Past Forums

Paid Leave: Who Get’s It, Who Doesn’t, and What’s Being Done About It

October 2006

Nearly half of all private U.S. workers receive no paid sick leave. Only one-third of those who do have sick leave can use their days to care for sick children. Most workers have no choice but to take unpaid time off, and some risk losing their job for these unexpected absences. Here in Maryland, and in other states across the country, advocates and policymakers are working to address the problem.

JOTF hosted a forum on October 11 at Baltimore City Community College to discuss the issue.

A panel of three national experts led the conversation. Vicky Lovell, Director of Employment and Work/Life Programs at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, gave an overview of what we know about paid leave—who gets it and who does not—and the impact this has on workers, families, employers, and communities. Jodie Levin-Epstein, Deputy Director of the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), discussed legislative design and strategies for addressing the problem. Kate Kahan, Director of Work & Family Programs at the National Partnership for Women and Families, described what is being done in other states and how to address opposition to sick leave policies.

Can America’s Low-Wage Workers Still Achieve the American Dream?

September 2006

Panelists included: Jason Perkins-Cohen, Executive Director of the Job Opportunities Task Force; Jo-Ann Williams, Human Resources Manager for the University of Maryland Medical Systems; Dwayne Drake, Sr., current Lead Tech Central Pharmacy at the University of Maryland Medical Center and former minimum-wage worker; and Anirban Basu, Chairman and CEO of Sage Policy Group, Inc.

WBAL Investigative Reporter Jayne Miller moderated the discussion.

On September 19, 2006, JOTF co-sponsored a policy luncheon focusing on the challenges facing America’s low-wage working families and how communities, policymakers and business leaders can make a difference. The event featured a screening of “Waging a Living: Opportunities for Action,” a 26-minute policy version of a new documentary funded by the Annie E. Casey and Ford Foundations.

The film follows the lives of three low-income workers and their struggles to pay for health care, access continuing education, afford decent housing, and still make ends meet. Although these individuals work hard, they face numerous barriers to advancement and self-sufficiency. For Jean Reynolds, a single mother caring for a daughter with cancer, not even working overtime at her job as a Certified Nursing Assistant is enough to pay the family medical bills, much less leave her time to increase her education. Barbara Brooks, a single mother struggling to balance family and school, finds that the harder she works, the less public support she receives, and the more she must cut corners to get by. While Jerry Longoria works full time as a security guard in San Francisco, his wages cannot cover the high local cost of living, and his lack of skills leave him little hope for advancement. One in four American families face the challenges of being low-income, and the screening was one step in stimulating a local conversation around the issue.

Scot Spencer, Manager of Baltimore Relations at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, gave a welcoming speech to a crowd of nearly 200 attendees. U.S. Congressman Elijah Cummings, the host of luncheon, followed with opening remarks. After the film, a panel discussion addressed the obstacles facing low-income workers and changes that can be made to help these families achieve the American Dream.

Co-sponsors of the luncheon included the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Maryland Public Television, the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers, and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History and Culture.

Click here for more information on the documentary “Waging a Living”.

If you would like a copy of the film please contact Jessica Traskey at (410) 234 8040.

With the high attendance numbers and interest of JOTF’s recent forum “Can America’s Low-Wage Workers Still Achieve the American Dream?” JOTF have decided to take on the road the short 26 minute policy version of the documentary “Waging a Living: Opportunities for Action” with informal discussion.

The Challenges and Opportunities in Hiring Ex-Offenders
Sponsors: Baltimore Workforce Investment Board, Greater Baltimore Committee, Open Society Institute, Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, and the Job Opportunities Task Force.

Forum Highlights Need to Educate Employers about Hiring Ex-Offenders

Maryland employers are interested in hiring ex-offenders but want to know more about the risks and rewards.

This was one of many important messages revealed at a July 17 th forum that brought together over 60 employers, business groups, government officials and workforce development leaders. Forum participants discussed the issue of hiring ex-offenders and brainstormed ways to increase workforce opportunities for people with criminal backgrounds.

The forum was co-sponsored by the Job Opportunities Task Force (JOTF), the Greater Baltimore Committee, Open Society Institute – Baltimore, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development and the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board.

Secretary Aris Melissaratos of the Department of Business and Economic Development stressed that Maryland will need large numbers of additional workers – particularly in such fields as construction and hospitality – and can not afford to write off thousands of ex-offenders.

“To meet its workforce needs, Maryland must do more to prepare people in prison to re-enter society and the workforce,” he said.

“I think we need to give everyone in society hope. We need to get to the people who have gone astray in our society, train them in prison and give them the attitude that they can be productive members of society,” Melissaratos said. “We have to concentrate on giving people hope and opportunity so there’s no reason to go back to prison.”

John W. Ashworth III, senior vice president of the University of Maryland Medical System and chair of the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board, also stressed the importance of tapping into the ex-offender population to fill critical workforce needs.

“Businesses need workers. Workers need jobs with benefits,” Ashworth said. “With over 9,000 individuals coming into Baltimore from the state prisons every year, we must recognize the workforce opportunities that this population provides – as well as the challenges.”

During the forum, Ashworth outlined results from a Baltimore Workforce Investment Board survey of employers on issues regarding ex-offenders. The survey found that, among the employers who responded:

About a third had knowingly hired ex-offenders. The rest either did not know the criminal backgrounds of their applicants or chose not to hire ex-offenders.
A majority were unaware of tax breaks or bonding programs that are designed to encourage the hiring of ex-offenders.
The top concerns about hiring ex-offenders were liability issues and employee drug use.
A large number were concerned about hiring people with convictions for violent crimes.
The forum included break-out sessions during which small groups identified key concerns that prevent employers from hiring ex-offenders, as well as steps that would encourage employers to consider such hires.

One key finding was the need to educate employers, particularly human resource officials, about ex-offenders – a “nuts and bolts” guide to what the risks are and what programs are available to help employers.

One employer mentioned that having a case manager or job coach from a community-based organization to work with ex-offenders would be a significant help.

Such training or assistance would help employers conquer their “fear of the unknown,” said Felix Mata, project director with the Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Employment Development. “A lot of them have not hired an ex-offender and don’t know what to expect,” Mata told the forum participants.

Several of the small groups also stressed the need to provide training and other services to people while they are incarcerated, to prepare them for the transition back to society and the workforce.

Mary Ann Saar, secretary of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, urged those at the event to support efforts to expand such services for inmates. The General Assembly has approved pilot initiatives in these areas, but has not funded a statewide program.

“This is the kind of thing that needs to be done,” Saar said.

She also thanked employers who have hired ex-offenders. “By hiring people with criminal backgrounds, you are giving them a chance to support themselves. But you are also sending an important message to other employers that these are good employees worthy of being hired,” Saar said.

One of the state’s largest employers, Johns Hopkins Hospital, has been a leader in hiring ex-offenders, putting about 100 on the payroll in six years.

“We can say, as an employer, we have had excellent results [hiring ex-offenders] but we recognize it’s merely a drop in the bucket,” said Ron Peterson, president of Johns Hopkins Hospital, where the event was held.

Don Fry, president of the Greater Baltimore Committee, said his organization has focused extensively on the issue of helping ex-offenders obtain employment.

“We support efforts to remove barriers to employment,” Fry said, including expanded drug treatment and job training.

Building and Protecting Wealth for Baltimore’s Vulnerable Families: Opportunities and Challenges

May 2006

Speakers: Diane Bell McKoy, Senior Fellow with the Casey Foundation; Lisa Evans, Deputy Director of St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center; Robin McKinney, Assistant Director of the East Harbor Community Development Corporation and Christopher Tan, Program Officer for Local Initiatives Support Corporation in Chicago.

Moderator: Deborah Owens, host of Moneyworks on WEAA 88.9 FM and author of Confident Investing: A Wealth Building Guide for Women and Nickel and Dime Your Way To Wealth.

University of Baltimore – Thumel Business School Auditorium

While many low-income Marylanders are going to work, data suggests that most still have trouble making ends meet and even more have difficulty saving money for a car, home or college.

Deborah Owens

Deborah Owens believes that people aren’t really ready to make a significant change in their life until they undergo what she calls an “emotional pivot.” According to Deborah, this is the moment in which they can see the path to a better life and success becomes real to them. In order to help people reach that emotional pivot, we may need to change our own way of thinking. For example, if a person is motivated to invest, it may be better to encourage them to do so and allow them the opportunity to watch their investments grow then to focus exclusively on debt reduction.

Diane Bell McKoy

“Having a more robust African-American middle class in Baltimore must be our agenda,” said Diane Bell McKoy. The share of African-Americans joining the middle class has stagnated over past decades. Without a prosperous, well-educated middle class, Baltimore will not generate enough wealth to remain economically competitive, nor will the city be able to meet obligations to seniors and other critical public needs. Research conducted by the Casey Foundation reveals that race does matter in wealth creation. Baltimore’s communities continue to be in jeopardy, with 65% of Baltimore’s African-American citizens earning less than $35,000 per year.

Robin McKinney

Robin McKinney agreed with Deborah Owens on the need for an emotional pivot. Because Robin’s clients are often overwhelmed by the thought of saving for a house, she challenges them to make changes in their lives in brisk, seven-day increments. By asking, “What are you going to do differently in the next seven days?” she is able to help clients see their progress immediately.

Robin also stressed the importance of individual development accounts (IDA). Though eligibility requirements are tough, these matched savings accounts prove invaluable for those who can obtain them. Service providers should learn how to take advantage of the numerous IDA slots currently sitting empty in Baltimore City.

Lisa Evans

St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center provides pre and post-purchase homeownership education so that individuals who are able to buy houses can keep them. According to Lisa Evans, more and more low-income people are falling victim to predatory real estate practices, especially as lenders continually put buyers into higher interest loans where they do not belong. In addition, unknowing first-time homebuyers find themselves at risk when they think they have a fixed loan, but then get to settlement and learn at the last minute, when it is already too late, that they do not.

Christopher Tan

Christopher Tan views asset building as a non-linear process. At the Local Initiatives Support Corporation in Chicago, caseworkers help clients through a long-term, gradual process. During year one, clients focus not so much on saving money as on lowering their asset depleting activities. The actual asset building process does not begin until the second year of their casework.

Christopher also stresses the need for service providers to understand that every situation is different. People living paycheck to paycheck have a need for immediate liquidity because they cannot rely on credit. As a result, there is a demand and supply side to payday lending.

Building a Workforce Development Community: A Practitioners’ Forum

May 2004

Panelists: Diane Bell, President and CEO, Empower Baltimore Management Corporation; Tammy Ditzel, Training Director, Maryland Institute for Employment and Training Professionals; Michael Gaines, President & CEO, Maryland Center for Arts & Technology; Brian Lyght, Senior Associate, Annie E. Casey Foundation; Sara Muempfer, Workforce Network Manager, Maryland Works; Marion Pines, Senior Fellow, Johns Hopkins University Institute for Policy Studies; Karen Sitnick, Director, Mayor’s Office of Employment Development and President, Maryland Workforce Development Association; Melanie Styles, Program Officer for Workforce Development, Abell Foundation.

Keynote speaker: Leon Thomas, President, YCDI Hospitality, Inc.

PowerPoint Presentations:
Building a Workforce Development System (Marion Pines)
Investment, Accountability, and Impact (Brian Lyght)

Agenda:
• Overview of the Workforce Development System
• Workforce Development as a Profession
• Performance-Based Outcomes
• Luncheon Keynote

Overview of Workforce Development System

Marion Pines said that what is referred to as the “workforce development system” in fact comprises a variety of different fields, including employment and training, public safety, social services, education, and economic development. In addition to job seekers, incumbent workers, and employers, the types of individuals involved in workforce development include job developers, retention specialists, trainers, educators, and case managers. While these seemingly disparate professionals have a common mission with regard to workforce development, too often they do work with each other as well as they could. Among the reasons for this lack of collaboration are turf, tradition, separate funding streams, grant reporting requirements, and internal rules and regulations. Yet collaboration among organizations is increasingly important, given the dwindling amount of public resources available for workforce development programs.

Ms. Pines encouraged forum attendees to take the following steps as a way of fostering stronger partnerships:
• Focus on the common mission (of assisting workers and job seekers find and keep employment, and advance in the workforce);
• Joint training;
• Common performance measures;
• Strong leadership;
• Commitment to the client.

Insufficient funds in all partner systems (such as public safety and education) demand that workforce organizations work together to adapt to shifting circumstances. Ms. Pines said that trust among practitioners in all systems and joint strategies to deal with policy changes could help workforce development professionals become “group practitioners” rather than “lone rangers.”

Melanie Styles explained that most workforce development funding flows to nonprofit organizations and local agencies from state agencies, which in turn receive it from a number of federal government agencies. The largest portion of federal workforce money falls under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) , which established state and local workforce investment areas. These areas are administered by state and local workforce investment boards, which are composed of representatives from private industry, public agencies, and nonprofit organizations. (In Baltimore, the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board, or BWIB, works through its various committees to meet the needs of both workers and employers.)

• WIA funding to Baltimore dropped approximately 20 percent between 2000 and 2004, from $11 million to $9 million.
• Youth Opportunity Grant declined from $11 million to $8.3 million during the same period, and will expire in 2005.
• Welfare-to-Work funding ended in January 2004.
• Empowerment Zone funding, which Baltimore received as a $100 million federal block grant in 1994, must be spent by January 2005.

The Workforce System Effectiveness Committee of the BWIB recently conducted a study that found that job training is cost-effective and produces generally positive results for trainees, with a wage gain of $3.55 for every dollar spent on customized training (training that helps participants find skilled careers in specific industrial sectors, such as health care) programs and $1.49 for every dollar spent on training vouchers (Individual Training Accounts or ITA’s).

Workforce Development as a Profession

Karen Sitnick stressed the importance of properly trained workforce professionals in delivering high quality employment and training services. As director of the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED), she has ensured that all career counselors at MOED One-Stop receive Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) certification. She also helped establish the Youth Practitioners’ Institute (YPI), and has worked to make certain that all Youth Opportunity counselors working for the city are certified by YPI. YPI is a collaborative endeavor involving MOED, Baltimore City Community College, and the Sar Levitan Center for Social Policy Studies at Johns Hopkins University. YPI was created to teach youth workers about youth development and give them an understanding of how to find additional funding and resources.

Tammy Ditzel explained that like many workforce development practitioners, she received no formal training when she began working in the employment services field. She encouraged participants to identify mentors who could help them bridge gaps in skills.

The Maryland Institute for Employment and Training Professionals (MIETP) offers workshops and a menu of customized training opportunities to help meet the specific needs of workforce practitioners and organizations. The certification programs offered by MIETP are GCDF training, Certified Workforce Development Professional (CWDP) training, and Federal Job Search Trainer certification. These programs are explained in more detail below.

• Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF)
GCDF is a professional certification program for career counselors, job developers, case managers, career coaches, career center staff, trainers, job coaches, employer reps, outplacement staff, and interviewers.

To satisfy the educational requirements for GCDF certification, a full 120-hour course of instruction that meets the criteria established by the Center for Credentialing and Education must be completed. The course consists of 108 hours of classroom instruction over 17 days (approximately 2 days per month), with another 12 hours of outside research, assignments, activities, and real-life applications. Coursework taken as part of GCDF certification can be applied to meet the requirements for Certified Workforce Development Professional certification (see below).

GCDF certification involves coursework in the following competency areas: Workforce Development History and Policy; Helping Skills; Labor Market Information and Resources; Assessment; Diverse Populations; Ethical and Legal Issues; Career Development Models; Employability Skills; Training Peers and Clients; Program Management/Implementation; Promotion and Public Relations; Technology; and Consultation.

The cost is $1,395 for MIETP partners (Public workforce agencies), and $1,995 for non-partners.

• Certified Workforce Development Professional (CWDP)
CWDP certification was established by the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP), and can be obtained in one of two ways:
1. Through coursework administered by local NAWDP affiliates, such as MIETP and MD Works; and
2. By applying directly to NAWDP (application packets are available at NAWDP’s website). An application fee is charged.

CWDP certification is granted based on an applicant’s knowledge in 12 competency areas:
History and Structure of the Workforce Development System; Career Development Process; Labor Market Information; Diversity; Customer Service; Program Management; Interpersonal Relations; Technology; General “Helping” Skills; Job-Search Skills; Job-Keeping Skills; and Job-Preparation Skills

• Federal Job Search Trainer Certification
MIETP awards a “Certificate of Competence” for individuals who complete this 3-day program. The course equips career development professionals and trainers with the skills, knowledge, and resources they need to help their job seekers find and obtain employment opportunities with the federal government. Opportunities are also available for professional consultants and trainers to work through MIETP to deliver the certification training to direct service staff.

Sara Muempfer described the many different types of people who need workforce development services of some variety. These populations include inmates and ex-offenders, foreign-born workers, employers, young people, substance abuse treatment recipients, and others. This offers workforce development professionals a broad range of career options, depending on the skill areas they choose to cultivate. Ms. Muempfer encouraged attendees to continuously seek opportunities to improve their skills in the profession, and urged managers of workforce programs to invest in training for their workforce staff.

Maryland Works is a statewide membership association dedicated to promoting economic and workforce development, particularly for workers with disabilities and other underserved populations. The organization is divided into three components:
• The Provider Network is comprised of nonprofit community based organizations that offer employment and other supports that help people get back to work.
• The Workforce Network is made up of a wide range of workforce development, job development, and other career counseling professionals.
• The Rehabilitation & Employment Program creates quality employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities, while providing the State of Maryland with high quality services and commodities.

Performance-Based Outcomes

Brian Lyght said that the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) is more interested in reforming the system in which workforce development activities take place than in supporting those activities directly. Consequently, AECF funds initiatives with initiatives with the potential to demonstrate innovative policy, service delivery, and community supports for children and families. Foundations such as AECF typically wish to partner with the organizations they fund, instead of simply granting money

Mr. Lyght outlined a seven-step process that organizations can follow to measure and enhance their performance, which requires measuring progress to improve client outcomes. The process involves an analysis of the following questions:
1. Who are our customers?
2. How can we measure if our customers are better off?
3. How can we measure if we’re delivering services well?
4. How are we doing on the most important of these measures?
5. Who are the partners that have a potential role to play in doing better?
6. What works to do better?
7. What do we propose to actually do?(See Brian Lyght’s PowerPoint presentation above for more information.)

Michael Gaines urged employment and training providers to consider how they can best respond to employers’ needs, since along with job seekers, businesses are the most important stakeholders in workforce development. At the same time, employers have a responsibility to the community and to their employees. Service providers should encourage employers to clearly articulate the needs of their businesses, so that the providers can adequately respond to them.

Diane Bell recommended that attendees examine their organizations’ respective goals, objectives, and cultures. It is also important for programs to develop and analyze hard data about their service populations, their staffs, and the effectiveness of their services. This self-assessment can help an organization go beyond the assumptions it makes about its own work and performance.

Ms Bell shared some of the lessons Empower Baltimore Management Corporation (EBMC) has learned since its inception in 1994:
• Understanding the nature and needs of stakeholders is critical;
• The organization must set clear goals;
• Hard data about the program’s performance are needed to assess effectiveness; and
• Goals must be regularly reviewed and changed if necessary to ensure continuous improvement.

Luncheon Keynote

Keynote speaker Leon Thomas applauded forum participants for their efforts to help job seekers find and keep rewarding employment. He told the story of his own career progress, beginning as a bellman at a small hotel and rising through the ranks to become general manager of a 300-room convention hotel in downtown Philadelphia. Each hotel that he managed saw increased revenues, lower expenses, higher guest satisfaction scores, and improved job retention rates among employees.

As director of training and task force operations for Vista Host Hotel Management Corporation, Mr. Thomas was responsible for improving the outcomes of under-performing hotels across the country by working with hotel managers to improve retention rates, train frontline associates, and help new hotels establish operating procedures.

He attributed his success as a manager and trainer to his focus on creating lively work environments, being flexible with staff work schedules, and simply letting his employees know what tasks needed to be done, rather than instructing them in how to accomplish those tasks. Mr. Thomas said that employers of all varieties could benefit by trusting and respecting their employees and cultivating a sense of openness, teamwork, and a shared sense of mission and vision in the workplace.

Building A Skilled Healthcare Workforce

PROGRAM AND PRESENTATIONS

Welcome and Introductions

Deborah Povich, Executive Director, Job Opportunities Task Force
Diane Bell, Board Member, Job Opportunities Task Force

National Healthcare Training Models for Incumbent and Entry – Panelists:

Cheryl Feldman, Director, 1199C Training and Upgrading Fund in Philadelphia

Mary Rosenthal, Director, East Metro Health Careers Institute in St. Paul
View PowerPoint presentation on East Metro Health Careers Institute.

Sarah Griffen, Director, Boston Healthcare and Training Institute
Maryland’s Healthcare Workforce Initiatives – Panelists:

Karen Sitnick, Mayor’s Office of Employment Development
View PowerPoint presentation on Skills Based Training Promotion (STEP) program.

Jo-Ann Williams, University of Maryland Medical System

David Fontaine, Governor’s Workforce Investment Board
View PowerPoint presentation on: A Demand-Driven Catalyst for Workforce Development: Maryland’s Healthcare Coordinated Approach.

Baltimore Healthcare Coalition Action Plan – Panelists:

Patrice Cromwell, Open Society Institute-Baltimore

Pamela Paulk, Johns Hopkins Health System

Catherine Crowley, Maryland Hospital Association

Phyllis Snyder, CAEL-Philadelphia
View PowerPoint presentation: Recommendations for Building a Healthcare Career Pipeline in Baltimore.

Keynote Speaker: Robert Giloth, Director, Family Economic Success, Annie E. Casey Foundation

FORUM SUMMARY 
By Tom Waldron

Momentum is growing behind efforts to build a skilled healthcare workforce in Baltimore, efforts that promise to help both low-wage workers and hospitals and other employers.

That momentum was evident during a March 2, 2004, conference in Baltimore that brought together more than a hundred people with a stake in the issue – including representatives from hospitals, unions, advocacy groups, community colleges, foundations and community groups.

Organized by the Job Opportunities Task Force (JOTF) and supported by grants from the Abell Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Open Society Institute–Baltimore and the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers, the conference sought to examine key issues surrounding healthcare workforce development by looking at results of similar efforts taking place both outside Baltimore and within the city.

“With the input from the conference participants, we should be able to take the Baltimore Healthcare Coalition’s efforts to the next level,” said Deborah Povich, executive director of the JOTF. “We have an opportunity to meet employers’ needs by targeting job-training efforts to create healthcare career-ladders for incumbent workers and job-seekers in the city.”

An analysis of the Baltimore region’s economy has pinpointed healthcare as an industry sorely in need of workforce development. That group, known as the Baltimore Healthcare Coalition, has more than 60 members and has been meeting for almost a year to consider new approaches to attracting and training healthcare workers.

Attendees at the conference heard from leaders of workforce programs in Philadelphia, Boston and St. Paul, Minnesota – reports that outlined program successes and sketched out challenges that the Baltimore effort can expect.

Representatives of a Maryland state worker training program known as STEP also reported on the positive gains the program has produced, both for low-wage hospital workers and for their employers looking to find trained employees for hard-to-fill jobs. Participants in the conference also took part in small-group discussions of the strengths and weaknesses of various programs described during the day, assessments that will be used by the Healthcare Coalition as it continues its work.

“There’s a lot of momentum coming together to develop a coordinated plan to meet these workforce needs,” said Patrice Cromwell, associate director of OSI–Baltimore. “There are real opportunities for collaboration and this conference was a great opportunity to connect the various people and institutions that will be involved.”
The conference was highlighted by reports from the directors of three workforce programs that focus on the healthcare field.

Cheryl Feldman, director of the Local 1199C Training and Upgrading Fund in Philadelphia, outlined the operations of a program that has been in existence for 30 years. After modest beginnings, the program served more than 17,300 people last year – with literacy classes, training, assessments, placement help or tuition reimbursements. The Fund is financed in part by contributions from 59 employers, with each putting in 1.5 percent of their gross annual payrolls. That collective approach has been crucial, Feldman said. “By pooling the funds of employers, we can make the whole bigger than the pieces,” she sad. Feldman stressed that the Fund has two sets of customers – employees and employers. “We’re very, very intent on addressing the workforce and recruitment needs of employers. It’s a win-win situation.”

Feldman noted that a key to the Fund’s success has been being able to schedule services, including classes, at times that are convenient to workers; it operates from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.

A second speaker, Mary Rosenthal, director of East Metro Health Careers Institute in St. Paul, also echoed the importance of a flexible schedule of services. Her organization is a collaborative effort of four St. Paul hospitals and two community colleges to build healthcare career ladders that will lead to stronger skills and better pay for low-wage workers.

The Institute, which was launched in 2001, has placed 156 of its graduates in jobs, with an average increase in pay ranging from 20 percent to 55 percent, depending on the job category. Among the challenges facing the Institute is being able to accurately project which kinds of jobs will be vacant at the member hospitals. Securing funding has also been a problem, Rosenthal said, in part because some funders want quick “proof” that the program is working.

“You can’t get that kind of proof in two or three years,” Rosenthal said. “It’s a much longer commitment needed.”
The third speaker, Sarah Griffen, director of the Boston Healthcare and Training Institute, described that organization’s success providing training, education and support services for workers with 11 employers in healthcare and research.

The Institute’s collaborative work is paying off for employers, she said. “They are seeing the benefit of the program and know this is a worthwhile effort,” Griffen said.

She stressed the importance of establishing good communication with employers, and not just with their top-level executives. Support from mid-level supervisors at healthcare institutions is crucial as well, as they deal directly with employees and have to approve, for example, leave time for workers to take classes or attend training sessions.

Like her counterparts in Philadelphia and St. Paul, Griffen noted the dire need for basic skills and education of many low-wage workers in the field. “Almost to a person, supervisors say their employees lack basic foundation skills,” Griffen said.

While Baltimore does not yet have a large-scale, collaborative workforce development initiative for healthcare workers, some city employers and workers have benefited from the Skills-Based Training for Employment Promotion (or STEP) program. Under the program, local grant recipients team with employers in selected fields to provide training for certain job categories. The cost is shared: the state-funded STEP program pays for the actual training while the employer pays the wages of workers being trained. However, no funding was allocated for STEP in this year’s state budget.

Jo-Ann Williams, human resources manager for the University of Maryland Medical System, said STEP has helped the hospital address pressing workforce needs. And giving low-wage workers an avenue for advancement to jobs with higher pay and better career opportunities has improved morale, she said.

“People are feeling good about the place they work,” Williams said. “It’s just been a wonderful experience.”
Projections show that the need to recruit and train healthcare workers in Baltimore and Maryland will continue to grow in coming years. Pamela Paulk, vice president for human resources at Johns Hopkins Health System, said that Maryland’s hospitals will create roughly 1,000 new openings a year in seven “hot” job categories that require an associate’s degree or less, including nurse extenders and surgical technicians.

Catherine Crowley, vice president of the Maryland Hospital Association, said solving the staffing problems collectively will require new thinking on the part of employers.

“For at least 15 years, the hospitals in Maryland have been committed to the concept of ‘grow your own’ employees,” Crowley said.

Keynote speaker Robert Giloth saluted the conferees for exploring new approaches. Giloth, director of Family Economic Success at the Casey Foundation, has written extensively about workforce development, particularly the involvement of “workforce intermediaries,” a broad term describing various kinds of organizations and collaborations involved in job-training, recruitment and career-advancement activities. Researchers and policy-makers associated with a recent American Assembly dialogue on workforce intermediaries are studying such organizations, looking at how they work well – and why. Among the findings: such organizations should have multiple funding sources and should be collaborative efforts among various partner groups.

“You need to be entrepreneurial and flexible,” Giloth added. “This is not a one-time design. It needs to happen again and again.”

The stakes are high, he added – for workers struggling to make ends meet in low-wage jobs, as well as employers and the larger society.

“Not only is it good for low-wage workers,” Giloth said, “but it’s good for the city, the state and the country.”

Among the attendees was Robert W. Seurkamp, executive director of the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board for the state of Maryland. He applauded the diverse group for working collectively on a solution to a pressing workforce problem.

“What’s most important is that people like this are coming together to deal with the workforce development issues that can’t be done by any one individual or one company or one group,” Seurkamp said.

In particular, he said he was pleased that the discussion focused on assisting both workers and employers.
“Workforce development is economic development. That’s become the new mantra for the state,” Seurkamp said. “It’s clear that if we don’t do workforce development, we’ll be struggling with the economy.”

At the same time, Seurkamp said the fiscally strapped state government will be hard pressed to provide additional funding to workforce development programs.

“The pie is finite in size,” he said. “Unfortunately, I don’t see any relief by the state.”

At the same time, the federal government has established a new pool of resources for training in growth industries. Leaders of the healthcare workforce effort in Baltimore said they expect Baltimore and Maryland to attract additional federal funding to help solve their labor challenges. And they called on state leaders to examine ways of reallocating state funding to assist with the healthcare training effort.

Turning Earnings Into Assets

December 2003

Speakers: Mary Ann Hewitt, Associate Executive Director, Maryland Council on Economic Education; Carol Jarvis, Ph.D., Executive Director, Maryland Council on Economic Education; Kevin Jordan, Associate Director, Bon Secours of Maryland Foundation; Althea Saunders-Ranniar, Working Families Initiative Program Director, Bon Secours of Maryland Foundation.

Moderator: Brian S. Lyght, Senior Associate, School to Career Partnerships Initiative, Annie E. Casey Foundation

View Kevin Jordan’s PowerPoint presentation on OROSW

View Brian Lyght’s PowerPoint presentation on the seven dimensions of effective personal financial education programs

Low-income workers who wish to move up and out of poverty need more than just a job; they also need to know how to make their earnings work for them and their families, said a panel of economic education experts at a JOTF/Open Society Institute-Baltimore forum on December 11.

For Baltimore’s low-skill workers, the path to financial independence often involves more than acquiring new skills and finding better-paying jobs. Achieving economic self-sufficiency for themselves and their families requires a sound knowledge of the principles behind saving, investing, debt reduction, and asset development.

These principles are complex and can be intimidating, especially for the large numbers of low-skill workers who never received formal financial management training. In response to this knowledge gap, public and private stakeholders in the Baltimore region are developing collaborative initiatives to provide financial literacy and other asset-building services to low-income families.

Carol Jarvis provided statistics about financial management in Maryland and across the country:
1. In 2001, Maryland ranked second in the nation in median household income, fifth in per capita personal income – and ninth in bankruptcy rates.
2. 10.6 percent of the 17,900 active clients of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Maryland and Delaware, Inc. are between the ages of 18 and 26. People within that age range represent approximately the same percentage of the general population.
3. Fifty percent of high school graduates enter the workplace directly from high school, but only 15 percent of graduates received any instruction in personal finance.
4. Forty percent of Americans say they live beyond their means. Fifty percent of all Americans live from paycheck to paycheck.
5. Americans saved only 2.3 percent of their disposable incomes in 2001; during World War II, Americans saved 24 percent of their incomes.
6. Only 48 percent of Americans save for retirement; companies that provide pensions or manage retirement funds are becoming increasingly rare.

Dr. Jarvis described the Maryland Coalition for Financial Literacy (MCFL), which grew out of a concern within the Maryland Council on Economic Education regarding the large numbers of Marylanders who are taken advantage of by unscrupulous lenders. Among MCFL’s goals is that every Maryland schoolchild will have taken a course in personal finance before he or she graduates from high school. Currently, only Baltimore County offers financial education in its high schools.

Mary Ann Hewitt offered details about MCFL’s free programs, including the Stock Market Game, an international educational simulation that teaches adults and youth about stock markets and the U.S. and global economies. Another program, Financial Fitness for Life, is designed for low-income communities and offers fundamental lessons about credit, debt, and wealth. MCFL also provides training for service providers who wish to educate their clients about the basics of financial management.

For more information about the Maryland Council on Economic Education and the Maryland Coalition for Financial Literacy, visit www.econed.org.

Kevin Jordan listed some of the economic challenges facing residents of Southwest Baltimore, the site of Operation Reach Out SouthWest (OROSW) initiative. The average wage in Southwest Baltimore is $9.60 per hour, while the average starting wage for participants in OROSW’s Southwest Jobs program is $7.50 per hour. According to a 2001 report by Wider Opportunities for Women and others, the economic self-sufficiency level for a family of three in Baltimore is $17.75/hour.

Mr. Jordan reported that an OROSW study of the financial habits of Southwest residents found the following:
•Residents need immediate access to cash;
•Younger residents have little savings;
•Residents experience severe credit and debt problems;
•Residents want to save more, but do not believe they can;
•Residents do not trust banks; and
•People with debt problems are more likely to jump from job to job for only a slight increase in pay.

Althea Saunders-Ranniar spoke of the ways Bon Secours of Maryland Foundation and others are working to address Southwest residents’ financial needs. Through Our Money Place, a newly opened financial services center in Southwest Baltimore’s Westside Shopping Center, residents receive information about credit/debt management, banking, savings, taxes, budgeting, financial planning, and predatory lending.

For more information about Our Money Place, contact Kevin Jordan at 410-362-3016.

Brian Lyght presented characteristics of effective financial literacy programs. These “seven dimensions” were outlined Fannie Mae Foundation report entitled Personal Finance and the Rush to Competence: Financial Literacy Education in the U.S. They include:
1. Unambiguous mission and purpose;
2. Targeted outreach;
3. Adequate staffing and administration;
4. Evaluation and follow-up;
5. Program accessibility;
6. Relevant curriculum; and
7. Dynamic partnering.

Getting a Job, Growing a Career: A Conversation With Two State Agencies

September 2003

Speakers: James D. Fielder, Jr., Ph.D., Secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation; Christopher J. McCabe, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Human Resources

Moderator: Deborah Povich, executive director, Job Opportunities Task Force

Introductory Remarks: Robert L. Bogomolny, president, University of Baltimore; Patrice Cromwell, Program Development Fellow for Workforce and Economic Development, Open Society Institute – Baltimore; Joanne Nathans, president, Job Opportunities Task Force.

Over 70 people joined JOTF in welcoming Secretaries Fielder and McCabe for a discussion about how the Ehrlich administration plans to move more low-income workers and job seekers to economic self-sufficiency.

Two state agencies, the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (DLLR) and the Department of Human Resources (DHR), play a vital role in helping low-income workers and their families move up and out of poverty.

DLLR assists job seekers in finding employment, provides unemployment insurance compensation, and offers training for workers to advance in their careers. DLLR also assists employers by administering incumbent worker training initiatives like the STEP Program, and by providing access to federal and state tax credits.

DHR implements programs to promote family self-sufficiency through employment and work supports. In addition, businesses can work with DHR’s Office of Work Opportunities to recruit from targeted populations and obtain financial incentives for hiring.

Secretary James Fielder remarked that despite the fact that Maryland’s lower unemployment rate is one-third below the national average, the State must do more to resolve its “underlying structural problems” where discouraged workers are concerned. He said that Governor Robert Ehrlich had charged DLLR with working to resolve these and other workforce challenges facing Maryland workers and job seekers.

Secretary Fielder outlined several issues on DLLR’s agenda, including:

Unemployment Insurance – Maryland’s unemployment insurance trust fund has a required solvency level of $832 million dollars. At the end of September there is projected to be $657 million in the trust fund. This shortfall will result in a surcharge on employers, who will pay $85 to $87 per employee more each year beginning in January 2004. It is important to protect the solvency of this fund, so the fund is “healthy” and available when workers lose jobs through no fault of their own. Any effort to use unemployment insurance funds to increase worker benefits must be weighed against the potential fiscal impact of that use.

DLLR Reorganization – DLLR is undergoing a reorganization process designed to increase efficiency and improve the agency’s services to low-income workers. Since January DLLR has experienced a 10 percent decrease in staff, while it increased its efficiency by 14 percent.

The Governor’s Workforce Investment Board, (GWIB), formerly an independent State agency, is now part of DLLR under the chairmanship of Gino Gemignani, senior vice-president of the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company. GWIB hopes to become “more policy-driven,” and less of an “operating entity” than it has in the past.

Low-income Workers – Secretary Fielder is working with Secretary McCabe, State Superintendent of Schools Nancy Grasmick, and Department of Business and Economic Development Secretary Aris Melissaratos on policy solutions to the employment needs of ex-prisoners who re-enter society. Under current State policy, for example, inmates are prohibited from accessing the internet, which precludes them from engaging in some methods of distance learning.

Under Congressional proposals for the reauthorization of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), lower amounts of federal workforce funding will be available for worker training and program administration. Federal Wagner-Peyser funding to Maryland faces similar cuts.

At the State level, funding for the two-year-old Skills-based Training for Employment Promotion (STEP) program was cut from $1 million to $500,000 this year. A new initiative, Maryland Business Works, will apply $1 million of a federal incentive grant toward incumbent worker training. This program will provide a dollar-for-dollar match for training to businesses with 50 employees or less that are located in the State’s WIA regions. The program will not be targeted to low income workers.

The goal of this and other DLLR training programs is to move public assistance recipients “off of welfare and into a skilled job.”

Secretary Christopher McCabe described Maryland’s welfare reform strategy, saying that the goal of DHR was for public assistance recipients to “independently support themselves.” Workforce development is an essential part of achieving this goal, and requires flexibility at the local level and partnerships with nonprofit organizations.

DHR manages the Family Investment Administration (FIA), which was established in 1995 to assist Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) recipients in finding work and other services at local Department of Social Services (DSS) offices. Under FIA guidelines, each local DSS office was instructed to develop family investment plans for public assistance recipients to move to self-sufficiency. Consequently, each local DSS branch implements a different strategy to best serve families within its region. Kevin Maguire is the new executive director of FIA.

Families have both rights and responsibilities in the public assistance process. For example, they have the right to receive fair and equal treatment and to receive responses within 30 days of applying for assistance. Recipient responsibilities include pursuing child support, seeking employment and/or participating in allowable work activities, and achieving self-sufficiency prior to the five-year time limit on public assistance.

DHR hopes to achieve a “one-stop shopping” system in which recipients can access Food Stamps, TCA, medical assistance, and other types of assistance at one location with a minimum of bureaucratic barriers.

Secretary McCabe cited the “tremendous success” of the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, commonly known as welfare reform) program in reducing welfare caseloads and moving recipients into employment. Still, a “change of culture” in the administration of public assistance is required to address recipients’ barriers to employment.

Regarding childcare, Secretary McCabe said that “there is no evidence” to indicate that parents are dropping out of the workforce because they are unable to find adequate care for their children. He attributed the long waiting list that currently exists for childcare services to the $21 million deficit in the Purchase of Care Program.

One of the goals of the Ehrlich administration is “universal engagement” of public assistance recipients in work or work activities so that “no TCA customer is left behind.”

Beyond Entry-Level: Career Advancement Strategies for Low-Skill Workers

June 2003

Speakers: Patrick Cassidy, Deputy Director, Governors Workforce Investment Board; Raymond Eibel, Business Development Manager, Educational Data Systems, Inc.; Michael Gaines, President & CEO, Maryland Center for Arts & Technology.

Moderator: Molly Nash, Director of Employment Services, Catholic Charities / St. Jude’s Employment Center

View Patrick Cassidy’s PowerPoint presentation on ‘Moving to a Demand-Driven Workforce System.’

View Raymond Eibel’s PowerPoint presentation on Tiered Employment.

Job placement is just the beginning of a process that can lead to self-sufficiency for low-income employees and reduced turnover costs for employers. Most public workforce funding does not cover post-placement strategies that promote career advancement and increase retention. Yet opportunities exist for philanthropic foundations to work with nonprofit service providers, public agencies, training institutions, and businesses to provide resources and align performance measures to ensure positive long-term results for workers and employers.

A panel of workforce development experts discussed strategies for partnering with employers to move Baltimore’s low-skill workers up the career ladder at a forum sponsored by the Job Opportunities Task Force (JOTF) and Open Society Institute-Baltimore on Thursday, June 12 at the University of Baltimore’s Merrick School of Business.

Patrick Cassidy began by providing information on Maryland’s current workforce landscape. From 1990 to 2000, the State experienced a 16 percent decrease in the number of residents with less than a high school diploma and 55 percent of high school graduates attend college, indicating that education levels of rising. At the same time, however, the number of individuals in poverty increased by 14 percent during the same period.

In terms of workforce demand, Maryland’s services, construction, and retail sectors are the areas with the most projected job growth. The top five fastest growing occupations, or 48 percent of the projected annual openings, are in office and administrative support, sales, food preparation and service, management positions, transportation, and materials handling. While 28 percent of these openings require a Bachelors degree, 63 percent only require on-the-job training. Thus there is an opportunity for service providers to meet employer needs and help them with their bottom line.

Mr. Cassidy went on to speak of the need for a demand-driven workforce development system in which “placement is only the beginning,” and where service providers work closely with employers and training institutions to create supportive work environments so that incumbent workers can advance in their careers. In order to achieve this, employers need workforce services from committed intermediaries that view business as the customer. He said that nonprofits are well placed to serve in this capacity, because of their competence in working with “hard to serve” populations, and because they are able to collaborate with each other in ways that are unavailable to for-profit companies.

Raymond Eibel described the ‘tiered employment’ model used by Educational Data Systems, Inc. (EDSI) in Philadelphia, where EDSI holds the city’s Welfare-to-Work contract.

Tiered employment is an employer-driven strategy that uses skills training and assessment tools to help job seekers and incumbent workers move up the career ladder. The model connects participants with intensive job readiness and occupational skills training during a transitional period of employment in a low-skill, entry-level position. At the end of that period, provided they performed satisfactorily in the first-tier position, participants move to a higher-skill, higher paying position with another company, possibly within a different sector, that offers more career growth and earning potential. When tier one employees are ready to advance to the second tier, their employers complete an occupational skills survey that describes the skills the employees have acquired during their tenure in the first tier.

EDSI uses an automated, web-based system to connect program participants to employers. Job developers and employment representatives facilitate the match. Employers are able to post jobs online and view information on available candidates and their status, while employees can perform customized searches for the jobs that are most appropriate for them. This system facilitates individual career development by providing employees with resources and information based upon their individual career goals. Their career goals, skills, work history, and profile are all entered and tracked in the database.

Increased retention is critical to employers. Employees who remain for a period of six months to one year in tier one provide an increased retention rate for those employers. Employer participation is crucial to the success of a tiered employment program. As a result of this approach, job seekers, many of whom have little or no experience with career counseling or goal-setting, are motivated to stop making lateral moves from job to job with no hope of advancement.

Mr. Eibel emphasized that these job seekers constitute a viable workforce and should not be regarded as merely a “hard to serve” population. The challenge, he said, is helping these individuals develop their skills, goals, and work habits in order to meet employers’ needs and their own.

Michael Gaines described the work of the Maryland Center for Arts and Technology (MCAT), a Baltimore-based customized training firm that over the past three years has placed approximately 300 program participants in jobs that provide decent wages and benefits. The goal of MCAT is to “close the gap between the individual who lacks skills and available jobs.”

Mr. Gaines said that career advancement strategies for low-skill workers are necessary for several reasons. At the most basic level, models such as customized training and tiered employment provide workers with the opportunity for personal and career growth by helping them build on past skills and experiences. As they advance in the workforce, they are better able to economically sustain themselves and their families. This in turn has a positive influence on communities and regions, because financially stable families are more likely to purchase homes and contribute to their local economy, and their children are more likely to remain in school.

In order to effect these positive changes, nonprofit workforce development and training providers must become more knowledgeable about the regional economy and the industries with which they work. Customized training is an employer-driven process whose end result is workers that are adequately trained and ready to stay on the job. Mr. Gaines said that “consolidation of the provider network” may be necessary to respond to changes in the economy. Using this market approach, service providers will either increase their performance and outcomes, or risk losing market shares to those that do.

At the same time, he added, employers should bear some of the costs of receiving the products [i.e. trained workers] that providers offer them. It is important for businesses to invest in the training of their employees.

Three Federal Reauthorizations: Implications for Low-Income Workers

April 2003

Speakers: Andy Van Kleunen, executive director, Workforce Alliance; Lynda Meade, director of social concerns and parish social ministry, Catholic Charities; Sylvester McKay, Ph.D., president, Baltimore City Community College; Christopher Thompson, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate, Johns Hopkins University Institute for Policy Studies.

View Andy Van Kleunen’s PowerPoint presentation on Current Federal Reauthorization Proposals.

View Christopher Thompson’s PowerPoint presentation on Workforce Investment Act Reauthorization.

Over 60 people attended an April 23 forum on major legislation pending on Capitol Hill and the significant implications the measures hold for low-wage workers in Baltimore. The forum was held at the University of Baltimore’s Merrick School of Business and co-sponsored by the Job Opportunities Task Force, Open Society Institute-Baltimore, and the Jacob France Institute.

The three pieces of legislation scheduled for reauthorization this year are the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), the Higher Education Act (HEA), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) – which together include funding for such key programs as college scholarships, job training, and financial support for single parents. “All three of these federal funding streams are critical to developing the skills and raising the income opportunities for low-wage workers,” says Deborah Povich, executive director of the Job Opportunities Task Force.

Andy Van Kleunen provided an overview of recent developments in Congress regarding WIA, TANF, and HEA.

WIA: The Workforce Investment Act is designed “to consolidate, coordinate, and improve employment, training, literacy, and vocational rehabilitation programs in the United States.” A Senate vote on WIA reauthorization is expected in May, while floor vote on the House’s WIA bill, H.R. 1261, has been delayed. Among the elements of H.R. 1261 are a consolidation of Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Employment Service funding into a new $3.1 billion “Comprehensive Adult” block grant; transfers greater authority from local workforce investment boards to state governors, and contains no provision for personal re-employment accounts (PRA’s).

According to Baltimore City officials, WIA has helped about 300 Baltimoreans improve their job skills through the use of Individual Training Accounts in the last nine months. In that time, more than 10,000 people have received help with job searches, referrals, skills assessments and literacy training.

TANF: Commonly known as welfare reform, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program was part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. TANF was designed to reduce states’ welfare rolls and designed to focus on work and responsibility and “to provide states with flexibility to create the best approaches for their individual circumstances.” In February 2003 the House passed H.R. 4, a TANF reauthorization bill. This legislation calls for further limits on allowable work activities; raises required work hours to 40 per week; raises work participation rates to 70 percent; and allows no more than four months for education and training. The Senate Finance Committee is expected to vote on TANF this summer. Current TANF law has been extended through June 2003.

HEA: Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act is expected in late 2003 or early 2004. Current guidelines for this legislation favor full-time college students who are pursuing academic degrees, while part-time students and those who wish to enhance their skills without pursuing degrees experience difficulty in accessing funding under these acts. The Workforce Alliance calls for expanded eligibility guidelines that would do more to support education and training of working adults.

Lynda Meade said that TANF reauthorization will have implications for both parents and state agencies that oversee welfare programs. “The new requirements will probably translate into moms putting in more hours into programs and a job, and will put pressure on the state to achieve higher rates of participation in those programs,” she said. “The folks who have left welfare for work more recently have had a harder time meeting their job requirements. They have more issues to deal with, including child care, transportation, and a poor economy.” Ms. Meade noted that under current economic conditions, the State does not have additional resources to provide these vital work supports.

Christopher Thompson rated various aspects of WIA-funded workforce programs. He gave high marks to the One-Stop systems for their customer focus and their ability to deliver multiple services at integrated points. He also praised the Local Workforce Investment Board (LWIB) and Governor’s Workforce Investment Boards (GWIB) networks for encouraging employer participation and for taking the initiative in establishing governance structures.

Other elements of the system received lower grades. Dr. Thompson pointed out gaps in system-wide performance measures and data collection, a paucity of Individual Training Account (ITA) funding, and lack of full employer engagement. He suggested ten ways of improving on WIA, including: expansion of demand-driven features; adoption of flexible funding; investment in technology to support decisions; and movement to benchmarking and performance support. Dr. Thompson’s grades and suggestions for improvement can be viewed by clicking the link to the Power Point presentation, above.

Sylvester McKay stressed the importance of public investment in education as a key to developing a skilled workforce. Community colleges play an important role in this process because of their emphasis on vocational training and career development.

Most rating systems are based on the number of students graduating. But many people improve their work opportunities by taking a few courses, which may not result in graduation, but which can still be considered a successful outcome. Measuring a community college’s performance by the same academic standard used to evaluate four-year institutions does not accurately reflect the value of targeted skills enhancement that community colleges provide, upgrades which are critically important to low-wage workers and job seekers.

Organized Labor in the Baltimore Region

December 2002

Speakers: Fred Mason, President, Maryland and Washington, D.C. AFL-CIO
Roxie Herbekian, International Trustee, Local #7, Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union

Two local union leaders urged Baltimore area policy makers and employers to ensure that low-skill workers have adequate wages, benefits, and opportunities for advancement. This is particularly important, they said, in the case of new businesses that are attracted to Baltimore City, often with public tax incentives.

“Baltimore is not getting the full benefit of its investment because the jobs being created are not lifting the city out of poverty,” said Roxie Herbekian, a 20-year veteran labor organizer who has organized thousands of hotel, food service and parking workers and is working to revitalize Baltimore’s hotel employees local. Ms. Herbekian used examples from the development of Camden Yards and area hotels to show the need for a more comprehensive approach to economic development that does more than just subsidize businesses to encourage them to expand or move into the region.

Fred Mason, President of the Maryland and D.C. State Federation of Labor, about the need for additional education and training opportunities to help low-income workers get and keep family-sustaining jobs. A former auto worker and steelworker, Mr. Mason focused his comments on the employment needs of Maryland’s ex-prisoner population. Approximately 15,000 inmates are released annually from the state’s correctional institutions. Two-thirds of these inmates don’t have a high school diploma and are trying to support at least two children.

“One approach to public safety is locking people up and forgetting about them,” Mr. Mason said. “That’s not our approach.”

The State of Working America

November 2002

Speakers: Heather Boushey, Ph.D., Economist, Economic Policy Institute
Richard Clinch, Director of Economic Research, Jacob France Institute, University of Baltimore

Although the strong economy of the 1990s lifted the economic fortunes of working families for the first time in decades, the current recession has lead to a dramatic increase in unemployment, and job growth is stagnant at best. These findings are part of The State of Working America 2002-2003, a report by the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit think tank. Released biennially, The State of Working America examines the impact of national economic trends on the lives of working families.

Report co-author Heather Boushey, an economist with EPI, presented the findings of the report at a forum co-hosted by the JOTF and Open Society Institute – Baltimore. Dr. Boushey said that one lasting legacy of the 1990s appears to be strong productivity growth, which has meant that wages—although growing slowly—are still outpacing inflation. While this is some comfort for those who remain employed, she warned that a jobless recovery will lead to wage stagnation, higher poverty rates, and rising inequality.

“The jobless recovery that we are in right now is leading to lower wage growth and lower income for American families,” says Boushey. “We need to construct a policy response in Washington to deal with that.”

Other findings of the report include:

• The labor market recession, which began in October 2000 remains with us.
• This recession marks the end of the long economic boom of the 1990s, which brought the first, broad-based increase in wages and incomes in decades.
• Low-wage workers especially benefited, as poverty rates dipped to historic lows.
• The 1990s also brought, however, substantial increases in household debt.
• The long-term trend towards increased hours of work continues and having a “working mom” remains a salient fact of American family life.
• University of Baltimore economist Richard Clinch provided a local perspective on the report’s findings. He said that it is important for Baltimore City to ensure that workers are trained for jobs in growing industries such as biotechnology.

“If you don’t create the programs to train the workers for the companies that are coming, the workers will just come from the suburbs,” he said.

He emphasized, however, that Baltimore has seen improvements in the placement of low-skill workers. For example, the city’s job gap has decreased from 2.9 candidates for every low-skill job in 1997 to 1.8 candidates in 2000. Mr. Clinch recommended that the City capitalize on these improvements by increasing opportunities for worker education and training, and by expanding the region’s mass transit system so that workers will be able to access jobs in the suburbs.

Economic Development Strategies in Baltimore & Philadelphia
Panelists: Ioanna Morfessis, President & CEO, Greater Baltimore Alliance; Michele Whelley, President, Downtown Partnership; Jeremy Nowak, CEO, The Reinvestment Fund, Philadelphia.

Ioanna Morfessis described the mission and purpose of the Greater Baltimore Alliance (GBA). GBA is a regional economic development corporation that works to promote the Greater Baltimore area as a premiere business location.

Ms. Morfessis provided a broad context for GBA’s economic development strategies. Local, national, and international economies are in a phase of weakness and slow development, she said. Even though the U.S. economy is technically no longer in recession, American firms report only nominal growth. Because other countries have aggressive, well-funded economic development initiatives designed to attract U.S. businesses overseas, regional competition within the United States has become increasingly fierce. Baltimore’s regional economy has fared better than others due to its success in retaining information technology firms and companies with defense and homeland security contracts.

In addition to recruiting new firms to the Baltimore region, Ms. Morfessis stressed the importance of retaining companies that are already located here. One of the keys to this retention, she said, is a qualified workforce. Due to the tight economy, businesses are increasingly unwilling to work with harder-to-serve populations. At the same time, she predicted, businesses will be called upon to demonstrate an increased commitment to the communities where they are based.

Calling people the Baltimore area’s “most valuable asset”, Ms. Morfessis said that institutions concerned with the region’s health must develop ways to offer economic opportunities and help young people realize their aspirations. GBA has encouraged the local philanthropic community to focus on methods of keeping young people from leaving. Young Baltimore residents, she said, are a key to success. She mentioned that in Philadelphia, new market growth in real estate is driven not by homeowners, but by high-end renters.

In the question and answer period that followed, Ms. Morfessis spoke about the disconnection between the business sector and public economic development strategies, saying that no political will currently exists at the city or state levels to make the region competitive. Regarding factors that attract companies to an area, she said that some business leaders make their decisions based on a jurisdiction’s tax structure.

Michele Whelley described downtown Baltimore as encompassing the area from Mount Royal Avenue to the Inner Harbor, and from Martin Luther King Boulevard to President Street and Fells Point. Downtown Partnership (DP) manages and administers the Downtown Management District, a 106-block business improvement district defined by city law. DP employs approximately 70 men and women who perform public safety and maintenance duties in this area.

DP develops partnerships with local government and the private sector to identify needs and develop strategies designed to strengthen the area’s economic vitality. Recently, DP worked with city government and local businesses to establish the Baltimore Parking Authority in response to companies’ concerns about the lack of available parking space downtown. Another DP-led revitalization effort involves the conversion of vacant class C commercial buildings into residential space. One of DP’s newest initiatives is the creation of DASH, a shuttle service that provides transportation between parking lots and points throughout the downtown area. Ms. Whelley said that DASH was created as an interim solution to the parking problem while development of new parking space is underway.

Currently, DP is examining the issue of homelessness in the downtown area. Ms. Whelley said that one idea under consideration is the combination of outreach and services for homeless individuals with civility regulations that would reduce panhandling. She cited Philadelphia’s Comprehensive Sidewalk Law, which has been effective in reducing the visibility of the homeless population in Center City Philadelphia.

Ms. Whelley echoed Ms. Morfessis’ call for a more talented workforce. Baltimore has the potential to be a leader in creating jobs in the information technology and bioscience fields, she said. But in order to accomplish this Baltimore must be successful in retaining and attracting businesses and in providing a skilled workforce.

In the question and answer period that followed, Ms. Whelley emphasized that quality of life is an important factor in a business’ decision to remain in or relocate to an area. We must have a cleaner downtown, she said, and we must acknowledge that there are some things we cannot change. Regarding transportation connections between city residents and suburban jobs, she said that a task force appointed by Governor Glendenning is considering the adoption of a mass transit system based on that of Washington, D.C. However, such a system would take approximately 40 years to fully implement.

Jeremy Nowak said that The Reinvestment Fund (TRF) works in Philadelphia “at the intersection between economic growth and social capital betterment.” According to its mission statement, TRF is “a development finance corporation with a wealth-building agenda for low- and moderate-income people and places through the strategic use of capital, information and market systems/innovation.” TRF provides financial support for affordable housing, community service organizations, small businesses, workforce development programs and energy conservation projects.

TRF uses the following strategies in its work:

Using place-based strategies to target investment to places that need it most;
Restoring the connection between investment in growth and investment in people (i.e. by connecting inner cities with regional growth clusters); and
Focusing on social equity issues by developing the most appropriate methods for states to be redistribution agents.
Among the challenges to the work of TRN, Mr. Nowak cited the following:

• Accelerating levels of concentrated poverty in urban areas;
• The movement of economic growth and opportunity toward the suburbs;
• The lack of effective transportation strategies; and
• The fact that the locations of state and local governments frequently do not correspond to the locations of industry sectors and labor markets.

In addition, Mr. Nowak said that urban development and revitalization agendas must be long-term, but many cities have lost the capacity to engage in this type of planning. TRN is pro-growth, he said. Individuals engaged in social service work tend to be in favor of redistribution, but since growth is a necessary condition for this redistribution, cities must be competitive.

Mr. Nowak remarked that low-income residents must be involved in regional growth strategies. He cited several methods of facilitating this involvement through investment in the following areas:

• Affordable housing, both in cities and in job-rich suburban areas;
• Promotion of mixed income and mixed population neighborhoods;
• Availability of inner-city childcare resources;
• “Smart growth” and sensible land use policies; and
• Workforce development.

Regarding the last item, Mr. Nowak said that investments can be coupled with workforce services as a method of discovering and closing the gaps in the workforce development system.

Mr. Nowak stressed the importance of institutions that can serve as intermediaries to stimulate reinvestment and facilitate partnerships between local governments and the private sector. Effective intermediaries, he said, possess some combination of the following characteristics: regional scope; availability of funding; useful products, such as information or marketing capability; the capacity to speak for the region.

Immigrants and Refugees: A Workforce Perspective

March 2002

Panelists: Martin Ford, Ph.D., Assistant Director, Maryland Office for New Americans; Gustavo Torres, Executive Director, CASA of Maryland; Samedy Sok, Director, Tressler Refugee and Immigration Services.

Martin Ford described several widely held myths concerning immigration and immigrants: that immigration in the United States is “out of control”; that immigrants take jobs from native-born workers; and that a disproportionate number of immigrants live on public assistance.

Dr. Ford cited data from the 2000 U.S. Census, which show that approximately 31 million foreign-born individuals reside in the United States. While a record in raw numbers of immigrants, this figure represents only about 10 percent of the U.S. population. A similar ratio exists in Maryland, where approximately half a million immigrants comprise roughly ten percent of Marylanders. Between 1880 and 1924, Baltimore was America’s third largest port of entry, with nearly 1.5 million immigrants arriving at Locust Point. Since then, the numbers of immigrants arriving in Baltimore have declined sharply. Today, Baltimore City trails Montgomery, Prince George’s, and Baltimore Counties in new immigrant residents. Dr. Ford said that this shift is part of a larger national trend of immigrants gravitating toward rural and suburban areas.

Regarding the issue of job displacement, Dr. Ford remarked that many immigrants find work in industries with unfavorable working conditions and low wages, in jobs that many native-born Americans find undesirable. He said that the steady influx of immigrant labor into such sectors as hospitality and agriculture acts as a disincentive to employers to improve working conditions or raise wages. Some employers, he said, fear that if they improve working conditions, jobs in their industries will move overseas. He added that immigrants in fact create jobs by working in these sectors, as demonstrated by the fact that the ten U.S. cities with the largest immigrant populations are also the cities with the lowest unemployment rates.

Dr. Ford said that many Americans believe that a high percentage of immigrants rely on public assistance. However, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, only 22 percent of newly arrived immigrant families receive public benefits. The majority of immigrants are low-wage workers who fall into the category of “working poor”, meaning that their incomes fall substantially below the federal poverty line. Compared to non-immigrant families, the numbers of immigrants who are eligible to receive public benefits are far greater than the numbers who apply.

The immigrant economy is an “hourglass economy”, he said. Twenty-five percent of American doctors are foreign-born, as are 25 percent of Silicon Valley information technology professionals. At the same time, immigrants comprise a large proportion of the low-skill and unskilled working population. By depressing wages in industries that employ low-skill workers, data show that immigrant labor enhances the financial well-being of employers and higher-skilled professionals, and acts as a “safety valve” against inflation.

Baltimore should do more to attract immigrants, said Dr. Ford. He mentioned Boston, Miami, and New York as examples of cities whose economies improved markedly as a result of immigration. The key to attracting immigrants, he said, is improved educational and employment opportunities for foreign-born workers and their families.

Gustavo Torres described the work of CASA of Maryland. Based in Rockville, CASA works to improve the economic and social welfare of the state’s Latino communities through programs in the areas of employment, education, housing, health, and legal services. CASA was founded in 1985 to respond to the human service needs of Central Americans arriving to the area after fleeing wars and civil strife in their countries of origin. In the 1990s, CASA began community organizing and advocacy efforts on behalf of the Washington region’s day laborers and domestic workers, most of whom are Latinos. A resource center was established in 1992 to provide legal assistance to day laborers who had not received wages promised them by employers. In addition to legal services, the center offers classes in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), intake and assessment of eligibility for services, and information about immigration procedures.

Among the public policy issues on CASA’s advocacy agenda is support for a living wage ordinance in Montgomery County, which was enacted. In collaboration with the AFL-CIO, CASA is currently working to establish a national Day Laborer’s Union. With support from the Open Society Institute, CASA recently opened a branch in Baltimore to provide legal advocacy for day laborers in the Baltimore region.

Samedy Sok is director of Tressler Refugee and Immigration Services of Maryland, an affiliate of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. Located in southeast Baltimore, Tressler provides comprehensive resettlement services, including employment, to between 15 and 25 refugees each month.

Mr. Sok spoke of his personal experience as a refugee from Cambodia. He came to the United States in 1982 after spending three years in a Thai refugee camp. He described the suffering inflicted upon government officials, intellectuals, and members of his own family during Cambodia’s civil war, which ended in 1979. Fleeing persecution by the Khmer Rouge, he sought refuge in Thailand before applying for asylum in the United States.

Dropouts & Disconnected Youth: Policies & Programs

January 2002

Panelists: Marion Pines, director of the Sar Levitan Center at Johns Hopkins University; Jaquelene Massey, program manager of the Baltimore City Career Academy; Gary Unfried, principal of Harbor City High School.

Each year, approximately one in 10 Baltimore City high school students withdraws from school before graduation or before completing a Maryland-approved educational program. Lacking the skills and education needed for jobs that pay a decent wage, these young people often are unable to become economically self-sufficient.

Compared to high school graduates and adults with post-secondary education, dropouts and disconnected youth face a higher probability of becoming substance abusers or single parents, and are more likely to fall under the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system as inmates or ex-offenders. The phrase “disconnected youth” refers to young people who are both out of school and out of work.

Marion Pines provided an overview of issues facing dropouts and disconnected youth in the Baltimore region. Referring to an August 2001 study prepared by the Sar Levitan Center and Northeastern University’s Center for Labor Market Studies, Ms. Pines said in 1999 – 2000, approximately 13% of Maryland youth between the ages of 16 and 24 were both out of school and out of work. The largest concentration of such youth was in the Baltimore metropolitan area, with nearly 36,000 young people falling into this category. The percentage of disconnected African-American and Latino youth was much higher than that of disconnected white youth during the same period.

These figures are significant because disconnected youth are much more likely to become involved in anti-social behaviors than their peers who are either in school or working. In 1998, for example, 75% of individuals processed by the Maryland Division of Correction reported themselves as high school dropouts. Additionally, the U.S. Census predicts that Maryland, and the Baltimore region in particular, will see a substantial growth in the populations of African-American and Latino youth over the next decade. Ms. Pines said that policymakers, employers, schools, and workforce and youth development programs should develop strategies to minimize the number and the regional economic impact of disconnected youth.

Jaquelene Massey described the work of the Baltimore City Career Academy (BCCA). An alternative education center directly administered by the Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Employment Development and the Baltimore City Workforce Investment Board, BCCA provides high school dropouts ages 16-21 with Graduate Equivalency Degree (GED) preparation and employment readiness training. BCCA is a nationally recognized member of the Promising and Effective Practices Network (PEPNET) and is the only non-residential Job Corps site in Maryland.

Each year, BCCA serves between 125 and 175 dropouts from Baltimore City neighborhoods. Approximately 80 percent of students complete their GED training, obtain vocational internships, or make the transition to two- or four-year academic institutions. For the period July 1999 – April 2000, 50 percent of students who were enrolled at BCCA received a GED; 26 percent entered college; and 50 percent obtained paid employment. In addition to its academic programs, the school offers vocational training designed to prepare students for careers in the fields of business technology, health services, landscaping, human services, and information technology.

Gary Unfried described the work of Harbor City High School (HCHS). The only alternative public high school in the U.S. with an honors program, HCHS has graduated more than 4,200 students since it opened in 1976. Located in west Baltimore City, the school serves students from throughout the region, and is funded by the Baltimore City Public School System, Empower Baltimore Management Corporation, and the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development. HCHS follows a trimester schedule, providing opportunities for students to enroll beginning in September, December, and March of each year.

The school’s programs, including its GED Achievement program and its Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program, are designed to build students’ self-esteem and self-motivation while helping them fulfill their high school graduation requirements. HCHS seeks to enhance the employability of its students by offering them coursework in business communications, technical education, and a variety of computer applications. Students are also involved in certain administrative decision-making activities, such as the selection of volunteer instructors.

He explained that most refugees have undergone experiences similar to his. Displaced from their home countries as a result of war, persecution, and political turmoil, political refugees seek safety in other lands. If they are unable to return home due to continued upheaval, they must seek entry to a country that will grant them asylum and permit them to stay. Only a small percentage of displaced persons are admitted to the U.S. refugee program, which grants legal permanent resident status to approximately 70,000 asylum seekers per year. When they arrive in this country, refugees are urged to find permanent employment and strive toward family self-sufficiency in a very short amount of time. Resettlement organizations such as Tressler provide limited core services such as transitional housing and cash assistance, but have limited time and resources to assist their refugee clients. Mr. Sok called for greater public awareness of refugee issues in Baltimore and the U.S. He urged community members to reach out to the area’s growing refugee population.

Federal & State Welfare Reform Laws: Preparing for Reauthorization

Panelists: Congressman Benjamin L. Cardin, U.S. House of Representatives; Hon. Samuel Rosenberg, MD House of Delegates; Deepak Bhargava, Director, National Campaign for Jobs & Income Support.

In 1996, President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), known popularly as welfare reform. Now, six years later, debate on the reauthorization of welfare reform legislation is expected to begin immediately after Congress convenes in January 2002. Funding to continue Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) must be enacted no later than October 1, 2002. Throughout the United States, discussion is occurring on how to reshape and improve this legislation.

Congressman Cardin provided an overview of the welfare reform debate in the U.S. Congress. Since 1996 child poverty has decreased nationwide and there are fewer people receiving cash assistance. These figures, however, are due to a multiplicity of factors, most notably the economic boom of the late 1990s. The impact of the current economic recession on states’ welfare rolls remains to be seen. Other indicators suggest that welfare reform was not as successful as it was intended to be. For example, while PRWORA reduced welfare caseloads, the number of people who have left welfare since 1996 remains higher than the number of former welfare recipients who are employed. Even among the employed, poverty has not been substantially reduced. Additionally, programs such as the Earned Income Credit, which is designed to assist low-income families, are in jeopardy because of current economic and political circumstances.

Congressman Cardin offered three major themes that he and other House democrats support concerning TANF reauthorization:

Increase resources to states
Due to a number of factors, including the passage in 2001 of a $2 trillion tax cut, funding has been reduced for both the Safe & Stable Families Act and the $2 billion TANF contingency fund for states experiencing economic downturns. Spending levels for tax cut initiatives and the military, however, remain unchanged. In order for welfare reform to be successful, the federal government must continue and augment funding to states.

Make poverty reduction a key goal
TANF must primarily be a tool to help individuals out of poverty. Congressman Cardin proposes dedicating more funding for childcare, restoring benefits to legal immigrants, promoting two – parent families through elimination of the “illegitimacy fund,” and developing improved methods of tracking the progress of welfare leavers as they transition into the workforce. Additionally, states should make TANF funds and services accessible to non-working poor populations and implement more effective conciliation procedures so that individuals’ due process is ensured.

Maintain emphasis on work and financial self-sufficiency
Welfare policies should focus on helping individuals find and retain jobs, rather than simply reducing the welfare rolls. Fair treatment of low-wage workers should be a priority of states. Together with Congressman Charles Rangel, Congressman Cardin introduced legislation that would:

· Make part-time employees eligible for unemployment compensation
· Require states to use the most recent wage data available to calculate unemployment compensation, and
· Increase to 39 weeks the amount of time claimants can receive unemployment compensation.

Delegate Rosenberg encouraged attendees to make the case to the Maryland General Assembly for programs they consider important, even if they have a fiscal impact during this period of budgetary constraint. Otherwise, he said, they will not receive the attention they merit. While the General Assembly is awaiting action by Congress regarding reauthorization, it hopes to influence the debate in a constructive manner. Delegate Rosenberg said the focus of the General Assembly will remain consistent with objectives and policies of the past five years, but that the legislature will place emphasis on poverty reduction and skills training.

In January 2002, Delegate Rosenberg and other legislators will introduce the Welfare Innovation Act of 2002. This legislation proposes that TANF funds in the state’s dedicated purpose account can only be used to support existing federal TANF laws and poverty reduction strategies.

Mr. Bhargava said a third of the public assistance recipients who have left welfare since 1996 have not found employment. Among those who have entered the workforce, there is a high turnover rate. Most of the jobs these individuals find are low-wage and offer few benefits. Concerning public programs designed to help low-income families, only 40% of people without jobs are able to access unemployment insurance and only 60% of eligible families receive Food Stamps.

According to Mr. Bhargava, public opinion toward TANF and other welfare policies has improved in the five years since the passage of PRWORA. He encouraged concerned citizens to energize their representatives at the federal and state levels by emphasizing poverty reduction strategies. These include:

• Lifting caps on funding for education and training;
• Stopping the clock for families who are in compliance with welfare-to-work requirements;
• Restoring public benefits to immigrants, who comprise approximately 20% of low-wage workers nationwide;
• Recognizing the strain on low-income families caused by low-wage jobs and stringent regulations for the receipt of public assistance;
• Ensuring fair treatment by states of public assistance recipients and a fair process, both at entry into the system and at termination of benefits, and
• Provide publicly subsidized employment opportunities, especially, in areas of high unemployment.