Workforce Data Quality Initiative Research Brief 2

Authors: Kristen Christensen, Tara Smith
Date: Winter 2013
Publisher: Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Humas Resources, The University of Texas at Austin
Publication Type: Brief

This publication is the second in a series of briefs from research conducted as part of the Texas Workforce Data Quality Initiative.  This brief examines postsecondary education outcomes for 2008 and 2009 high school graduates in Central Texas through December 2011.

Workforce Data Quality Initiative Research Brief 1

Authors: Kristen Christensen, Tara Smith
Date: Winter 2013
Publisher: Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Humas Resources, The University of Texas at Austin
Publication Type: Brief

This publication is the first in a series of briefs from research conducted as part of the Texas Workforce Data Quality Initiative.  This brief examines postsecondary education outcomes for 2008 and 2009 high school graduates in Central Texas through December 2011.

The Local Investments in Workforce Development Evaluation: Travis County-funded 2009/2010 Participants Plus, Longer-Term Outcomes for Capital IDEA

Authors: Tara Smith, Kristin Christensen, Daniel G. Schroeder, Christopher T. King
Date: December 2012
Publisher: Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Humas Resources, The University of Texas at Austin
Publication Type: Report. 34 pp.

The Ray Marshall Center has produced a report that analyzes the outcomes of local workforce development services funded by Travis County.  In 2010, the County invested $1.91 million through ten providers that provide training and wrap-around programs that help lower income and disadvantaged workers develop workforce skills for long term career development.   The Local Workforce Services Evaluation draws on several data points in order to answer questions such as; “are services being delivered as planned?” and, “what outcomes are achieved?” The Ray Marshall Center analyzed employment data on 4,150 participants, collected before, during, and after their participation in the program.  Using employment and salary as the two primary performance measures for this evaluation, the Ray Marshall Center’s analysis shows positive results across the board, despite the fact that the country experienced a severe recession during the time-period under analysis.

The Evolution of the CareerAdvance® Program in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Authors: Tara C. Smith, Rachel V. Douglas and Robert W. Glover

Date: October 2012

Local Investments in Workforce Development: 2012 Evaluation Update

Authors: Tara C. Smith, Christopher T. King, Daniel G. Schroeder
Date : January 2012
Publication Type : Report. 32pp.

This report is the fifth in a series from an evaluation of seven workforce development programs funded by Travis County, TX. This report examines participants' labor market outcomes and impacts of program participation for each service provider. The report summarizes the findings to date, beginning with the 2007 participants, and outlines the next steps for research.

Evaluation of Local Workforce Demonstration Projects – Travis County’s REM and GEM Projects

Authors: Tara C. Smith, Christopher T. King, Daniel G. Schroeder
Date : January 2012
Publication Type : Report. 14pp.

This report presents finding from two workforce demonstration projects: the Rapid Employment Model or REM project and the Gainful Employment Model or GEM project. This report builds on four prior evaluations for the REM project (2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011) and also introduces the GEM project and provides outcomes for 2009-2010 GEM participants.

How Effective Are Workforce Development Programs? Implications for U.S. Workforce Policies

Authors: Christopher T. King and Carolyn J. Heinrich
Date: November 2011
Publication Type: Research Paper. 27pp. (Prepared for the APPAM Fall Research Conference 2011.)

In this paper, the authors begin by first describing the programs that encompass workforce development and then examine the evidence and conventional wisdom on the effectiveness of workforce development programs, elaborating on the arguments outlined above that challenge the conventional wisdom and the approaches that have been applied in measuring the effectiveness of workforce development interventions. They conclude by summarizing the arguments and evidence in support of an alternative view that counters the conventional wisdom and finds that workforce development works.

The Use of Market Mechanisms
(Chapter in The Workforce Investment Act: Implementation Experiences and Evaluation Findings)

Authors: Christopher T. King, Burt S. Barnow
Date: 2011
Publisher: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
Publication Type: Chapter in The Workforce Investment Act: Implementation Experiences and Evaluation Findings, co-edited by Douglas J. Besharov and Phoebe H. Cottingham
Availability: Book available for purchase from the W.E. Upjohn Institute at this link.

The authors present key results concerning market and market-like mechanisms in the delivery of workforce services in the US. These mechanisms include labor market information (LMI), provider certification, individual training accounts (ITAs), and performance standards and incentives. The findings are based on WIA study conducted 2003-2005 that examined the experiences of eight states. The authors also provide a series of conclusions relevant to the use of market mechanisms, as well as recommendations for both the WIA reauthorization process and the European Social Fund.

Local Investments in Workforce Development: 2011 Evaluation Update

Authors:  Tara C. Smith, Christopher T. King, Daniel G. Schroeder
Date: April 2011
Publication Type: Evaluation Report
This is the fourth report in a series of evaluations of workforce development services funded by Travis County and the City of Austin. Seven local non-profits provide services ranging from adult basic education to short- and long-term occupational skills training. This report examines and new cohort of participants from each of the workforce services providers. More information on Travis County's Workforce Services evaluations is at this link.

Rapid Employment Model Evaluation – 2011 Update

Authors: Tara C. Smith, Christopher T. King, Daniel G. Schroeder
Date: April 2011
Publication Type: Evaluation Report
This report is the fourth in a series of evaluations conducted of Travis County’s Rapid Employment Model, a workforce development demonstration combining short-term occupational and pre-employment /life skills training with structured job assistance.  This report includes an evaluation of the process, outcome, and impact analyses.  Additional information about the Ray Marshall Center’s work evaluating the Rapid Employment Model is available here.

Early Implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Workforce Development and Unemployment Insurance Provisions Interim Report

Date: April 25, 2011
Publication Type: Report. 182pp.
Publisher: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration

Challenges, Promising Programs, and Effective Practices in Adult and Developmental Education
Authors: Rheagan D. Coffey, Tara Carter Smith
Date: February 2011
Publication Type: Report

This report presents an overview of the current state of adult education in Tulsa and in the U.S., and highlights successful programs in the areas of GED/Adult Basic Education, ESL Education, and Developmental Education. The paper reviews challenges in the three areas, as well as best practices in adult education, and provides recommendations for further consideration and exploration for adult education stakeholders in the Tulsa community.

CareerAdvance Implementation Report

Authors: Robert W. Glover, Tara Carter Smith, Christopher T. King, and Rheagan Coffey
Date: August 2010
Publication Type: Report

The report evaluates the first year implementation of CareerAdvance, a pilot program conducted by the Community Action Project (CAP) of Tulsa County aimed at providing low-income parents of children enrolled in early childhood education centers with workforce training, education and skill certification. The study documents the accomplishments of the program in its initial year of operation, reviews the challenges faced by the program and its participants, and draws lessons and recommendations from the experience.

Local Investments in Workforce Development: Evaluation Update #2
Authors: Tara C. Smith, Christopher T. King, Daniel G. Schroeder
Date: January 2010
Publication Type: Evaluation Report
This report represents the third in a series of evaluations of workforce development services funded by Travis County and the City of Austin. This report focuses on longer-term participant outcomes from seven County- and City-funded workforce development programs. In addition, the quasi-experimental impact analysis employed in previous reports is refined to determine the “value-added” from receiving local workforce services.

Additional information about the Ray Marshall Center’s work in evaluating local investments in workforce development services is available here.

Rapid Employment Model Evaluation: Update #2
Authors: Tara C. Smith, Christopher T. King, Daniel G. Schroeder
Date: January 2010
Publication Type: Evaluation Report
This report is the third in a series of evaluations conducted of Travis County’s Rapid Employment Model pilot project sponsored by Workforce Solutions – Capital Area. This project seeks to demonstrate that work readiness and short-term occupational skills training, combined with active job placement assistance, can lead to successful employment outcomes for jobseekers who might otherwise struggle in the labor market. This report focuses on project outcomes and results from a quasi-experimental impact analysis.

Additional information about the Ray Marshall Center’s work in evaluating the Rapid Employment Model is available here.

Evaluating Local Workforce Investments: Results for Short- and Long-Term Training in Austin (TX)

Authors: Christopher T. King, Tara C. Smith, Daniel G. Schroeder
Date: November 2009
Publication Type: Report (prepared for 2009 APPAM Research Conference)
This report on evaluating local workforce investments was presented at the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management’s (APPAM) 31^st Annual Research Conference in November 2009. The report focuses on two local workforce investments in Central Texas: the Rapid Employment Model (REM) project operated by Workforce Solutions, and occupational training and related services provided by Capital IDEA and its partners. It provides data sources and methods of analysis, and presents near- and longer-term outcomes and impact results for Capital IDEA and REM, as well as policy implications.

Additional information about the Ray Marshall Center’s work in evaluating local investments in workforce development services is available here.

Texas Non-Custodial Parent Choices: Program Impact Analysis

Authors: Daniel Schroeder and Nicholas Doughty.
Date: August 2009
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF). 127pp.
In 2005, the Texas Office of the Attorney General, Texas Workforce Commission, and child support courts initiated a five-site child support compliance and employment pilot project linking IV-D courts, OAG child support, and local workforce development boards.  The project, called NCP Choices, provides employment services linked to enhanced child support monitoring to low-income non-custodial parents (NCPs) who have fallen behind on their child support payments.  The pilot was expanded in 2007 to include an additional six sites, and expansion continues to this date.

Evaluation of the Austin Biotech Workforce Education Consortium

Author: Robert W. Glover
Date: February 2009
Publication Type: Evaluation Report
This report evaluates a pilot project aimed at enhancing educational offerings at Austin Community College to better prepare students for careers in the biotechnology industry, a sector targeted for economic expansion. This report covers activities and accomplishments of the full project, which ran during a 27-month period from August 2006 through December 2008. Additional information about the Biotech Workforce Evaluation is available here.

Local Investments in Workforce Development: Evaluation Update

Author(s): Tara Carter Smith, Christopher T. King and Daniel Schroeder
Date: December 2008
Publication Type: Report. 40pp.
This report is an update to the report, Local Investments in Workforce Development: Initial Evaluation Findings, published in December 2007. Travis County
contracted with the Ray Marshall Center to extend the initial evaluation of local government-funded workforce development services. The intent of this effort is to track longer-term participant outcomes and to continue to refine the quasi-experimental impact analysis.

Rapid Employment Model Evaluation: Update

Author(s): Tara Carter Smith, Christopher T. King and Daniel Schroeder
Date: December 2008
Publication Type: Report. 24pp.
This report is an update to the report, Rapid Employment Model Evaluation: Initial Findings published in December 2007. Travis County contracted with the Ray Marshall
Center to extend the initial evaluation of the Rapid Employment Model (REM) demonstration project. The intent of this effort is to track longer-term participant outcomes
for the initial cohort served in 2006 and to document outcomes for the second cohort of participants served in 2007. In addition, this report presents the first quasi-experimental impact analysis for participants in the 2006 cohort.

Returns from Investments in Workforce Services: Texas Statewide Estimates for Participants, Taxpayers and Society

Authors(s): Christopher T. King, Ying Tang, Tara Carter Smith and Daniel G. Schroeder, with assistance from Burt S. Barnow
Date: August 2008
Publication Type: Report

Texas Non-Custodial Parent Choices: Program Impact Analysis

Researcher(s):Daniel Schroeder and Stephanie Chiarello
Date: August 2008
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)
Abstract: In 2005, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), Texas Workforce Commission, and child support courts initiated a five-site child support compliance and employment pilot project linking IV-D courts, OAG child support, and local workforce development boards. The project, called NCP Choices, provides employment services linked to enhanced child support monitoring to low-income non-custodial parents (NCPs) who have fallen behind on their child support payments. The pilot was expanded to an additional five sites with the service equivalent of 12 sites in 2007.

Local Investments in Workforce Development: Initial Evaluation Findings

Author(s): Tara Carter Smith, Christopher T. King, Daniel G. Schroeder
Date: December 2007
Publication Type: Report
Abstract: The City of Austin contracted with the Ray Marshall Center to conduct an evaluation of the effects of the City's recent investments in workforce development services. The outcomes evaluation documents the results of workforce services participation, including the number of clients served, the number completing training and related services, the number placed in employment, wages earned, and other outputs/outcomes, largely through linked administrative data. It also seeks to validate outcomes data that is currently self-reported by individual service providers to WorkSource and the City of Austin.

Manufacturing Skills Initiative

Author(s): Robert W. Glover, Suzanne Hershey
Date: December 2007
Publication Type: Report

Rapid Employment Model Evaluation: Initial Findings

Author(s): Tara Carter Smith, Christopher T. King
Date: December 2007
Publication Type: Report
Abstract: Travis County and WorkSource staff designed and implemented the Rapid Employment Model (REM) starting in January 2006 to help jobseekers find suitable work more quickly through a structured effort supplementing their longer-term skill development offerings. The REM project seeks to demonstrate that work readiness and short-term occupational skills training, when combined with active job placement assistance, can lead to successful employment outcomes for jobseekers who might otherwise struggle in the labor market, including disadvantaged, indigent County residents, particularly those receiving Food Stamps or cash welfare benefits and individuals who have been released from incarceration. REM is a joint effort of the County, WorkSource and area workforce service providers.

Austin Biotech Workforce Education Consortium: First Year Report

Author: Robert W. Glover
Date: September 2007
Publication Type: Evaluation report
This report evaluates the first year of a pilot project aimed at enhancing educational offerings at Austin Community College to better prepare students for careers in the biotechnology industry, a sector targeted for economic expansion. Additional information about the Biotech Workforce Evaluation is available here.

Texas Non-Custodial Parent Choices: Program Impact Analysis

Researcher(s): Daniel Schroeder, Stephanie Chiarello, Kelly Stewart Nichols, Christopher T. King, Elizabeth McGuinness
Date: August 2007
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)

Texas Non-Custodial Parent Choices: Preliminary Program Impact Analysis

Researcher(s):Daniel Schroeder, Kelly Stewart Nichols, Elizabeth McGuinness; with Christopher T. King, Esmeralda Garcia, Sarah Looney Oldmixon, Andy David
Date: February 2007
Publication Type: Report
Abstract: The Ray Marshall Center (RMC) estimated preliminary impacts of NCP Choices on child support collections, workforce development participation, employment and earnings levels of NCPs, and TANF receipt by the custodial parents (CPs). The research design included the selection of a quasi-experimental comparison group for estimating the impact of NCP Choices. Results showed that NCPs ordered into the program:

Critical Skill Shortages Project: Addressing Potential Skill Shortages in Biosciences and Biotechnology in Greater Austin

Researcher(s):Robert W. Glover, Suzanne Hershey and Christopher T. King
Date: October 2005
Publication Type: Full Report

Critical Skill Shortages Project: Addressing Potential Skill Shortages in Wireless Technology in Greater Austin

Researcher(s):Robert W. Glover, Suzanne Hershey and Christopher T. King
Date: October 2005
Publication Type: Report

Net Impact Estimates for Services Provided through the Workforce Investment Act

Researcher(s):Kevin Hollenbeck, Daniel Schroeder, Christopher T. King and Wei-Jang Huang
Date: October 2005
Publication Type: Report
Abstract: This report used quasi-experimental evaluation techniques to estimate the impacts of Workforce Investment Act (WIA) workforce development services on employment, earnings, and other outcomes of interest in seven states. We found that receipt of any WIA services was associated with increased employment and earnings, and reduced participation in public assistance programs. We also found that receipt of training was associated with positive but smaller impacts, relative to receipt of other WIA services. Finally, impacts tended to be larger for dislocated workers than for adults, and larger among women than in men. Thus, the WIA program appears to be effective in terms of employment and earnings impacts for participants.

Evaluating the Non-custodial Parent Choices Program in Texas: Literature Review, Early Implementation Results and Preliminary Impact Analysis Plan

Researcher(s):Daniel Schroeder, Christopher T. King, Esmeralda Garcia, Sarah Looney Oldmixon and Andy David
Date: September 2005
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)
Abstract: The Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has partnered with the Texas
Workforce Commission (TWC) on a demonstration project referred to as the Non-custodial Parent Choices Initiative (or NCP Choices). The project links IV-D courts responsible for child support issues, OAG child support staff, and local workforce development boards to encourage workforce development of unemployed and/or underemployed non-custodial parents (NCPs) with unpaid child support orders, and whose child is either currently receiving public assistance or has previously received public assistance.

Researcher(s):Daniel Schroeder, Christopher T. King, Esmeralda Garcia, Sarah Looney Oldmixon and Andy David
Date Published: September 2005
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin
Availability: Full Report (PDF)

Abstract: The Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has partnered with the Texas
Workforce Commission (TWC) on a demonstration project referred to as the Non-custodial Parent Choices Initiative (or NCP Choices). The project links IV-D courts responsible for child support issues, OAG child support staff, and local workforce development boards to encourage workforce development of unemployed and/or underemployed non-custodial parents (NCPs) with unpaid child support orders, and whose child is either currently receiving public assistance or has previously received public assistance.

Approaches to Adjusting Workforce Development Performance Measures

Researcher(s): Joe Siedlecki and Christopher T. King
Date: August 2005
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)

Critical Skill Shortages Project: An Assessment of Root Causes for Skill Shortages in the Wireless Industry in Greater Austin

Researcher(s):Robert W. Glover, Suzanne Hershey, Christopher T. King and Deepshikha Roychowdhury
Date: August 2005
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)

Critical Skill Shortages Project: An Assessment of Root Causes for Skill Shortages in Biosciences and Biotechnology in Greater Austin

Researcher(s):Robert W. Glover, Suzanne Hershey, Christopher T. King and Deepshikha Roychowdhury
Date: July 2005
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)

Critical Skill Shortages Project: Recommendations for Selection of Two Key Industry Clusters for Further Work

Researcher(s):Robert W. Glover, Suzanne Hershey, Christopher T. King and Deepshikha Roychowdhury
Date Published: June 2005
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)

Expanding Opportunities for Businesses and Workers: Promising Practices for Workforce Intermediary Initiatives

Researcher(s):Sarah Looney and Christopher T. King
Date: February 2005
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)
Abstract: This report is the result of a planning grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and Ford Foundation to two Austin nonprofit organizations, Capital IDEA and Capital Area Training Foundation (now known as Skillpoint Alliance). The purpose of the grant was to support the development of a "design and funding plan for a uniquely Central Texas workforce intermediary initiative, based in its own set of institutions, traditions, and context." The local nonprofits then arranged for the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources to produce this report.

The Workforce Investment Act in Eight States

Researcher(s):Burt S. Barnow and Christopher T. King
Date: February 2005
Publisher: Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, Albany, NY
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF) and Executive Summary (PDF)

Abstract: This report concluded a two-year study of workforce service delivery in eight states, 16 local areas, and more than 30 local One-Stop Career Centers operating under the auspices of the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998. The purpose of this study was to provide useful information for both national policymakers in the Executive Branch and Congress for WIA and related reauthorizations (e.g., Perkins, TANF) and for program administrators and policy researchers. The research was designed to enhance understanding of the way workforce service delivery has been operating across the United States. The five major topics which the study addressed were: (1) leadership, including the role of employers and the private sector; (2) system administration and funding; (3) organization and operation of One-Stop Career Centers; (4) service orientation and mix; and (5) the use of market mechanisms such as the Eligible Training Provider (ETP) list, performance standards, and Individual Training Accounts (ITAs).

Mapping and Improving State Workforce Development Systems: Lessons from Five States

Researcher(s): Sarah Looney and Christopher T. King
Date: August 2004
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)

Proposed Performance Measures and State Responses: Analysis and Next Steps

Researcher(s):Christopher T. King and Sarah Looney
Date Published: June 2004
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)

Abstract: Ray Marshall Center researchers provided an analysis of proposed performance measures for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Integrated Performance Information (IPI) Project. Researchers used feedback surveys from state participants to summarize advantages, disadvantages and brief discussions on 30 proposed measures of the workforce investment programs and the One-Stop Career Center. Based on participants' responses, RMC researchers identified seven measures as the top candidates for adoption as part of the IPI Project: outcomes for employers and the economy, labor market outcomes for program participants, social welfare outcomes, return on investment, customer satisfaction, skill gains and others. The final measures selected by the participants will be discussed in a forthcoming paper, "Integrated Performance Information for Workforce Development System Planning, Oversight, and Management," authored by Bryan Wilson of the Washington State Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board.

Another Tale of Two Cities: What Two Capital City, University Towns Can Learn From Each Other

Researcher:Andy Redman
Date: May 2004
Publication Type: Professional Report (Full Report). Contact rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org for printed copies.
Another Tale of Two Cities: A Summary of the Lessons Learned: What Two Capital City, University Towns Can Learn From Each Other (summary report) (PDF)

Abstract: This is the tale of how Austin, Texas, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, two college-town, state capitals, diverged during the past thirty years so much that Austin now has twice as many jobs and people as Baton Rouge. What were the causes for such a dramatic growth in Austin? In spite of the initial similarities, why has Baton Rouge not kept up with the Texas capital? The author explores these questions by trying to explain the factors that have led to slower growth in Baton Rouge compared to Austin. His key findings and recommendations are based on an in depth comparison of the Austin and Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Areas using literature, data, interviews, and other resources to analyze the following areas: demographic characteristics, the history of leadership and development, the economy and cost of doing business, and the education system.

The Alignment of Workforce Performance Measures and Policymaker Needs in Ten Leading-edge States

Researcher(s):Dan O'Shea, Sarah Looney and Christopher T. King
Date: March 2004
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)

Abstract: Researchers at the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources highlighted selected promising approaches from ten states: California, Florida, Michigan, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, New York, Pennsylvania, and Missouri. From the existing performance measurement and management landscape, researchers examined seven key areas of interest to policy and program leaders participating in the Integrated Performance Information (IPI) Project including: outcomes for employers and the economy; labor market outcomes for program participants; social welfare outcomes; customer satisfaction; skills gains; return on investment; and subgroup and comparative information. For much of this discussion, RMC researchers utilized findings from two recent reports to be suggestive of what states are doing, rather than being comprehensive.

Integrated Performance Information for Workforce Development: Framing the Issues

Researcher(s):Christopher T. King and Dan O'Shea
Date Published: December 2003
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)

Abstract: Researchers at the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources surveyed the existing performance measurement and management landscape for workforce development programs in the United States by examining the input from some of the states participating in the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Integrated Performance Information Project. The data describes what is required to support integrated information on the results of workforce investment programs and the One-Stop system. To frame this issue, the researchers presented their findings in this report and highlighted key issues that need to be addressed in the effort to develop an integrated approach and briefly lists some important challenges and caveats.

Non-federal Workforce System Performance Measures in the States: Overview

Researcher(s):Dan O'Shea, Sarah Looney and Christopher T. King
Date: December 2003
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF); Executive Summary (PDF)

Abstract: Researchers from the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources at the University of Texas at Austin (RMC), working closely with the National Governors Association’s Center for Best Practices, conducted interviews and reviewed pertinent documentation with key state administrators and staff of ten states that are recognized leaders in the area of workforce performance measurement and management. This report is an overview of the experiences of those states with the design and implementation of non-federal workforce performance measures. These findings are drawn from RMC research profiles of the seven more advanced states (California, Florida, Michigan, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington) and briefs of the three states (Missouri, New York, and Pennsylvania) that remained in a relatively early phase of development.

Non-federal Workforce System Performance Measures in the States: Ten State Profiles

Researcher(s):Dan O'Shea, Sarah Looney and Christopher T. King
Date: December 2003
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)

Abstract: The past decade found many state and local workforce leaders questioning how well their education, training, and economic development efforts were preparing individuals for successful livelihoods, adding value to business, and generally improving the quality of life in American communities. So, researchers prepared this report profiling the experiences of ten states with the design and implementation of non-federal workforce performance measures. Researchers from the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources at the University of Texas at Austin (RMC) conducted an environmental scan of practitioners and researchers to select a sample of states recognized for leadership in the area of performance measurement. The ten states are: California, Florida, Michigan, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, New York, Pennsylvania, and Missouri. Additional information about promising practices in performance measurement process design, implementation, and evaluation can be found in the comprehensive report, Non-federal Workforce System Performance Measures: Overview, which accompanies this volume.

Preliminary WIA Net Impact Estimates: Administrative Records Opportunities and Limitations

Researcher(s):Kevin Hollenbeck, Christopher T. King and Daniel Schroeder
Date: July 2003
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)

Abstract: This paper presents preliminary results from an exploratory study estimating quasiexperimental net impacts of training services provided under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 on the employment and earnings of participants in seven states. We have linked program and Unemployment Insurance (UI) wage record data from the seven states that are currently participating in the Administrative Data Research and Evaluation (ADARE) Project: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Texas, and Washington. The ADARE Project, a collaboration of university and nonprofit organization partners, is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. We begin the paper with some background on quasi-experimental impact estimation for employment and training programs. We explain the approach we have adopted for estimating WIA net impacts on employment and earnings, two of the main outcomes of interest.

The Workforce Investment Act in Eight States: Overview of Findings from a Field Network Study: Interim Report

Researcher(s):Burt S. Barnow and Christopher T. King
Date: July 2003
Publisher: Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, Albany, NY
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)

Return-on-Investment (ROI) Estimates for Workforce Services in Texas, State Fiscal Year 2000-2001: Composite Workforce Development Board

Researcher(s):Christopher T. King, Dan O'Shea, Sarah E. Looney, C. Andrew Redman and W. Lee Holcombe
Date: April 2003
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF); Executive Summary (PDF)

Abstract: This report outlines the approach used to estimate returns on investment (ROI) for workforce services delivered in 18 of the 28 local workforce areas in Texas. It also presents ROI estimates for the Composite Workforce Development Board, one that illustrates the “average” experience of the participating boards. The Workforce Leadership of Texas, the statewide association of workforce board chairs and directors, initiated this ROI effort—the first to attempt estimation of ROI across many of the important workforce funding streams—contracting with researchers at the University of Texas at Austin's Ray Marshall Center to develop these estimates. This ROI project builds upon an earlier phase of the project that developed and recommended systemic outcome measures for Texas workforce services (Workforce Leadership of Texas, 2001).

Estimating Return-on-Investment (ROI) for Texas Workforce Development Boards: Lessons Learned and Next Steps

Researcher(s):Christopher T. King and Dan O'Shea
Date Published: March 2003
Publication Type: Report (prepared for Workforce Leadership of Texas)

Abstract: This report describes challenges faced and offers lessons learned from an initial attempt to estimate the returns on investment (ROI) in workforce services in Texas (King et al.2003). It also suggests a number of possible next steps for enhancing and improving upon our initial effort. The Workforce Leadership of Texas, the statewide association of workforce board chairs and directors, initiated this project to estimate workforce services ROI, contracting with researchers at the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, a research center of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. This project builds directly upon an earlier phase of the project (Workforce Leadership of Texas, 2001).

Technology-Based Solutions to Workforce Service Delivery

Researcher(s): Robert W. Glover, Christopher T. King, Francis Dummer Fisher, Lodis Rhodes
Date: October 2002
Publication Type: Policy Research Project Full Report (PDF, 243pp.). Printed Copies: $22.00 (PR-142, ISBN 0-89940-755-2)

Abstract: The New Economy, characterized by globalization, technological innovation, and rapid labor market change, has challenged employers and public institutions to educate, train, and place workers more quickly and efficiently. These forces have also led to important changes in training content. If workers are to succeed in today's labor market, they must possess broad-based competencies, including the ability to communicate, learn, and work in teams, as well as technical skills, especially the ability to use computers. This report, prepared for the Texas State Comptroller's e-Texas initiative and the Entertech Project at IC2 Institute, investigates various applications of information technology to improve the delivery of workforce services. The workforce system plays vital roles in assisting employers and job seekers by providing key services, such as job-matching, assessment, career counseling and case management, training and retraining, and placement services. As the report demonstrates, in all of these areas, information technology can be a resource for enhancing equity, effectiveness, and efficiency. From a review of innovations and best practices across Texas, in other states, and in the U.S. military, the report highlights recurrent themes of success, including promoting universal access to the technology, paying careful attention to pedagogy in e-learning, and working through partnerships.

Researcher(s):Christopher T. King, Robert E. McPherson, Daniel P. O'Shea and Ying Tang
Date: February 2002
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998: Restructuring Workforce Development Initiatives in States and Localities

Researcher(s): Dan O'Shea and Christopher T. King
Date: April 2001
Publisher(s): Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, Albany, NY
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)

Abstract: The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), the first significant attempt to retool the nation’s workforce development programs since the early 1980s, represents broad support for a national workforce development system based on informed consumer choice, universal access to employment and training services, more systemic accountability, strong local governance, and active private sector participation. This report discusses key features of WIA and the early implementation experiences and challenges faced by states and localities, based largely on research in Texas, Tennessee, and Washington State.

Building a Next Generation Workforce Development System

Researcher(s):Evelyn Ganzglass, Neil Ridley, Martin Simon, Christopher T. King, Betty Jane Narver, and Carl Van Horn
Date: September 2000
Publisher: Ford Foundation
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF). Contact rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org for printed copies.

Abstract: The current workforce development system has not kept pace with the changing economy and changing expectations for the role of education and training. In addition, there is a wide and growing gap between public workforce programs and private sector human resource practices. We believe the time is ripe for a fresh examination of the existing workforce development system. It is also time to define a vision for a next generation workforce system.

Improving the Odds: Increasing the Effectiveness of Publicly Funded Training

Editors: Christopher T. King and Burt S. Barnow, with contributing authors: Christopher T. King, Jerome A. Olson, Leslie O. Lawson, Charles E. Trott, and John Baj.
Date: 1999
Publication Type and Availability: Book. Available from Urban Institute Press, 1-877-UIPRESS or ScienceDirect
Publisher: The Urban Institute Press. Washington, D.C.

Researcher(s): Christopher T. King, Leslie O. Lawson, and Charles E. Trott
Date: February 1998
Publication Type and Availability: Report. Printed Copies: 54pp, $5.40. Contact rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org.

Abstract: After reviewing the available evidence on the effectiveness of training for disadvantaged adults and youth, this report presents the findings and their implications for training policy and program operations based on research the authors conducted on Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) programs for adults and out of school youth in two large and diverse states, Illinois and Texas. The authors had long-term labor market performance data derived from Unemployment Insurance (UI) wage records, both pre- and post-program for JTPA programs in two states. Such data permitted the researchers to focus on local programs in each state which had attained some degree of longer term success, measured in terms of employment and earnings outcomes, for a significant share of its participants.

Participation Patterns and Program Impacts of Hawaii’s JOBS WORKS! Demonstration Project

Researcher(s): Jerome A. Olson, Deanna T. Schexnayder and Daniel P. O’Shea
Date Published: December 1997
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF); Executive Summary (PDF); Printed Copies: 52pp, $5.00 (Contact:rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org)

Abstract: The Hawaii Department of Human Services (HDHS) contracted with the Center for the Study of Human Resources at the University of Texas at Austin (CSHR) to conduct an impact evaluation of the JOBS WORKS! Demonstration. The pilot operated on the Island of Oahu from January 1995 through December 1996.

Hawaii Food Stamp Employment and Training/JOBS Conformance Demonstration: Impact Evaluation Final Report

Researcher(s):Deanna T. Schexnayder and Jerome A. Olson
Date: June 1997
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF); Executive Summary (PDF); Executive Summary (HTML); Printed Copies: 75pp, $7.50 (Contact rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org)

Abstract: Hawaii’s Food Stamp Employment and Training/JOBS Conformance Demonstration was in operation on the island of Oahu between November 1993 and September 1996. Its goals were:

Authors: Davy N. Norris and Christopher T. King
Date: June 1997
Publication Type and Availability: Report. 10pp. Contact rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org for copies of report. Fees may apply.

Hawaii Food Stamp Employment and Training/JOBS Conformance Demonstration: Cost Evaluation Final Report

Researcher(s):Davy Norris and Christopher T. King
Date Published: May 1997
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF); Full Report (HTML); Executive Summary (PDF); Contact rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org for printed copies: 35pp, $3.50

Abstract: The Center for the Study of Human Resources conducted a two year evaluation of the Hawaii Food Stamp Employment and Training (FSE&T)/Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) Program Conformance Demonstration, known locally as PRIDE, under contract to the Hawaii Department of Human Services (HDHS).

Abstract: The Center for the Study of Human Resources (CHR) of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin conducted a multi-year evaluation (FFY 1993 through FFY 1995) of the Texas Food Stamp Employment and Training (E&T)/Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) Program Conformance Demonstration under a contract to the Texas Department of Human Services (DHS).

Texas Food Stamp Employment and Training/JOBS Conformance Demonstration: Cost Analysis Final Report

Researcher(s):Daniel O’Shea and Davy N. Norris
Date Published: March 1997
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF); Executive Summary (PDF); Contact rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org for printed copies: 51pp, $5.00

Abstract: The Center for the Study of Human Resources (CHR) of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin conducted a multi-year evaluation (FFY 1993 through FFY 1995) of the Texas Food Stamp Employment and Training (E&T)/Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) Program Conformance Demonstration under a contract to the Texas Department of Human Services (DHS).

Designing a Local Workforce Services Delivery System

Author: Robert McPherson
Date: February 1997
Publication Type: Report. Paper 4 in a Series of 4.Series 98pp. Also available from the Ray Marshall Center, contact rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org.

See also:

• The Local Option A Stronger Role in Workforce Development (Paper 1)
• A Labor Market Approach to Workforce Development (Paper 2)
• Building a Local Workforce Development Board The Key Steps (Paper 3)

The Valley Workforce Demonstration Project: Conceptual Design: A Community-Based Initiative of Valley Interfaith, serving Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy Counties

Researcher(s): Robert McPherson
Date Published: March 1996
Publication Type: Report. 89pp.

The Fort Worth Workforce Demonstration Project: Conceptual Design

Researcher:Robert McPherson
Date Published: November 1995
Publication Type: Report. 83pp.

The project was a two-year, community-based workforce demonstration project financed by a combination of federal, state and local funds to develop and implement:

The Local Option: A Stronger Role in Workforce Development

Author: Robert McPherson
Date: November 1994
Publication Type and Availability: Report. Paper 1 in a Series of 4. 98pp. Also available from the Ray Marshall Center, contact rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org.

See also:

• A Labor Market Approach to Workforce Development (Paper 2)
• Building a Local Workforce Development Board The Key Steps (Paper 3)
• Designing a Local Workforce Services Delivery System (Paper 4)

Building a Local Workforce Development Board: The Key Steps

Author: Robert McPherson
Date: November 1994
Publication Type: Report. Paper 3 in a Series of 4 . Series 98pp. Also available from the Ray Marshall Center, contact rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org.

See also:

• The Local Option A Stronger Role in Workforce Development (Paper 1)
• A Labor Market Approach to Workforce Development (Paper 2)
• Designing a Local Workforce Services Delivery System (Paper 4)

A Labor Market Approach to Workforce Development

Author: Robert McPherson
Date: November 1994
Publication Type: Report. Paper 2 in a Series of 4. Series 98pp. Also available from the Ray Marshall Center, contact RMC Publications.This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view

See also:

• The Local Option A Stronger Role in Workforce Development (Paper 1)
• Building a Local Workforce Development Board The Key Steps (Paper 3)
• Designing a Local Workforce Services Delivery System (Paper 4)

Texas Non-Custodial Parent Choices: Program Impact Analysis

Authors: Daniel Schroeder and Nicholas Doughty.
Date: August 2009
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF). 127pp.
In 2005, the Texas Office of the Attorney General, Texas Workforce Commission, and child support courts initiated a five-site child support compliance and employment pilot project linking IV-D courts, OAG child support, and local workforce development boards.  The project, called NCP Choices, provides employment services linked to enhanced child support monitoring to low-income non-custodial parents (NCPs) who have fallen behind on their child support payments.  The pilot was expanded in 2007 to include an additional six sites, and expansion continues to this date.

Texas Non-Custodial Parent Choices: Program Impact Analysis

Researcher(s):Daniel Schroeder and Stephanie Chiarello
Date: August 2008
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)
Abstract: In 2005, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), Texas Workforce Commission, and child support courts initiated a five-site child support compliance and employment pilot project linking IV-D courts, OAG child support, and local workforce development boards. The project, called NCP Choices, provides employment services linked to enhanced child support monitoring to low-income non-custodial parents (NCPs) who have fallen behind on their child support payments. The pilot was expanded to an additional five sites with the service equivalent of 12 sites in 2007.

Life After Welfare: Reform and the Persistence of Poverty

Authors: Laura Lein and Deanna T. Schexnayder, with Karen Manges Douglas and Daniel G. Schroeder.
Date: December 2007.
Publication Type: Book. 192pp.
Publisher: University of Texas Press

Texas Non-Custodial Parent Choices: Program Impact Analysis

Researcher(s): Daniel Schroeder, Stephanie Chiarello, Kelly Stewart Nichols, Christopher T. King, Elizabeth McGuinness
Date: August 2007
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)

Researcher(s):Deanna Schexnayder, Ying Tang, Brendan Hill, Sarah Looney Oldmixon
Date Published: February 2007
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin
Availability: Full Report (PDF)

Abstract: Low-wage workers who are also heading families typically meet their basic expenses through a combination of their earnings, government benefits and reliance on family, friends and local philanthropies. Over the past decade, welfare reform policies, rapidly increasing medical costs and declining real wages for lower-income workers have increased the challenges faced by these families. Devolved program policies combined with the variation in the cost-of-living across localities mean that a family’s ability to meet its expenses at a given income level can differ dramatically depending on where someone lives.

Texas Non-Custodial Parent Choices: Preliminary Program Impact Analysis

Researcher(s): Daniel Schroeder, Kelly Stewart Nichols, Elizabeth McGuinness; with Christopher T. King, Esmeralda Garcia, Sarah Looney Oldmixon, Andy David
Date: February 2007
Publication Type: Full Report (PDF)

Abstract: The Ray Marshall Center (RMC) estimated preliminary impacts of NCP Choices on child support collections, workforce development participation, employment and earnings levels of NCPs, and TANF receipt by the custodial parents (CPs).

Researcher(s):Daniel Schroeder, Christopher T. King, Esmeralda Garcia, Sarah Looney Oldmixon and Andy David
Date Published: September 2005
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin
Availability: Full Report (PDF)

Abstract: The Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has partnered with the Texas
Workforce Commission (TWC) on a demonstration project referred to as the Non-custodial Parent Choices Initiative (or NCP Choices). The project links IV-D courts responsible for child support issues, OAG child support staff, and local workforce development boards to encourage workforce development of unemployed and/or underemployed non-custodial parents (NCPs) with unpaid child support orders, and whose child is either currently receiving public assistance or has previously received public assistance.

Researcher(s):Christopher T. King and Peter R. Mueser
Date Published: January 2005
Publisher(s): W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
Availability: Available for purchase from the W.E. Upjohn Insitute for Employment Research. 200pp.

Abstract: King and Mueser examine changes in welfare participation and labor market involvement of welfare recipients in six major cities during the 1990s. By focusing on these six cities (Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, and Kansas City) they are able to glean the extent to which differences in state and local policy, administrative directives, and local labor market conditions contribute to the trends in caseloads, employment, and well-being observed among former recipients. This allows the authors to identify recipient flows and patterns of employment in the six cities before and after welfare reform, and to draw conclusions that go beyond existing studies.

Researcher(s):Daniel Schroeder, Sarah Looney, Deanna Schexnayder
Date Published: October 2004
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: This was the second of two reports evaluating the Bootstrap Project, a program created as a supplement to the Texas Fragile Families Initiative (TFF). The TFF program helped organizations around the state increase their capacity to serve young, low-income fathers. Bootstrap provided enhanced services to fathers so they could develop the necessary resources to become responsible parents who met the needs of their children.

This impact evaluation addressed four primary research questions regarding the economic effects of necessary Bootstrap services on low-income noncustodial fathers. The research compared the outcomes for Bootstrap participants to those of a carefully selected comparison group of other young, low-income fathers on the Office of the Attorney General of Texas’ child support caseload. The results reported strongly suggested that the Bootstrap program was successful in achieving its goals of improving outcomes for young, low-income noncustodial fathers and the mothers of their children. However, the researchers cautioned that the results should be interpreted cautiously due to various factors needing clarification with further research.

Availability:

Researcher(s):Sarah Looney
Date Published: August 2004
Publisher(s): Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, the University of Texas at Austin (professional report)

Abstract: The number of children living in single-parent households in the United States has increased dramatically since the 1960s. Today, most children are expected to spend some part of their childhood in a single-parent household, typically without a father present. Partially as a response to this phenomenon, the last decade experienced a surge in ‘responsible fatherhood’ initiatives designed to increase child support collections, further understanding of the important roles fathers can play, and increase fathers’ participation in the lives of their children. This report analyzes the lessons learned from efforts thus far in order to suggest opportunities to strengthen and expand responsible fatherhood programming in Austin, Texas.

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Researcher(s):Sarah Looney and Deanna T. Schexnayder
Date Published: April 2004
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: This is the first of two reports evaluating the Bootstrap Project, a program created as a supplement to the Texas Fragile Families
Initiative (TFF). The TFF program helped organizations around the state increase their capacity to serve young, low-income fathers. Bootstrap provided enhanced services to fathers so they could develop the necessary resources to become responsible parents who met the needs of their children.

Bootstrap administrators found that recruiting and enrolling fathers to participate in the Bootstrap Program occurred at a slower pace than initially anticipated. As such, RMC researchers were asked to expand the scope of their research to explore this phenomenon. This evaluation addresses the research question: What are the primary factors contributing to the low enrollments in the Bootstrap program? Findings from our impact analysis of Bootstrap will be discussed in a second report, Economic Impacts of Workforce Services for Young, Low-Income Fathers: Findings from the Texas Bootstrap Project, that will be available in the fall of 2004.

Availability:

Researcher(s):Deanna T. Schexnayder
Date Published: September 2003
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: In 1995, the Texas Legislature enacted H. B. 1863, which formed the basis for Texas’ waiver from existing Federal laws governing the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. The Texas waiver, officially known as the Achieving Change for Texans (ACT) demonstration, aimed to assist participants to achieve independence from welfare through an increased emphasis on employment, training, temporary assistance and support services. It included three primary components: time-limited benefits, a personal responsibility agreement and one-time payments in lieu of welfare payments.

The evaluation of the ACT demonstration consisted of three approaches: a process evaluation, a random-assignment impact analysis, and follow-up interviews with persons who reached their time limits or who elected to receive one-time payments instead of cash welfare assistance. This report summarizes findings from all facets of the evaluation and draws conclusions and policy implications for welfare policy development in the post-waiver time period.

Other reports from this evaluation can be found on the Achieving Change for Texans Demonstration Waiver Evaluation project page.

Availability:

Printed Copies:
Contact Debora Morris, Texas Department of Human Services, (512) 438-3353

Researcher(s):Christopher T. King and Daniel Schroeder
Date Published: September 2003
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: Most welfare reform research to date has focused on only one of the parents involved in the welfare system, the custodial parent (CP), typically the mother who is or has been on welfare. The non-custodial parent (NCP), typically the father of the dependents in question, has received both inadequate attention from policymakers and researchers and insufficient assistance from the existing array of programs. Thus, the available research offers ambiguous results on the role of NCP earnings and child support in promoting exits from welfare and poverty and reducing welfare recidivism. The studies focused mainly on pre-reform periods, leaving considerable room for further research. In the current paper, we report on additional research on the role of child support and both custodial and non-custodial parent earnings in Texas welfare and poverty dynamics in the post-reform era.

The main conclusions from our analysis of the role of child support and earnings in welfare and poverty dynamics in Texas, can be viewed as representing a best-case scenario. Our major conclusions stress that the receipt of child support plays a strong and significant role in increasing the probability of exit from and reducing the probability of recidivism to welfare. Finally since workforce participation and child support play such strong positive roles in welfare and poverty dynamics, policymakers may well want to prioritize services to NCPs coupled with effective child support enforcement and payment mechanisms as an effective anti-poverty strategy.

Availability:

Researcher(s):Deanna T. Schexnayder, Daniel G. Schroeder, Jerome A. Olson, and Hyunsub Kum
Date Published: January 2003
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: In 1995, the Texas Legislature enacted H. B. 1863, which formed the basis for Texas’ waiver from existing Federal laws governing the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. The Texas waiver, officially known as the Achieving Change for Texans (ACT) demonstration, aimed to assist participants to achieve independence from welfare through an increased emphasis on employment, training, temporary assistance and support services. The random- assignment net impact evaluation measured the effectiveness of two major components of this legislation: time-limited benefits and use of a personal responsibility agreement for recipients of public cash assistance.

This is the final impact report from this evaluation. It includes net impacts of the ACT demonstration from its inception in June 1996 through September 2001, and measures impacts of state time limits and the Texas personal responsibility agreement on welfare dynamics, client self-sufficiency, participation in workforce development programs, and several family and child indicators.

Availability:

Printed Copies:
Contact Debora Morris, Texas Department of Human Services, (512) 438-3353

Researcher(s):Deanna Schexnayder, Daniel Schroeder, Laura Lein, David Dominguez, Karen Douglas, and Freddie Richards
Date Published: January 2002
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin; and the Center for Innovative Projects for Economic Development, Prairie View A&M University

Abstract: In the post-welfare-reform era, many states have begun conducting research to determine how the new policies affect the families they serve. In particular, states need to understand if former welfare recipients are employed or receiving other types of economic supports, how many have returned to welfare, and reasons for families’ success or failure.

This report addresses the following questions:

• What are the characteristics of families who left or were diverted from TANF?
• To what extent are these families participating in other government programs, especially Medicaid and food stamps?
• To what extent are these families employed and/or receiving other economic supports, such as child support and child care subsidies?
• Over time, how do these families manage and what hardships do they face?
• How do potential applicants view the diversion/application process?
• Are there particular points after leaving TANF at which people are the most vulnerable to returning?
• Which factors are associated with leaving TANF, being employed, or returning to TANF?

This report examines these research questions for two populations of low-income families: those diverted from TANF prior to enrollment and those who have left TANF. Among ‘diverted’ families, three types are being studied: families redirected prior to TANF application, those denied TANF for non-financial reasons, and approved TANF applicants opting to receive a one-time payment in lieu of TANF benefits.

Availability:

Researcher(s):Peter R. Mueser and Christopher T. King
Date Published: October 2001
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: The Center for the Study of Human Resources conducted joint research to revise a March 2001 report on analysis that focused on patterns of welfare use and employment for welfare leavers for central counties in each of the metropolitan areas of Atlanta, Baltimore, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, Houston and Kansas City. Researchers examined the extent to which economic growth and welfare policy interact to induce observed patterns. Following a review of the literature on the determinants of the welfare caseload and employment of welfare leavers, researchers provided detail on the waiver provisions and related welfare reform activities occurring in each of the sites and their respective states, as well as information on how implementation of the 1996 federal reform legislation influenced state programs. Researchers began their quantitative analysis showing how unemployment rates and welfare caseloads varied across our sites over the period of our study. It was clear that, at most sites, the decline in caseloads occurred at the same time that welfare-to-work transitions occurred in increasing numbers.

Availability:

Researcher(s):Deanna Schexnayder, Daniel Schroeder, Laura Lein, David Dominguez, Karen Douglas, and Freddie Richards
Date Published: March 2001
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: Since welfare reform began, many states have been conducting studies to determine how these policy changes are affecting the families served by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). In particular, states are interested in understanding whether former welfare recipients or those diverted from receiving TANF are employed or are receiving other types of economic supports. They also are interested in how many families are returning to welfare and the reasons for their return.

This preliminary report concentrates on answering the research questions: What are the characteristics of families who left or were diverted from TANF? To what extent are these families participating in other government programs, especially Medicaid and Food Stamps? To what extent are these families employed and/or receiving other economic supports, such as child support and child care?

The report summarizes results from initial analyses of administrative data files for families who were diverted from or left TANF from April 1998 through June 1999 and intensive interviews conducted between November 1998 and March 2000 with a sample of these families.

Availability:

Researcher(s):Deanna Schexnayder, Jerome Olson, Jennifer Beck, Ying Tang, Hyunsub Kum, Daniel Schroeder, Patricia Norman, and Daniel P. O'Shea
Date Published: February 2001
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: This report studies the effectiveness of several child support collection strategies in increasing the total amount of child support collected from the noncustodial parents on its caseload. Three of these strategies are analyzed in the following chapters of this report. They include:

1. Increasing the child support ‘pass-through’ to families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
2. Arresting noncustodial parents who are delinquent in their child support payments through a coordinated effort known as a ‘round-up’
3. Participating in an ‘access and visitation’ program when conflict among the parents created the need for some type of supervised visitation or exchange.

Included are findings and policy implications of all these child support collection strategies for low-income families.

Availability:

Researcher(s):Daniel P. O’Shea, Christopher T. King, Daniel Schroeder and Patricia Norman
Date Published: January 2001
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: Child Support Division administrators and staff worked with local workforce and domestic court collaborators to establish procedures for service referrals from the courts as part of child support adjudication. Referrals are frequently a condition of probation for non-payment of child support or contempt of court. In addition to mandatory, court-based referrals, Child Support Division staff in Harris County initiated voluntary referrals from the child support offices.

This report assesses the effect on child support collections of referring non-custodial parents from the Texas Office of the Attorney General’s Child Support Division and Family Law Courts to workforce and other services designed to increase their income-producing and parenting capacities in Bexar County (San Antonio) and Harris County (Houston), Texas.

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Researcher(s):Peter R. Mueser, Julie L. Hotchkiss, Christopher T. King, Phillip S. Rokicki, and David W. Stevens
Date Published: April 2000
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: This paper uses quarterly data on AFDC (later TANF) recipients in five major urban areas to examine the relative importance of policy reform and economic conditions in explaining the dynamics of the welfare caseload and the employment experiences of welfare leavers. We find that both increases in exits as well as reductions in entry to welfare played an important role in the caseload declines of the 1990s. However, in contrast to previous research, we find that economic conditions are less important in explaining the decline than policy or related changes.

Consistent with the welfare-to-work ideal underlying reform efforts, we find that welfare reforms were accompanied by substantial increases in the employment of those leaving welfare. However, this appears to be largely the result of an increasingly tight labor market rather than the reforms. We conclude that although an economic recession would not boost TANF caseloads to prior levels, it would seriously jeopardize the goal of increasing self-sufficiency of former welfare recipients through employment.

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Researcher(s):Jerome A. Olson, Christopher T. King, Julie L. Hotchkiss, Peter R. Mueser, Phillip S. Rokicki, and David W. Stevens
Date Published: March 2000
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: In 1998, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, Division of Research and Demonstration awarded funding to an alliance of five state university partners to conduct research on welfare-to-work transitions in five large urban areas: Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Houston, TX; and Kansas City, MO. The objective of this phase of the analysis was to identify and explain similarities and differences in the welfare-to-work transition profiles of adult female welfare recipients in the five urban sites. The data were used to fit reduced-form regression models in which outcomes were dependent on exogenous (or predetermined) variables. This approach to organizing the data was based on the seminal work of Boskin and Nold (1975) that has become one of the standard approaches of event history analysis. This report demonstrated the feasibility of pooling large welfare datasets for cross-urban analyses of welfare and work patterns. A comparison of the descriptive statistics and regression coefficients has shown both commonalities and differences among the states and the urban sites that are intuitively plausible.

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Researcher(s):Deanna T. Schexnayder and Jerome A. Olson
Date Published: July 1999
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: The Role of Child Support in Texas Welfare Dynamics was published in September 1998. That four-year study measured the influence that increased child support enforcement strategies had on Texas welfare dynamics in the period following the implementation of the Family Support Act but prior to passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, the country's latest round of welfare reform.

This supplement provides descriptive statistics about Texas' adult welfare recipients and the noncustodial parents of their children for each of Texas' 28 local workforce development areas. It should be used as a companion piece to the statewide publication and provides statistics about both welfare caretakers and noncustodial parents that are often difficult to obtain, especially at the substate level. With the increased emphasis on improving the employability of noncustodial parents in welfare families, these statistics should provide background information to guide local planners in developing appropriate services for this group.

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Researcher(s):Deanna T. Schexnayder, Jerome A. Olson, Daniel G. Schroeder, Alicia Betsinger, and Shao Chee Sim
Date Published: December 1998
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: In 1995, the Texas Legislature enacted H. B. 1863, which formed the basis for Texas’ waiver from existing Federal laws governing the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. The Texas waiver, officially known as the Achieving Change for Texans (ACT) demonstration, aims to assist participants to achieve independence from welfare through an increased emphasis on employment, training, temporary assistance and support services. It includes four primary components: Time-Limited and Transitional Benefits (TL), Responsibilities, Employment and Resources (RER), Incentives to Achieve Independence (IAI), and TANF One Time Payments.

The evaluation of the ACT demonstration consists of three approaches: a process evaluation, an impact analysis, and follow-up interviews with persons who reached their time limits or who elected to receive TANF One Time payments instead of entering TANF. This report includes net impacts of the ACT demonstration from its inception in June 1996 through December 1997, and describes early impacts of the time limits and RER experiments on welfare dynamics, client self-sufficiency, participation in workforce development programs, and use of subsidized child care services.

Availability:

Researcher(s):Deanna T. Schexnayder, Jerome A. Olson, Daniel G. Schroeder and Jody McCoy
Date Published: September 1998
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: The Family Support Act of 1988 (FSA) mandated a number of policy changes to increase the employability of caretakers receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and to improve the collection of child support from noncustodial parents. Some states, including Texas, enacted state legislation to strengthen their child support enforcement procedures prior to these federal mandates. This research study measures the influence that increased child support enforcement strategies have had on welfare dynamics in Texas, which has one of the lowest AFDC grant levels in the U.S but relatively high rates of paternity establishment and child support collection.

This project investigated four primary research questions: Which factors have the greatest influence on the award and collection of child support in Texas? To what extent does child support influence AFDC exits in Texas? To what extent does child support reduce AFDC recidivism in Texas? What is the combined influence of child support and earnings of the custodial parent in removing families from poverty?

Availability:

Researchers: Christopher T. King and Deanna T. Schexnayder
Date: March 1998

Publication type: Report. Available from the Ray Marshall Center,
contactrmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org.

Researcher(s):Deanna T. Schexnayder, Jerome A. Olson, Daniel P. O'Shea, Davy Norris, Daniel G. Schroeder, and Christopher T. King
Date Published: August 1997
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: The Texas Department of Human Services has been conducting a welfare reform demonstration project entitled “Lone Star Image System” in Bexar and Guadalupe counties. This project uses electronic finger-imaging to detect and deter duplicate applications for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Food Stamp benefits.

The evaluation of the LSIS demonstration consists of both impact and cost analyses over the first seven months of its operation. The purpose of the impact analysis is to measure the effect of the LSIS demonstration on Food Stamp and AFDC caseloads and to explain changes in the rates at which persons enter and leave the two programs. The cost analysis examines the cost features of the LSIS demonstration and the potential benefit savings resulting from the program. Findings are based on an analysis of administrative caseload and cost data from October 1995 through May 1997, as well as interviews with Food Stamp and AFDC recipients who have recently exited from at least one of the programs.

Availability:

Findings from the 2012 Senior Surveys

Authors: Garry Davis and Greg Cumpton
Date: February 2012
Publication Type: Report. 88pp.

This report discusses findings from the senior surveys conducted in the spring of 2012. Some notable student responses for the class of 2012 include when students first started thinking about college, how often during each week they studied for high school subjects, how well they felt their high school coursework prepared them for college coursework, and the types of colleges they applied to. This report also finds differences between 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 seniors’ responses on topics such as the amount of time spent working in paid employment outside of high school, their plans for postsecondary education, and their perceptions about the ease of applying for financial aid.

The Central Texas College Access and Persistence Program Evaluation: Outcomes and Impacts Summary Report

Authors: Tara Smith, Greg Cumpton
Date: January 2013
Publisher: Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Humas Resources, The University of Texas at Austin
Publication Type: Report. 72 pp.

This report presents a summary of findings from the evaluation of college access and persistence services
delivered by three ACAN member organizations. The findings in the report show that all three ACAN
member programs appear to have a significant, positive impact on participants’ college access. Because
this program was started in 2008 data on college persistence will be stronger as more students from
the programs reach the end of their college careers. Already, two of the three programs have shown
significant impacts on students’ college persistence.

Findings from the 2011 Senior Surveys

Authors: Garry Davis and Greg Cumpton
Date: February 2012
Publication Type: Report. 81pp. 

This report discusses findings from the senior surveys conducted in the spring of 2011. Some notable student responses for the class of 2011 include when students first started thinking about college, how often during each week they studied for high school subjects, how well they felt their high school coursework prepared them for college coursework, and the types of colleges they applied to. This report also finds differences between 2009, 2010 and 2011 seniors’ responses on topics such as the amount of time spent working in paid employment outside of high school, their plans for postsecondary education, and their perceptions about the ease of applying for financial aid.

Study of Early Education in Texas: The Relationship of Pre-K Attendance to 3rd Grade Test Results

Authors: Aletha Huston, Anjali Gupta, and Deanna Schexnayder 
Date: March 2012 
Publication Type: Report. 51 pp.

The Student Futures Project: Meeting the Need for Locally-based Education Research

Author: Greg Cumpton
Date: April 2012
Publication Type: Research Brief

This research brief explains how the Student Futures Project meets the needs for locally-based research. The brief includes the motivation behind the research project, an overview of project components, and data on postsecondary transitions, student aspirations and enrollment.

Initial Postsecondary Enrollment Statistics for 2010 Central Texas Graduates through December 2010

Authors: The Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources
Date: July 2011
Publication Type: Report. 5pp.

Findings from the 2010 Senior Surveys

Authors: Greg Cumpton, Shelby Tracy
Date: January 2011
Publication Type: Report
This report presents findings from the survey of area high school seniors conducted in spring 2010. The senior survey contains questions about students’ backgrounds, academic experiences, plans for the future, and perceptions of their preparedness for postsecondary education and the workforce. Comparisons and trends between the 2010 survey and previous years’ surveys are also presented.

Central Texas Student Futures Project Conceptual Model (September 2009)

Authors: Brian L. Levy, Christopher T. King

Date: September 2009

Publication Type: Report
The project relies on a combination of student surveys and linked administrative records to provide feedback in order to improve policy and program alignment for Central Texas ISDs that prepare students for the demands of adulthood and for success in the workplace. The purpose is two-fold:

Education and Work After High School: Findings from Multi-Methods Research in Central Texas

Researcher(s): Deanna Schexnayder and Greg Cumpton, with Chandler Stolp
Date: April 2009
Publication Type: Report. 24pp. (Presented at the American Educational Research Association)

Findings from the 2008 Senior Surveys

Researcher(s): Tara Carter Smith, Nicole Beck and Greg Cumpton
Date: February 2009
Publication Type: Report (PDF). 98pp.

Education and Work after High School: A First Look at the Class of 2007

Researcher(s): Deanna Schexnayder, Christopher T. King, Greg Cumpton, Nicole Beck, Brian Levy and Chandler Stolp
Date: February 2009
Publication Type: Report. 86pp.

Outcomes One Year Later: An Update on the Class of 2006

Researcher(s): Nicole Beck and Greg Cumpton
Date: February 2009
Publication Type: Report (PDF). 26pp.

Findings from the 2007 Senior Surveys

Researcher(s): Tara Carter Smith, Nicole Beck, Greg Cumpton
Date: February 2008
Publication Type: Report (PDF). 87pp.
Abstract: As part of the Central Texas Student Futures Project, Ray Marshall Center researchers survey Central Texas seniors each spring in the semester prior to their expected graduation to gain insight into factors that cannot be examined with students' existing high school records. In Findings from the 2007 Senior Surveys, researchers Tara Carter Smith, Nicole Beck, and Greg Cumpton analyze responses for all 2007 seniors surveyed in eight participating school districts -- Austin, Del Valle, Eanes, Leander, Manor, Pflugerville, Round Rock, and San Marcos Consolidated ISDs -- regarding family background and influences, high school experiences, and preparation for life after high school. The analysis also examines statistically significant differences for particular groups of high school students of concern to policymakers, including those who would be the first in their family to attend college, Hispanic students, and low-income students.

2007 Research Brief

Editors: Christopher T. King, Deanna Schexnayder, Nicole Beck.
Date: February 2008
Publication Type: Research Brief. 12pp.

Education and Work After High School: A First Look at the Class of 2006

Authors:Christopher T. King, Deanna Schexnayder, Greg Cumpton, Tara Carter Smith, Chandler Stolp
Date: November 2007
Publication Type: Report
Abstract: For Education and Work after High School: A First Look at the Class of 2006, Ray Marshall Center researchers used both descriptive statistics and more sophisticated multivariate techniques to determine the factors associated with initial postsecondary education and employment outcomes for 2006 Central Texas seniors. Data for this analysis were constructed from individual student high school records, a spring survey of Central Texas seniors prior to graduation, and subsequent postsecondary education and employment records through December 2006.

Project SOS (Supporting Optimal Scholarship) Evaluation: Final Impact Report

Researcher(s):Deanna Schexnayder, Daniel Schroeder, Greg Cumpton, Kelly Stewart Nichols
Date: August 2007
Publication Type: Report (PDF). 42pp.

Central Texas High School Graduate Data Center: Findings from the 2006 Senior Surveys

Researcher(s):Deanna Schexnayder, Greg Cumpton and Nicole Beck
Date: May 2007
Publication Type: Report. 78pp.
Abstract: As part of the Central Texas Student Futures Project, Ray Marshall Center researchers survey Central Texas seniors each spring in the semester prior to their expected graduation to gain insight into factors that cannot be examined with students’ existing high school records.

Central Texas High School Graduate Data Center: Year One Report Brief

Researcher(s):Greg Cumpton, Esmeralda Garcia, Hannah Gourgey, Brendan Hill, Christopher King, Deanna Schexnayder, Tara Carter Smith, David Wilkinson
Date: April 2006
Publication Type: Brief. 8pp.

Central Texas High School Graduate Data Center: Year One Final Report

Researcher(s):Deanna Schexnayder, Brendan Hill, Greg Cumpton, Esmeralda Garcia, Tara Carter Smith, Christopher King, Hannah Gourgey and David Wilkinson
Date: March 2006
Publication Type: Report. 130pp.
Abstract: Globalization, technological innovation and the ongoing restructuring of work have created a "skills premium" for well-educated and trained workers in the U.S. and locally. Currently, Texas has the highest percentage of adults without high school diplomas of any state and is also experiencing major demographic shifts that may exacerbate this trend.

Beyond the Numbers: Improving Post-Secondary Success through a Central Texas High School Data Center

Researcher(s):Christopher T. King, Deanna T. Schexnayder and Hannah Gourgey
Date: January 2006
Publication Type: Policy Research Project Report. 208pp.
Abstract: In 2004, the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources and Skillpoint Alliance began collaborating to design and implement an approach to documenting the experiences of Central Texas high school graduates over time and to using this information to help the region's education, civic and business leaders improve postsecondary education and labor market outcomes. The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce both initiated and served as a major funder of this effort.

Parent Satisfaction with School Quality: Evidence from One Texas District

Researcher(s):Toni Falbo, Robert W. Glover, S. Lynne Stokes, W. Lee Holcombe, Wei Na Lee, Veronica Inchauste, O’Neil Provost, Deanna Schexnayder and others
Date: January 2003
Publication Type: Report. 33pp.
Abstract: In order to examine parents’ satisfaction with the quality of their children’s schools, a telephone survey was conducted on a stratified random sample of parents. The results indicated that the mean of the parents’ satisfaction scores was similar to the national mean for customer satisfaction.

Researcher(s):Daniel O'Shea
Date: March 2002
Publication Types: Full Report (40pp.) and Executive Summary. For printed copies, contact rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org.
Abstract: This report presents results of an independently contracted evaluation of activities and services delivered under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 (PL 103-239) by the Capital Area Education and Careers Partnership (the Partnership).

Researcher: Daniel O’Shea
Date: February 2001
Publication Types: Full Report (33pp) and Executive Summary. Printed copies available, contact rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org.

Abstract: This report presents results of an independently contracted evaluation of activities and services delivered under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 (PL 103-239) by the Capital Area Education and Careers Partnership (the Partnership). School-to-Work activities (known as “School-to-Career” in Texas) are provided largely through 27 existing regional School-to-Career (STC).

Researchers: Robert W. Glover and Sue E. Mutchler
Date: November 2000
Publication Type: Chapter in the book Mentoring Beginning Teachers: Lessons from the Experience in Texas
Publisher: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, Austin, TX.

Researcher(s):Daniel P. O'Shea and Christopher T. King
Date: March 2000
Publication Types: Full Report (PDF); Full Report (HTML); Executive Summary (PDF); Printed copies available, contact rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org.

Abstract: This report presents results of an evaluation of activities and services delivered under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 by the Capital Area Education and Careers Partnership. The evaluation results are presented in four sections:

Engaging Industry in Building School-to-Career Opportunities: Lessons to Date from the Experience in Austin, Texas

Researcher: Robert W. Glover
Date: April 1996
Publication Type: Report. 50pp.

Texas Early Childhood Education Needs Assessment: Gaps Between Need and Availability of Early Care and Education

Authors: Deanna Schexnayder, Cynthia Juniper and Daniel Schroeder

Date: October 2012

Texas Early Childhood Edyucation Needs Assessment: Supply and Quality of Early Care and Education and School-Age Care

Authors: Deanna Schexnayder, Cynthia Juniper, Anjali Gupta, Daniel Schroeder and Vanessa Morales

Date: August 2012

Change in the Early Childhood Population in Texas, 2000 to 2010, and Projected to 2015

Authors: Steve H. Murdock, Michael Cline, Debbie Perez, George Hough
Date: September 2012
Publication Type and Availability: Report, by the Hobby Center for Study of Texas, Rice University. 140pp. Contact RMCpubs@raymarshallcenter.org.

Researchers report data on the increase of the early childhood population (children under 13 years) in Texas from 2000 to 2010, and provide growth projections for this group from 2010 to 2015.

Texas Early Childhood Education Needs Assessment: Final Report

2012 Texas Child Care Market Rate Survey: Final Report.

Publication Date: February 2013
Publisher: The Center for Social Work Research and the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, at The University of Texas at Austin.
Availability: Copies may be obtained from the Texas Workforce Commission.

Since 2003, the Ray Marshall Center has partnered with the Center for Social Work Research at the University of Texas in Austin to conduct an annual survey of child care market rate in Texas. Survey results are to provided to 28 Local Workforce Development Boards that manage the federal child care program in Texas with the goal of providing the Boards with up-to-date, reliable data and information to use in setting maximum reimbursements rates that ensure equal access to child care, thereby maximizing public resources.

Employment Outcomes for Low-income Families Receiving Child Care Subsidies in Illinois, Maryland, and Texas
Authors: Robert George, Allison Harris, Lucy Mackey Bilaver, Kerry Franzetta, Mairead Reidy, Deanna Schexnayder, Daniel G, Schroeder, Jane Staveley, J. Lee Kreader, Sally Obenski, Ronald C. Prevost, Michael E. Berning, Dean M. Resnick.
Publication Date: August 2009
Publication Type: University of Chicago, Chapin Hall Center for Children. 81pp.
Availability: Report available at Research Connections website

Researcher(s):Deanna Schexnayder, Daniel Schroeder
Date Published: March 2008
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin, and the Center for Social Work Research, School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin

Availability:

Researcher(s):Deanna Schexnayder, Laura Lein
Date Published: March 2008
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin, and the Center for Social Work Research, School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin

Availability:

Researcher(s):Laura Lein, Julie Beausoleil, Ying Tang
Date Published: October 2007
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin, and the Center for Social Work Research, School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin

Availability:

2006 Texas Child Care Market Rate Survey: Final Report

Publication Date:February 2007
Publisher: The Center for Social Work Research, The University of Texas at Austin, and the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin. 168pp.
Availability: Copies may be obtained from the Texas Workforce Commission.

Author(s): Daniel Schroeder, Christopher T. King, Esmeralda Garcia, Sarah Looney Oldmixon and Andy David
Date Published: September 2005
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin
Availability: Full Report (PDF) 76pp.

Abstract: The Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has partnered with the Texas
Workforce Commission (TWC) on a demonstration project referred to as the Non-custodial Parent Choices Initiative (or NCP Choices). The project links IV-D courts responsible for child support issues, OAG child support staff, and local workforce development boards to encourage workforce development of unemployed and/or underemployed non-custodial parents (NCPs) with unpaid child support orders, and whose child is either currently receiving public assistance or has previously received public assistance.

2004 Texas Child Care Market Rate Survey: Final Report

Publication Date: January 2005
Publisher: The Center for Social Work Research, The University of Texas at Austin; and the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin. 109pp.
Availability: Copies may be obtained from the Texas Workforce Commission.

Researcher(s): Deanna Schexnayder, Daniel Schroeder, Ying Tang, Laura Lein, Julie Beausoleil, and Gina Amatangelo
Date: June 2004
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin, and Center for Social Work Research, School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: This report on the devolution of subsidized child care in Texas examines and analyzes child care policies and program management at the state and local areas over the six-year time period under study (FYs 1998-2003). It updates state and local policy changes and statistical profiles for FY 2002 and FY 2003, and analyzes the patterns of policy changes, the role of the workforce development board, and local partnerships across the 28 local workforce development board areas. Placed in the context of the nation’s child care policy environment, the report further discusses key issues such as strategies for obtaining local funding and partnerships in the area of subsidized child care, and how state and localities have addressed the issue of quality at a time of fiscal constraint and increased need for services.

Availability:

• Appendix A: Federal and State Policy Changes Affecting the Texas Child Care Subsidy System
• Appendix B: Profiles of Local Workforce Areas
• Appendix B: Profiles of Local Workforce Areas (continued)
• Appendix C: Indicator Maps
• Appendix D: Detailed Information from Interviews with Local Child Care Staff
• Appendix E: Definitions of Terms and Sources of Information

Printed Copies, contact: rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org

Researcher(s):Laura Lein, Julie Beausoleil, Sara Trott, Deanna Schexnayder, Daniel Schroeder, Ying Tang, and Matthew Randazzo
Date Published: April 2003
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: Researchers from the Ray Marshall Center and Center for Social Work Research at the University of Texas at Austin have completed the first year of a three-year study on the devolution of child care in Texas, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Child Care Bureau. Two reports were completed in the first year of the study. Texas Child Care Profiles for Local Workforce Development Areas for Fiscal Year 1998-Fiscal Year 2001 provides an overview of child care policies, funding, subsidy utilization patterns and client characteristics across all of the 28 local workforce development boards. Preliminary Findings from Interviews With Child Care Program Managers is a summary of interviews conducted with local board child care program managers during the period of April to June 2002 regarding the evolution, operation and management of child care programs in local workforce areas.

Availability:

Preliminary Findings from Interviews with Child Care Program Managers: A Product of the Study of Devolution of Subsidized Child Care in Texas (PDF)

Printed Copies:
Contact: rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org

Researcher(s): Daniel Schroeder, Trish Norman, Ying Tang, Matthew Randazzo, Deanna Schexnayder, Laura Lein, Julie Beausoleil, and Sara Trott
Date: April 2003
Publication Types: Full Report (in color or black and white). 92pp. Executive Summary.
Preliminary Findings from Interviews with Child Care Program Managers: A Product of the Study of Devolution of Subsidized Child Care in Texas (PDF).
Contact rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org for printed copies of reports.

Abstract: Researchers from the Ray Marshall Center and Center for Social Work Research at the University of Texas at Austin have completed the first year of a three-year study on the devolution of child care in Texas, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Child Care Bureau. Two reports were completed in the first year of the study. Texas Child Care Profiles for Local Workforce Development Areas for Fiscal Year 1998-Fiscal Year 2001 provides an overview of child care policies, funding, subsidy utilization patterns and client characteristics across all of the 28 local workforce development boards. Preliminary Findings from Interviews With Child Care Program Managers is a summary of interviews conducted with local board child care program managers during the period of April to June 2002 regarding the evolution, operation and management of child care programs in local workforce areas.

Researcher(s): Jerome A. Olson and Deanna T. Schexnayder
Date: June 2002
Publication Type: Full Report 51pp.(PDF); Executive Summary (PDF).

Abstract: This paper examines the major reasons for subsidized child care receipt among current and former welfare recipients in Harris County, Texas, between mid-1995 and mid-1999. For the most part, poor people receive subsidized child care because of either employment or engagement in workforce development activities. The time period of the study was chosen so that significant periods before and after welfare reform could be observed. The welfare reforms that were enacted during this period included the Federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA) legislation and the Texas legislation that resulted in the state’s welfare waiver, known as the “Achieving Change for Texans” (ACT) waiver. This document reports on the estimation of a statistical model developed to determine the factors associated with the likelihood of employment (as opposed to training) as well as earnings, for recipients of subsidized child care who were current or former welfare clients.

The Net Benefits of Early Childhood Investments: Findings, Implications and a Texas Agenda

Researcher(s): Christopher T. King, Katherine Faliski, Alicia M. Betsinger and Daniel P. O’Shea
Date: June 1999
Publication Type: Full Report. Executive Summary (PDF) Printed Copies: 40pp, $4.00, Contact rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org.

Abstract: Early childhood intervention programs have varied widely in terms of their focus, their scale, the ages of the children served, and the scope or range of services provided. The expected benefits and costs of targeted early childhood investments have been estimated and projected for an illustrative cohort of Texas infants: Children 0-1 year old living in families with annual incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level in the year 2000, the overwhelming majority of them in minority families, especially Hispanics.

The Impact of Child Care on Low-Income Texas Families: A Research Review

Researcher(s): Deanna T. Schexnayder and Jody McCoy
Date: December 1996
Publication Type: Report. 23pp.
Publisher(s): Austin, TX: Texas Workforce Commission
Abstract: Child care provisions in the federal welfare reform bill provide state policy makers new flexibility in allocating funds for child care among Texas’ low-income families. However, the increasing labor force participation of Texas mothers, the growth of the Hispanic population, and high poverty rates among Texas children all point to a need for further state investment in child care. This report, prepared for the 75th Texas Legislature, is a review of the existing research on the importance of child care programs to low-income families.

Researcher(s):Christopher T. King, J. Bruce Kellison, Tara Smith, Eliza Evans, MaryAnn Anderson, Ara Merjanian, Bryan Hadley and Andrew Stackhouse
Date Published: March 2007
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin, and IC² Institute, The University of Texas at Austin

Availability:

Researcher(s):Christopher T. King, J. Bruce Kellison, Tara Smith, Eliza Evans, MaryAnn Anderson, Ara Merjanian, Bryan Hadley and Andrew Stackhouse
Date Published: March 2007
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin, and IC² Institute, The University of Texas at Austin

Availability:

Researcher(s):Christopher T. King, Deanna T. Schexnayder and Hannah Gourgey
Date Published: January 2006
Publisher(s): Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: In 2004, the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources and Skillpoint Alliance began collaborating to design and implement an approach to documenting the experiences of Central Texas high school graduates over time and to using this information to help the region's education, civic and business leaders improve postsecondary education and labor market outcomes. The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce both initiated and served as a major funder of this effort. The Texas Education Agency provided financial support as well. This policy research project report presents the results of the first phase of this effort, making the case for a Central Texas High School Graduate Data Center, describing best practices from around the country, and outlining immediate plans and next steps for the Data Center.

Availability:

Researcher(s):Robert W. Glover, Suzanne Hershey and Christopher T. King
Date Published: October 2005
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Availability:

Researcher(s):Robert W. Glover, Suzanne Hershey and Christopher T. King
Date Published: October 2005
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Availability:

Researcher(s):Robert W. Glover, Suzanne Hershey, Christopher T. King and Deepshikha Roychowdhury
Date Published: August 2005
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Availability:

Researcher(s):Robert W. Glover, Suzanne Hershey, Christopher T. King and Deepshikha Roychowdhury
Date Published: June 2005
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Availability:

Researcher(s):Robert W. Glover, Suzanne Hershey, Christopher T. King and Deepshikha Roychowdhury
Date Published: July 2005
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Availability:

Researcher(s):Daniel P. O'Shea, Alicia M. Betsinger and Christopher T. King
Date Published: April 1999
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: This report presents preliminary findings regarding the career progression of individuals in ten occupations. The project was designed to explore the education, training, and work experiences of individuals who are successful in these occupations as a possible basis for career guidance information and further research. The occupations were selected as probable "apex" occupations projected from "entry" occupations for which job placements are currently favorable.

Researchers conducted face-to-face interviews in the Austin metropolitan area with between five and ten individuals in each occupation. Participants were identified and recruited through professional or employer association, training or educational providers, and personal referrals. Because of the convenience sampling and small numbers of participants, findings are anecdotal and are not generalizable.

Availability:

Researcher(s):Christopher T. King and Deanna T. Schexnayder
Date Published: May 1998
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: This paper briefly examines the advantages and disadvantages of linked employer-employee administrative data drawn from UI wages and other records, based in part on experience with using them for state policy research. It then offers several illustrative uses to which researchers have put these data to inform Texas policy makers. It concludes with a series of observations and thoughts on future directions using these data.

Availability:

Researcher(s):Ying Tang, Christopher T. King, Erin Brown, Katie Ryan, Bryan Hadley and Suzanne Hershey
Date Published: July 2006
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Availability: Full Report (PDF) 165pp., Executive Summary (PDF) 10pp.

Abstract: United Way Capital Area envisioned the development of a Community Agenda encompassing the ten counties in its Central Texas service area: Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet,Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, Lee, Llano, Travis and Williamson. The goal of the Community Agenda Project was to understand and prioritize critical health and human service issues, root causes and priorities for action for the ten counties.

Researcher(s):Ying Tang, Christopher T. King, Erin Brown, Katie Ryan, Bryan Hadley, Suzanne Hershey
Date Published: July 2006
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Availability:

Researcher(s):Ying Tang, Suzanne Hershey, Christopher T. King, Katie Ryan and Erin Brown
Date Published: March 2006
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Availability:

Researcher(s):Ying Tang, Christopher T. King, Katie Ryan, Erin Brown and Suzanne Hershey
Date Published: March 2006
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Availability: Full Report (PDF) 21pp.

Abstract: United Way Capital Area (UWCA), Austin has been a key player in providing
support to address the needs of individuals, families and communities in Central Texas, especially in the Austin/Travis County metropolitan area. UWCA conducts fundraising campaigns and currently provides funding to 44 area health and human service providers. For the 2005-2006 fiscal year, all UWCA funded agencies are non-profit organizations, and all but three are based in Travis County. Additionally, UWCA operates programs including 2-1-1 Texas and Hands on Central Texas which serve the ten-county area. UWCA has expanded its involvement in community collaborations in recent years, resulting in initiatives such as Success By 6, which focuses on early childhood.

Researcher(s):Dan O'Shea, Christopher T. King, Stuart Greenfield, Elaine Shelton, Laura Sullivan, Erin Taber, Jerome A. Olson
Date Published: December 2004
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Availability: Full Report (PDF) 107pp., Executive Summary (PDF)

Abstract: The Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources at The University of Texas at Austin developed estimates of the benefits, costs, and net value created by public and private investments in a national, three digit- accessed (2-1-1) information and referral (I&R) network for health and human services in a study conducted for the United Way of America.

Researcher(s):Christopher T. King
Date Published: February 2001
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: This Report evaluates the Texas Department of Health's On the Right Track Project, which addresses the prevention of secondary conditions for persons with disabilities in Texas. The project has three main goals: science, service and leadership. The Science goal addresses knowledge concerning the magnitude and severity of disabilities and secondary conditions. The service goal is concerned with promoting healthy lifestyles for people with disabilities in Texas by increasing the awareness of the need for preventing secondary conditions within the learning domain among consumers, providers and policy makers. The Leadership goal relates to strengthening the Texas Department of Health’s leadership role in understanding and preventing secondary conditions that are associated with disabilities in the learning domain. Ultimately, On the Right Track seeks to improve learning, achievement, and overall quality of life in people with disabilities in Texas

The evaluation of Year Three On the Right Track activities primarily addressed process and implementation aspects of the project. Researchers reviewed project documents and conducted structured interviews with current and former On the Right Track and related staff at the Texas Department of Health, as well as key individuals with sites in Bell and Harris County and researchers at Southwest Texas State University.

Availability:

Full Report (PDF)
Executive Summary (PDF)
Executive Summary (HTML) Printed Copies: 53pp, $5.00
Contact: rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org

Researcher(s):Daniel P. O’Shea, Leah Kegler and Christopher T. King
Date Published: August 2000
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: This report summarizes the results of the revised benefits/costs analysis for the Texas Information and Referral Network. As in our previous report on this network, we found that state appropriations for a comprehensive Texas Health and Human Services Information & Referral Network will create more benefits than cost and will return a net value to society. Despite an increase in total cost for the Network, we estimate that the unadjusted net benefit to society rose by nearly $0.3 million to $14.7 million and that the share of the total costs borne by the state government dropped more than $1.0 million. State cost reductions are the result of increased local contributions to this collaborative public/private effort.

To arrive at these estimates, we reviewed previous and additional assumptions related to our valuation formulas. We decided that the basic conceptual cost/benefits model used to arrive at our original estimates retained validity. We incorporated the new information into our model to produce the revised estimates.

Availability:

Full Report (PDF)
Full Report (HTML)
Executive Summary (PDF)
Printed Copies: 23pp, $2.00
Contact: rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org

Researcher(s):Christopher T. King and Alicia M. Betsinger
Date Published: August 1999
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: The On the Right Track project began in July of 1997. It was designed to:

• Assess and document the magnitude and severity of disabilities and secondary conditions for persons with disabilities in Texas.
• Promote healthy lifestyles for people with disabilities in Texas.
• Strengthen the leadership role of the Texas Department fo Health (TDH) in this domain.

This report provides and overview of the key features of On the Right Track and outlines the roles and responsibilities of project partners. It briefly describes the implementation of the project during Year Two and subsequently presents project constraints and lessons learned during its implementation phase.

Availability:

Printed Copies: 25 pp, $2.00
Contact: rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org

Researcher(s):Christopher T. King, Daniel P. O'Shea and Alicia M. Betsinger
Date Published: December 1998
Publisher(s): Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: This report is a benefit/cost analysis of the proposed comprehensive Texas Health and Human Services Information & Referral Network under contract with the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). Developing such a Network is an idea that has been a priority of the Texas Legislature since at least the early 1990s, in part as a response to the highly fragmented and duplicative environment in which information and referral for health and human services has been operating for decades.

The proposed comprehensive I&R Network builds upon the current network of Community Information Centers by developing a network of 25 Area Information Centers that would coordinate and provide services throughout Texas. A statewide automated information warehouse comprised of standardized, electronic health and human services along with central website and a 211 Single Number System for health and human services information would also be developed.

Total costs, benefits and the resulting net value have been estimated using standard methodologies for the comprehensive I&R system as a whole over a 10-year period from 2000 to 2009.

Availability:

Full Report (PDF)
Executive Summary (PDF)
Executive Summary (HTML) Printed Copies:
Contact rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org
60pp.