The purpose of this report is to provide readers with a comparative analysis of the Massachusetts workforce "system" structures and performance reporting processes compared to other states. Though the federal workforce development system is often examined in its entirety and individual state systems are at times examined independently,…

With respect to the educational attainment of students and skill levels of the labor force, America cannot compete well on an international stage. Comparative international examinations reveal that American students know less than their counterparts in other advanced industrial countries. To help improve students' skill and educational levels, the…

We review a plan that attracted the attention of public sector planners everywhere, Oregon's 1989 "Oregon Shines: An Economic Strategy for the Pacific Century". In particular, we focus on Oregon's aspirations for world-class workforce quality; a status that the state's planners argued would contribute to a host of other outcomes that…

In their 2004 State of the State speeches, the nation's governors cited many issues competing for their attention and their states' resources, including health care, education, crime, and security (Nodine 2004). Among the most compelling challenges were those related to economic development and the ability of a state's workforce to meet the needs…

California's Employment Training Panel Program (ETP), the largest state-funded customized training program for incumbent workers in the nation, has had a positive impact on the economy of California, and its success has policy implications for other state programs. The impact of ETP on trainees includes the following: they are more attached to the…

This report is California's response to the four questions that the United States Department of Education (USDE), Division of Adult Education and Literacy, requires of all states and territories receiving federal funding through the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA), Title II of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The questions…

The latest round of proposed state and federal welfare reforms has major implications for state work force development systems. These systems will face new demands generated by the need to help welfare recipients find jobs before they reach the time limits on aid and the need for states to meet the new work participation rates for federal welfare…

An evaluation of the fifth cycle of operation of the Massachusetts Workplace Education Initiative had several purposes: (1) to identify the indicators of quality in workplace education; (2) to begin to design an evaluation system for each program; and (3) to assess the indicators of quality for workplace education programs against the national…

This paper makes recommendations for developing the next generation of state accountability systems for postsecondary vocational education (PVE). It focuses on the need to improve the core indicators for PVE; reduce the burden and improve the value of Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Amendments of 1998 (Perkins III)…

This report contains comparative information that has been systematically secured through the evaluation project on secondary vocational education in Tennessee. It presents data that were collected, recorded, and reported from three program review and evaluation instruments for administration, vocational-technical instructional programs, and…

A task force examined New York State's role in providing resources and information to employers desiring to upgrade the skills of their current workers. The following were the task force's 12 major findings: (1) upgrading the skills of New York's existing work force is vital to the state's economic future; (2) all workers need opportunities for…

The General Accounting Office assessed the extent to which states were coordinating their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) services with their one-stop centers. Data were gathered through the following activities: (1) an autumn 2001 survey of workforce development agency officials in all 50 states and a similar survey conducted in…

Before a vocational education research and development agenda for the 1980s can be formulated and implemented, a national policy on economic and human resource development should be in place. In its absence, such an agenda must be shared in light of several factors that reflect the current demographic situation and long-range trends, including a…

This paper contains a transcript of the testimony of Robert C. Gross, representing state employment services program and unemployment compensation agencies, before the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources and Education and the Workforce. According to the testimony, the publicly funded work force system has…

This document contains the reports on audits of the one-stop systems in California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Vermont. The overall audit conclusions were as follows: (1) the states have made substantial efforts toward forming new comprehensive workforce investment systems as mandated by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA); (2)…