Sectoral Development Strategies:

In November 1995, the Annie E. Casey Foundation launched an ambitious, $30 million effort to explore job strategies in six cities. These sites - Denver, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Seattle - were selected for simultaneous demonstrations over eight years. The Casey Jobs Initiative provides a real-world context for the job strategies discussed in this toolbox. Nearly all of the Casey sites have adopted more than one strategy as part of their jobs agenda. For example, sectoral development may be combined with job training programs. These combinations demonstrate how various approaches may be integrated at the neighborhood level. 

The Annie E. Casey Foundation has a long history as an advocate for disadvantaged children and young adults. In recent years, the foundation decided to expand beyond its traditional programs to sponsor economic interventions that affect labor markets in distressed areas. To achieve this end, the Annie E. Casey Foundation decided its existing structure needed augmentation. In late 1992, it created a new program area: Income, Opportunity, and Work Domain (IOWD). IOWD first sponsored a series of workshops and studies on employment issues. This research explored a range of strategies and programs - from small business needs to the civic infrastructure necessary for successful economic development. The most significant lessons identified in this initial phase were summarized for the foundation in a 1994 study by Rainbow Research. 

Once the foundation decided to sponsor a jobs initiative, Casey staff investigated jobs programs through site visits to Milwaukee, Chicago, New York, Baltimore, Cleveland, San Jose, San Francisco, Denver, Oakland, Minneapolis, and Newport News. These trips and hundreds of additional conversations resulted in a list of some 35 cities as potential comprehensive demonstration sites. In April 1995, the foundation invited collaboratives in 11 cities to submit applications for funding. Six were selected by the Annie E. Casey Foundation board in October 1995. 

The relationship of these local efforts to the three toolbox strategies is summarized below. 

• Employment and Training Strategies 

The individual Casey sites have explored innovative job training programs to link unemployed individuals to work. Many of the lessons described in the Employment and Training section of this toolbox are represented in the Casey approach. For example, in Denver, the initiative has funded pre and post-employment training to prepare job seekers for the attitudes and skills that employers expect, as well as on-the-job training for new hires. The Denver Workforce Initiative prepares workers for job advancement as well as training for those seeking jobs. This before-and-after assistance is intended to boost employment retention. Philadelphia's job training program is also extensive, with programs ranging from four to 12 months in duration. 

• Service Delivery/Workforce Innovations 

Young, jobless men are the Casey Jobs Initiative's primary target. Consequently, welfare reform strategies are not a central element of the program. In spite of this, many of the placement programs and supportive services designed by the Casey sites offer promising models for welfare reform. Seattle local officials have established a "Ready-to-Earn" fund to provide flexible resources for welfare-to-work participants. Milwaukee's Central City Worker's Center, sponsored by the Casey Jobs Initiative, is using a membership organizing approach similar to the workfare organizing drives taking place in New York City and Baltimore. How Milwaukee institutionalizes the progress made by this organizing, through agreements with employers and on-going training for members, will help inform other welfare reform campaigns. 

• Sectoral Development Strategies 

Nearly all the Casey sites place their programs in the context of a sectoral development strategy. Denver has targeted four sectors for its placement interventions: tele-services, health care, social purpose businesses, and small manufacturing. Milwaukee has targeted the construction, printing, and manufacturing industries. Philadelphia has chosen two sectors, manufacturing and data service. Using the same sectoral analysis described earlier in the toolbox, these industries were chosen as most likely to expand good jobs for entry-level workers.

Available at the web site is the Abt Associates Inc. and The New School of Social Research Evaluation of the Jobs Initiative: First Annual/Cross-Site Report 1997. Upcoming evaluations of the Jobs Initiative will also be available online.