Counseling Customers About Income Goals, Career Paths and Work Supports

• Seattle/King County Workforce Development Council, WA
• Chicago Workforce Board and Illinois Department of Employment Security, IL
• Maine Jobs Council
• Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board, PA

Overview

In an effort to enhance direct placement efforts, the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board (WIB) expanded its service delivery strategy to include the use of an existing online self-sufficiency budget calculator, along with a comprehensive series of supplementary counseling tools. Both the calculator and the counseling tools were developed by a local community-based organization, PathWaysPA, who guided staff on implementation and provided intense training to facilitate the use of these materials during individual and group sessions. Recognizing that some job seekers are not comfortable with electronic materials, PathWaysPA made the counseling materials available in hard copy and electronically. (See The Online Budget Worksheet).

The counseling materials include two major innovative resources:

• Money Matters: The Human Resources Packet : This easy-to-use packet includes information on subsidies, tax credits, and other programs in simple terms and instructs people on how to apply for these benefits. It is an invaluable tool for counselors seeking to assist customers with accessing a full array of tax credits and transitional work supports. The application forms and information sheets contained in the packet are regularly updated to ensure that counselors and customers have the most current information. PathWaysPA will release the 2005 edition of the packet in January 2006, to be entitled The Financial Resources Packet.
• Paths to Self-Sufficiency : This step-by-step guide is designed for hands-on use by customers during their career exploration and self-sufficiency planning process. Until recently, the self-sufficiency tools were targeted for use with people seeking WIA funded training. Recognizing the need to support all those with immediate employment needs, these services were extended to the general population of One Stop Center customers. Paths is also available in Spanish.

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History

The Philadelphia WIB became interested in The PA Self-Sufficiency Standard and its use as a workforce development tool as a result of their ongoing work with PathWaysPA who had pioneered the PA Self-Sufficiency Standard in the state and subsequently developed related counseling and work support access materials. Once PathWaysPA conducted some initial training of workforce development professionals in the use of the Standard and corollary materials, the WIB Director saw an opportunity to significantly enhance service delivery and outcomes for its customers in the CareerLink Center by adopting the Standard and using the on- line budget worksheet.

The adoption of The Online Budget Worksheet and related counseling tools was an important first step. However, the WIB and PathWaysPA agreed that training of One-Stop staff was key the effective use of these tools. The WIB engaged PathWaysPA to adapt their standard training to fit the specific needs and concerns of Workforce Investment Act (WIA) service delivery staff in the CareerLink / One Stop Centers.

PathWaysPA first conducted a pilot training at one CareerLink site for three core staff members. PathWaysPA staff modeled the use of the Budget Worksheet and corollary materials with customers.

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Partners and Funding

PathWaysPA initially partnered with Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) and the University of Washington to develop a paper version of The Self-Sufficiency Standard for communities throughout Pennsylvania. Subsequently, PathWaysPA developed the online budget calculator. The Human Resources Packet(now The Financial Resources Packet) was developed by PathWays PA with the support of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

The WIB partnered with PathWaysPA to train CareerLink service delivery staff in the use of the Standard, the budget calculator and the Human Resources Packet. . PathWaysPA continues to provide training to WIA staff. WIB, CareerLink and PathWaysPA staff meet monthly to conduct an ongoing evaluation of the program and identify ways to constantly improve customer service. The WIB plans to replicate this approach with additional CareerLink sites in the area.

Challenges

The biggest challenge was coping with an already heavy work load for CareerLink staff and managing efficient integration of additional career counseling tools into the career exploration process without overwhelming the staff. Substantial training in the use of the additional tools and commitment from WIB and CareerLink leadership to manage workloads were vital to the success of this effort.

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Keys to Successful Implementation

• Piloting the training before implementing it widely,
• Ongoing, fluid partnership between the WIB and key CBO that has taken the lead in developing the counseling tools and resources, and
• Regular evaluation and improvement discussions among three key partners to ensure both the tools and staff training are achieving the desired objectives.

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Model Materials

• The Online Budget Worksheet: www.pathwayspa.org - follow the links to "The Self-Sufficiency Budget Worksheet"
• Money Matters: The Human Resources Packet, This publication will be released in January 2006 with a new title: The Financial Resources Packet
• Paths to Self-Sufficiency – available in English [PDF, 3.06MB] and Spanish. [PDF, 3.56MB]

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