Using Data to Connect TANF Clients to Good Jobs: An Opportunity to Foster WIOA Partnerships

“[Temporary Assistance for Needy Families] TANF practitioners aim to build a bridge between clients and good jobs, which can be thought of as those characterized by plentiful job openings, sufficient hours, living wages, job security, and the potential for promotion and career advancement. Connecting clients to such jobs is no easy task, but having the right tools and resources can make it easier. Labor market information (LMI) is one tool that can be used to improve TANF agencies’ ability to match clients to in-demand jobs requiring levels of education and training that TANF clients can achieve” (p.1).

“This report aims to provide TANF practitioners with basic information about LMI—including what LMI is, what it can be used for, who produces LMI data, and key distinctions between types of LMI—to help them identify opportunities in which LMI can support their work and be useful to TANF clients. It also aims to provide TANF practitioners with the language necessary for communicating clearly with labor agency staff. This knowledge can be deployed to increase the use of LMI in-house or to build strong partnerships with labor agency staff that will support TANF job development and placement.

In each section of this report, [the authors] provide different information about LMI. In Section II, [the authors] provide a definition of LMI and describe some of the major types of LMI. Section III describes the tools and services informed by LMI that can be used to benefit TANF clients, and Section IV offers concrete suggestions for building TANF-labor agency partnerships. The conclusion summarizes challenges and benefits associated with using LMI” (p.1).

The authors define LMI as “…data and predictions related to the supply of and demand for workers; the wages and training associated with specific occupations and industries; and unemployment levels, often broken down by education level, geographic location, industry, or specific occupation” (p.2). In addition to describing different types of LMI data, the report shares different tools and services that may be useful for TANF staff. For instance, the authors discuss how TANF agencies may use LMI data to identify promising training programs for clients: “LMI can also indicate growing jobs that require entry-level employees to have completed short-term training or earned a credential” (p.11).

(Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

After describing how practitioners can use LMI data to inform job placement services for TANF recipients, the report provides suggestions for how TANF staff can collaborate with labor agencies to develop strong partnerships. These include: • “Use WIOA as a starting point: Passage of WIOA provides an opportunity to start a conversation with labor agency staff about LMI and resources that could help connect TANF recipients to good jobs…. These changes provide a useful framework for TANF and labor agency staff to work more closely and share resources and expertise” (p.14). • “Request training: LMI agency staff might have the capacity to provide training to TANF staff. This could include training for data analysts on available LMI data sets and the analysis or programming required to answer specific questions. It could also include training of frontline staff on how to integrate LMI and related tools into their service delivery” (p.15). • “Invite labor agency staff to present data on employment trends…: For example, Oregon’s Department of Human Services (DHS) invites Employment Department and the Office of Economic Analysis staff to make presentations on economic trends at quarterly TANF meetings attended by field leadership and contracted providers. The information presented includes changes in employment by industry and county. DHS forecasters work with labor agency staff to tailor the presentation to a TANF audience” (p.16). • “Request ad hoc reports: State LMI agencies typically have the capacity to create ad hoc reports to answer specific questions about local labor markets. Instead of trying to analyze the available (individual-level) LMI in-house, TANF staff could ask their labor agency counterparts if they have the capacity to create customized reports to share. For instance, a TANF administrator could ask labor agency staff for a report on what entry-level, low-skill occupations are predicted to have large numbers of future job openings in his or her agency’s area, focusing on jobs that require less than a bachelor’s degree or provide on-the-job training” (p.16). (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2015
• Author(s): Joyce, Kristen; Gould-Werth, Alix; Derr, Michelle; Sanchez-Eppler, Elias; Clowney, Carrie; et al.
• Organizational Author(s): Mathematica Policy Research
• Funding Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Long Dang
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies