Breaking Barriers to Employment Initiative Evaluation Report Published

SPR and Corporation for a Skilled Workforce are pleased to announce the release of our evaluation report on the Breaking Barriers to Employment Initiative, funded by the California Workforce Development Board. This initiative, which started right at the start of the pandemic, supported partnerships between 26 CBOs and workforce development boards within California to deliver programming designed to help individuals with barriers to employment find and retain employment.  Here’s what we learned:
-Funded programs exceeded their enrollment goals, offered a wide range of employment-based services, met most of their self-identified implementation goals, developed plans to sustain their programs, and identified important strategies for meeting participant needs.
-About 50 percent of participants were employed at about six months after leaving the program, and about one-third showed measurable skill gains (due to timing this includes only a small number of participants).
-The strength of partnerships between community-based organizations and workforce development boards increased for only a small number of grantees, with co-enrollment into other workforce programs reported infrequently.

Read the evaluation here: An Evaluation of AB 1111: The Breaking Barriers to Employment Initiative