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The purpose of the evaluation is to examine outcomes and impacts for participants in Travis County-funded community-based workforce programs over time and to provide recommendations and support for County and provider staff based on data analysis and best practice research.

Literacy Coalition of Central Texas (LCCT) received funding from the OneStar Foundation to implement the Texas Family Literacy AmeriCorps (TFLA) program. Each partner site works with two LCCT AmeriCorps members who are trained to implement the TFLA program in the context of each site���s existing literacy services. Program participants meet with AmeriCorps members to receive one-on-one job coaching services. Students interested in advanced career development instruction receive job readiness training and have an opportunity to enter occupational skills training. Participants work with an AmeriCorps job coach to complete an Individual Learning Plan to further outline their educational and career goals. The TFLA program has the potential to address inequities in employment and earnings advancement by coordinating education, training, and support services for low-wage workers to advance into in-demand, middle-skill jobs to increase their wages and economic security. Literacy Coalition of Central Texas contracted with the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources (RMC), a research institute of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, to conduct an evaluation including implementation, outcomes and impacts analysis components. The purpose of the study is to present information that can assist LCCT to better understand the components of effective efforts to advance the careers of low-income workers.

ACC proposes to establish an Office of Student Money Management (ACC-OSMM) ��� the office���s mission would be to give a stronger foundation to students��� academic and career goals and successes by helping them take charge of their financial futures.Two of the inaugural activities of ACC-OSMM will be: to establish a system of sending text message reminders regarding annual Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) renewal to first-year college students who are already receiving financial aid, and to enhance the main tool (Degree Map Online) that ACC counselors use to advise students to include ���real time��� personalized financial aid information. This will improve integration of financial aid and loan awareness into student conversations with academic advisors and counselors. ACC hopes to demonstrate that the activities of ACC-OSMM would be linked to improvements in measures of student success such as: graduation rate, time to completion, retention/persistence, and cohort loan default rate (CDR). ACC will partner with the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) to perform an evaluation, both formative and summative, on the effectiveness of these efforts on the student outcome measures of interest. Both types of evaluations provide actionable information about the success of the intervention while each successive cohort of recipients is in the process of receiving services, allowing for relatively rapid reflection and program modification as needed by ACC staff. Both evaluations are intended to measure the implementation, aggregate outcomes, and the impact of these efforts on Full Time First Time in College (FTFIC) loan or Pell grant receiving students��� graduation rates, 3-year Cohort Default Rates (CDR), retention rates, and fall to fall persistence for those who are Pell eligible. A host of intermediate steps related to these outcomes will also be measured.

As part of the Geology of National Parks course at the University of Texas at Austin, students used data available as citizen scientists to test the hypothesis put forth by the US Geological Survey (USGS) that the K��lauea in Hawaii was the #1 most hazardous volcano in the US. Background: The US Geological Survey indicates that all volcanoes, when erupting, pose a risk to people and infrastructure but stresses that the risks are not the same from one volcano to the next. In an extensive study of several volcanoes, the USGS compiled a list of hazards associated with US volcanoes, including some of those in our national parks. Based on a compilation of facts, the K��lauea volcano in Hawaii emerged as the greatest threat. This course project aimed to challenge (or support) the hypothesis by allowing students to select a volcano they thought could pose more of a threat compared to K��lauea. For this project, the students had the option to critically challenge the ranking of K��lauea as the #1 threat and argue for a different volcano to take its place. They could also elaborate on the ranking of K��lauea as the #1 threat but provide additional information to push the argument further or provide additional data that contributes more information that the USGS might not have considered. The students were able to include their own experience in the issues discussed in the USGS paper and comment on the applicability of the issues raised in the USGS to other settings or other cultures.

The Ray Marshall Center is conducting an evaluation of the California Community College Chancellor’s Office’s Financial Literacy Pilot Initiative. Sixteen California community colleges are participating in this pilot. Participating colleges will send students money management tips via texts or emails over the course of ten weeks. Participating colleges will share individual-level data on program participants with RMC. RMC will analyze this data to assess the impact of CCCCO’s financial literacy pilot on student outcomes such as GPA, credit attainment, retention, graduation, and credential attainment. RMC will report on participant outcomes and perform a quasi-experimental evaluation of the program.

ACC hopes to demonstrate that the activities of ACC-OSMM would be linked to improvements in measures of student success such as: graduation rate, time to completion, retention/persistence, and cohort loan default rate (CDR). ACC will partner with the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) to perform an evaluation, both formative and summative, on the effectiveness of these efforts on the student outcome measures of interest. Both types of evaluations provide actionable information about the success of the intervention while each successive cohort of recipients is in the process of receiving services, allowing for relatively rapid reflection and program modification as needed by ACC staff. Both evaluations are intended to measure the implementation, aggregate outcomes, and the impact of these efforts on Full Time First Time in College (FTFIC) loan or Pell grant receiving students’ graduation rates, 3-year Cohort Default Rates (CDR), retention rates, and fall to fall persistence for those who are Pell eligible. A host of intermediate steps related to these outcomes will also be measured.

The Ray Marshall Center is conducting an evaluation of the California Community College Chancellor’s Office’s Financial Literacy Pilot Initiative. Sixteen California community colleges are participating in this pilot. Participating colleges will send students money management tips via texts or emails over the course of ten weeks. Participating colleges will share individual-level data on program participants with RMC. RMC will analyze this data to assess the impact of CCCCO’s financial literacy pilot on student outcomes such as GPA, credit attainment, retention, graduation, and credential attainment. RMC will report on participant outcomes and perform a quasi-experimental evaluation of the program

Financial wellness and financial literacy are important when it comes to the success of community college students. With this in mind, the California Community College Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) brought together fifteen California community colleges to pilot a unique financial literacy messaging intervention (FL Pilot) in 2019. The goal of the pilot was to increase student retention and success by delivering useful financial literacy material, focusing on much-needed information about budgeting and credit, and specifically targeting first-year, first-time students, via a texting/email platform. The CCCCO partnered with the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the FL pilot. RMC’s evaluation included an outcome evaluation for each college and a rigorous impact evaluation for the pilot as a whole. RMC adopted a quasi-experimental evaluation approach and used propensity score matching (PSM) to study the impacts of the pilot on key academic and retention student outcomes. Preliminary analysis suggests that the financial literacy messaging campaign had a small but positive impact on first-semester GPA for all students and a fairly large positive impact on fall-to-spring persistence for first-time college students. This interim report presents early findings from the evaluation and discusses next steps as colleges consider implementing the intervention in the 2020-21 academic year.

In collaboration with a multi-disciplinary team of partners, the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) is developing and implementing a sectoral workforce development strategy for low-skilled, low-income parents of children served by early childhood programs in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There is emerging evidence that children whose parents hold stable jobs with progressively rising incomes exhibit better academic and behavioral outcomes. RMC and its partners have undertaken a dual-generation approach to poverty reduction that strengthens the investment in early childhood development by equipping Head Start parents with workforce training and gainful employment opportunities. This approach employs a more holistic model than traditional workforce development programs, as it also includes employee counseling and other support services to help parents complete training and adult basic education, retain their jobs, advance in their careers, and become economically self-sufficient. The goal is to develop a sustainable sectoral strategy that can be replicated beyond Tulsa to other communities across the nation. In the first phase of the project (2008-2009), RMC designed a sectoral job development strategy focused on industries featuring jobs that pay well and provide much-needed employee benefits (e.g., health insurance, annual and sick leave) as well as career advancement opportunities. In April 2009, Community Action Program of Tulsa County launched the pilot, CareerAdvance®, at two Head Start sites in Tulsa involving 15 parents. The components of the CareerAdvance® are 1) GED and college readiness instruction, as needed; 2) skills training in the healthcare sector progressing from Certified Nursing Aide to Licensed Practical Nurse to Registered Nurse; 3) weekly peer support meetings addressing a flexible set of topics (e.g., life skills, work readiness, family finances); 4) conditional cash incentives (up to $3,000 a year) for participants meeting specified benchmarks to reinforce continued participation and help offset foregone earnings; and 5) workforce intermediation between healthcare employers and training institutions provided through Workforce Tulsa. The report on the project’s first year of operation is available at the link below. In partnership with Harvard University and the University of Oklahoma – Tulsa School of Medicine, a second pilot site was opened in July 2009 at a Tulsa Educare Center. The second pilot, EduCareers, includes all components described above as well as enhanced mental health services for participating households, curriculum enhancements for the children, parent engagement training, and a medical home. The CareerAdvance® project has now been expanded to 2015 with support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families. RMC and partners at Northwestern and Columbia University have been engaged to provide ongoing on data collection, implementation, and outcomes analysis of project participants.

ACC proposes to establish an Office of Student Money Management (ACC-OSMM) – the office’s mission would be to give a stronger foundation to students’ academic and career goals and successes by helping them take charge of their financial futures.Two of the inaugural activities of ACC-OSMM will be: to establish a system of sending text message reminders regarding annual Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) renewal to first-year college students who are already receiving financial aid, and to enhance the main tool (Degree Map Online) that ACC counselors use to advise students to include ‘real time’ personalized financial aid information. This will improve integration of financial aid and loan awareness into student conversations with academic advisors and counselors. ACC hopes to demonstrate that the activities of ACC-OSMM would be linked to improvements in measures of student success such as: graduation rate, time to completion, retention/persistence, and cohort loan default rate (CDR). ACC will partner with the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) to perform an evaluation, both formative and summative, on the effectiveness of these efforts on the student outcome measures of interest. Both types of evaluations provide actionable information about the success of the intervention while each successive cohort of recipients is in the process of receiving services, allowing for relatively rapid reflection and program modification as needed by ACC staff. Both evaluations are intended to measure the implementation, aggregate outcomes, and the impact of these efforts on Full Time First Time in College (FTFIC) loan or Pell grant receiving students’ graduation rates, 3-year Cohort Default Rates (CDR), retention rates, and fall to fall persistence for those who are Pell eligible. A host of intermediate steps related to these outcomes will also be measured.

This evaluation examines outcomes and impacts for participants in the Travis County-funded community-based workforce programs exiting services in FY 2016–FY 2018. To understand the impact of these services, the county has contracted with the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources (RMC) at the University of Texas at Austin to conduct a longitudinal evaluation of its investments. This workforce development evaluation report presents the analysis of outcomes and estimated net impacts of these investments in the programs funded the first three years of a five year on-going evaluation (FY 2016–FY 2020). The first section presents an overview of the evaluation questions and research methods, followed by separate sections for each of the providers examined. Each provider section includes a brief profile of the provider and its workforce development program(s), a summary of participant demographic characteristics obtained at the time of program entry, and details outcomes and impacts for participants who exited the program during FY 2016–FY 2018. Findings examine Unemployment Insurance (UI) wage data for the quarter the client exited services, four quarters prior to entering the program, and up to 12 quarters post-exit. Findings examine results in the post-service period through March 31, 2019, the latest quarter for which UI wage data are available. The final section summarizes evaluation findings from FY 2016–FY 2018. Outcomes and impacts vary across the spectrum of grantees as would be expected given their varying services regimes, and the unique barriers to training and employment experienced by the target populations each organization serves.

This evaluation examines outcomes and impacts for participants in the Travis County-funded community-based workforce programs exiting services in FY 2016 – FY 2017. To understand the impact of these services, the county has contracted with the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources (RMC) at the University of Texas at Austin to conduct a longitudinal evaluation of its investments. This Workforce Development (WFD) evaluation will present the analysis of outcomes and estimated net impacts of these investments in the programs funded the first two years of a five year on-going evaluation (FY 2016 – FY 2020).

The Student Money Management Office (SMMO) implementation study seeks to document the evolution of the program from the initial development and implementation starting in July 2016, continuing throughout the duration of the program. The study examines modifications in program design in order to understand how, when, and why changes were made. It is an essential source of information for interpreting the outcomes and impacts of student participation in the programs supported under the grant. This report is divided into three main sections: text messaging interventions, financial literacy outreach and education, and student access to financial aid information. This report presents detailed information regarding each specific initiative, progress made on the implementation of the initiative, key modifications made during the 2017-2018 program year, and factors that impede or support the program in meeting the stated objectives. The final section of this report provides a summary discussion and presents recommendations for next steps for the SMMO project.

The project evaluated in this report, the Austin Two-Generation Pilot Project, provided English as a Second Language classes three mornings a week in the spring semester 2015 for adults with children enrolled in two different Austin Independent School District sites: Uphaus Early Childhood Center and Linder Elementary school. The project was designed to gain an understanding of the implementation process and participant experience of a two-generation project in Austin, TX to inform future two-generation project development in the region. This two-generation pilot project was evaluated using the following means: a review of student goal setting forms, an interview with the ESL teacher, student surveys and focus group transcripts, a classroom observation, student attendance related to a pre- and post-test of student English literacy skills, and a comparison of the spring semester school attendance of the Uphaus children whose parents participated in the project, to the larger group of Uphaus students. Participants indicated that their primary reason for participating in the program was to help their children with homework and to learn to use a computer for work and finding a job. Parents identified that quality child care services for their younger children were essential to their participation in the program. Parents reported increasing the amount of time they spend reading to their children, listening and talking to their children each day after school, reading the school newsletter, talking with their child’s teacher, and attending parent events. The majority of participants experienced improvements in listening (77%), pronunciation (61%), speaking (61%), and writing (77%) as a result of their participation in the class.