"The State of Career Technical Education: Credentials of Value" report draws on a 2024 national scan of state practices, a 50-state survey, and interviews with state leaders to gather insights and strategies for improving the identification, validation, incentivization, and data collection related to credentials that support learners'…

The aim of this study was to review and analyze studies on pre-employment transition services (pre-ETS) conducted before and after the passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (WIOA) to capture decades of changes in these studies. A content analysis of literature was conducted on 95 studies on pre-ETS implemented in the…

States are increasingly adopting changes to K-12 funding systems in order to promote and encourage student engagement in secondary-level career and technical education (CTE). Two of the most prevalent reforms include: a) establishing tiered weights for CTE in school funding formulas based on the connection between a program of study and workforce…

For more than 70 years, the federal government has supported efforts to improve adult literacy and other basic skills. Many adults need help with basic skills like reading, writing, mathematics, and English proficiency to succeed in the American workforce. Congress has long provided resources to help individuals address these educational…

The Newark Opportunity Youth Network (NOYN) contracted with the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the youth workforce development system within the state. The study documents how the youth workforce system developed in New Jersey since the federal…

Many youth with disabilities experience persistently low rates of competitive integrated employment (CIE) and participation in higher education. In 2014, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) established a policy focus on CIE as the goal of vocational services for youth and individuals with disabilities. In addition, WIOA created…

Across the country, career pathways programs are a popular bipartisan tool for addressing state workforce shortages and ensuring students graduate high school with workforce-ready skills. Delaware Pathways is one such example, formally established by executive order in 2016 by then-Delaware Gov. Jack Markell. The program consists of state-approved…

Community colleges play a critical role in helping people connect to careers in the United States. After the Great Recession, community colleges emerged as the workforce and economic development institution that could fill the gaps left by traditional higher education for shorter, non-degree career education while also meeting the needs of local…

Vocational outcomes among transition-age youth receiving special education services are critically poor and have only incrementally improved since the implementation of the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act. Few studies highlight whether interviewing may be critical to obtaining vocational outcomes such as competitive employment or internships.…

Historical and legislative evolutions of education policy have repurposed federally funded adult education programs in the United States. The 2014 passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) has considerable repercussions for everyone involved in the field because it controls the funding, assessment, and structure of these…

State adult education systems, which receive significant funding from the U.S. government, are the primary source of many key integration services for adult immigrants--from English classes and literacy programs to civics courses and some workforce development activities. Although such programs have existed for decades, the passage of the…

Adult basic education students manage adult responsibilities and obligations and personal goals related to school. They commit their time and limited resources and thus are investors in their own learning. As investors, their voices matter. When one countywide adult basic education program implemented a systemic plan to ask students upon entry…

There is a growing urgency to equip transition-age students with intellectual and developmental disabilities for competitive, integrated employment. Prior research demonstrates the positive effects of job coaching, yet no known training exists for educators to learn how to provide appropriate employment-related supports to promote student…

Effective collaboration among schools and agencies is critical to the success of pre-employment transition services (pre-ETS). We examined the views of 596 middle and high school educators regarding pre-ETS and the employment prospects of their students with disabilities. Educators overwhelmingly affirmed that youth with disabilities needed better…

Despite legal mandates and evidence of predictors of success in transition, there continue to be poor outcomes for students with disabilities as compared to students without disabilities. This article describes the first steps of a quality improvement project, including a needs assessment and description of the current constraints of transition…