In this three-study dissertation, I present an in-depth examination of patterns in the paraeducator workforce across two states: Indiana and Washington. In each study, I leverage longitudinal administrative data to answer questions about the distribution, turnover, and impact of paraeducators in the workforce using both descriptive and causal…

The Worker Retraining (WRT) program is a key strategy in meeting the economic and workforce needs of Washington's workers and employers. Funded through the state legislature, the aim of WRT is to ensure dislocated and other unemployed workers have access to education and training that will help them reattach to the labor market in jobs and careers…

Washington's community and technical colleges (CTCs) play an important role in producing baccalaureate degree graduates in the state through the applied baccalaureate (AB) degree. The key policy goals of the AB degree in Washington state are to increase educational attainment for students and meet employer demand. Compared to the traditional…

The "Academic Year Report 2013-14" provides a snapshot of funding, facilities, staffing, and enrollments in Washington's community and technical colleges for the past academic year. The report also describes key measures of student outcomes and addresses the most frequently asked questions related to expenditures, personnel, and…

The budget for the U.S. Department of Labor for Fiscal Year 2010 includes a total of $45 million to support and study transitional jobs. This paper describes the origins of the transitional jobs models that are operating today, reviews the evidence on the effectiveness of this approach and other subsidized employment models, and offers some…

This "Academic Year Report 2012-13" provides a snapshot of funding, facilities, staffing, and enrollments in community and technical colleges in Washington state for the past academic year. The report also describes key measures of student outcomes and addresses the most frequently asked questions related to expenditures, personnel and…

Performance funding in higher education ties state funding directly to institutional performance on specific indicators, such as rates of retention, graduation, and job placement. One of the great puzzles about performance funding is that it has been both popular and unstable. Between 1979 and 2007, 26 states enacted it, but 14 of those states…

The nation's community colleges share a common and vital purpose: preparing students--young and working adults--for jobs and continued academic study. Today, over 7 million community college students strive to attain a degree that will expand their opportunity, whether they aim to graduate directly into the workforce or continue on to seek a…

Performance funding in higher education ties state funding directly to institutional performance on specific indicators, such as rates of retention, graduation, and job placement. One of the great puzzles about performance funding is that it has been both popular and unstable. Between 1979 and 2007, 26 states enacted it, but 14 of those states…

The booklet provides some guidelines and suggestions around which career guidance programs may design their standards. It discusses and briefly outlines some recent legislation, publications, speeches, and committee actions which deal with the objectives and methods of career guidance. It lists 10 assumptions which should be considered when…

Diversified Occupations was initiated as an approved statewide program in Washington in 1970. It is a cooperative effort between the school and the local business community, enabling students to acquire, refine and utilize job skills in actual paid employment with the help of an instructor who is a highly skilled professional in that occupation.…

A collaborative study surveyed cooperative vocational education teachers (N=59) and secondary special education teachers (N=16) from metropolitan, urban, and rural school districts in Washington State regarding (1) the number of physically or mentally disabled youth who are enrolled in and placed on jobs from cooperative education classes; (2)…

The three projects examined in this paper are the Work Link/Project R.E.S.P.E.C.T. program in St. Louis and Seattle's Individualized Placement efforts and Office Occupations sector project. These are programs that have focused their efforts on the difficult goal of high retention. All have managed to place and keep between half and about…

The 2-year evaluation of the Displaced Homemaker Program in Washington focused on the primary purpose of the program--to assist displaced homemakers in attaining independence and economic security. Approximately 2,042 eligible displaced homemakers completed the intensive instructional services component; the program served a total of 34,659…

The study of vocational education success measures and related concerns in Washington State is based on surveys of employers, graduates of vocational programs, current students in vocational programs, and local advisory committee members. Current vocational students regard the quality of present programs more highly than do either vocational…