Public data and accountability are key to an inclusive economic recovery. We need data on how different workers and businesses are faring in the recovery, so we can hold policymakers accountable to equitable outcomes for those most impacted. Disparities and inequities in skills training programs can only be eliminated if there is high-quality…

Achieving prosperity for all Americans could not be more urgent. Although the United States remains the most prosperous nation on earth, millions of citizens are losing faith in the American dream of upward mobility, and in American-style capitalism itself. This crisis of confidence has widened the divide afflicting American politics and cries out…

Members of Congress and others have questioned whether expanding the scope of the Medicare graduate medical education (GME) program to include nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) could help mitigate the effects of a physician shortage in the United States. A Senate Committee on Appropriations report asked the US Government…

In the United States, adult and workforce education (AE) seems to be located, simultaneously, both everywhere and nowhere in particular. Ongoing shifts in national economic demands and changes in requirements for training and education have brought learning in the adult years into the federal public policy arena. Sometimes referred to as lifelong…

Enacted in 2014, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) was designed to increase collaboration among workforce systems at the federal, state, and local levels to integrate the array of programs and services available to job seekers and businesses through American Job Centers (AJCs). WIOA requires the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to…

Scientific thinking and understanding are essential for all people navigating the world, not just for scientists and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals. Knowledge of science and the practice of scientific thinking are essential components of a fully functioning democracy. Science is also crucial for the…

The publication is based on the "Adult Readiness Roundtable" Project co-sponsored by CAAL and the National Center on Education and the Economy on April 6-7, 2009. It is not a transcript of the Roundtable discussion; instead it reports on a two-day discussion meeting among a group of exemplary adult-education-for-work programs from around the…

Two periods in British higher education are compared for the approaches taken to widening educational access. It is concluded that government policy in the postwar period emphasized expansion for the purposes of labor force development, whereas more recent expansion policy reflects a government commitment to greater accountability and social…

In Fiscal Year 1997, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has an estimated budget of $34.4 billion and is authorized 16,614 full-time-equivalent staff-years. DOL's many programs fall into two major categories: enhancing workers' skills through job training and ensuring worker protection. The DOL's work force development mission is being challenged…

Increased international competition, rapid technological innovation, and profound demographic changes have all created an urgent need for a skilled and capable work force. The work force development system that has been assembled over the years in the United States is extensive; however, the goals and services provided by a wide range of public…

Work requirements in welfare reform proposed by the George W. Bush administration would impose much tougher work requirements on welfare recipients. Seventy percent of all adults would be required to work 40 hours per week, versus the 50 percent who are required to work 30 hours per week currently. In addition, states would be given little leeway…

The purpose of "Focus" is to provide coverage of poverty-related research, events, and issues, and to acquaint a large audience with the work of the Institute for Research on Poverty by means of short essays on selected pieces of research. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Changing poverty and changing antipoverty policies…

The 1998 Workforce Investment Act (WIA) consolidates more than 70 programs and gives states the flexibility to partner with local governments to develop streamlined services providing universal access. Because adult education and postsecondary vocational education are required partners in the one-stop systems being established through Title I of…

This book contains 17 social policy essays on various topics related to labor and full employment policies in the United States. The following papers are included: "Introduction" (Stephen Mangum); "Secular Rabbi: The Life and Times of Sar A. Levitan" (Garth Mangum); "Young Workers, Young Families, and Child Poverty"…

State governors have an immense stake in building a workforce training and education system capable of producing the skilled workers needed to secure the country's economic future. In doing so, states must face the following challenges: (1) many state workforce systems do not reflect market needs; (2) public education is falling short in preparing…