Maryland Workforce Indicators Project
Connecting Low-Income Families to Good Jobs: A Policy Road Map for Maryland
In 2003 JOTF undertook the Maryland Workforce Indicators Project. Part of a national initiative designed and sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Ford Foundation, this project analyzes the effectiveness of state programs designed to help low-income, working families.
The project culminated with the release in January 2004 of a report, Connecting Low-Income Families to Good Jobs: A Policy Road Map for Maryland. The report received financial report from Open Society Institute-Baltimore and the France Merrick Foundation.
The report finds that although Maryland is one of the most affluent states in the nation, it is also home to more than 100,000 working families who are struggling to make ends meet in jobs that provide low wages, poor benefits and little hope for advancement. Maryland’s efforts to assist these low-wage workers achieve financial security are inadequate and in need of reform.
The 40-page report proposes more than a dozen policy changes in higher education, economic development, job training and other areas.
Among its recommendations, Connecting Low-Income Families to Good Jobs calls for:
• Allocating a larger share of existing higher education financial aid to need-based programs.
• Expanding the state’s adult education offerings to help low-wage workers achieve basic competency.
• Ensuring that Maryland’s economic development spending is targeted to help create family-supporting jobs.
• Restoring most of the $25 million cut in 2002 from the state’s child-care subsidies, which provide vital help to low-income working families.
State Workforce Indicators
Connecting Low-Income Families to Good Jobs is based on an examination of certain key indicators of workforce demographics, state policies, and program outcomes. To view the data that support each chapter of the report, click the links below.
Chapter 1: “Falling Behind in Maryland”
– Demographic Indicators
Chapter 2: “Building the Foundation”
– Demographic Indicators
– Outcome Indicators
– Policy Indicators
Chapter 3: “Creating Good Jobs”
– Demographic Indicators
– Outcome Indicators
– Policy Indicators
Chapter 4: “Fostering Financial Security”
– Demographic Indicators
– Outcome Indicators
– Policy Indicators
