MDC Jobs Partners

Connecting People to Jobs

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CONNECTING PEOPLE TO JOBS

A project of the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Technical

assistance and programmatic support provided by MDC, Inc. and the Center for Community Change.

During the late 1990s, workforce programs throughout most of the United States faced a new economic and policy context: a strong economy with close to full employment, and a strict "work-first" approach in welfare and public job training programs. The economic downturn that began in 2000 severely restricted hiring rates and opportunities for the underemployed and new entrants into the workforce. Now many low-income people who leave the welfare rolls only find jobs that are part-time, temporary, and/or low-wage, leaving many workers with insufficient income to support themselves and their families. For unemployed and underemployed adults, getting hired is just the first hurdle on the road out of poverty. Connecting people to self-sustaining employment requires a new focus on job retention and advancement.

Using a community partnership model as a foundation, Connecting People to Jobs pursues several objectives:

Participating community colleges and community organizations will have increased capacity to run effective jobs programs, to collaborate, and to advocate for effective policy.
Projects and institutional relationships are in place that are increasing the number of unemployed or underemployed people in livable-wage jobs.
Community colleges and community organizations are beginning to influence institutional, business, and public policies and practices in their labor markets.
A lively learning community exists among the colleges, community organizations, intermediaries, and foundations in this project; the learning community is benefiting from and contributing to national learning and is beginning to expand to include other Southern organizations.