http://www.clasp.org/issues/rss/publications.xml?type=employment_strategies Resources and Publications from the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) en-us Wed, 22 May 2013 13:56:24 -0500 info@clasp.org webmaster@clasp.org 40 Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500 /resources_and_publications/publication?id=1242&list=publications The Work Supports Newsletter is a monthly update that summarizes CLASP's work on safety net programs that include cash assistance (TANF), nutrition supports (SNAP), refundable tax credits, health insurance, child support enforcement and child care subsidies. http://www.clasp.org/resources_and_publications/publication?id=1242&list=publications Fri, 29 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500 /resources_and_publications/publication?id=1229&list=publications The Work Supports Newsletter is a monthly update that summarizes CLASP's work on safety net programs that include cash assistance (TANF), nutrition supports (SNAP), refundable tax credits, health insurance, child support enforcement and child care subsidies. http://www.clasp.org/resources_and_publications/publication?id=1229&list=publications Tue, 19 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500 /resources_and_publications/publication?id=1239&list=publications A new paper from the National Transitional Jobs Network and CLASP provides strategies and makes recommendations on leveraging and blending multiple sources of funding to support subsidized employment programs. In addition to highlighting the opportunities to use block grant funding, from both TANF and Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), the paper identifies efforts to fund these jobs by averting future expenses associated with prisons and other corrections measures and by leveraging public contracting and bidding opportunities. The webinar is also available. http://www.clasp.org/resources_and_publications/publication?id=1239&list=publications Thu, 20 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -0600 /admin/site/publications/files/Seizing-Moment-Work-Sharing-State-Legislation-Guide.pdf This report from CLASP and the National Employment Law Project is a guide for state leaders and advocates seeking to implement work sharing programs, which provide employers with an alternative to layoffs. The Middle Class Relief and Job Creation Act -- signed by President Obama in February 2012 -- included provisions designed to encourage states to adopt or revitalize work sharing programs. The Act presents a rare opportunity for states to put in place another counter-cyclical tool that will help workers, employers and communities during economic downturns in the future. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/Seizing-Moment-Work-Sharing-State-Legislation-Guide.pdf Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500 /admin/site/publications/files/A-Breakthrough-for-Work-Sharing.pdf On February 22, 2012, President Obama signed H.R. 3630, extending the payroll tax cut and federal unemployment assistance through the end of 2012. Included in the $143 billion measure are provisions designed to expand a creative layoff aversion strategy called work sharing. This summary of the Layoff Prevention Act of 2012 is produced by CLASP and the National Employment Law Project (NELP). http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/A-Breakthrough-for-Work-Sharing.pdf Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600 /resources_and_publications/publication?id=1080&list=publications President Obama's budget blueprint released Monday lays out spending priorities for the nation. The proposal calls for Congress to support employment and job training opportunities for unemployed workers through the Pathways Back to Work Fund. This proposal indicates that the president recognizes that the economic recovery must be inclusive to be complete. http://www.clasp.org/resources_and_publications/publication?id=1080&list=publications Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0600 /admin/site/publications/files/Big-Ideas-for-Job-Creation-Rethinking-Work-Opportunity.pdf This paper is part of the Big Ideas for Job Creation in a Jobless Recovery project, which includes proposals from more than a dozen leading experts on practical, scalable proposals to create more jobs for the U.S. economy. CLASP Senior Policy Analyst Elizabeth Lower-Basch recommends that deeper, more targeted subsidies administered at the state level are an effective way to encourage employers to hire disadvantaged workers and create jobs. There are federal subsidies such as the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) currently in place to encourage hiring of disadvantaged workers, but in contrast, they often provide large windfalls to employers in low-wage, high-turnover industries without creating any net new jobs or changing who they hire. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/Big-Ideas-for-Job-Creation-Rethinking-Work-Opportunity.pdf Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0500 /resources_and_publications/publication?id=1038&list=publications Economic hard times and continuing high unemployment have spurred interest in a provision in federal unemployment insurance (UI) law that allows states to enact work sharing programs. As the nation's economic recovery remains weak, a growing number of businesses are searching for ways to weather the economic downturn and retain their workforce. Work sharing has become a viable alternative to layoffs in states that have these programs in place. This fact sheet provides answers to frequently asked questions about state work sharing programs. http://www.clasp.org/resources_and_publications/publication?id=1038&list=publications Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0500 /admin/site/publications/files/American-Jobs-Act.pdf This CLASP analysis of the American Jobs Act examines provisions specifically aimed at those workers most affected by the recession as well as those struggling even before the economy turned sour. In particular, it looks at the $5 billion Pathways Back to Work Fund, which includes three elements that would create work and learning opportunities for thousands of disadvantaged individuals across the country. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/American-Jobs-Act.pdf Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0500 /postsecondary/publication?id=1025&list=publications For more than two years, the nation's unemployment average has hovered around 9 percent or more, reaching double digits in 2010. Research shows persistently high unemployment has negative long-term social and economic consequences for individuals, families and the nation. If we allow prolonged high levels of joblessness to persist, we risk the deterioration of communities as well as the nation's position as a global economic force. For the short- and long-term health of the nation, federal policymakers must address the jobs crisis with a heightened sense of urgency. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/publication?id=1025&list=publications Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0600 /postsecondary/publication?id=0923&list=publications This document looks at select provisions in the Recovery Act that affected low-income people and their families. In areas where there is available data, it notes the impact of the program on the number of people who benefited from ARRA provisions. While the effect of the Recovery Act will be debated and analyzed by policy experts and researchers for years to come, some of the early evidence makes it clear that the Recovery Act benefited the nation by easing some immediate effects of the recession and preventing deeper hardship. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/publication?id=0923&list=publications Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0600 /admin/site/publications/files/Subsidized-Employment-Paper-Final.pdf During 2009 and 2010, 39 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and eight Tribal TANF programs received approval to use $1.3 billion from the TANF Emergency Fund to create new subsidized employment programs or expand existing ones. This paper examines how states used the flexibility they were given to design and implement subsidized employment programs and what challenges they faced in getting them up and running, and draws lessons for future such programs. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/Subsidized-Employment-Paper-Final.pdf Wed, 15 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0600 /resources_and_publications/publication?id=0910&list=publications This presentation by CLASP senior policy analyst Elizabeth Lower-Basch explores the circumstances of part-time workers, the reasons for part-time work, and what has happened to part-time work during the recession. She also considers the implications of part-time work for the Unemployment Insurance and Workforce Investment Act systems. http://www.clasp.org/resources_and_publications/publication?id=0910&list=publications Tue, 30 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0600 /admin/site/publications/files/postsecondaryyouthofcolor.pdf 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. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/postsecondaryyouthofcolor.pdf Tue, 30 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0600 /resources_and_publications/publication?id=0845&list=publications The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 created a new TANF Emergency Fund to assist states in expanding services during the recession. The funds could be used for basic assistance, short-term non-recurrent benefits, or subsidized employment. 39 states (plus DC, VI, and PR) funded subsidized employment programs that employed nearly 250,000 youth and adults before the fund expired on Sept. 30, 2010. This slide show depicts the time line of these subsidized employment programs. http://www.clasp.org/resources_and_publications/publication?id=0845&list=publications Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0600 /admin/site/publications/files/Emergency-Fund-Extension.pdf Congress should extend the TANF Emergency Fund as soon as possible so that states can continue and expand their subsidized jobs programs. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/Emergency-Fund-Extension.pdf Wed, 21 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0500 /admin/site/publications/files/TANFSummerJobs.pdf This report explains the rules and requirements for using the TANF Emergency Fund to support summer jobs for youth. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/TANFSummerJobs.pdf Wed, 14 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0500 /admin/site/publications/files/RTW.pdf One in a series of briefs profiling promising approaches to supporting education and training programs under TANF in spite of the limits imposed by the federal rules. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/RTW.pdf Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500 /postsecondary/publication?id=0732&list=publications This testimony calls on Congress to sustain the level of Recovery Act investment in workforce programs. It further urges lawmakers to increase the funding for youth programming to $3 billion for expanded summer and year-round youth activities and for targeted grants to high poverty communities to build pathways for youth to opportunities in growing sectors of the economy. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/publication?id=0732&list=publications Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0600 /postsecondary/publication?id=0716&list=publications 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. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/publication?id=0716&list=publications