The most recent data on the labor force participation rate of individuals who identify as being blind or having vision loss in the United States indicate it is approximately 44%. In 2014, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs promulgated regulations pertaining to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to address the continued…

Business and industry leaders have an essential role to play in the design and delivery of high-quality Career Technical Education (CTE) programs. They bring unique perspectives on the foundational competencies and qualifications for entry-level work in their respective industries and can provide input into the design of programs of study,…

The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) places a strong emphasis on the alignment of Career Technical Education (CTE) programs of study with state, regional and local economies. Specifically, the legislation requires Perkins-funded programs to prepare students for "high-skill, high-wage, or…

The social, economic, political, historical, and racial context shaping the criminal justice system is complex and extensive. As a result, individuals who have been incarcerated face limited opportunities--particularly for education and training--both during and after incarceration. Historical investments in corrections and policies that…

Students need learning experiences connected with the world of work to equip them to enter the workforce and secure good jobs. This report provides an overview of funding for career and technical education and a detailed look at Career and Technical Education (CTE) funding models in Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West…

Prior research has classified strategies to facilitate adult learners' transitions to postsecondary opportunities into five broad categories: advising, General Educational Development-plus (GED-plus), English as a second language, career pathways, and college preparatory (Zafft, Kallenbach, & Spohn, 2006). This two-part study relied on…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2014 describes Ohio's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Ohio will implement to address those challenges. Ohio's Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) grant application laid out Governor John R. Kasich's…

Even as unemployment in Ohio has remained high, headlines regularly feature employers lamenting the lack of qualified job applicants. Some have even suggested that a dearth of skilled workers is driving Ohio's unemployment crisis. In this report, Policy Matters Ohio uses Bureau of Labor Statistics job projections and wage data to look at whether a…

This report examines Ohio's changing economy and whether Ohio is well positioned to meet the shifting skill demand. After examining job losses and job growth projections by sector and education attainment, findings revealed that Ohio has a projected education attainment gap for workers with some post-secondary education but less than a college…

This study uses the best available national data to project future supply and demand for occupations associated with the energy industry for each Appalachian state, and the number of people enrolled in and graduating from programs in the Region's institutions of higher education that will be available to meet or exceed the demand. The report…

This investigation provides a model for at-risk youth community agencies to tailor their programs to fit the specific needs of their local out-of-school youth. Using a needs-based assessment, baseline data were gathered on Cleveland African Americans (N = 187) to pinpoint academic strengths and deficits, career interests, and life-skill needs. The…

Ohio's state-operated/state-supported job training and work force development programs were reviewed in response to a legislative mandate calling for development of a plan for administrative consolidation of those programs under the control of a single state agency. The review included examination of the following: history of federal and Ohio job…

This annual report of the Ohio Council on Vocational Education (OCOVE) documents developments in vocational-technical education in Ohio during Fiscal Year 1992. It begins with a list of OCOVE members and a summary of vocational-technical education facts for 1991-92. The next section describes OCOVE structure and purpose and highlights the…

Collaboration between welfare and workforce development agencies has increased since the implementation of welfare reform. Federal legislation, state and local policy-making environments, and the capacity of potential partners to serve an agency's clients affect agency collaboration. The following broad approaches to collaboration have been…

This last of a series of reports on the implementation of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) in Ohio, from the inception of the program in 1974 through mid-1976, compares 16 of the 17 prime sponsors in the State. The monograph describes and explains patterns of influence over decisionmaking about CETA at the local level, a…