This article describes two decades of workplace basic skills efforts in the United States (mid 1980s to early 2000s). Private- and public-sector groups defined the problem of inadequate basic skills in the incumbent workforce. They raised awareness of this problem as it affected various segments of the workforce and diverse industries. They…

This study explores the effects of the two-generation program Career"Advance"--which combines education and training for parents in healthcare with Head Start for children--on children's academic, language, mathematics, and inhibitory control followed for 3 years. The sample (collected in Tulsa, Oklahoma from 2011 to 2018) includes 147…

Supportive early relationships are critical to young children's development. Previous research has focused primarily on aspects of specific parenting practices that impact infants' and toddlers' development. However, additional research is needed for a more nuanced understanding of the relationships among family experiences, parenting behaviors,…

Shawnee State University (SSU) founded Project BEAR: Building Emerging and Achieving Readers, an AmeriCorps program, to support literacy development and improve school readiness in the Appalachian region. After the first 2 years of program implementation, areas for growth including enhanced service member recruitment, member onboarding, and…

Consistent, sensitive caregiving across home and childcare contexts supports optimal development. In this paper, we share the story of the development of Hearts and Minds on Babies (HMB) for Early Head Start (EHS) administrators, teachers, and parents. HMB was designed to support caregiver reflective functioning and sensitivity and reduce…

Policymakers at the state and federal levels have expressed concern over the emerging "skills gap"--the mismatch between the job skills employers are looking for and the skills that applicants in the labor market possess. The skills gap is most acute for middle-skilled jobs; that is, jobs that require training beyond high school but less…

Research has shown follow-up to be an important component for professional development (PD) to result in teacher behavior change. However, PD rarely includes follow-up support. This pilot study used multiple methods to determine the feasibility of Head Start (HS) directors providing teachers PD follow-up support. Two aspects of feasibility were…

Employment is foundational to young people's successful transition into adulthood, yet many youth with lived experience in the foster care system struggle to obtain employment that provides a living wage. Youth with foster care experience typically do not have the same contacts and connections to employment opportunities as youth who have not been…

The Developmental Screening, Monitoring, and Enrichment (DSME) program for low-income children and families is an initiative developed to support the goal of the Healthy People 2020 and 2030 that aims to increase the number of healthy young children to be ready for school. The 8-week DSME program focuses on reducing health disparities and…

The mission and vision of adult education is to provide every individual in Illinois access to Adult Education and Literacy services. In Illinois, more than 1.15 million adults have less than 12 grades of formal education, approximately 2.8 million Illinois residents speak a language other than English in their home, and more than 350,944…

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated an unprecedented wave of challenges for students, faculty, and staff. In March 2020, a thousand community colleges in the United States shifted to online instruction, which affected around 10 million students. Community colleges are used to responding to their communities during times of crisis. But individual…

Head Start is a national program that helps young children from families with low incomes prepare to succeed in school. It does this by working to promote their early learning and health and their families' well-being. Head Start connects families with medical, dental, and mental health services to be sure that children are receiving the services…

Since 1998, the Iowa Department of Education's Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation (division) has compiled and published "The Annual Condition of Iowa's Community Colleges," commonly known as the "Condition Report." The intent of this report is to provide clear, objective data about Iowa's community…

This toolkit is intended to help states create career pathways systems that integrate and expand partnerships between state human service agencies and postsecondary systems and institutions so that more people who want to train for a quality career can do so. Career pathways partnerships can help community colleges and human services work better…

Since 1998, the Iowa Department of Education's Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation (division) has compiled and published "The Annual Condition of Iowa's Community Colleges," commonly known as the "Condition Report." The intent of this report is to provide clear, objective data about Iowa's community…