Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield: Publications

• Mar 25, 2013  |  Allegra Baider, Vickie Choitz, Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield, Marcie W.M. Foster, Linda Harris, Elizabeth Lower-Basch, Neil Ridley, Julie Strawn Funding Career Pathways and Career Pathway Bridges: A Federal Policy Toolkit for States This toolkit is designed to help interagency state teams identify and facilitate "braiding" of federal resources to design and develop career pathways and bridges into them for adults and out-of-school youth. The toolkit also will help state teams identify state policy barriers to using federal resources for career pathways and bridges and, ideally, address them. Read Online   |   Download PDF
• Mar 04, 2011  |  Marcie Foster, Julie Strawn, and Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield Beyond Basic Skills: State Strategies to Connect Low-Skilled Students to an Employer-Valued Postsecondary Education Having a postsecondary education -- broadly defined as a credential beyond a high school diploma -- continues to be one of the most important factors in getting a good job and advancing in the workforce. Critical federal programs, such as funding for student aid and job training, can help lower-skilled adults and youth access postsecondary education, but important policy choices that support their success and completion can be made at the state and local levels. This report describes strategies that state policymakers can use to strengthen connections between basic skills education and postsecondary education to help lower-skilled adults and out-of-school youth attain the postsecondary credentials they need to advance in the labor market. Read Online   |   Download PDF
• Nov 30, 2010  |  Linda Harris & Amy Ellen Duke-Benfiled Building Pathways to Postsecondary Success for Low-Income Young Men of Color Linda Harris, director of youth policy, and Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield, senior policy analyst, co-authored a chapter in the recently published book Changing Places: How Communities Will Improve the Health of Boys of Color. The book "draws attention to the urgent need--both economic and moral--to better understand the policy and community-based factors that serve as opportunities or barriers for young men and boys of color as they make critical life decisions." Ms. Harris and Ms. Duke-Benfield's chapter examines why it is essential to invest access to postsecondary education opportunities for young men of color. Download PDF
• Sep 13, 2010 Webinar: Helping Low-Income Adults and Disadvantaged Youth Earn Credentials and Build Careers: Leading Foundations Speak about Policy Priorities Postsecondary education and credentials are key to economic mobility for individuals and economic competitiveness for our nation. Yet too many low-income adults and disadvantaged youth are locked out of the opportunity to earn credentials and are falling further and further behind. To combat this national challenge, CLASP has launched a new project, the Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success (C-PES) and kicked off the initiative with a policy discussion featuring thought leaders from the Ford Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Joyce Foundation. Each of these foundations has made improving postsecondary access and success a top priority. During this webinar, they discuss their specific policy priorities for helping lower-income adults and disadvantaged youth attain postsecondary credentials and achieve economic mobility. Read Online
• Sep 09, 2010  |  Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield Comments on Department of Education Proposed Regulations on Gainful Employment Download PDF
• Aug 02, 2010  |  Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield Comments on Department of Education Proposed Regulations on Program Integrity Download PDF
• Jul 08, 2010  |  Julie Strawn Shifting Gears: State Innovation to Advance Adult Workers and the Economy in the Midwest Read Online   |   Download PDF
• Mar 23, 2010  |  Thomas Hilliard and Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield Summary of Key Postsecondary Education and Training Provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 Download PDF
• Jan 25, 2010  |  CLASP Federal Policy Recommendations for 2010 Our nation faces many domestic challenges, including improving access to affordable health care, improving access to education as well as education outcomes, and providing debt and foreclosure relief. CLASP's 2010 federal policy recommendations are equally essential to achieving healthy and thriving families and improving the nation's prosperity. Read Online   |   Download PDF
• Dec 10, 2009  |  Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield and Thomas Hilliard Recommendations to Refocus WIA Title II on Career and Postsecondary Success Download PDF
• Oct 28, 2009  |  Josh Bone and Elizabeth Lower-Basch Analysis of Fiscal Year 2008 TANF and MOE Spending by States The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has published data concerning use of federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and state maintenance of effort (MOE) funds in FY 2008. This set of state-by-state charts shows how each state reported using its TANF and MOE funds in FY 2008. Read Online   |   Download Spreadsheet   |   Additional PDF
• Sep 01, 2009  |  CLASP Federal Policy Recommendations for 2009 and Beyond The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) has developed an extensive federal policy agenda for President Obama and the 111th Congress directed at improving the lives of low income people. That agenda is outlined in this document. Download PDF
• Sep 24, 2008  |  Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield and Julie Strawn Congress Expands Student Aid and Supports Innovation in Student Success, Basic Skills and Workforce Partnerships On August 14, 2008, President Bush signed into law P.L. 110-315, Higher Education Opportunity Act, the long-awaited reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965. This piece summarizes the key provisions that will influence postsecondary access and success for nontraditional students, including year-round Pell Grants and new pilot programs championed by CLASP for Student Success Grants, Business Workforce Partnerships, and basic skills Bridges from Jobs to Careers programs. Download PDF
• Mar 12, 2008  |  Amy-Ellen Duke and Julie Strawn Overcoming Obstacles,Optimizing Opportunities: State Policies to Increase Postsecondary Attainment for Low-Skilled Adults This paper, by Amy-Ellen Duke and Julie Strawn, provides an overview of state policies that can be most successful in helping lower-skilled adults enter and succeed in college and careers. The paper introduces a series of state policy reports developed as part of Breaking Through, a national project that is helping community colleges identify and develop institutional strategies that can enable low-skilled adult students to enter into and succeed in occupational and technical degree programs at community colleges. Download PDF
• Feb 13, 2008  |  Amy-Ellen Duke A Strong Step for Students: House Higher Education Bill Promotes Innovation and Student Success Last Thursday, the House of Representatives passed the College Opportunity and Affordability Act. This legislation, moves Congress one step closer to the long-awaited reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which governs federal student financial aid and other programs that promote access for low-income and underrepresented students. The bill now goes to a conference committee of House and Senate members. CLASP urges the committee to adopt the provisions passed by the House and to support two changes which the Senate is addressing in reauthorization. Download PDF
• Dec 20, 2007  |  Amy-Ellen Duke and Evelyn Ganzglass Strengthening State Adult Education Policies for Low-Skilled Workers At a time when employers increasingly need better educated and skilled workers to succeed, too few states have taken significant actions to improve adult education and literacy. This brief, prepared for the Working Poor Families Project, provides an overview of state adult education policies and programs and recommends ways they can be strengthened to provide better job advancement opportunities for lower-skilled adults and older youth. Download PDF
• Dec 18, 2007  |  Amy-Ellen Duke Statement Prepared for the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance; Community College Symposium Community colleges play a critical role in increasing economic opportunity for adults by helping individuals move out of dead-end, low-wage jobs into careers that can support a family. In a statement prepared for a symposium on issues effecting community colleges hosted by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, Senior Policy Analyst Amy-Ellen Duke focuses on two areas integral to the success of low-income adults at community colleges--policies to support student success and improve developmental education--and highlights successful programs across the country. Download PDF
• Sep 19, 2007  |  Amy-Ellen Duke and Julie Strawn Congress Expands Access to Postsecondary Education and Training for Low-income Adults On September 7, Congress enacted H.R. 2669, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. The act substantially helps nontraditional students, such as working adults and older youth, by expanding grant aid and simplifying access to aid. In particular, the act increases the maximum Pell Grant and lets working low-income adults keep more of their earnings. CLASP applauds members of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and the House's Education and Labor Committee for recognizing the particular challenges faced by low-income working adults and acting to address many of them in this legislation. Download PDF
• May 18, 2007  |  Amy-Ellen Duke and Julie Strawn Update WIA Title II to Help More Adult Education Students Gain Postsecondary Credentials and Move Up to Better Jobs Since passage of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in 1998, it's become clear both that an increase in basic skills leads to an increase in low-skilled individuals' earnings and that these earnings increases typically fall short of what people need to become self-sufficient. There is a new consensus on the importance of increasing transitions from adult education to postsecondary education and training. Currently, however, WIA Title II does not reflect this consensus. These recommendations are intended to update Title II to support state and local innovations in this critical area. Download PDF
• Apr 20, 2007  |  Julie Strawn and Amy-Ellen Duke Recommendations to the House Committee on Education and Labor Regarding Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act These recommendations were submitted to Chairman George Miller and members of the House Committee on Education and Labor. They recommend changes to the Higher Education Act (HEA) that 1) help more working adults and other nontraditional students enroll in and complete postsecondary programs by offering greater financial and other support, 2) help colleges in their critical workforce development role by promoting innovation in program content and delivery, and 3) simplify the aid application process and increase aid to the neediest students. Download PDF
• Apr 20, 2007  |  Julie Strawn and Amy-Ellen Duke Updating WIA Title II to Help More Adult Education Students Gain Postsecondary Credentials and Move up to Better Jobs These recommendations to the U.S. Senate are intended to update the Workforce Investment Act (WIA)Title II (the Adult Education and Literacy Act) and support state and local innovations focused on increasing transitions from adult education to postsecondary education and training. Download PDF
• Aug 28, 2006  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch, Rutledge Q. Hutson, Amy-Ellen Duke, and Julie Strawn Comments to HHS on the TANF Interim Final Rule These are CLASP's official comments to ACF on the interim final rule published in the Federal Register on June 29, 2006. These regulations implemented changes to TANF made as part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. Download PDF
• Aug 10, 2006  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch, Amy-Ellen Duke and Allegra Baider Model Comments on TANF Interim Final Rule -- Workforce Development System These model comments on the interim final TANF regulations are focused on specific issues related to the definition of work activities and reporting requirements that are of interest to the workforce development community. Download PDF
• Aug 10, 2006  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch, Amy-Ellen Duke, and Allegra Baider Model Education and Training Comments on TANF Interim Final Rule These model comments on the interim final TANF regulations are focused on specific education and training issues related to the definition of work activities and reporting requirements. Download PDF
• May 08, 2006  |  Amy-Ellen Duke and Julie Strawn New Student Aid Changes Help Nontraditional Students Although Congress has yet to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, the fiscal year 2006 federal budget--enacted in February 2006--included several higher education provisions that will provide additional financial aid to low-income working adults and other non-traditional students. This fact sheet examines those provisions and what they likely mean for low-income families and students. Download PDF
• Apr 06, 2006  |  Amy-Ellen Duke, Karin Martinson, and Julie Strawn Wising Up: How Government Can Partner With Business to Increase Skills and Advance Low-Wage Workers Helping low-wage workers upgrade their skills is a critical part of public policies to advance workers and to attract and retain "good" jobs—those that pay enough to support a family and offer health care, sick leave, and other important benefits. One promising approach has states and local governments partnering with business and industry to train workers and encourage the creation and retention of good jobs. This report examines five such training partnerships underway in four states, and offers innovative practices, challenges, and lessons learned for states and localities. Download PDF
• Sep 09, 2005  |  Julie Strawn and Amy-Ellen Duke Why the Senate Higher Education Bill is Good News for Low-Income Adults--and How to Make it Even Better On September 8th, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee unanimously approved S. 1614, bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. Among the bill's provisions that will help low income adults are new, supplemental Pell grants to the poorest students; expansion of Pell grants to students enrolled less than half-time or attending year round; pilots of student aid for modularized programs; and grants to prepare nontraditional students for high growth jobs. Further improvements in the bill are needed, though, to increase aid to working adults, to simplify student aid applications, and to prevent fraud and abuse. Download PDF
• May 31, 2005  |  Julie Strawn and Amy-Ellen Duke Recommendations Regarding the Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act These recommendations were submitted to Chairman Mike Enzi of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on May 28, 2005. They recommend changes to the Higher Education Act to ensure that higher education policies and funding streams at the federal, state, and local levels support the workforce education role of postsecondary institutions and meet the needs of the nontraditional students typically enrolled in occupational programs, particularly working adults and older youth who are on their own financially. Download PDF
• Feb 22, 2005  |  Julie Strawn and Amy-Ellen Duke President's Budget Sabotages Pipeline of Skilled Workers CLASP estimates that nearly half a million people--at least 470,000--would be denied literacy, Adult Basic Education, GED, and English as a Second Language services due to the President's proposed budget cuts. This analysis includes a table of state-by-state data estimating the impact of the proposed cuts. Click here to view the Excel version of this table. Download PDF