Featured Project

The University of Texas at Austin

Master Community Workforce Plan Evaluation

May 14, 2018 Leave a Comment

Principal Investigator:	Greg Cumpton, PhD
Sponsor:	Workforce Solutions Capital Area
Project Duration:	January 2018 – December 2019
Description:	The Ray Marshall Center (RMC) has partnered with Workforce Solutions Capital Area (WFSCA) to evaluate the progress of the Austin Metro Area Master Community Workforce Plan. The objective of the Master Plan is to effectively engage employers, community-based organizations, and educational institutions to more efficiently match employers’ skill needs and successfully prepare economically disadvantaged residents for family-sustaining careers. The RMC will investigate the educational and labor market outcomes of workforce development program participants, as well as variations in such results associated with demographic, personal, educational, and programmatic service regimes of the participants. RMC staff will work with WFSCA staff and area training providers to identify paths to the successful implementation of the Master Plan.
Reports Available:	Austin Metro Area Master Community Workforce Plan Baseline Evaluation Report Authors: Greg Cumpton, Cynthia Juniper, and Ashweeta Patnaik Date: October 2018 Publication Type: Report, 86pp. Family Work Support Benefits: An assessment of food and child care supports in the Austin, Texas metro area (MCWP Supplement: Poverty) Authors: Cynthia Juniper Date: January 2019 Publication Type: Supplement, 13pp.

An Evaluation of Austin Community College’s Title III SIP Proposal

October 29, 2015 Leave a Comment

Principal Investigator:	Greg Cumpton, PhD
Sponsor:	Austin Community College
Project Duration:	October 2015 to August 2020
Description:	ACC proposes to establish an Office of Student Money Management (ACC-OSMM) – the office’s mission would be to give a stronger foundation to students’ academic and career goals and successes by helping them take charge of their financial futures.Two of the inaugural activities of ACC-OSMM will be: to establish a system of sending text message reminders regarding annual Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) renewal to first-year college students who are already receiving financial aid, and to enhance the main tool (Degree Map Online) that ACC counselors use to advise students to include ‘real time’ personalized financial aid information. This will improve integration of financial aid and loan awareness into student conversations with academic advisors and counselors. ACC hopes to demonstrate that the activities of ACC-OSMM would be linked to improvements in measures of student success such as: graduation rate, time to completion, retention/persistence, and cohort loan default rate (CDR). ACC will partner with the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) to perform an evaluation, both formative and summative, on the effectiveness of these efforts on the student outcome measures of interest. Both types of evaluations provide actionable information about the success of the intervention while each successive cohort of recipients is in the process of receiving services, allowing for relatively rapid reflection and program modification as needed by ACC staff. Both evaluations are intended to measure the implementation, aggregate outcomes, and the impact of these efforts on Full Time First Time in College (FTFIC) loan or Pell grant receiving students’ graduation rates, 3-year Cohort Default Rates (CDR), retention rates, and fall to fall persistence for those who are Pell eligible. A host of intermediate steps related to these outcomes will also be measured.
Reports Available:	Evaluation of Austin Community College’s Strengthening Institutions Program Grant: Annual Outcomes and Impact Report Authors: Ashweeta Patnaik and Greg Cumpton Date: August 2019 Publication Type: Report, 25pp. Evaluation of Austin Community College’s Strengthening Institutions Program Grant: Implementation Evaluation Findings Through July 2018 Authors: Cynthia Juniper and Greg Cumpton Date: November 2018 Publication Type: Report, 41pp. Evaluation of Austin Community College’s Strengthening Institutions Program Grant: Annual Outcomes and Impact Report Authors: Ashweeta Patnaik and Greg Cumpton Date: August 2018 Publication Type: Report, 26pp. Austin Community College Student Money Management – Implementation Evaluation: Program Description and Timeline Authors: Cynthia Juniper, Greg Cumpton, and Ashweeta Patnaik Date: June 2017 Publication Type: Report, 18pp. Evaluation of ACC-SIP Initiatives: Baseline Assessment Date: June 2017 Publication Type: Report, 18pp.

Behavioral Economics and Workforce Development

February 11, 2015 Leave a Comment

Principal Investigator:	Heath J. Prince, PhD
Sponsor(s):	The Hitachi Foundation
Project Duration:	August 2014 – August 2016
Description:	The Ray Marshall Center, with support and guidance from the Hitachi Foundation, will act on the following activities. Conduct a review of the existing literature as it relates to behavioral sciences and improvements in the workplace, including accessing education and training services. Organize and manage a convening of participants from the workforce development, business, and academic communities to: explore options for a research design that would determine whether and to what extent digital media/social technology can facilitate deeper engagement on the part of workers and employers in education and training; and work with the Hitachi Foundation to design an implementation plan for a second phase of the work, building on the findings and recommendations from the convening.
Reports Available:	Behavioral Economics and Workforce Development: A Review of the Literature from Labor Economics and the Broader Field Authors: Cynthia J. Juniper and Heath Prince Date: February 2016 Publication Type: Report, 16pp

Two-Generation Strategy Initiative

April 11, 2011 Leave a Comment

Principal Investigator:	Christopher T. King, PhD
Sponsor:	Foundation for Child Development
Project Duration:	April 2011 – June 2016
Description:	In partnership with the Foundation for Child Development, the Ray Marshall Center is implementing a Dual-Generation Strategy Initiative. This project seeks to create and promote the field of “dual-generation” strategies, those in which children simultaneously participate in high-quality early and primary education (PreK-3rd) while their parents participate in leading-edge workforce development and education programs ultimately leading to long-term learning and economic success for low-skilled, low-income families in the United States. The goals of the project are to improve the understanding of dual-generation strategies among policymakers, researchers, and funders, as well as foster the implementation of dual-generation strategies at the federal and state levels. The project potentially has four (4) phases, the first two of which FCD is funding through the Center: Phase I: Getting Ready &Convening (April – February 2012) will provide necessary groundwork for the initiative, develop the conceptual framework for dual-generation strategies, and convene policymakers, researchers, and funders to set the stage for moving forward. Phase II: Implementation Planning (February 2012 – May 2013) will engage in detailed planning for a policy initiative and a pilot demonstration of dual-generation program strategies. Phase III: Pilot Implementation (April 2013 – August 2015) will provide policy support to states/sites promoting dual-generation policies and technical assistance to support pilot project implementation for a multi-site demonstration of dual generation strategies overall period of more than three years. Phase IV: Research Agenda & Evaluation (April 2011 – August 2015), occurring simultaneously with the other three phases, will have a research team craft a multi-year dual-generation research agenda and develop an initial evaluation design for the planned multi-site pilot demonstration. The Foundation for Child Development (FCD) is a national private philanthropy in New York City dedicated to promoting a new beginning for American education from PreKindergarten through Third Grade (PreK-3rd). PreK-3rd Grade Education is a seamless learning continuum, connecting high-quality PreK programs with high-quality elementary schools, to create a well-aligned primary education for all our nation’s children. The Foundation promotes the well-being of children, and believes that families, schools, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and governments at all levels share complementary responsibilities in the critical task of raising new generations.
Reports Available:	Promoting Two-Generation Strategies: A Getting-Started Guide for State and Local Policy Makers (Revised and Updated) Author: Christopher T. King, Cynthia J. Juniper, Rheagan Coffey, and Tara C. Smith Date: August 2016 Publication Type: Report, 55pp Austin Two-Generation Pilot Project Evaluation – UWGA Author: C.J. Juniper and Tanlyn Roelofs Date: August 2015 Publication Type: Report, 69pp (Prepared for the United Way of Greater Austin) Promoting Two-Generation Strategies: A Getting-Started Guide for State and Local Policy Makers Author: Christopher King, Rheagan Coffey, Tara Smith Date: November 2013 Publication Type: Report, 28pp Dual-Generation Strategy Initiative Research Brief Author: Tara Smith Date: February 2012 Publication Type: Research Brief, 4pp. Investing in Children and Parents: Fostering Dual-Generation Strategies in the United States Author: Christopher T. King, Tara Smith, Robert C. Glover Date: November 2011 Publication Type: Report, 34pp. (Prepared for the 2011 APPAM Fall Research Conference in Washington, D.C.)

Creating a Sectoral Workforce Development Strategy for Tulsa

July 1, 2008 Leave a Comment

Principal Investigator:	Cynthia Juniper, MA
Sponsor:	George Kaiser Family Foundation, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families
Research Partners:	Community Action Program of Tulsa County, Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child and Graduate School of Education, Tulsa Educare, University of Oklahoma-Tulsa’s School of Community Medicine, Northwestern University’s Institute of Policy Research, Columbia University
Project Duration:	July 2008 – September 2020
Description:	In collaboration with a multi-disciplinary team of partners, the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) is developing and implementing a sectoral workforce development strategy for low-skilled, low-income parents of children served by early childhood programs in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There is emerging evidence that children whose parents hold stable jobs with progressively rising incomes exhibit better academic and behavioral outcomes. RMC and its partners have undertaken a dual-generation approach to poverty reduction that strengthens the investment in early childhood development by equipping Head Start parents with workforce training and gainful employment opportunities. This approach employs a more holistic model than traditional workforce development programs, as it also includes employee counseling and other support services to help parents complete training and adult basic education, retain their jobs, advance in their careers, and become economically self-sufficient. The goal is to develop a sustainable sectoral strategy that can be replicated beyond Tulsa to other communities across the nation. In the first phase of the project (2008-2009), RMC designed a sectoral job development strategy focused on industries featuring jobs that pay well and provide much-needed employee benefits (e.g., health insurance, annual and sick leave) as well as career advancement opportunities. In April 2009, Community Action Program of Tulsa County launched the pilot, CareerAdvance®, at two Head Start sites in Tulsa involving 15 parents. The components of the CareerAdvance® are 1) GED and college readiness instruction, as needed; 2) skills training in the healthcare sector progressing from Certified Nursing Aide to Licensed Practical Nurse to Registered Nurse; 3) weekly peer support meetings addressing a flexible set of topics (e.g., life skills, work readiness, family finances); 4) conditional cash incentives (up to $3,000 a year) for participants meeting specified benchmarks to reinforce continued participation and help offset foregone earnings; and 5) workforce intermediation between healthcare employers and training institutions provided through Workforce Tulsa. The report on the project’s first year of operation is available at the link below. In partnership with Harvard University and the University of Oklahoma – Tulsa School of Medicine, a second pilot site was opened in July 2009 at a Tulsa Educare Center. The second pilot, EduCareers, includes all components described above as well as enhanced mental health services for participating households, curriculum enhancements for the children, parent engagement training, and a medical home. The CareerAdvance® project has now been expanded to 2015 with support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families. RMC and partners at Northwestern and Columbia University have been engaged to provide ongoing on data collection, implementation, and outcomes analysis of project participants.
Reports Available:	CareerAdvance® Implementation Study Findings through FY2018 Authors: Cynthia Juniper, Christopher T. King, and Amy Anderson (Northwestern University) Date: January 2019 Publication Type: Report, 63pp. CareerAdvance® Implementation Study Findings through FY2017 Authors: Cynthia Juniper, Christopher T. King, and Amy Anderson (Northwestern University) Date: January 2018 Publication Type: Report, 54pp. CareerAdvance® HPOG II Transition and Expansion Authors: Christopher King, Cynthia Juniper, and Amy Anderson (Northwestern University) Date: January 2017 Publication Type: Report, 31pp. CareerAdvance® Implementation Study Findings through July 2015 Authors: Kristin Christensen, Cynthia Juniper, and Christopher King Date: October 2015 Publication Type: Report, 29pp. Sustaining Two-Generation Strategies: A Case Study of Tulsa’s CareerAdvance® Program Authors: Amanda Briggs, Christopher T. King, and Tara Smith Date: May 2015 Publication Type: Report, 51pp. CareerAdvance® Implementation Study Findings Through July 2014 Authors: Tara Smith, Kristen Christensen, and Christopher T. King Date: October 2014 Publication Type: Report, 44pp. CareerAdvance® Implementation Study Findings Through July 2013 Authors: Tara Smith, Christopher T. King, Kristen Christensen, and Xueshu Chen Date: October 2013 Publication Type: Report, 48 pp. The Evolution of the CareerAdvance® Program in Tulsa, Oklahoma Authors: Tara Smith, Rachel V. Douglas, and Robert W. Glover Date: October 2012 Publication Type: Report, 59pp. Expanding the CareerAdvance® Program in Tulsa, Oklahoma Authors: Robert W. Glover, Christopher T. King, and Tara Smith Date: January 2012 Publication Type: Report, 58pp. Challenges, Promising Programs, and Effective Practices in Adult and Developmental Education Authors: Rheagan D. Coffey and Tara Smith Date: February 2011 Publication Type: Report, 56pp. CareerAdvance® Implementation Report Authors: Robert W. Glover, Tara Smith, Christopher T. King, and Rheagan Coffey Date: August 2010 Publication Type: Report, 35 pp. CareerAdvance® Pilot Project University of Texas Authors: Christopher T. King, Robert W. Glover, Tara Smith, Rheagan Coffey, and Brian Levy Harvard University Authors: Hiro Yoshikawa and William Beardslee Community Action Program of Tulsa County: Micah Kordsmeier Date: August 2009 Publication Type: Report, 99 pp.