instruction. Of those who attended at least 25 hours of instruction, 30 percent subsequently passed the TABE and qualified for admission into the LPN program. An additional 78 students raised their reading and math levels. WorkSource Partners WorkSource Partners is a workforce development organization that provides and coordinates training, career counseling, and hiring services to companies such as CVS/pharmacy, Genesis HealthCare, Gillette, and Partners HealthCare System. It helps its clients invest in their entry-level workers and address the significant "skill gaps" in today's workforce through the delivery of career initiatives for entry-level employees. WorkSource Partners addresses workforce shortages in long-term care through Regional Advancement Centers. This innovative training model brings career advancement services, including community college courses and career counseling, to the worksite. By partnering with local community colleges, WorkSource Partners can provide a full sequence of preparatory educational courses, as well as a customized evening LPN program on site. Regional Advancement Centers are helping low-skilled Certified Nursing Assistants and other entry-level workers in nursing homes to advance to become Licensed Practical Nurses. By bringing pre-college and college education to the workplace in conjunction with career counseling and case management support, the Regional Advancement Center offers employers a “grow your own” career advancement model. Through reduced staff turnover and vacancy rates, this strategy has yielded significant financial benefits to employers, as well as improved patient care. One long-term care firm ended its use of agency nurses to fill LPN vacancies at five facilities—saving more than $500,000 per year since January 2001. The model has also helped the firm significantly reduce turnover among nursing assistants. Facilities at another firm have enjoyed similar benefits; CNA turnover rates dropped by 30 to 40 percent in two years. Year Up Year Up prepares low-income, urban young adults for, and places them in, entry-level jobs in information technology and investment operations, while also preparing them for college. The program targets recent high school graduates and GED recipients between the ages of 18 and 24 who are either unemployed or trapped in minimum-wage, dead-end jobs. It provides them with an intensive year of technical, professional, and business communications training. It also provides an apprenticeship experience, college credit, and a high degree of personal and academic support. Year Up’s corporate customers, which include large financial services companies, technology firms, hospitals, and state government, pay the program a fee of $685 to $785 a week per intern. The apprenticeships thus provide Year Up with a funding stream that covers more than 45 percent of operating expenses. To date, Year Up has placed 87 percent of its graduates in jobs at an average pay of $14.92 per hour; roughly 44 percent of graduates have gone on to college. The model is in place in Boston, Providence, and Washington, DC, and a fourth site is opening in New York City in September 2006. Plans are to expand to additional locations and industries.