C^(c.A, ,. r&i/- AN EVALUATION of EDA TRAINING RELATED PROJECTS FINDINGS-ANALYSIS-CONCLUSION-RECOMMENDATIONS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / Economic Development Administration TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME I Table of Contents ii List of Table and Illustrations iii I. REPORT HIGHLIGHTS 1-1 II. INTRODUCTION IM III. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY METHODOLOGY III-l IV. PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS , IV- 1 A. Program Participant Impact IV-1 B. Project Operations IV-20 C. Business Impact IV-36 D. Community Impact IV -43 E. Other Study Information IV-46 V. RECOMMENDATIONS V-l A. Recommendation Number One V-l B. Recommendation Number Two V-2 C. Recommendation Number Three V-3 D. Recommendation Number Four V-4 E. Recommendation Number Five V-4 F. Recommendation Number Six V-5 G. Recommendation Number Seven V-6 H. Recommendation Number Eight V-7 I. Recommendation Number Nine V-7 J. Recommendation Number Ten V-7 K. Recommendation Number Eleven V-8 VI. POSTSCRIPT VI-1 APPENDICES A. Basic Data on Project Locations AM B. Project Summaries g_l 1 . San Diego Skills Center B-l San Diego, California 2. Texas State Technical Institute B-2 Harlingen, Texas 3. Gordon Cooper Area Vocational-Technical School B-3 Shawnee, Oklahoma 4. Fayetteville High School West Campus B-4 Fayetteville, Arkansas 5. Wilson County Technical Institute B-5 Wilson, North Carolina 6. Fall River Diman Regional Vocational High School B-6 Fall River, Massachusetts 7. Copiah- Lincoln Manpower Development Training Center B-7 Fayette, Mississippi 8. Area Vocational-Technical School B-8 Camden, New Jersey 9. Opportunities Industrialization Center of Santa Clara County B-9 San Jose, California 10. Central Alabama Opportunities Industrialization Center B-10 Montgomery, Alabama 1 1 . Multi-Agency Coordinating Center B-l 1 Wardell, Missouri 12. Gila River Career Center B-l 2 Sacaton, Arizona 13. Accelerated Business Leadership Education B-l 3 University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 14. Pittsburgh Business and Job Development Corporation B-l 4 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15. American Indian Industrial Development Intern Program B-l 5 Boston, Massachusetts LIST OF TABLES No. Title Page 1 . Program Participant Characteristics by Project IV-2 2. Income Changes by Project IV-10 3. Data on Participant Impact IV-12 4. Data and Estimates of Enrollment and Assistance for Sample Year IV-14 5. Project Rankings of Impact on EDA Target Groups IV-16 6. Overall Ranking of Project Performance on Participant Impact IV-17 7-1 Data on Project Operations IV-21 7-2 Data on Project Operations IV-22 7-3 Data on Project Operations IV-23 8. EDA Project Investments IV-25 9. Most Common Types of Training Courses Offered IV-30 10. Major Funding Sources for Projects IV-32 1 1 . Data on Business Impact IV-38 12. Data on Community Impact IV-44 1 3. Attributes of Official Project Objectives IV-48 14. Basic Data on Project Locations Appendix A LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Adult Vocational Enrollment and Estimated Number of People Placed and Upgraded IV-4 2. Status of Enrollments before Training— % of Adult Vocational Enrollment IV-5, 6 3. Estimated Target Group Enrollment and Number Placed and Upgraded IV-7 4. Project Enrollments for Sample Year IV-8 5. Mean Incomes before and after Training for Sample Enrollees IV- 1 1 6. Average % of Enrollee Sample Reporting Improvements in Housing, Health, Transportation, Food Consumption, Personal Savings IV-1 3 I HIGHLIGHTS Evaluation of EDA Training-Related Projects This report presents the results of a study of EDA training-related projects conducted by Devel- opment Associates, Inc., from March through August 1971. The purpose of the study was to: • Describe EDA training-related projects • Measure the impact of selected projects • Develop recommendations based on empirical data for use in future EDA train- ing-related efforts The report consists of two volumes. Volume I contains findings, data analysis, conclusions and recommendations. Volume II contains detailed narratives on each project evaluated and the evaluation instruments used. Evaluation Methodology The evaluation methodology called for field analysis of 1 5 EDA training-related projects. Four of these projects differed from the other 1 1 with respect to types of training involved and characteristics of trainees. As a result, data on these projects were not comparable to data on the other projects and, therefore, are not included in the overall findings presented in Volume I. Case studies of these four projects are included in Volume II. The 1 1 comparable projects consist of eight Public Works skill centers and three Technical Assistance training grants. The eight Public Works skill center projects were selected as representative of the 26 EDA-funded skill centers in operation as of March 1971. Four basic criteria were used to choose the skill center projects: geographic location, number of trainees, funding level, and time in operation. As of July 1970, EDA had allocated $59,449,000 in funds to 64 skill centers. The 26 oper- ational skill centers accounted for $24,213,000 of this amount, while the eight skill center pro- jects described in this volume represent an EDA investment of $9,224,000. Since the nature of technical assistance projects varies widely, only two criteria were applied to select the projects to be evaluated in this analysis: geographic location and relation to manpower skill training programs. These criteria insured that the projects were located in different areas of the country and involved relevant training activities. The three technical assistance projects covered in Volume I represent an EDA investment of $886,962. The basic technique used by the analysts. was the on-site personal interview. Special survey instruments were developed to collect relevant, quantifiable data from those interviewed. In addition, considerable effort was devoted to collecting information on the reasons for project success or failure. A standard approach was used for each project to insure that valid, comparable data were collected. 1 iThe four projects omitted from this volume required substantially different approaches, and these are explained in Volume More than 847 people were interviewed in connection with this analysis. Most of the information in Volume I on trainee impact is based on interviews with 401 trainees, averaging 36 trainee interviews per project. These 401 trainees interviewed represent a sample of an adult vocational enrollment of 10,657 students. 2 Those interviewed received their training during 1969 or 1970. In analyzing the data and developing recommendations, two basic approaches were used: cross- comparisons of project impact and performance, and rank ordering of trainee impact measures, which were also cross-compared. The analysis does not compare the projects on the basis of such factors as cost or total number of students enrolled, but rather focuses primarily on trainee impact. Overview of Findings The average trainee was a male of about 30 years with an 1 1th grade education and a family of 4. The ethnic background of trainees varied widely depending on the area, but all major groups were represented. The major findings for the 1 1 projects analyzed are as follows: • 65.3% of the total adult vocational enrollment (6,957 out of 10,657 trainees) were members of EDA's target population. 3 47.1% of the total enrollment were members of EDA's target population. • 42.3% of those classified as members of EDA's target population, or 2,690 persons, were placed in jobs following training courses. • 29.9% of EDA's target population, or 2,078 persons, were upgraded following training. • Socioeconomic improvements were reported by an average of 2 1 .9% of each project's trainees. • The average trainee income increase was $1,412, or over 50% of the trainee's previous salary. • Six of the projects accounted for most of the results, as evidenced by the following statistics: • 86% of the EDA target population; • 88.5% of the target group trainees placed in jobs; • 89.9% of the target group trainees upgraded; and • 6 1 % of total enrollment. • Only one of the projects played a decisive role in attracting industry. These data, together with the more detailed information contained in the body of the report, led to the following major conclusions concerning EDA training-related projects. Major Conclusions • Six of the eleven projects studied resulted in significant income increases for a substantial number of EDA's target population. Of this 5,967 trainees in this 2 Adult vocational enrollment was defined as those adults taking courses for the purpose of obtaining a job or upgrading skills while on a job. It excluded high school students and adults taking courses simply for pleasure. 3 Defined as the unemployed, the disadvantaged, or those on welfare. 1-2 category, 4,768, or 69%, were placed in jobs or advanced. The average annual income increase for persons trained through these six projects was 92.5%. • Five of the eleven projects analyzed had marginal impact on the members of EDA 's target population. Less than 1 ,000 target group members were trained through these projects and only 500 were placed in jobs or advanced. In four of these projects, the income increase for target group members was less than $800 per year; in the fifth, less than 200 participants were served. o Five of the 11 projects did not meet the objectives for serving EDA target groups listed in their grant applications. • Training projects in which EDA was involved from the beginning were gener- ally more effective in serving EDA 's target population. • Projects that included a high school component were the least effective in serving EDA 's target group population. Conversely, projects that focused pri- marily on adult vocational students were more effective. • The training staffs associated with most projects maintained inadequate ac- counting, enrollment and placement records. • Projects that provided the greatest amount of job placement and supportive service assistance were the most effective. • Active support and cooperation from employers was essential to the training projects ' success. • Five of the eleven projects studied were not being operated according to EDA guidelines as stipulated in MEDO 303-6. • Projects with balanced funding from multiple sources were most effective in serving and assisting EDA 's target population. • It was unrealistic to expect skill training facilities to have played a significant industrial development role except in those areas where the training facility was located on the site of or near another EDA project. Only one of the projects studied played a significant industrial development role, and it was located in an EDA-funded industrial park. • Those training facilities with a reputation for providing well-trained workers were relied upon by the business community as a manpower source. • The most effective training projects were effecting institutional and at titudinal changes in the community and were enjoying substantial community support. These conclusions and the data supporting them prompted the development of the following recommendations to EDA. Recommendations • EDA should continue to fund training-related projects guided by an expanded version of MEDO 3.03-6. • EDA should revamp its application guidelines for grantees and require that application proposals articulate specific quantified objectives which focus on job placement and advancement. 1-3 • The Agency should develop internal management procedures which provide for 1) increased periodic on-site visits to the project by EDA staff, 2) monthly or quarterly reports on training operations, 3) evaluation criteria which are uniform for both Public Works and Technical Assistance manpower training projects. • EDA fund only those projects that are oriented toward adults. • EDA should stipulate in grant agreements with training project applicants that the majority of classes be offered during the day. • Through budgeting and programming, EDA should make provisions for pro- viding operational funding to Public Works training-related projects, particu- larly at the start of the project. • EDA should require prospective grantees to develop concrete plans to include the business sector in the project. In addition, once the project has been funded, EDA should continue monitoring this aspect of project operations to insure continued involvement of employers. • EDA should give funding priority to those training facilities which provide job development and job placement services for their trainees or have verifiable plans to do so. • EDA should give priority to those projects which already have multiple fund- ing sources, or show the potential for obtaining them. • EDA should consider the possibility of funding existing training projects in those designated areas that meet EDA criteria. • EDA should plan and implement more projects in which one or more of its program tools are integrated with training-related activities. While this study points out problem areas which must be addressed, it also shows that EDA has a special role to play in the Federal Government's portfolio of manpower programs. This role is best described as one which goes beyond skill training and attempts to build adult community training institutions which will contribute to the development of both human and economic resources at the local level. 1-4 II INTRODUCTION During the past eighteen months, the Economic Development Administration has undertaken many evaluation studies of its operations. Most of them have analyzed the Agency's four program tools, but some have focused on evaluating EDA's effectiveness in assisting selected urban and rural areas. These evaluations showed that the Agency is generally achieving its broad mandate through its program tools. However, the studies also underscored the fact that while EDA has put considerable effort and funding into training related projects which complement its individual program tools, the Agency knows little about the actual effectiveness of these training-related projects. Moreover, these evaluations pointed out the importance of training projects to the achievement of Agency goals within each program tool. This study, then, is a further implementation of EDA's concern with measuring the specific effects of its investments expressed in those earlier evaluations. Specifically, this project was designed to be an in-depth empirical study of EDA training-related activities which would pro- vide a sound basis for future program planning and legislative requests. To this end, the Study called for carrying out the following three tasks: Task 1 : Describe a sample of current and past EDA training-related activities, including project selection criteria and project profiles of selected training programs in each of EDA's program areas. Task 2: Measure the impact of selected training-related projects, answering the following questions: - What has the project accomplished, and how does this compare to the goals of the project as proposed? - How do the employment and income profiles of the trainees change with training? - How do trainees view the EDA project? What do they perceive as being the ad- vantages and disadvantages of their training program? - What is the EDA cost per trainee in the various kinds of training-related projects? What part is that of the total per trainee cost? - How does the school accomplish its proposed service objectives to its student con- stituency, to the labor market, and to the community at large? Task 3: Recommend future Agency training-related activities, which would be based on empirical data collected in tasks One and Two. Recommendations should concern not only specific training objectives related to EDA's overall goals, but also to the federal government's other manpower training activities. The study was conducted by a team from Development Associates, Inc. from March through August, 1971. After an initial period of methodology development and testing, over three and one-half months were spent at the 1 5 selected project sites collecting data.* *Only 1 1 projects are covered in Volume I. See pg. III-5 for a complete explanation. II-l In carrying out the study, DA made a special effort to document the effect of each project on the individual program participants, with emphasis on measuring the impact of the projects on EDA's target groups - the unemployed, the disadvantaged, the welfare recipients. To this end, considerable effort was devoted to the collection of a wide range of quantitative data on project participants which would document each projects' impact and provide insight as to the most effective service delivery systems. The major section of this report deals with this participant impact. In addition, other important sections of the study discuss the effects of the projects on their communities and on local businesses. It also presents data on how the projects actually operated, and analyzes the methods used by the projects to achieve results. The study concludes with a series of recommendations in which DA has sought to distill the experience and data derived from evaluating 1 1 projects into specific suggestions for strengthen- ing and improving EDA's policy and projects in the area of manpower training. II-2 Ill DESCRIPTION OF STUDY METHODOLOGY A. OVERVIEW The specifications for the study called for an evaluation of impact and then the development of recommendations. It was determined at the outset that there was no one overall impact of an EDA training-related project - that the impact of a project was felt and must be measured by its individual and collective effect on: • project participants; • local business; and • the community and its economy. In addition, however, in order to explain impact and make recommendations, it was necessary to collect data which would serve as a basis for - determining the cause of the impact; - determining the role of EDA in the project; and - developing an analytic information base to explain the nature of the impact. In the remainder of this chapter, the methodology developed to carry out these tasks is described in four sections: Project Selection Criteria, Field Methodology, Analytic Approach and Approach to Unique Projects. B. PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA The Economic Development Administration furnished the contractor with a list of sixty-four Public Works Skill Centers of which twenty-six were completed and operational. Develop- ment Associates, Inc. chose nine of them for field study. The list of projects furnished represented a wide variety of types, funding levels, focus and objectives, and geographical distribution across the United States. Taking into consideration these factors, the following criteria for project selection were developed and applied: 1. Geographic distribution of the training project. All projects on the list furnished by the agency were categorized according to their geographical location in the United States. 2. The projects were then cross-categorized as to the number of trainees per year each individual institution proposed to enroll in its programs as a result of EDA funding assistance. 3. The i size of the grant provided by EDA to the institution. The projects were put into categories of funding levels as follows: a. Those that had received $250,000 or less from EDA. b. Those that had received from $250,000 to $500,000. c. Those projects that had received from $500,000 to $1 ,000,000 in funding assistance from EDA. d. Those projects which received over $1,000,000 in funding assistance from EDA. III-l 4. The period of time which the institution had been in actual operation since EDA funding began. Those that had been in operation for less than one year were not considered for the purposes of this study. In addition, six technical assistance projects were selected for field study. These projects were selected based on their geographic diversity and involvement in manpower skill training programs. The fifteen projects visited were selected using these criteria so that they would provide the most representative picture possible of operational training-related projects. All projects were selected by Development Associates in accordance with the criteria, although several projects were changed because they had recently been evaluated or had not been in operation long enough to evaluate. In these cases, another project was substituted which most closely met the applicable criteria. FIELD METHODOLOGY Development Associates' basic approach was the field interview survey method. Instruments were developed to collect data on : • the area; • the training program; • the project participants; • the local businesses and employers; and • the community and its economy. Each instrument was designed to gather as much relevant tabulatable data as possible and, at the same time, to collect information which would explain how and why impact occurred or did not occur. Thus, each evaluation instrument included both closed and open ended questions. The five evaluation instruments* used were: 1. A PARTICIPANT QUESTIONNAIRE was used to collect tabulatable data on individual participant impact and the training process he experienced. This questionnaire gathered information on participant demographic characteristics, participant impact, the training process and program, and participant opinions. In each project, the questionnaire was administered to a sample of participants selected for interview from project class enrollment records for a one or two-year period. Only adult vocational students, or those who were taking technical and skills training courses preparing them for placement or upgrading in industry, were interviewed. All non-adult and non-vocational students, i.e., high school students and adults taking non-vocational courses, were eliminated since they were not defined as EDA's target population. Every attempt was made to insure that those interviewed were representative of the projects' adult vocational participants and when possible, the sample was stratified. This was done by using the project's official class enrollment lists and selecting every nth name for interview. As many participants as possible were seen with the average per project being 36. *The actual instruments used can be found in Volume 2 of this report. III-2 2. A COMMUNITY QUESTIONNAIRE was used to get tabulatable responses to questions on community impact requiring an informed opinion. It was also used as an additional source of information on project operations. This questionnaire was administered to a cross section of the community, and typically included city or municipal officials, chiefs of community agencies, directors of social change programs, minority group officials, and people from poor areas. In each city those interviewed were selected by the field team while on site. An average of eleven people per project were interviewed. 3. AN EMPLOYER QUESTIONNAIRE was used to gather statistical and opinion data from employers on project participants and their businesses. It was administered to a sample of employers who had hired participants selected by the field team from project lists. An average of eight employers per project were interviewed. 4. AN AREA DATA COLLECTION FORM was used to record basic demographic, social and economic data on the area each project served. Sources such as local government, the Chamber of Commerce and the Welfare Department were used. It later proved im- possible to develop comparable data for the same year for all areas from local sources, so, as an alternative, 1970 Census data for the areas were used. 5. A PROGRAM OPERATIONS INTERVIEW GUIDE was used to gather information on each project. It was an open-ended guide and covered such subjects as: training courses, finances, management, staffing, advisory boards, physical facilities, supportive services, etc. These data were gathered for use in determining EDA's role and to learn how projects achieved their results. The information was gathered by interviewing project staff, re- viewing files, and through systematic observation of the program by the evaluation team. Thus, each instrument was designed to collect information in a broad range of areas and to serve as a cross check for validation purposes. The same instruments were used for 1 1 of the 15 projects evaluated, but were altered for four technical assistance projects due to their unique characteristics. (See later section on Approach to Unique Projects for fuller dis- cussion.) A standard approach was used to evaluate the eleven projects included in this report, and was based upon a prior field test in two of them. This approach allowed for variations of of timing and wording to fit the local situation. However, the variations were confined to narrow limits to insure that the data was uniform for all projects. Three of the eleven projects included in Volume I of this report were funded by the Office of Technical Assistance, while the remaining eight were funded by the Office of Public Works. These two program tools are dissimilar in their funding approach to training- related projects, the former granting operational funds and the latter construction and in- frastructural funds. However, the desired end producti.e., trained manpower, was the same for all projects reviewed. Using this perspective made it possible to validly compare Public Works and Technical Assistance projects. A pragmatic approach was taken with the sample survey of participants. The sample universe for each project was taken from the official school adult vocational course enrollment lists for a recent program year. Wherever possible these lists were stratified according to the num- ber of students in each course, and every n* n participant was selected for interview. In most cases, 100 or more participants were selected for interview to insure that an adequate number III-3 could be contacted in the limited field time available. In all cases one-third to one-half of those on the sample list were interviewed. Each project was visited for approximately five days by a two-man field team. Each team followed the same general schedule and concluded its visit with an informal interview with the Project Director. Overall the team interviewed over 847 people for the 15 projects studied. The data and conclusions in this report, however, are based on only 1 1 projects. The reasons for this are explained in paragraph E. For the 1 1 projects the interviews break down as follows: TYPE NUMBER OF INTERVIEWS Participants 40 1 Community Residents 101 Businesses 84 Staff 102 Total 688 It should also be pointed out that most of the data in this report was developed by the study teams in the field. In the few cases where project-generated data is used, the source is indicated. This was necessary to insure the validity of the study since the projects varied widely in the data they recorded and their methods for collecting it. In some cases, in fact, there was virtually no written data. ANALYTIC APPROACH The data and information gathered on each project was recorded and incorporated into a case study shortly after each visit to insure that information recall, and immediacy of in- sight were retained. These reports contain detailed analyses of each individual project and can be found in Volume II. Two basic approaches to analyzing the data were used. The first involved carrying out a series of systematic comparisons of the data on individual projects as a whole and then making comparisons between specific data categories. The two most important categories in this cross comparison were participant-impact data and project operations data. The cross comparative approach did not lend itself to analysis of the data as a whole, and therefore a rank ordering approach was utilized, which permitted more overall analysis by grouping the data into four major Participant Impact categories: • EDA Target Group Impact • EDA Target Group Placement and Upgrading Impact • Participant Income Impact • Socio-Economic Impact These four categories were used because they provided the clearest picture of participant impact, the study's major concern, and a minimum of data distortion. Moreover, since these measures focus only on the participant they allow meaningful comparison of Public Works and Technical Assistance Projects. A simple ranking system was used to arrive at an overall rank order of project performance on Participant Impact. It called for ranking each project's performance on the four impact measures from high (Rank 1 ) to low (Rank 1 1 ). A high level of performance was defined as III-4 the greatest impact on participants. It should be noted that this is a relative rank and com- pares the 1 1 projects to one another and not to standard criteria or national norms (which do not exist). The approach also does not take into account actual numbers of people served but uses percentages, since the projects were funded to serve significantly different numbers of participants. This impact-oriented approach permitted a wide range of deductive analysis based on a project's performance in assisting EDA's target groups. It also made possible comparison of performance and such things as training methods, funding, Board involvement, etc. could be compared and analyzed. It was also possible to discern trends of such performance areas among the top-ranked programs. In short, the rank order approach permitted the team to analyze the data from many different viewpoints and maximize the amount of learning gained from the project. Certain comparisons, however, were not made due to the differences of approach and financing between Public Works and Technical Assistance projecrs. Thus, costs were not compared, cost-benefit analysis not performed, nor comparisons of each project's scope attempted. APPROACH TO UNIQUE PROJECTS Four projects which were studied could not be included in the analysis sections of this re- port because their training activities and program focus differed substantially from the other eleven projects, rendering the data incompatible. One project, the Gila River Career Center, was a Public Works project. The Pittsburgh Business and Job Development Corporation, and the Program for Accelerated Business Leadership Education were Technical Assistance projects. The fourth project, the American Indian Industrial Development Intern Program, is sponsored jointly by the EDA Indian Desk and the Office of Technical Assistance. Although these projects are not included in the analysis of this report, they are treated in depth in the individual reports of Volume II. These individual reports are summarized in Appendix D of this volume along with the other eleven projects. Below, we discuss briefly the unique characteristics of each of these projects. The study and analytical methodology used for the Gila River Career Center paralleled the approach used for the eleven projects comprising the basis of this report. The field method- ology, data collection instruments and analytical approach used were virtually the same. The reason for the deletion of this project from the study was that it had only begun training program participants at the time of the evaluation field visit. As a result, no impact data on program participants could be obtained, and the focus of the evaluation shifted to current project operations rather than post-training impact. The Pittsburgh Business and Job Development Corporation's program emphasis was pri- marily on minority business development. At the time of the field review it had only carried out one training project similar to that of the eleven projects included in this study. The Program Participant, Community Leader, and Employer questionnaires were used to collect the data for this project, but the datawere analyzed in the light of its unique focus and objectives. The Program for Accelerated Business Leadership Education (ABLE) was aimed at pro- viding professional white collar training for small numbers of minority group members, and again, it was not possible to cross compare the data collected with the other projects. A modified version of the data collection forms on employers and trainees used in the field investigation of the eleven projects analyzed in this report was used for this project. The American Indian Industrial Development Intern Program, initiated in October, 1971, is providing professional industrial development training for nine American Indians. The size, timing, and nature of the program precluded any meaningful comparisons, although modified versions of the trainee and employer data collection instruments were used for this project. In the remainder of this report data on 1 1 of the 1 5 projects are presented and analyzed and detailed recommendations based on them are made. III-6 IV PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS A. PROGRAM PARTICIPANT IMPACT A primary purpose of this study was to determine the specific impact of various EDA projects on individuals, and specifically, to determine in each project as well as for all projects combined: -who was being served? -And how those served were being helped? To obtain this information, the evaluators concentrated on interviewing a sample of program participants from the respective projects studied. A total of 401 interviews, averaging 36 per project in eleven projects, were conducted with program participants. In each case a standard questionnaire was used to determine the following four types of impacts: • General Assistance impact • EDA Target Group impact • Income impact • Socio-economic impact In the sections which follow these data are presented and analyzed. 1. PARTICIPANT IMPACT DATA a. General and EDA Target Group Impact Since EDA's main objective is to serve the unemployed, under-employed, and disadvantaged in economically distressed areas and regions, it was vital to determine who the participants in the various projects were. Given this task, the study focused on adult vocational education, even though in many cases the training facilities involved also conducted courses for high school students and adult non-vocational students. The latter two groupings of program participants did not, in most cases, constitute a part of EDA's target population,* nor were they served by the institution in the same way that EDA's target group was. The characteristics of the program participants sampled were quite similar for each of the programs with the exception of ethnic group focus, which varied depending on the area served. The average project participant was male, about 30 years old, had eleven years of education and a family of four. Most participants were also living well below the OEO poverty income guidelines. Table I on page IV-2 provides detailed information on the characteristics of the participants for each program. *For the purpose of this study the EDA Target Group is defined as persons who prior to training were unemployed,on welfare, or disadvantaged according to OEO poverty guidelines. IV- 1 o 1j M so ^ ro _ ^ « £ N ^ ^ 00 o o d sO* i >< c id a g 2 o °° ^ sO "*. - h _ t> £ 2 N & ° ° - <* C CD in o o o o O OS CD to d r-' d ro o rH d 00 m (NJ "* in 1-4 '"' £ l in va ^r 00 00 CO r~ U to (sj 00 "" r "' • U t- r- xf 00 rt M r-' ° o o ° d SO fe - 1 u ^ CO & 1 c ° M - 1 o o - 1 O £ o o> in in o o fvj ■*" £ m in '"" m ^ i rt £ Z £ § o ° o 3 ro O 0) ii in so o sO so a^ ^ m' to (si o to' CO _' ro w I c ■* f\] oo ^ O t^.' in' CO o fj o fj in 00 in o o 00 OS d OT 5 rO to (M N "" w 2 u 3 C o c/) &£ 6 u y h u, < 6 £< < jjj £ < 5 V

> ^ ^ ^ ^ # EH J G a g" | 13 P W < O O iS5 t'2 W 2 SO OQ a w w <| *£ o & K P Op H 5 w < £a « w 3 o H<; Q J W & % « 3 W 2 rt H^ w D o 5 i < « E J . iwwuwu O H n < IWUUUWW ffl luf -s I w C^ C^\ C\] More interesting perhaps is the information in Illustration number 2 on page IV-4 Using figures calculated from those sampled, it shows the status of the adult vocational enrollees prior to training in four categories: Non-EDA target groups, unemployed, welfare, and disadvantaged. Those that were unemployed prior to receiving training constituted the largest number of EDA target group participants and averaged 29% in terms of participation and 69.1% in job placement. The second largest number of EDA target group training participants were the disadvantaged who recorded a 27.6% average participation rate and of this number 60.6% were upgraded. The welfare category was the smallest contributor, averaging only 13.2% of the sample group; only 24.6% of this group received placement. Overall, 35.2% of the sample was not from the EDA target groups.* The data on Table 4 shows that of the total adult enrollment 58% were either placed or upgraded through the training programs, which is 11% below the performance figures for the EDA target group. Comparing the total adult enrollment placed with EDA target group placed through the training program, Table 4 indicates that there was greater placement success with the EDA target group, 42.3% as compared to 27.4% for total adult enrollment. On the other hand, the total adult program partici- pants achieved a higher percentage in the area of upgrading assistance. The EDA target group registered 24.8% in terms of upgrading assistance, while total adult enrollment obtained 30.7% upgrading assistance as a result of training. Further analysis of the data on Table 4 shows that the Technical Assistance projects achieved greater success than did the Public Works projects in terms of both job place- ment and upgrading. This was the case with both total adult enrollment and EDA target group enrollment. It should, however, be pointed out that total enrollment in Technical Assistance projects represents just over 10% of the estimated total enroll- ments of all projects studied. b. Income Impact The most common measure of impact in manpower training programs is the increase in the income of the participants. While there are many different ways to approach this measurement and define income, for the purposes of this study, income was defined as the gross amount earned from employment. Income from welfare, unemployment compensation or other non-employment sources was counted as $0. The data collected indicated that income rose considerably in most programs as a result of the training programs. Indeed seven of the eleven programs assisted the participant trainees to secure average income increases of over $ 1 ,000 per annum. The average income increase for all programs studied was $1,412 or 50.3%.** Table 2 on page IV- 10 and Illustration 5 on page IV- 1 1 show however, that there was a wide variation of income impact among the projects. The actual results ranged from an average income loss of $160 per annum to an average gain of $4,155 per annum. In percentage terms the average income impact ranged from -15% to 218.2%. *These percentages are the means for the programs in each category based on the sample. Weighted means were also calculated and are included in Table 3 on page IV-12. **Theseare the unweighted means for all programs. The weighted means are shown on Illustration 5 and Table 3. Table 2 INCOME CHANGES BY PROJECT : PROJECTS (Cities) Mean Income Before Training ($) Mean Income After Training ($) Mean Increase or Decrease ($) Percent Increase or Decrease San Diego 2, 064 3,997 1, 933 93.7% Harlingen 2, 597 3, 604 1, 007 38.8% Shawnee 3, 130 3, 772 642 20.5% Fayette ville 4,233 5,017 784 18.5% Wilson 2,738 5, 032 2,294 83.8% Fall River 5,203 7, 378 2, 175 41.8% Fayette 1, 001 841 (160) (15%) Camden 4, 178 4, 547 369 8.8% Public Works project total 25, 144 34, 188 9, 044 Public Works project mean 3, 143 4,247 1, 131 36. % San Jose 1, 904 6, 059 4, 155 218.2% Montgomery 1,782 2, 793 1, 011 56.7% Bootheel 2, 048 3,366 1, 318 64.4% Tech. Assis. project total 5, 734 12,218 6,484 Tech. Assis. project mean 1, 911 4, 073 2, 162 113. % GRAND TOTAL 30, 878 46,406 15,528 OVERALL MEAN 2,807 4,219 1,412 50.3% WEIGHTED MEANS ** 2,782 4, 597 1, 815 65.2% : Based on a sample of 401 participants in the 11 programs listed. It is es- timated that this represents a group of (approximately) 10, 657 participants. ** The weighted mean was devised to give appropriate weight to the statistics from larger programs. It is derived by multiplying the unweighted means by the weight for each program. The weight is calculated by dividing the sum of the adult vocational enrollment for all programs into the enrollment for each program. TV-IO * a H w U< J Z O H < U o J H U H « ft 'J J D ft B 5 =5 B? # e£bS MM 00 O T)- B° 1 B? E 5 6 s B 5 - 6 s E> f 5 ! !55 SP S? ^ B? § S 9 B? £i e£^ ^ ^s * * *££ 6 s E? j£ j£ rJ rJ o o a," © n" E? 6? B 5 - B? 5 $ *« B> E? E£ 6? 5 6? 6 s B? S 5 - E? e£ -1 S? S° B? S^SS B 9 - E? 6? fc ? in o CO 5 B? S? B? 6 s B? E£ * e£ 6^ £ N# E? £? •£> O- 1 2 S 3 i 5 i w £ § g §S£ B? B° B> e£ B> B s :- 6° E? 6° E? B 9 6 s i ! H W *£ W H < < 2 1 < G < W w - 4& 13 -3 < §"5 | o H < pq f litis l|! tjf.f ||S.f | w -2 d w £ £ -2 Q 1 i 6 ft 5 | U Q I I c S" u, x i h £ a! 1 a 3 a a 8 *! ^ h« h< H H H h h ^ z < p, « cu S 3 9 2 h W ffi H < <3 O fe o b? fc o go S « m ■* <\i Pi 00 S ■* £ rt 3 CO 2 en N £ to -J "s " j, & ro g CO $ N cf < j I s 1 1 s s "* CO ~ rj CO m m ~ rt ■* CO u £ 1 1 5 d s d f- d M g £ o ? d H r ~ " |s " ~ ^ , E s ^ £ t°- ^ -. B°- £ g ^ d in !5 r~ ° 2 (5 in 2 (M "1 d u * ~ _ rt 4, t = fe o fc o b = t o 6 s 00 | 2 O H < O o H ^S " 2 ^ 5 s s £ S " s Z- d c W ™ rj "°. J*- ^ S> "*. Si °°. fn "^ N °° °. O S d — vO n i d <~j 1- " * m Ph >.a § § m ^ m o -^ * s ■*' P „• s d £ - Pi d N * ^* o £ 1 ro ~ ~r N in ro rt t = w = b = t - B s £= u S oj x g 3 P3 P r ^ • = = ..= m 5 ^ i»l t = t :„- r- b° 8 | * °°. £ N . £ d m "°. <£ Tf" r " » 5 ~ in ~ CO " vO - CO a # ^ £ o ^o & = B = < B "■ "" TJ XI 1 ■S d| ^ TS -S •M S M a -1 o Jf ^ g P £ 1 H | s ! < | 3 o 1 3 I 1 2 w W W "3 <; 1 Q W a s H a J 2 ^ w o ■2 o Nl "3 £ §* "o t j « o | Ml 1 T> 1 w o 1 O o ° 1 IS < s | s 2 <: H 5 £ 2 l 2 S -g u o £ o £ U 3 £ o q u £ rt b . * u b V « u £ m Jj b V B B eu w &H w PhO w a. U (X w H W - N " d d d d r -' CO" d 2 ii 2 2 I ■■H 1 * * 2 *e £ 1.3 £ 5 ^ jj £^ 5| S 6 :6 f j Taken from a different perspective four projects assisted participants to raise their income from below the OEO poverty guidelines for a family of four. However, for three projects, the average pre-training income for participants was already above the OEO poverty guidelines for a family of four.* c. Socio-economic Impact In addition to measuring income impact, this study also attempted to determine other effects of the various training projects on participants. Given the scope of the study, it was not possible to determine and quantify specific changes in lifestyle. As an alternative, each participant was asked if as a result of the training and placement assistance he received, his life had improved in any of five socio- economic areas— Housing, Health, Transportation, Food Consumption and Per- sonal Savings. While not a definitive measure, any impact in these areas does to some extent demonstrate the extent to which the program participants believed the quality of their lives was improved and at the same time, provides some indication as to how meaningful any rise in their incomes was. The data on each project in these four categories is presented in Table 3 on pageIV-12. In general, it was found that the greater the increase in income, the greater the overall improvement in the socio-economic areas. Fayette, Mississippi proved to be an exception to this, but only because a high percentage of its participants were placed in Operation Step-Up jobs, which are MDTA funded and were not counted as placements or increases in income. While the participants in Fayette reported real socio-economic improvements they were not due to actual, permanent employment. Of the five improvement categories, housing and personal savings were the most affected and health the least affected. Not covered in the study, but reported by many participants, was the fact that as a result of increased, stable income, many were paying off accumulated debts. Many reported they were doing this first and would ultimately feel improvements in the other socio-economic impact categories. Illustration 6 on page IV- 13 displays the average improvement in the five categories for each project studied. Average improvement ranged from 7.0% in Camden to 42.4% in San Jose. For all eleven projects the average socio-economic improvement was 21.9%** Both the project -by-project statistics and averages in each of the four categories mentioned on Table 3, serve to illustrate the minimal impact that resulted. In fact, only in the cases of San Jose and Wilson did a percentage of program participants affirming improvements in these categories reach 50% of those interviewed. 2. CONCLUSIONS ON PARTICIPANT IMPACT Overall, the data indicates that the eleven projects, when taken collectively, had sub- stantial impact on their participants and that many of these participants were from the defined EDA target groups. On all measures, however, six programs performed substantially better than the others. These six programs account for most of the participant trainees and the impact on them. Table 5 illustrates this by ranking each project's performance in terms of its impact on the EDA target groups. *The OEO Poverty guidelines for a family of four is $3,800 per annum. ** Weighted average = 25.6% IV-15 7 ■« a, - in vo * . <* M >> 1 h +j 0) § ro c- 00 M3 r~ (M v£) S 60 d a> nj m in ^H 1 -1 rH -| 00 ^< co ^ On P PES 0^ r^ 00 O - 3 o H H 0) u >> ^0 _, 0^ _, rt sO ■* O Oh < '40 In < Q U ^ u M "t H rt > 2 CO H U H u W d £ s t- 04 sO M « 00 -* § En In i O to 13 -H ■5f CO CO 00 00 00 $ "S | £ , 2 £ < (Tj sO O tf co d 1-1 ^ H w fl 00 ■* t^ vD Oh ni d X X C! CO .H -* co O ^o p »• £ &.S § n) O O M n < 60 d (X S s ° 3 « O 60 o d +j t3 4) 0) rt CJ 60 Vi C , 60 nl 1-1 to O H d < .s t> ni On w h ni (n H fn In H P u £ p O 8 1 15 2 16 3 18 4 19 5 23 6 24 7 30 8 34 9 36 10 40 11 The following is a summary of the results of Table 5 : TABLE 6 Overall Ranking of Project Performance on Participant Impact Total Score Rank San Jose Bootheel Harlingen Wilson San Diego Montgomery Fall River Fayetteville Fayette Shawnee Camden The top six programs all rank closely together, although San Jose was the most effective program. Most significantly, these six programs served the bulk of the partici- pants and provided the greatest amount of assistance. Specificially, the top six programs account for: • 86% of the EDA target group enrollment • 88.5% of the target group participants placed • 89.9% of the target group participants upgraded • 61% of total enrollment* All of the top six programs assisted their participants to increase their income by over $1,000 per annum, and most of the six showed a more than 20% average socio- economic improvement. The predominant role and effectiveness of the six top programs and the participant data in general leads to these conclusions: • Six of the Eleven Projects studied are serving and assisting substantial numbers of the EDA target groups. These projects account for almost 90% of those placed or upgraded and 86% of the target group enrollment. In all six projects the EDA target groups made up over 50% of their total enrollment and over 55% of the EDA target group enrolled were either placed or upgraded. Overall, these six projects accounted for 5,967 of the 6,957 total target group enrollees for the year studied and 4,250 of the 4,768 total target group enrollees placed or upgraded for the same year. • Five of the Eleven projects studied are having only marginal impact on the EDA target groups. In all categories the performance of these projects is substantially below that of the top six. Overall, they account for less than 1 5% of the target group enrollment ♦Derived from Table 4 on pageIV-14. and slightly over 10% of those placed or upgraded. In three of the five projects less than 1 5% of their total enrollment was from the EDA target groups, although the percent of those placed or upgraded ranged from 18 to 91%. In overall terms these five projects together accounted for less than 1 ,000 target group enrollees and slightly over 500 of these were placed or upgraded. Five of the Eleven Projects studied did not meet their EDA grant objectives for serving the EDA target groups. Three projects (Camden, Fayette, and Fall River) did not meet the quantitative objectives in their grants for serving the EDA target groups. The other two projects (Shawnee and Fayetteville) did not have specific quantitative objectives in their grants but were generally charged with training the unemployed, underemployed and economically deprived. In both of these cases less than 35% of their enroll- ment is made up of these target groups. Thus, the five projects which ranked lowest in their impact on the EDA target groups were also projects which did not meet the objectives stipulated in their EDA grant. Six of the Projects have assisted participants to increase incomes significantly. Six of the eleven projects helped their participant trainees to increase their income by over $ 1 ,000 while serving substantial numbers from the EDA target group. In three of the projects the participant increase was over $2,000. In overall perspec- tive, these six projects assisted their program participants to achieve an average 92.5% increase in annual income. Given the low income status of participants prior to training, the increases are significant. Indeed, 4 of these 6 projects assisted participants to raise their average incomes from below the U.S. government poverty guidelines to near or above it.* Four of the projects studied did not assist their participants to gain significant income increases. In four projects, the participant income increase was less than $800 per annum and in one case there was actually a loss of earned income. This, combined with the low number of participants served, reveals a picture of marginal impact. Indeed, in a fifth case, while participants were assisted to gain a significant increase of over $2,000 per annum, less than 200 target group enrollees were involved. Although a majority of the projects assisted participants achieve some socio- economic improvements this change was not significant at the time of the study. In six of the eleven projects an average of over 20% of the participants reported an improvement in five socio-economic areas. While this lends some credence to the significance of the income increases reported, it by no means reflects the total picture. Many program participants indicated that they were utilizing their income increases to pay off accumulated debts, thus a low response in the savings category. Another reason why impact in these categories appeared low, can be attributed to two interlocking factors. First, many of the training facilities studied were only recently operational and had not had time to build up significant years of experience in training individuals. Secondly, some of the program participants ♦Based on the Standard OEO definition of $3,800 for a family of four IV- 18 interviewed in the study were recent graduates of the training courses, and as a result did not have sufficient time on the job to significantly raise their standards of living. Thus, the statistics obtained in these categories may be understated on a long term basis and socio-economic impact may be more significant when measured after a longer period of time. Projects which EDA helped to start were generally more effective both in serving and assisting adults and the EDA target groups. Five of the six top programs were started with EDA funding. While other funds were also involved, EDA's inputs were made at an early stage, and the Agency was able to exert influence on the directions and approaches of the programs. One other program, Fayette, Mississippi, was also started with EDA funding and has focused on adults and the EDA target population, but due to a lack of operational funds and job opportunities for participants, it is ranked low on effectiveness. The remaining four programs— Fall River, Fayetteville, Shawnee and Camden— all operated their programs as additions or expansions-to ongoing high school and adult programs. The exceptional case is Wilson, North Carolina, which is ranked in the top six projects on effectiveness and is also the largest of the eleven programs. In Wilson, EDA provided funds to expand an on-going program. However, from its inception Wilson had focused on adult vocational training, and EDA was therefore only providing support to a program already geared to the Agency's target population. Thus, it may be concluded that EDA has had more success in meeting its objec- tives by helping to set up new programs or by expanding those in conformance with its approach than by attempting to refocus or change on-going projects which do not emphasize training programs for EDA target groups. Projects that included a High School component were the least effective in serving EDA 's target population. Conversely projects which primarily focused on adult vocational students were more effective. Four of the five least effective projects included a substantial high school and non-vocational adult enrollment. The fifth, Fayette, Mississippi, had also just begun to involve high school students. In fact, with the exception of Fayette, the EDA target group enrollment made up less than 50% of the one year adult enrollment of the training facility during the years studied in the five lowest ranked projects. In only two cases, Fall River and Fayetteville, did any of the five least effective projects obtain a better than 50% placement rate of EDA's target group enroll- ment. In terms of upgrading EDA's target group, the same two schools achieved a 33.3% rate of success, with the other three projects ranging down to a low of 5.2% in the case of Fayette. As a case in point, in three of the projects-Shawnee, Fayetteville and Camden- the supportive services provided by the schools, such as transportation, personal IV-19 counselling, testing, and to a lesser extent job development and placement assist- ance, were all geared to the high school population. Thus, while the study did not examine the compatibility of high school and adult vocational students, it does appear from the projects studied that it is difficult to operate effective programs for both adults and high school students at the same time, particularly when high school students are given priority. • Projects to which EDA provided operational funds were more effective than those funded solely for construction and equipment improvement. A basic difference between the Office of Public Works and the Office of Technical Assistance is in the type of funding each Office at present can provide. According to the basic EDA legislation the Office of Public Works can only provide funds to projects for construction and equipment needs, while the Office of Technical Assistance, under its legislative mandate, has a wide latitude in the projects it funds-including the ability to fund a training facility's operations-as well as not being restricted to EDA-designated areas. This latitude is significant in that all three of the Technical Assistance projects studied were among the top six in effectiveness, and furthermore, all had received a substantial proportion of their operating funds from EDA. On the other hand, only three of the eight Public Works projects evaluated were among the top six. In the three technical assistance projects, EDA exercised considerably more authority over the projects, through the annual refunding process. While these projects were not monitored any more closely than Public Works projects, the annual review process required for refunding has had the effect of tying project operations more closely to EDA objectives. PROJECT OPERATIONS IMPACT In addition to determining the impact of the various projects, this study also sought to determine how and why the impact occurred. In short, the study sought to learn from the strengths and weaknesses of the various projects for use in future planning and program development To achieve this several evaluation instruments and techniques were used, including sections of the standard questionnaires administered to participants, businessmen and community people, interviews with project staff, and reviews of program and financial records. Overall this section is based on the data and information obtained through nearly 700 different interviews, an average of nearly 63 interviews per project. Tables 7-1 , 7-2, and 7-3 summarize the statistics gathered in the field. The data on project operations has been categorized into factors dealing with costs, participants, businesses, the community, staffing, curriculum, and funding. In the sections which follow these data are presented and analyzed. IV-20 « J= 5 s 73. 3% 75% 66.7% 79. 2% 100% 43. 3% 100% 62. 5% 66. 6% 6. 3% 84. 7% I a S 2 57. 9% 34. 2% 36.8% 84.2% 97.4% ^ s£ ! § o w o § 5 ° £ w S 10% 100% 56.6% !! o ° 2 O < O o J H U w o (X a O u D £ 5 u ^ 32.4% 13. 5% 40. 5% 64. 9% 91.9% 5 <=> o 1 ° § ° 1 2 3 93.2% 84% 45. 5% 100% 97. 7% 100% 100% 100% 2.2% 15.9% ul ■ ~ S 1 64.4% 31. 1% 77.8% 91.1% 86.7% ! ! ° I ° S £ 3 5 81.8% 20. 5% 70. 5% 97.7% 100% 6.8% 22.7% 20. 5% ° i 3 r S 5 !! if 6? E> 6? E? ° * ° S S £ s'°l ate o :• o o o EC U 5 1 91% 54. 5% 97.7% 95. 5% 72.7% 68.2% 90. 9% 11.4% 68.2% 10 £ g s 84. 6% 50% 6 5% 42. 3% 42.3% 42. 3% 69.2% ES 6^ H W o u < (X [X CX £ u u < ' n n Q 2 5 w H H 2 U tx w % of Participants responding positively to: 1. Adequacy of their training 2. Receiving Job Placement Assistance 3. Being Satisfied in their Job Placement 4. Training Facility Well Known in their Community 5. Refer Friends to Training Facility IX u 1. % Program Participants Provided Transportation 2. % Program Participants Exempted from tuition and/or fees at Training Facility 3. % Program Participants Provided Lunch or Meal at Training Facility 4. % Program Participants Paid a Stipend While in Training I (X £ (X Q 1. % Participants indicating they could not have attended training program unless 2. % Participants indicating inability to attend program unless exempted from fees and/or tuition 3. % Participants indicating inability to attend training program unless pro- vided with lunch or meal. as 8» 1 T-8 T-9 T-10 T-18a T-18c T-13a T-15a T-16a T-17a T-13a T-15b T-16b g ■ - & 6? rt" B? B 5 ES 6 s ; o £ CQ 5 n < J , J jo 6 s ES j£ go i i in E^ 2 « II H S? c, E£ B 5 £° B? ^ 6? ^ oo - 00 t- rt ~ rt en ■* , *P ES ^ E£ B? B? 2 S °°. o in in 6?- u ^ oo ~ vO CO OO - 1 rt ro £ gD S in e£ 5. e£ e£ 6 s Z o u, °* ** ■* ■* (VJ & 5 w o £ 0> - o -i o " H CM -* fvj E> 6 s B^ CU a 5 6^ o sP E£ a h 2 a- r- in M " C) o £ 6? u i c o s£ fj (J ro ES O 'S J! ahih 1*1 1 if | •g g •8 c-s o g n u £ £ £ £ i a! 2 i u 6 w '3 H ~ ™ w ^ J N M w ^ * -' n " * u b 6 ' 0) XI x a s S k H H UJ W W w W W w e£ o e£ B= W o « o P w i i - J 2 Z V, 2 1. PROJECT OPERATIONS DATA a. Cost Factors The absolute cost of the various projects was quite difficult to determine. The projects each used different accounting methods and periods and many were only able to provide gross expenditure figures. In addition very few projects kept accurate records on the results of their training programs, i.e, graduates, place- ments, up-grading, referral, etc, and in some cases even enrollment records required reconstruction. The result of this paucity of records is very limited cost data. In the end, it was necessary to calculate enrollment figures as of the projects' latest accounting period in order to develop some measurement on costs and to forego more meaningful cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness measures. The investment figures shown on Table 8 on page IV-25 cover a wide range which is explained by significantly different construction and equipment committments and the unavailability of depreciation figures. However, even with undepreciated, differing construction and equipment ex- penditures, in all projects the costs per participant to EDA were under one thousand dollars ($1 ,000). The only overall figure available for comparison in this regard, is the average income increase per adult vocational participant shown in Table 2, which is $1,412. Since the adult vocational participants made up 72.2% of total enrollment, it is likely that on the average the EDA projects are increasing the income of participants by more than the EDA investment, although it is not possible to specify an amount. b. Participant Factors The participants' evaluation of the training and assistance received shows a mixed picture. More than 50% of the participants stated their training was adequate in nine of the eleven programs. Eighty-five percent or more of the participants in ten of the eleven programs indicated that they would refer friends to the project. Similarly 75% or more in nine of eleven programs indicated the project was well known. Yet in the two most crucial areas, job satisfaction and assistance in job placement, the participants rated the projects much lower. In only five of eleven projects did 50% or more of the participants receive job placement help, and in only seven of the eleven programs were 50% or more of the participants satisfied with their job. Analysis of field observation notes indicates that in those training facilities which also train high school students, supportive services in the areas of job counseling, job development, and job placement were primarily geared to the daytime pro- gram participants, which meant the high school students. This was true in four projects (Shawnee, Fayetteville, Fall River and Camden) and is corroborated by the data on Table 7-1. On first examination the low positive response on job placement help for two of the top six programs, Montgomery and Wilson, and the high positive response for the low rated program in Fayette is inconsistent. However, the situation in Fayette is explained by the placement of most of the participants in temporary MDTA-funded jobs. IV-24 TABLE 8 EDA PROJECT INVESTMENTS r 1 i PROJECTS (Cities) Total Number of Participants-^' ($) Years of Operation Since EDA Funding Total EDA Project Investments ($) San Diego 6,613 5 160,000 Harlingen* 2, 175 4 1, 905, 000 Shawnee* 1, 178 1 1,224,000 Fayette ville* 4, 702 3 480, 000 Wilson* 12, 903 4 510, 000 Fall River 4, 312 5 3,053, 000 Fayette* 251 1 242, 000 Camden* 2, 145 4 1, 650, 000 San Jose** 1,077 4 589, 187 Montgomery** 867 3 235,905 ; Bootheel** 402 3 61, 870 !_/ Total enrollment since EDA funding as of last Accounting Period. 2_/ EDA funds used to renovate and partly equip an existing building. * In these projects EDA funds were used to build and partly equip new buildings, ** In these cases EDA funds were used for staff and equipment expenses. No building was involved. The situation in Wilson and Montgomery may be explained by the figures on Tables Three and Four. Both of these projects along with the one in Harlingen focus the majority of their efforts on upgrading the disadvantaged. In Wilson and Montgomery this has most often involved upgrading assistance with the same employer and thus many of their participants required no placement help. In Harlingen, however, most of the disadvantaged served were formerly employed as seasonal farm workers (migrants), and upgrading has generally involved placement on a new and better job. With these further insights, the statistics on Table 7-1 show a marked correlation with those on Tables 3 and 4. The top six programs all provided substantial place- ment help to participants who needed it and this clearly shows in the participant impact figures. c. Participant Services Each participant and project was questioned on the provision of four services to participants: transportation, fee or tuition exemption, lunches, and payment of stipends (living allowances). Only four of the eleven projects provided free transportation to 40% or more of their participants; 12% or fewer of the participants indicated free transportation was necessary for them to participate. However, exemption from paying fees appears to be a more important factor with participants. Five of the eleven proj- ects exempted 65% or more of their participants from fee payment, and 50% or more of the participants in four projects would have been unable to attend with- out fee exemption. However, in all projects where fees were charged, the amount was quite nominal (5 to 10 dollars), which most participants did not regard as significant. The least significant service factor on Table 7-1 is the provision of free lunches or meals. Only one project provided this service, and all participants agreed that free meals were not important factors in their ability to attend training. On the other hand, the payment of living stipends to participants appears to be an important factor. Fifty percent or more of the participants in five of the eleven projects were paid a stipend while in training. Moreover, of the top six projects, only Montgomery and Wilson were below 50%, which is explained by their focus on upgrading the disadvantaged who are already employed. Thus, stipends appear to be important in successfully assisting the EDA target groups. In addition to the four major services above, some projects went to great lengths to assist participants with other services. They included legal, family, and financial counseling, day care assistance, and health and alcoholism referrals. While no project formally offered these services, the six top projects were alert to these problems and able to readily assist when necessary. The key to these projects' success in this area was in the mobilization of outside resources to assist their trainees. Although the six most successful projects did not provide day care services, for example, the staff of the training facility mobilized the resources in the community, such as the Welfare Department, Head Start program, the Employment Security Service, or whatever agency was required to assist the trainee with his particular situation. On-site observations confirmed IV-26 that the crux of the success in this area was the extra effort made by the staff of the training institution, whether it was the instructor, job counselor, or deputy director who stepped in to assist the trainee. At the same time, it was apparent that the best six projects had no rigid system whereby the trainees were assisted in any of the areas mentioned above. Rather, it was a clear policy to provide whatever assistance was needed by the individual in order to place him which guided them. In the five projects that were less successful, the extra effort on the part of the staff needed to attend to the individual needs of the trainees was less apparent. In summary, the lesser successful projects were more geared to training and education per se rather than providing the range of services needed for successful placement. d. Convenience of Project Location and Class Times Table 7-2 shows that over 65% of all participants for the eleven projects stated that both the project location and class times were convenient for them. While it appeared that each project had been careful in selecting its location and class times, the high ratings may be deceptive since the study only covered participants, and people for whom the locations or class times were inconvenient may never have become participants. It is perhaps more significant to note that all of the top six programs offered a substantial number of their courses during the day. The other five programs also offered some adult day time courses but mainly served adults at night. e. Employer Factors As shown on Table 7-2, more than 50% of the employers in all areas but Fayette, Mississippi compared the projects favorably with other manpower programs in the area. Most projects had also been accepted by the community as training institutions, with only Camden, New Jersey, receiving less than a 40% positive response. However, when queried about the projects' ability to provide needed manpower and skills, the range of positive responses was considerably lower, with only five projects scoring above 60%. The mixed nature of these responses may be a further indication of the pragmatic attitude of employers previously discussed. That is, employers are unwilling to be negative about a training/education project in general terms, e.g., comparing the project to other manpower projects, or commenting on the project's acceptance as a training institution, but are more discerning when the project affects their business, for example, providing needed manpower and skills. Even so, employers do rate the projects highly but, as stated earlier, will not hesitate to drastically and quickly lower their rating and cooperation should the project fail to deliver. Another factor studied was the nature of employer involvement in the training project. Employer involvement was usually in one or more of the following ways: Provision of jobs, cash contributions, in-kind contributions and board participa- tion. Only two programs received all four types of assistance, San Jose and Wilson. The others did not receive any financial contributions but did receive the other three types of support. IV-27 Overall, the six best programs were receiving several different types of support. Particularly significant is the low level of in-kind support, (under 13%) received by the four lowest ranked programs, Shawnee, Fayetteville, Fayette and Camden. This supports non-tabulatable field observation that the more successful pro- grams worked closely with employers and actively solicited their advice and support. f. Community Factors All eleven projects were positively evaluated by community residents questioned, with all scoring ratings of 40% or more as shown on Table 7-3. These questions, however, again dealt with community opinion on the overall project, i.e., worth- whileness of the project, general confidence in project, acceptance of project as a training institution, and confidence in the project's training ability. Thus, as suggested earlier, these responses are more indicative of a reluctance to be negative about any training/education project than definitive evaluations of the project's training quality or impact. g. Project Staffing Factor As with project costs, it was difficult to standardize the data on staffing patterns gathered from the various projects because of the different methods and ap- proaches used. For example, some projects relied heavily on part-time teachers, others on full-time. Some used administrative staff as counselors and job devel- opers, others had separate staffs, and still others used teachers in these job functions. In short, it was only possible to develop very rough staffing break- downs and, of those developed, only the ratio of participants to total staff is useful as a basis for cross-project comparison. Using as a yardstick the ratio of participants to total staff points up some interesting facts. Table 7-3 shows that the four lowest ratios are found in San Jose, Harlingen, Wilson and Montgomery, all in the top six projects. These, how- ever, are followed closely by projects rated at the lowest end of the spectrum.* Perhaps the most significant staffing pattern factor observed in the projects concerned the hiring of personnel from the business sector of the community. In the top ranked projects, it was observed that the number of instructors, for example, who were hired from business was much higher than in the projects which were less successful. This was also true with regard to projects which had staff for job development and placement. In general it was observed that those projects which hired individuals for these staff slots from the business sector experienced better placement figures than those whose staff background was school administration or student counseling, for example. This suggests that staffing patterns are an important factor in operating an effective training project. It also suggests, however, that having sufficient staff is no guarantee for effectiveness, and that high quality staff is required as well. Indeed, the single case of San Diego is indicative that a highly qualified and committed staff can, to some extent, make up in quality for lack of numbers. ♦The Bootheel project is not included in this section since it does not directly provide training and i therefore not truly comparable in this section. IV-28 h. Training Methodology Closely related to the Project staffing factor is training methodology. It was noted in field observations that the more successful projects hired a number of their staff from the business sector of the community, who were geared to the world of business, and so geared their training courses. On the other hand, those projects which placed more emphasis on high school vocational education tended to hire instructors who had been trained through an educational system, rather than by private business, and so geared their courses to more academic prepara- tion of the students than practical, or job-readiness training. In the case of instructors who were hired from private business, it was apparent in field observations that their classes were patterned after the shop or office situation, with time attendance clocks, job performance tests, and general teach- ing methods resembling an actual job situation. This was not observed in projects where the majority of instructors came from an academic orientation, or where top management was for the most part comprised of career educators, although there were exceptions, such as in San Diego. i. Curriculum Factors All of the projects offered a wide range of courses to participants, although those with smaller enrollments naturally offered fewer total numbers of courses. Many of the courses were highly technical and the projects had acquired expensive modern equipment for use in training (see Table 9). It is interesting to note the similarity in courses offered by the projects despite the geographic and economic differences among areas. Most of the projects offered at least these five types of courses: Machine shop, clerical skills, automotive repair, welding and electronics. Different projects did emphasize different parts of these course types. Offering a large number of courses requiring modern equipment appears to be important since five of the best six projects fall in this category. However, one of the top six projects (Montgomery) offered few courses and had little equipment while all of the five less effective programs were well equipped and offered many courses. As with staffing, this suggests that the quality of courses and equipment are important factors but no guarantee of project effectiveness. Indeed, if the case of Montgomery is indicative, it is possible to be effective with few courses and very little equipment. The one unifying training factor in all the successful programs was the identifica- tion and substantiation of job opportunities in the area. The San Jose OIC is the most outstanding example of this factor, but the other five top ranked programs to a greater or lesser degree adhered to it as well. The staff in San Jose, particu- larly the job developers and the Executive Director, actively researched and forecast the future job market in the area, and then geared the OIC's training courses to this future need. This resulted in more successful job placement. In the case of Wilson, on the other hand, whose primary emphasis was on upgrading rather than job placement, the large number of course offerings was beneficial to a wide range of employers in the area, who time after time continued to utilize the course offerings at the school. IV-29 nt TJ • X X X X X X X ffj "£ M •H C X X ft -i GO §.s X X X X u • 3 2 X X X X X X 2 cd U X X X X Q o ft ££ rt * X X w u H J 1 ™ « X X X X X X X X X X < U « 2 X X X X X X X X ft < £ H O *2 go 2 rt X X X X X X X z Q ' ,_, ^ u X X X X X X X X X u ,H I u O £ i o X X X X X X X X X « a c 1 o X X X X X X X X j« >< w o ti 8 ft GO 0) Q «i GO .2 i a; a > ft o > ft a) ft n 2 u o a (i 2 o GD C 2 1 o o PQ j. Funding Factors Table 10 shows that most projects received funding from at least four different sources in addition to EDA. The most common non-EDA funding sources were: MDTA funds, State funds, private local contributions and local government funds. Other funding sources included HEW, OEO, local Model Cities programs, WIN, and income from tuition. These funds were primarily used for operating costs although in some cases they were also used for construction and equipment purchase. The source and amount of operating funds appears to have been a significant factor in determining the focus and effectiveness of the various projects. The four projects which focused on high school students and who were also ranked among the five least effective projects, all received a substantial portion of their funds from local public sources. The fifth low-ranked project received none of its funds from federal sources but was not able to secure enough operating funds to fill the school. On the other hand, while the six most effective projects received local funding support, they also received even greater support from state and federal sources. Moreover, most of the six top rated projects received balanced funding with no one source predominant and able to influence the project's policy or focus. This is quite important in light of the comments from the four high school- oriented projects that they had to respond to their local constituency who re- quired a heavy high school emphasis. This suggests that projects which must rely on local funding sources for substantial support are not able to focus significant effort on adult vocational participants, in general, and particularly on EDA's target population. k. Record Keeping The scope of the field evaluation included investigation of each training facility's records on enrollment, job placement, accounting and curriculum. Only in six of the projects were these records readily available to the evaluation team, up to date and reasonably accurate. In some cases, such as Shawnee and Fayetteville, enrollment and placement records were reconstructed on site. In Fayette, the financial data on the training facility required complete reconstruction based on inputs from four different physical locations in the state of Mississippi. Only at three projects, Wilson, San Jose and Fall River, was there systematization of filing and record keeping in the above areas. In all cases where the deficiencies occurred, they could be attributed to the management practices of the top project management, whether it was a local school system or vocational school district, or the Executive Director of the training institution. Except in the area of financial accountability, there appeared to be little input from the Economic Development Administration in terms of monitoring progress of the institution toward its stated goals, or compliance with EDA guidelines, particularly in terms of the school's expected output— trained manpower placed in viable jobs. IV-31 .2 '3 H X X X X ,3" X X X X +3 ° u > 3 £ w W S X X X X o X X 2 tn Si o X X X X X X X "I c o .2 ? « Ph u X X X X X X X -1 X X X X X X X X X X §1 X X X X X X X <; p w X X X X X X X X X X X o S w -h o u PS w Ph o 00 a; Q c m a M c o > 2 tl £ u 0) o m 8 o 00 c % 4) o IV-32 2. PROJECT OPERATIONS CONCLUSIONS The project operations data provide many useful insights. Particularly interesting are those characteristics that the six top ranked programs share in common and the ways in which these programs differ from the less effective ones. Perhaps the most interesting conclusion which runs through all of the project opera- tions data is that a well managed, qualified, committed staff can operate an effective manpower project with minimal resources and equipment. Conversely, resources and equipment are no substitute for the right staffing. Below are a series of conclusions suggested by the project operations data developed in the study. • Most Projects Maintained Inadequate Accounting, Enrollment and Placement Records. Only one project (San Jose) kept documented systematic records on all partici- pants. The other projects kept records which ranged from virtually non-existent to good. Only San Jose, however, produced detailed monthly reports on all participants, which included placements, salaries, etc., and related them to project costs. Moreover, San Jose analyzed its records and used them for both short and long-range planning. Since San Jose was considerably more effective than any of the other projects, its approach to record keeping would appear to be significant and worth duplication. • In Most Projects It Appears That The Average Income Increase Per Participant Exceeded the EDA Cost Per Participant. While the lack of records discussed above made precise cost determinations impossible, the calculations which were possible suggest that the EDA investment per participant was less than the average income increase per participant. • Projects Which Provided the Greatest Amount of Job Placement Assistance Were the Most Effective. All of the six best-ranked projects provided job placement assistance to a high percentage of their participants who required it. Those six projects viewed their role as more than just training and thus included job placement as well. The five low-ranked projects seemed to view themselves more as training institutions who, once they provided training felt they had accomplished their task. This approach is further corroborated by the almost total lack of knowledge the lower-ranked projects had about the results of their training. Overall it appeared that projects which viewed training as an end, rather than a means, provided little placement assistance and consequently were less effective. This is borne out by the data on Table 4 which shows that the 6 top-ranked projects placed substantially more EDA target group participants than the other projects. In fact, these projects account for 2,381 of the 2,690 EDA target group participants placed. • The Payment of Living Allowances or Stipends Was an Important Factor in Project Effectiveness. As with job placement assistance, the six top projects were all able to provide stipends for most of their participants who needed them. The lower-ranked IV-33 projects, however, were able to provide this for only a small percentage of their participants. The comments of the staff at the various projects also indicated that a project's ability to pay or arrange for stipends is important to its ability to serve daytime adults, particularly those from the EDA target groups. The staff com- ments suggested that it is difficult if not impossible to attract adults to day-time training without paying a stipend. Since the six best projects both paid the highest percentage of participants stipends and had the greatest number of day- time adults, stipend availability would appear to be an important factor in project effectiveness. • Projects Which Were Willing and Able to Provide a Wide and Flexible Range of Supportive Services to Participants Were the Most Effective. The six best -rated projects perceived training as just one means to an end, i.e. job placement, and were prepared and willing to provide whatever support a partici- pant needed to be successful with a job. In some cases, this meant legal assistance, arranging for extended payment of debts, arranging for glasses or other health needs, and in general, working to help the participant overcome any problems which would prevent successful employment. In some of the 6 projects counselors and/or follow-up staff were assigned specific supportive services responsibility. In others, however, teachers were responsible. Importantly, in all 6 cases, it was clearly understood by the staff that its role was to assist each participant to secure and hold the best possible job. This meant that the staff actively sought out participants' problems so they could help resolve them. While the other 5 projects provided supportive service assistance, it did not receive the priority given it by the other projects. Rather, these 5 projects viewed then- role as one of training and tended to provide supportive assistance only when the need was visible or vocal. • Projects Which Offered Substantial Numbers of Day-Time Adult Courses Were More Effective. As pointed out earlier, the top 6 rated projects all had larger numbers of adult day-time courses. They were also able to arrange stipends for many of these participants. It thus appears that projects which pay stipends can attract more day adult participants and conduct more day-time classes than those in the evening. While no study of day versus evening classes was conducted, in virtually all cases day classes were more intensive, more comprehensive and required less calendar time to complete than evening courses. • Employers Viewed the Projects Pragmatically and Will Only Continue to Hire Participants When the Projects Provide Qualified Manpower. While many businessmen were sympathetic toward the projects and expressed verbal support, they were quite explicit in separating this kind of support, which was expressed more as a community resident, from support in providing jobs, advice, etc., which was carried out as a businessman. Businessmen had no trouble in making this differentiation and made it clear that their support as businessmen was tied to the projects' ability to provide qualified manpower when promised. IV-34 > Active Support and Cooperation from Employers is Essential to Project Success. While all projects received support from businesses in terms of providing jobs for participants and participating on the projects' Advisory Boards or Boards of Directors, only the top six ranked programs received support in the form of cash or in-kind contributions. This deeper indication of support suggests a positive, qualitative difference, as business is unlikely to provide such support to a project with which it is not deeply involved. Since this depth of support is only found in the top 6 ranked projects, it would appear that one cause of these projects' effectiveness is a greater depth of business support. i Verbal Support of Projects by Business and the Community Does Not Appear To Be a Valid Indication of Project Effectiveness. Most businessmen and community residents questioned expressed positive general opinions about the projects as a community resource. However, this appeared to be more a reluctance to be negative about a community training/education project than a definitive opinion about project effectiveness or impact. This conclusion is also supported by the much lower ratings businessmen gave projects when specifically questioned about the projects' service to their business. i Four of the Eleven Projects Studied Were Not Following the EDA Guidelines Regarding Student Enrollment in MEDO 3.03-6. The statistics on student enrollment already discussed, together with on-site observations of the evaluation team, show that five of the eleven projects placed primary emphasis for training on high school students. This conclusion is further corroborated by the statistics developed on the % of EDA target population served, and the % of target population assisted through job placement or upgrad- ing. These statistics (Table 4) show the EDA Target Group made up less than 35% of total enrollment in four projects and in three of them, less than 15%. i Five Projects Have Not Adhered to EDA Instructions in MEDO 3.03-6 with Regard to Provision of Trainee Services. The data on Table 4 shows that the 5 lowest-rated projects account for slightly more than 1 0% of the target group enrollment who were placed or upgraded. These statistics are further borne out by the study teams' on-site observations. These five projects placed lesser emphasis on and had fewer staff assigned to providing supportive services to participants, e.g., job placement, counseling, transportation, etc. This was particularly true for adults who attended courses in the evenings when supportive services were even more limited. These arrangements clearly violate the guidelines stipulated in MEDO 3.03-6. In the Projects Studied, It Was Evident That EDA Had Not Systematically Enforced Compliance With the Provisions of MEDO 3.03-6. At the time of the evaluation, projects which were in clear violation of MEDO 3.03-6 were continuing in operation, under no apparent sanctions from the Eco- nomic Development Administration. This leads to the conclusion that either EDA is not closely monitoring those operations, has opted not to enforce the MEDO 3.03-6, or that there was a lack of planning on the Agency's part to insure compliance with this regulation. IV-35 • MEDO 3.03-6 Delineates Specific Criteria Which, If Applied, Will Assist Training Projects to Achieve Their Goals, and Those of EDA. The six top-rated projects, consciously or not, were carrying out both the spirit and the letter of MEDO 3.03-6. The data on Tables 2, 3 and 4 clearly illustrate that those projects which emphasized the EDA target group, focused on place- ment, and provided supportive services had significant impact on the EDA target group. Since these program features are the major emphasis of MEDO 3.03-6, the validity of its criteria are reinforced by this study. • Staffing Quantity and Quality Are Both Important Factors In Project Effec- tiveness. The data show that 4 of the 6 top ranked projects had the lowest student to staff ratios but that the less effective projects had ratios which were almost as good. San Diego on the other hand had a very high ratio and was among the top six rated programs. This suggests that a good staff can make up for inadequate staff- ing quantity but that top effectiveness comes when high quality staff are used in the right quantity. • Most Projects Offered a Wide Variety of Technical Courses and Used Modern Equipment In Their Training. Most projects have found it necessary to offer a variety of courses at different times in order to accommodate the constantly changing labor market. In addition, they have found that the jobs which are available require people trained in skills which require expensive, modern equipment. It is important to note, however, that having this capability does not insure project effectiveness. The 5 lower ranked projects all offered a wide variety of courses and were equipped in much the same manner as the top 6 projects. • Projects With a Balance of Funding from Multiple Sources Were More Effective In Serving and Assisting the EDA Target Group. The six most effective projects all received the bulk of their funds from state and federal sources. While they also received local support, that support was never large enough to govern project policy. In addition the top six projects all received sufficient support to insure their ability to operate near capacity. Four of the five less effective projects, however, were heavily dependent on local funds for sup- port; moreover, local priorities required a heavy focus on high school students. In the remaining project, Fayette, Mississippi, only minimal local funds were involved, but the project's federal funding level did not allow it to serve a suffici- ently large number of students. BUSINESS IMPACT Another impact area that the study focused on was the effect on business in the project area. Specifically, EDA wished to know whether the training projects helped create or retain jobs or assisted businesses in some other way which helped alleviate unemploy- ment and underdevelopment in the areas where the training project was located. To determine this an average of seven businessmen were interviewed for each project. A total of 84 businessmen were interviewed overall. Each businessman was interviewed using a standard questionnaire (see Volume II) to determine two possible types of impact: IV-36 • Ecomomic Impact • Business Operations Impact The Economic Impact category focused on the business itself and was designed to determine the role of the project in assisting the business to locate in the area, create new jobs, or retain existing jobs. The Business Operations Impact category centered on the effectiveness of project participants on the job. and on their role, if any, in assisting the business. In the following sections data for each impact area are discussed and analyzed. 1. BUSINESS IMPACT DATA a. Economic Impact 1) Employer Decision to Locate in the Area The statistical data obtained and shown on Table 1 1 indicate that there is little relationship between the companies' decision to locate operations in an area and the existence of an EDA manpower training project in that area. In only one instance, that of the Texas State Technical Institute in Harlingen, was there more than 25% of the respondents who answered affirmatively to this particular question. In Harlingen, 37.5% of the business representatives and employers interviewed stated that the Institute had been a significant factor in the firm's decision to locate its operations in the area. In all other projects, the percentage of businessmen answering positively to this question ranged from to 22.2%. The Texas State Technical Institute is an exception to the norm in the study. The on-site evaluation showed that the reason Harlingen had such a high rate of positive response to this question is that the Institute there is on the site of an EDA-funded industrial park. Those businesses interviewed on the industrial park were the ones indicating that the institution had played a role in their locating plant operations in the area, and specifically, on the site of the indus- trial park. Employers surveyed elsewhere were for the most part established firms in the towns and cities visited. It is understandable that, since in most cases the institutions funded by EDA are recent innovations in the communi- ties, the more established companies preceded the training facilities, and conse- quently did not respond affirmatively to this question. 2) Project Assistance in the Creation of Jobs There was a wide range of response on the role of the projects in assisting local businesses to create new jobs, with the positive responses ranging from to 77.7%. The highest positive responses were found in Wilson, North Carolina, the location of the Wilson County Technical Institute, and in Fall River, Massa- chusetts, at the Diman Vocational School. While more employers and business people interviewed responded positively to this question than to the previous one analysis of the project-by-project statistics show that impact in this sub- category is still very low across the range of projects studied. IV-37 U £ p < ° w k u h a h a. pqjs off S I ° 1 I 1 1 11 «|* 1 I I ■■■■% I . I I 1 1 ii B> fe° fc£ 87. 5% 87. 5% 87. 5% 87. 5% 87. 5% 87. 5% 87. 5% 100% 89% o < u o j H U W ex o y 3 £?■ E? ^ 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 87.5% 100% 1 IS § 1 1 • 1 I 8 I " 1 °f ^a E? fc° S> ? 5 5 ,| 5 H | || £ e£ ES feS 1 I I 1 1 1 I l 1 *g o 9 B^ e£ Er- in Er? E? oo oo S? E? 6> o o o . . o o o O INI o ooot^o oo j„ ggg 1 1 1 : I I $ -1 2 5 5 Sbg 87. 5% 7 5% 87. 5% 75% 75% 50% 100% 100% 75% wg tit 2 Bj w o 06 a D w W H W o 2 | < % of Employers indicating the training facility had a positive influence on: 1. Company's decision to locate in area 2. Creation of jobs in Company 3. Retention of jobs in Company | EC 1. % Employers satisfied with program participants hired 2. % Employers indicating same or participants hired 3. % Employers indicating same or lower absenteeism rates among pro- gram participants hired 4. % Employers indicating same or higher productivity among program participants hired 5. % Employers indicating program participants well trained for their 6. % Employers indicating program participants compare favorably to non-program participants hired 7. % Employers indicating willingness to hire other program participants 8. % Employers indicating salaries and benefits the same or better for prograrr participants compared to non-program participants hired 9. % Employers indicating jobs of partici- pants are viable and stable a o '2 « a 2 cM www wwwwwwww w 3) Project Assistance in Job Retention The data for this subcategory closely paralleled those obtained on job creation. Positive responses varied from to 66.7% with four projects studied registering 0%. Fall River and Wilson indicated the highest percentages of positive responses. The data gathered in interviews with businesses in the different sites studied indicate that the economic impact the training facility has had on these busi- nesses is not great. Several factors contribute to these findings. In the first place, the majority of businesses interviewed were big employers. In some cases, due to the large number of people employed the companies annual employee turnover rate was greater than the number of trainees at the training facility studied during a one year period. If the employer's turnover was, for example, 100 machine operators for one given year, and the training facility was turning out only 20 machine operators per year, at the very most the school could only satisfy 20% of that particular employer's demand. Such instances occurred particularly in areas like San Diego and San Jose. Secondly, a number of the training facilities were in competition with other training institutions in the areas. San Jose, San Diego, Shawnee, Gila River, Montgomery and Camden, in particular, faced this problem. In short, employers enjoyed multiple sources for trained manpower from which they could choose. The third factor was the labor market itself. In the midst of a nationwide recession, the manpower pool from which business and industry can draw is glutted in many of the areas visited, particularly those that were in or near urban centers. Considering these factors, it is not surprising that there was little measurable economic impact on businesses attributable to the Training projects. b. Business Operations Impact The data indicates that the projects had considerably more impact in their service role to businesses than they did in the economic area. Indeed most employers were pleased with the participants they had hired. 1) Employers Satisfaction with Participants Table 7 shows that 75% or more of the employers in nine out of eleven projects were satisfied with the program participants hired. The two projects showing less than a 75% satisfaction level were exceptional. The Bootheel, Missouri, project, showing only 60% satisfaction, was the only one which did not provide training to participants. The Agency's functions were limited to job referrals and as a result it had less control than was the case in other projects. In Fayette, Mississippi, where only 40% indicated satisfaction, the project suffered from being the least experienced one, having only completed one training cycle. 2) Participant Record on Absenteeism, Productivity, and Turnover In terms of three key employer service factors-productivity, absenteeism, and turnover, 75% or more of the businessmen interviewed at ten of the eleven projects indicated that the record of program participants was as good as or better than that of other new employees. Bootheel, Missouri was again an exception to this with only 60% responding positively. IV-39 3) Employers' Assessment of Training The statistical data for this area is consistent with that for previous areas of the Business Operations Impact category. The percentage range of employers stat- ing that program participants were well trained for their businesses covered a spread from a low of 40% in Bootheel, to a high of 100% in Montgomery, Wilson, and Shawnee. While the percentage of employers indicating that program participants were well trained for their businesses was uniformly high and consistent with the other subcategories in Business Operations Impact thus far discussed, it was not as uniformly high as the previous percentages. A consistent comment from employers in each area indicated that they questioned the ability of a training institution to adequately and realistically train employees for individual busi- ness enterprises. They felt that at best, the training institution could only try to lay the skills foundation with its trainees, so that the need for specialized train- ing, geared to that company's particular mode of operations, was reduced. These comments, while not tabulated in the hard data collected, partially explains why the percentage of employers indicating that program participants were well trained is lower than for other subcategories discussed. 4) Employers' Willingness to Hire Other Program Graduates In this area, seven of the eleven projects reported that 100% of the employers interviewed would be willing to hire other graduates of the training institutions evaluated. In only one case, that of Fayette, was the percentage of positive replies lower than 75%» Fayette's unique situation was explained earlier. 5) Employer Comparisons of Program Participants with Non-Participants The findings in this area are similar to the others in this subcategory. The percentage of employers responding favorably on this question ranged from a low of 40% in Fayette, to a high of 100% in Wilson and Montgomery. These percentages appear to be consistent with those in the other service impact areas and tend to support the conclusion that employers are generally satisfied with the program participants they hire. 6) Businesses Indicating that Program Participants Were Paid the Same Salaries and Benefits as Non-Program Participants In seven of the eleven projects studied, all employers indicated that salaries and benefits were the same or better for program participants as compared with non-program participants. In the other four studied, the lowest percentage rating was 83.3%, which occurred in the Shawnee project. Overall the data sug- gests nearly equal treatment of all entering employees in the businesses inter- viewed. 7) Businesses Stating that Jobs for Program Participants Were Viable and Stable In six of the eleven projects studied 100% of the employers interviewed stated that program participants were hired for stable and viable jobs. The figures for the other five projects, however, were much lower, ranging down to only 57.1% in Shawnee. Although not conclusive, analysis of interview findings and sta- tistics obtained in the lower ranked studies indicate that in the cases of IV-40 Shawnee, Fayette and Harlingen, negative responses by employers to this question can be attributed to seasonal employment practices of the businesses. This in turn points up the nature of the business enterprises involved. In Harlingen, for example, several employer interviews were from the agricultural sector of the economy, or dependent upon that sector for business. The same was the case in Fayette, although fewer enterprises interviewed were dependent upon agriculture. An analysis of interview findings in Shawnee, Fayette and San Jose also indicates that some employers had hired program graduates as part-time, unskilled workers, and needed them for only that time of year when production and/or sales increased. . CONCLUSIONS ON BUSINESS IMPACT In general, the projects studied appeared to have had very little economic impact on businesses. With a few exceptions, and despite numerous efforts to assist the eco- nomic development process, the projects did not play a significant role in attracting industry or creating jobs. On the other hand, the data suggest that all of the projects were of significant service to businesses to the point that most businesses would hire other program participants. Since trained manpower has always been an important economic consideration for businesses it would appear that the positive service role of the projects maybe inconsistent with their lack of economic impact. This inconsistency however, may be explained by the nature of the economy in each project area. All of the projects operate in areas with high unemployment and a slowing economy. The areas are, in short, "employer's markets." Thus, while the businesses were pleased to have a good manpower resource and willing to use it, field interviews showed that they were usually doing so either primarily because of some desire to help low-income groups or because the programs were an easy way to get good inexpensive manpower. However, this convenient manpower source was not considered vital and many em- ployers made it clear that they could, without difficulty, get the manpower they needed without the program. The data collected and its analysis lead to the following conclusions: • It is Unrealistic to Expect Skill Training Facilities to Play a Significant Industrial Development Role Except Where the Training Facility is Located On or Near Another EDA Project. Private and public groups responsible for economic development in the project areas universally used the projects as part of their business recruitment efforts. They all felt that the facilities were an important factor in economic development. Perhaps they are when labor is scarce and unemployment low, but the study did not cover such areas. However, employers in the project areas where unemploy- ment was high were specific in stating that the manpower provided by the projects was not vital to them or their decision-making, specifically in terms of man- power needs and projections. They cited other factors, such as taxes, distri- bution management and other costs, availability of raw materials, etc., as being more important factors. Thus, while the businesses interviewed felt the projects were of service and generally used and reused them, in most cases they stated that the projects were not significant to them economically. IV-41 This conclusion is supported by the record of the 1 1 projects in attracting industry. Only one project, the Texas State Technical Institute was directly successful in attracting industry. This project, located in Harlingen, Texas was the only one visited where local industry attributed its location in the area to the existence of an EDA- funded training facility. Businesses interviewed on the industrial park where TSTI is located stated that the training facility had been a positive influence in their decision to locate there. • In Only Two Projects Studied Were There Any Concerted Efforts at Mutually Supportive Planning between Two EDA Projects. The information from field interviews suggests that joint planning for economic development of an EDA target area was successful in terms of job placement, manpower training and economic development: in the case of the Institute in Harlingen, Texas. The Texas State Technical Institute was observed to be closely tied to the planning of the Rio Grande Development Council, and that the relation- ship was mutually beneficial. The only other case of joint planning between EDA projects was in San Diego, Calif. The project there also rated highly and had significant impact on the area.. In other EDA target areas, joint planning with development councils or development districts appeared to be non-existent, or minimal and no data was obtained to support any measurable impact, except in these two cases. • Projects Which Were Operational Longer and Served Large Numbers of Partici- pants Were Most Effective in Assisting Economic Development. Three projects, Wilson, Fall River, and San Diego were operational for more than five years, and each had served more than 1 ,000 participants annually. Moreover, the projects in Wilson and Fall River were well known and respected throughout their areas. The San Diego project on the other hand, while effective in serving participants, was not well known in the area due to special circumstances which appear to account for its relatively low economic development performance.* Wilson and Fall River, however, were considerably more effective than other projects in assisting economic development, with over 25% of the businesses inter- viewed responding favorably on all three questions. The nature of these projects suggests that the size and experience of the training projects are important to economic development. • Where There Are Other Manpower Training Projects in the Area, There Appears to be Less Impact on Business and Economic Development Attributable to the EDA Funded Project. The study showed that in areas where EDA has funded training projects in or near urban centers, they come into direct competition with other manpower training projects with regard to job placement. This tended not only to reduce the *The San Diego program started in 1962 as a school system program essentially designed to support an effort by the Mayor to create and retain jobs. While not the subject of this study, the Mayor's effort, according to on-site reports, met with some success. However, the EDA project played a key, though quiet, role in this success. The role of the Mayor's effort was often mentioned by those interviewed in San Diego, but the part played by the school was often unknown. Thus the figures for the EDA project may be consider- ably understated as it was not possible to separate the project's economic development role from that of the Mayor's effort. IV-42 EDA project's community visibility, but also reduce its comparative impact on business and employers in the area. In essence, the EDA project was just one of several different sources for trained manpower. • A Reputation for Providing Well-Trained Reliable Manpower to Business is Necessary for Continued Use and Support by Businesses, and is Vital to the Success of a Manpower Project. Most employers interviewed were quite candid in stating they would continue to use any program providing good manpower because using an organized program was easier and less costly for them. Moreover, they viewed the focus of the projects on low-income groups as an additional plus allowing them to demonstrate their corporate social responsibility. However, the employers were quite emphatic in stating that they could easily obtain adequate manpower without such a pro- gram and would quickly stop using it if the program failed to provide well-trained reliable employees. The project statistics tend to bear this out. Ten of the eleven projects were able to assist 40% or more of the EDA target groups enrolled. Only Fayette, Mississippi was below this level and employers there were considerably less satisfied with the program than in the other ten projects. • Most Projects Were Assisting Participants in Acquiring Stable, Reliable Jobs Which Paid Wages Comparable to Other New Employees. Interviews with both employers and participants strongly suggest that most of the jobs of participants after training were stable, and paid wages comparable to those of other new employees. While some participants were in seasonal and low paying jobs after training, the projects were attempting to assist participants to acquire stable and reasonably paid jobs, and to a great extent succeeding. D. COMMUNITY IMPACT The third impact focus of the study was the effect of the projects on the communities they served. It was not possible however to directly measure community impact in this study, so indirect opinion measures were developed as a substitute. The opinions comprising these measures were gathered through the use of a standard questionnaire administered to a cross section of community residents.* This cross section included for each project: a representative of local government, representatives of relevant public and private agencies, minority group leaders, and residents in the areas where the EDA target groups resided. Overall an average of eight community residents were interviewed for each project with an overall total of 101 residents interviewed. 1. COMMUNITY IMPACT DATA Interviews with community leaders in all eleven projects indicated that the training projects received at least verbal support from community residents at large. However, Table 12 shows that two received less than a 70% positive response-Camden 60% and San Diego 44.4%. These lower responses, however, are largely attributable to the newness of the Camden program and the lack of image of San Diego discussed earlier. *See Volume II of this report for The Community Questionnaire. IV-43 6° E? E> 5-9 ill 111 1 I £ -S ft f d l ft-SI This high level of support may be deceptive. Informal comments made by residents during interviews suggest that the positive responses mean that people support most efforts in education and manpower training, and are not necessarily reflective of any impact on the community by one particular training project. This is also corrobo- rated by the statistics obtained from community leaders' responses when questioned whether they considered the training project an accepted training institution. Responses, while mixed, as indicated in Table 7-3 , tended to be consistently high. Again, informal comments from those interviewed tended to place the training project in the perspective of another community service, no more nor less important than other needed services provided area residents. The community reaction to the project's effect on the unemployed and the poor was also mixed. In six of the eleven projects studied 60% or more of those inter- viewed indicated that the projects were having a positive effect on the unemployed, and in seven of the eleven projects, interviewers responded affirmatively in terms of a positive effect of the project on the poor. These reactions do correlate with the actual situation described in the Participant Impact Section, in that the projects ranked lower by community residents are also the lowest ranked in terms of EDA target group impact. As shown on Table 12, community residents interviewed reacted more positively when questioned on the project's impact on economic development and on the minority group population. In ten of the eleven projects studied 60% or more of those interviewed indicated the projects were positively affecting community eco- nomic development efforts. There was a similar positive response with regard to the project's effect on minority groups in eight of the eleven projects. While this response on minority group impact does correlate with the actual figures on participant impact, the response on economic development does not. Rather, the positive response on economic development appears to reflect a commonly held view that suggests manpower projects play an important economic development role, which the results of this study do not support. The final question to which community residents responded dealt with the effect of the projects on the quality and quantity of skills available in the community. Here the reaction was mixed with 60% or more of those interviewed responding positively in six of the eleven projects. Again the figures appear to correlate with the impact data on participants, with four of the five projects scoring below 60% also ranking lowest on assistance to participants. Non-tabulatable information obtained reveals the fact that many of those individuals interviewed stressed that trained, skilled manpower was a constantly needed com- modity in their community. Furthermore, they believed the American ideal of "a college education for everyone" was less important in their communities than it had been a few years ago. With blue collar workers making as much as, and in some cases more than white collar workers, skills training, rather than a college education, was enjoying an upsurge in interest and importance. How much this change in atti- tude could be attributed to the training facilities in the communities, and specifically the EDA funded facilities, is not measurable, but the people interviewed often alluded to the training facilities' influence in this process. IV-45 2. CONCLUSIONS ON COMMUNITY IMPACT The indirect data developed to measure community impact appear to reflect and corroborate the impact data for participants and businesses. They suggest that com- munity residents are knowledgeable about the projects as their opinions largely correlate with the actual data developed. This however says very little about the impact of the projects on their respective communities. Informal discussions during interviews suggested that the major community impact of the various projects was in the area of institutional and attitudinal change. Since in all cases the number of project participants was small in relation to overall com- munity problems, these changes could not be measured and quantified in the study. A review of the study teams' on-site observations and discussion records reveals that the top six programs in terms of participant impact, (San Jose, Harlingen, Bootheel, Wilson, San Diego, and Montgomery) plus Fall River from the less successful projects group, all had positively effected community attitudes and actions on skill training, economic development, and the EDA target groups. While the details differed from project to project private funding support is growing and becoming a more substan- tial part of the program for each of these seven projects. Two closely related conclusions are suggested by the data on Community Impact: • Community Residents Appear to Accurately Evaluate the Scope and Effectiveness of Manpower Projects, and • Effective Manpower Projects Can Bring About Institutional and Attitudinal Change in the Community and Thereby Gain Substantial Community Support. In addition it was found that: • Community Leaders Tend to Consider Most Training Projects Beneficial to Eco- nomic Development. Interview statistics show that generally, community leaders tend to consider any training facility, whether it is EDA funded or not, as beneficial to the com- munity's economic development efforts. They tended to consider the project as a community asset, even where the facility was in an area of substantial unemploy- ment, and was experiencing a general downturn in the local economy. E. OTHER STUDY INFORMATION In any study of socio-economic projects, two basic types of information are developed: - Objective, quantitative data; and - Non-quantitative, informal, less objective data. Most of the information presented and analyzed up to this point was quantitative and objective, with the less formal information being kept to the minimum necessary for understanding. The evaluators believe that this less formal information, however, is equally important and insightful. Discussed below is other information developed in the study, and, where appropriate, conclusions are drawn. IV-46 1. THE ROLE OF PROJECT OBJECTIVES One key element of the study was a determination and documentation of the extent to which each project achieved its articulated objectives. In the design stages of the study, the analysts systematically reviewed each project's proposal and funding documents. This review showed that most projects' objectives were vague, unquantified and not problem oriented. Rather, the objectives were stated in general, unquantified terms, and were addressed to training project operations or curriculum rather than solving the problem of unemployment by placing people on jobs. Indeed as Table 13 demonstrates, the objectives of only two projects were problem-oriented and spoke of placement of participants on jobs. Therefore, if the official articulated objectives were used to measure accomplishments, most projects would succeed since they were only required to operate training programs, not place participants in jobs. In fact, the grant documents for some projects do not even specify the number of EDA target group people to be served. Rather they refer generally to "training and retrain- ing the unemployed, underemployed and economically deprived." EDA, however, is clearly most interested in the impact of its training projects in terms of jobs, and thus the study team could not solely use the official project objectives to measure impact. This lack of specificity in setting project objectives appears to have had serious implications. The various projects did view their roles and objectives differently. Some viewed their key role and objective as participant job placement, and others viewed their role as training/education. Given the lack of specificity in the official objectives on job placement, both interpretations are valid. However, since the proj- ects which viewed their role as training/education were also the least effective, it seems valid to conclude that there is some positive correlation between the success of the top six projects and their interpretation of project objectives in the same terms as EDA. Moreover, this suggests that had the top six projects interpreted their role differently, which was quite possible, they, too, might have been ineffective and the overall positive results of this study quite negative. This leads to the conslusions that: • The lack of specific, quantified, problem oriented official project objectives contributed to the lack of effectiveness of many projects, and conversely. • Positive results found in the six top ranked projects were fortuitous and based upon the projects' interpreting their objectives in the dame way EDA does. 2. THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE PROJECTS TO OTHER U.S. GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS. Most of the projects studied relied on other U.S. government programs for substan- tial portions of their operating funds (see Table 10). However, as pointed out earlier, the six most effective projects secured a balance of funds from multiple sources, thereby preventing policy domination by any one outside agency. In addition, these top projects normally used operating funds from other U.S. government programs as part of the total program developed locally. Even in the programs where there are strict regulations governing operations, e.g. MDTA, the top programs used their standard approaches and methods and treated all program participants in the same way. IV-47 o X! X X X X X C/2 H U W P. o P w a 00 d 1) a o % Uh c S u o I o c o 2 j3 o The less effective projects, however, appeared to treat participants and courses funded by the U.S. government agencies differently, even on occasion segregating them from the other students. Indeed, these programs were operated by the rule- book even when it provided flexibility. While all of the projects need the funds of other U.S. government programs to operate at capacity, it appears that the funds were most successfully used as part of a well-developed local project. Moreover, the success of all three technical assistance projects where EDA provided substantial funds for flexible, locally controlled use suggests the wisdom of a locally developed and controlled approach. The conclusion which can be drawn from the findings is that: • EDA training projects should only rely on other U.S. government programs for funding when they can develop and control their use in concert with local approaches and priorities. 3. THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE FOUR EDA PROGRAM TOOLS As pointed out earlier, very little relationship was found between the various EDA program tools. In only two cases were there planned approaches to coordination: Harlingen, Texas and San Diego, California. Several EDA program tools were brought to bear on the situation in both instances with significant economic and placement results. While no conclusion can be drawn from two cases, their success suggests that further, perhaps experimental efforts, might prove worthwhile. 4. THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PUBLIC WORKS AND TECHNICAL ASSIST- ANCE PROJECTS. The data presented earlier suggests that the more flexible and comprehensive author- ity of the Technical Assistance Program Tool results in more consistent effectiveness. It also suggests, however, that EDA can have greater results in its training related projects when it can more directly influence those projects' operations. Public Works projects are normally funded once at the very beginning and from thereon, EDA has very little influence since the funds are already approved and very difficult to take back. The local projects must still, however, seek out annual operational funds. Quite naturally then, the projects become responsive to their immediate source of operational funds. In the case of four projects, their prime sources of operational funds (local and state), have designated high school students as their priority focus. As a result these four projects were much less effective in terms of achieving EDA's objectives. This leads to the conclusion that: • Where EDA was able to provide substantial operating funds, there was greater con- sistency in project effectiveness. 5. EDA ADMINISTRATION One striking fact the study consistently found was the lack of contact between EDA and the projects after project approval. This may to some extent be tied to the fact that with Public Works Projects, EDA has virtually no formal authority over the project after it is approved. Nevertheless, EDA appeared to be making no systematic effort to monitor the progress of the eleven projects studied. While each of the projects had been visited IV -49 by a representative of EDA's national office, to the knowledge of the analysts, virtually no project had been visited by regional office personnel, and the few national office visits were hurried and not systematically carried out. This lack of monitoring combined with the vagueness of project objectives appears to have been one reason for the lack of effectiveness of some projects. This is rein- forced by the fact that five of the eleven projects did not meet their grant objectives and did not fully comply with the provisions of MEDO 3.03-6. The reasons for these monitoring deficiencies are not clear. The study did not focus on EDA administration and thus key areas such as staffing levels and availability of travel funds are not known. However, the data suggests that : 9 The lack of frequent and systematic monitoring of projects by EDA to insure compliance with EDA guidelines and objectives may have decreased project effectiveness. IV-50 V RECOMMENDATIONS The final task of this study was to use the information collected and analyzed to develop recom- mended program and policy changes which EDA might implement to improve the effectiveness of its training-related projects. In the previous chapters of this report, the data and information gathered was presented and analyzed. From this analysis, a series of conclusions emerged in each project impact category. In most instances, the recommendations developed in this section spring from one or more of the conclusions reached. It is the intent of the study team that the recommendations made be practical and workable whether they relate to EDA's operations or to policy guidelines. The first recommendation does in fact relate to EDA policy. Because of its importance and wide effects, many of the subsequent recommendations are directly related to it. RECOMMENDATION NUMBER ONE This study has shown that EDA's training projects are logical extensions of its four program tools, and that they have in some instances, and under certain conditions, been successful in placing and upgrading the Agency's target groups. It has further shown that in most projects it appears that the average increase in program participant income after training is greater than the average EDA cost per participant. It is therefore recommended that: • EDA continue to fund training-related projects, but guided by an expanded version of MED O 3.03-6. It was found that the guidelines and criteria in the present MEDO 3.03-6 and the Memorandum by the Director of the Office of Public Works dated April 18, 1969 clarifying this MEDO were incorporated into the day to day operations of the most successful projects. It was, however, an inadvertent, or unplanned, incorporation. The evaluators suggest that to further clarify EDA's position on funding manpower training projects in all of its program tools, the following points be included in the present MEDO 3.03-6: l)The MEDO should specify that EDA will fund only vocational schools and skills centers that are exclusively adult-oriented. 2) The MEDO should require potential grantees not only to explore employment opportunities for its graduates, but to document the job opportunities identi- fied, either through employer commitments, in-house surveys conducted by the training facility itself, or by obtaining reliable documentation from out- side sources such as the state employment services. 3) The training facility should be required to furnish both plans for the provision of the following services to trainees, and actual budget and personnel allo- cations to carry them out: recruitment of the EDA target population in the area served by the training facility V-l - transportation for the trainees - job development and job placement services - testing and counseling services to the trainees 4) The training facility should be required to document its future operational funding sources, obtaining firm commitments from those sources. 5) Before funding is initiated, the training facility should be required to furnish documentation indicating that the formation of an active Advisory Council composed of business leaders, community leaders, and representatives of EDA's target population has taken place. 6) The training facility should be required to furnish proof through its curricula and class outlines that it is gearing its courses to the EDA population. While the training methodology should be flexible in order to cope with the varied target population in any given area, it should nevertheless reflect the special needs, backgrounds and cultural differences of the EDA target groups. This may mean open-ended classes, special curricula for individuals with little formal education, etc. The data and conclusions of the study reinforcing this recommendation are a) that those schools which focused entirely or primarily on adults were more successful; b) those institutions which had personnel slotted for job development and placement obtained better results in placing and/or upgrading their trainees; c) those schools which were providing trainee services such as transportation, counseling and testing, etc., were more successful in recruiting and retaining students, and placing them on jobs or upgrading them; and finally, d) those institutions who actively involved business and community leaders along with the EDA target population in the policy-making of their operations were also more successful. RECOMMENDATION NUMBER TWO EDA is not interested in training for training's sake; it is an economic tool to place trained manpower and/or upgrade manpower in industry and business. At some of the projects studied, this concept was either not understood or ignored. To complement the criteria set forth in the MEDO 3.03-6 indicated in Recommendation Number One, it is recommended that « EDA revamp its proposal guidelines for grantees and require that proposals articulate specific, quantified objectives which particularly focus on job place- ment and upgrading. Review of the specific objectives of all the projects studied led to the conclusion that the least successful projects either did not articulate quantified objectives, or that they were focused on educational or training objectives rather than the placement results desired by EDA; that is to say, they were more interested in the means rather than the ends. To help avoid this problem, EDA should clearly indicate its purpose for funding such projects. This can be done in two ways. The first is to develop a pre-funding information package spelling out what the Economic Development Administration is and does. The second is that for those projects under serious consideration for funding, an on-site visit by EDA officials should be made, in which EDA's goals and their ramifications are explained in even more detail to the potential grantee. Finally, the grant request, or proposal from the training institution, should require the training institution to specify, and quantify its objectives. In its proposal guidelines, EDA might require V-2 that the potential grantee provide a comprehensive, documented plan of action for providing its students with job placement assistance, including identified jobs in the training facility's geographical service area, broken down into the number required per skills area. In addition, as suggested in Recommendation Number One, the plan should include provisions in the school's operating budget for job placement and job development specialists. The pre-funding meetings together with specific objectives in the proposal would help to insure that the project would work toward achievement of mutually agreed-on goals in keeping with EDA's overall goals. RECOMMENDATION NUMBER THREE EDA's internal monitoring and evaluation procedures provide for periodic and final reports by the grantee on project monies spent. However, the study showed that these two management pro- cedures are not sufficient for monitoring and evaluating the training process and results of train- ing. It is therefore recommended that: • The Agency develop internal management procedures which provide for each program tool: 1) more periodic on-site visits to the project by EDA staff, 2) monthly or quarterly reports on training operations, 3) evaluation criteria which are uniform for both Public Works and Technical Assistance manpower skill and training projects. In order to measure a project's progress toward the objectives it agreed upon with EDA, the Agency should develop a uniform monitoring pattern whereby provision is made for the grantee to formally report on project progress not only during the funding period, but for a specified period of time following the grant period. It is even more important that EDA provide for more on-site visitation by its staff. The study showed that in several cases, what the project said it would do in its proposal, and what it was actually doing, were two different things. The classic example of this was Shawnee, where few site visits had been made by EDA officials. It was clear that the institution in Shawnee in- terpreted its objectives vis-a-vis serving the EDA target population differently than does EDA. The evaluation and reporting criteria developed can be extrapolated from the expanded MEDO 3.03-6 and should specifically include such items as: 1 ) Number of individuals trained per reporting period 2) Number of individuals upgraded per reporting period 3) Number of individuals placed per reporting period 4) Number of employers contacted by project staff per reporting period 5) Identification of project problem areas 6) Self-evaluation of progress and project achievement 7) Financial statement for reporting period 8) Cost benefit data For monitoring and evaluation purposes, these criteria should be incorporated in the periodic reports submitted by the grantee to EDA, and modified as EDA considers necessary for on-site monitoring and evaluation by EDA officials. V-3 RECOMMENDATION NUMBER FOUR Four of the eleven projects in the study had as their primary target group high school students. Also, all four projects were affiliated with an area vocational school district, or a statewide junior college system. These same projects provided fewer supportive services to the adult enroll- ment, and were among the least successful projects studied in placing and upgrading EDA's target group. It is therefore recommended that • EDA fund or J v those projects that are adult oriented. EDA's target group is the adult and the study shows that schools or centers which focus on high school or avocational students do not effectively serve the EDA target population. In addition the study shows that vocational school districts and state junior college systems need not be used where their focus is not the EDA target group. In fact, the study included several training and educational systems which are patterned along lines that focus attention on EDA's target popu- lation. One such system is that of the Opportunities Industrialization Centers (OIC) that is al- ready established and which is being expanded into other cities across the country. Several other systems are variations of the technical and vocational education systems such as were found in Texas and North Carolina, all of which are entirely adult training and vocational edu- cation oriented. The two OIC's studied, together with the two institutes in North Carolina and Texas, constituted four of the six most successful projects. In addition, the two OIC grantees, along with the Insti- tutes in Texas and North Carolina enjoyed wide community support, and, in the case of the OIC's, also benefited from a nationwide system of support. RECOMMENDATION NUMBER FIVE The top six rated projects studied had larger daytime enrollments than they did in the evening. It was observed that these projects also were able to secure more stipend slots for their trainees than the less successful projects. It is recommended that • EDA should stipulate in its grant agreement with training projects that the majority of classes be offered during the day. Although the study did not compare the learning effects of daytime as opposed to evening classes, it did show that daytime classes were more intensive and comprehensive, and that they required a shorter period for completion. Most importantly, however, the study showed that the end result desired, job placement and upgrading, was greater for those projects offering the most daytime adult classes. At the same time, the study showed that many projects also had difficulty in attracting adult students in the daytime without offering them stipends. Therefore, EDA should require that the schools take steps to insure that funding for stipends be available to daytime students. This could be resolved in two different ways: l)The school could develop proposals directly with the Department of Labor to secure access to its several manpower training programs, such as MDTA, the Work Incentive Program (WIN), etc., or develop proposals through local agencies who derive their funding from the same federal sources just mentioned. 2) Should funding for stipends not be available from federal or state sources just mentioned, the study team suggests that EDA give strong consideration to securing during the initial funding year, monies for trainee stipends, either V-4 through sub-contract arrangements such as it already has with the Department of Labor for administering the Public Service Careers Program or through securing firm direct commitments for the funding of trainee stipends at the local level by other U.S. government agencies, such as it already has with Section 241 of the MDTA program. RECOMMENDATION NUMBER SIX The study determined that most of the projects which had the greatest impact on participants had also received operational funding from EDA. Therefore, it is recommended that • EDA should make provision in its budgeting and programming for providing operational funding to Public Works training-related projects, particularly at the start of the project. The study showed that operational funds were an important factor in determining who the pro- jects served and their methods of service, since most projects found it necessary to respond to the priorities of their key funding source. The study also showed that projects developed a direction, purpose and approach in their beginning operations which was carried out thereafter. The study team believes that EDA could insure much greater effectiveness with its Public Works Training- related projects by providing operational funds to their projects for the first two years. Such action would: 1) Help to insure that the project is directed toward objectives which further EDA's objectives. 2) Permit the project staff to begin operations without concerns for operational funds and thereby permit the project to find its most effective operating ap- proach more quickly. 3) Permit the staff to devote more time to the vital tasks of training, counseling, job development and placement with the EDA target groups and establish ef- fective approaches for the future. 4) Insure, by requiring accountability, that the project would develop adequate accounting, enrollment and placement records, all of which proved to be defi- cient in most projects studied. In terms of implementation, there are three alternative approaches possible. The first alternative would involve granting authority and funds to support operational activities to the Office of Pub- lic Works. This approach would have the advantage of unifying the source of construction and operational funds under one office, but would probably require new legislation and would by- pass the training expertise of the Office of Technical Assistance. A second alternative would be to channel operational funds from the Office of Technical Assistance into Public Works training-related projects. This approach would require more coor- dination, but would probably not require new legislation. A third alternative would involve implementing both the abo^ .i approaches on a pilot basis and providing for systematic monitoring and evaluation to determine °ir impact. Their results could then be compared to the results of the present study to deter] whether broad scale use is justified. It should be understood by EDA at the outset that its objective will n*. to nstitute itself as a permanent funding source for the training project. With this in mind, , v \V- have to event- ually relinquish its influence over the operations-and objectives-of the project. However, by pro- viding funds initially, EDA can assist the training institution to establish from the beginning a training focus on EDA's target group, and hope for the 'institutionalization' of this focus in later operations. RECOMMENDATION NUMBER SEVEN In the less successful projects, business and employer involvement in the projects was limited mostly to providing jobs to the projects' trainees. On the other hand, in the four top rated pro- jects, business involvement was more comprehensive, with employers donating funds, equipment and personnel time to the projects. It is therefore recommended that • EDA require prospective grantees to develop concrete plans to include the business sector in the project. In addition, once the project has been funded, EDA should continue monitoring this aspect of project operations to insure continued involvement of employer Subjective data obtained in field interviews with employers suggested that in those projects where businesses and employers were involved more deeply in the projects than just providing jobs to trainees, employers tended to demonstrate a greater vested interest in the project's suc- cess, and thus worked toward helping the project achieve its goals. In some cases, this meant donating line supervisor's time to teaching technical skills, in others, it meant fund-raising. In the less successful projects, employers and businesses were detached from the operations of the training facility, and while verbally supporting it, did not actually identify themselves with its operations. In general, the key to the involvement of this sector is the degree to which it has any influence over the institution's policies and operations. It is recognized that this will not be an easy recom- mendation to implement. Nevertheless, the following 5 step approach is suggested: 1) The initial step of the grantee, if it is a new program, should be the formation of an advisory board whose composition adequately represents the business sector. 2) The second step for the grantee should be to develop plans whereby this board can make constructive inputs into the training facility. Such plans should in- u elude development of committees composed of advisory board members, such as fund-raising, curriculum development, policy, etc. 3) The third step should then be to schedule regular meetings of the advisory board and its committees, encouraging the board members' inputs, and where possible, implementing those suggestions or plans made. 4) The fourth step in involving the business sector in the training facility is for the top administrators to actively promote the use of the facility by newly located businesses in the area, and by established businesses who are in the process of expanding operations and require additional trained manpower. 5) The final element in this approach is the involvement of the training facility's top management in the area's organized economic development efforts. This involvement should be more than a 'public relations' effort, and geared to using the facility's services as an economic development tool, projecting its use as such to the business community through project staff efforts in this area. RECOMMENDATION NUMBER EIGHT As suggested in Recommendations One, Two and Three, a successful project must place a pri- mary focus on providing job development and placement services. Those projects which had their own personnel performing these functions were more successful in placing their trainees on viable jobs than those projects which relied upon outside resources and other agencies to carry out this service for trainees. It is therefore recommended that • EDA give funding priority to those training facilities which plan on, or are already providing job development and job placement services to their trainees. The least successful projects studied relied upon their own instructors, or upon outside resources such as the state employment services to provide job placement services to trainees. These pro- jects were noticeably lower in the job placement percentages than were those institutions which had on their staffs job placement and job development personnel. Job placement is the primary end product desired by EDA from its training related activities. Beyond having this function stated in the expanded MEDO and funding proposals as stated in Recommendations One and Two, EDA should actively strive to insure that this vital service is provided by the training facilities it supports. While determination as to whether the potential grantee will actually carry out job development and job placement itself is somewhat subjective, its assignment as a key refunding priority will assist the EDA program staff in determining wheth- er the facility provides adequate documentation and assurance that it will hire and maintain per- sonnel for job development and placement. RECOMMENDATION NUMBER NINE Those projects studied which utilized several funding sources for their operations proved to be more effective in serving EDA's target population. On the other hand, projects which derived their funding primarily or exclusively from local sources were more susceptible to influence by local interest groups on their training policies and objectives. Furthermore, these same projects served a higher percentage of high school students. It is therefore recommended that • EDA should give priority to those projects which already have multiple funding sources, or which show the potential for developing them. For all practical purposes this recommendation would eliminate those projects which are exten- sions of high school operations, such as were found in Shawnee, Fayetteville, Camden and Fall River. It does not, however, exclude state vocational systems mentioned in Recommendation Number Four. On the contrary, this is the type of training facility which should be considered along with nationwide systems like the Opportunities Industrialization Centers. In the latter case, operational funding as outlined in Recommendation Number Six should be considered in order for the training facility to have time to develop multiple funding sources, before EDA's funding is phased out. In the case of the nationwide systems, EDA operational funding is probably not essential. RECOMMENDATION NUMBER TEN In three projects reviewed by the study, EDA-funded training facilities were in direct comp- etition with other manpower training facilities in the area. In two cases, San Diego and San Jose, the training schools, as evidenced in their accomplishments, are competing adequately with the other manpower projects in the area. However, in the case of Camden, the EDA-funded project was not as successful in achieving EDA's goals for its target group. V-7 The study also showed that the EDA supported project was in competition for funds with other manpower projects in the area. As a result, EDA's projects had to continually struggle to obtain operational funding and maintain operations at capacity. Moreover, this situation caused overlap and duplication of effort. Therefore, in those EDA target areas where there are existing adult oriented training projects, it is recommended that • EDA give priority to funding existing adult oriented projects that meet all the criteria established by the Agency. This funding could be entirely for construction purposes, or could be a combination of con- struction and operating funding, depending upon the project's needs. The advantage of such an approach is best illustrated by the San Diego Skills Center, where EDA provided Public Works funding for expansion of the facility. The project has become a viable community training insti- tution that is serving large numbers of EDA's target group in the area, utilizing several funding sources to do so. EDA's input in this case was minimal, primarily because it was an existing training institution. The data from the study indicate that the EDA investment in this case was well spent in terms of the facility's accomplishments. While it is recognized that EDA is already implementing this recommendation to a limited ex- tent, the study team suggests that it be used more extensively by the Agency, as an alternative funding approach. RECOMMENDATION NUMBER ELEVEN The data collected in the study shows that in the one project where EDA program tools were in- terrelated, the training facility had an impact on specific businesses in the area, and did contri- bute to the area's economic development efforts. No other project reviewed had this effect. It is therefore recommended that • EDA plan and implement more projects in which one or more of its program tools are integrated with its training related activities. It might be appropriate to consider implementing this recommendation in an area that has re- cently suffered from funding cutbacks in the aero-space industry, or in a predominantly rural, depressed area adjacent to an urban center that is experiencing, or shows the potential for ex- periencing economic growth. To implement this recommendation would require joint planning among the staffs in the dif- ferent program tools. For example, the Office of Public Works might plan to grant funds for the construction of an industrial park in a designated area, on which it might also provide funds for a manpower training facility. Through the Office of Technical Assistance, operating funds for the facility could be provided. The Office of Business Loans could then make a concerted effort to assist in locating businesses in the Industrial Park. Finally, the Office of Development Organ- izations could provide for the necessary comprehensive planning and coordination. V-8 VI POSTSCRIPT There has been and probably will continue to be debate on the definition and nature of eco- nomic development and the factors involved in its successful occurrence. Some economists and social scientists would argue that manpower, its availability, its skills, and its motivations, is a key factor in economic development, while others would argue differently. Some years ago, the Economic Development Administration decided that the manpower factor was of enough importance to economic development to include training related activities in the portfolio of projects that it considers worthwhile supporting. The purpose of this study was not to decide whether or not manpower, and specifically man- power training, should or should not be an integral part of the Economic Development Admin- istration's programming; this decision has already been made. If nothing else, this study has dem- onstrated the fact that the agency has helped thousands of people, and many communities, through its training-related projects. The study further points out EDA has a special role to play in the U.S. Government's manpower strategy. The role is one that includes, but goes beyond , skill training and focuses on building adult community institutions which contribute to the de- velopment of human and economic resources at the local and regional level. Finally, the study team believes that the study has pointed out that while EDA has been suc- cessful in some of its manpower training-related projects, it can and should strive for even great- er effectiveness. In this respect it is hoped that the study, and particularly the recommendations, will provide EDA with some insights, as well as alternative ideas, to consider as its plans and pro- grams future training-related projects. VI- 1 APPENDICES A. Basic Data on Project Locations. B. Project Summaries. In the following section are brief summaries of the 15 projects studied. These summaries are based on longer analytic case studies developed from the field investiga- tions. The longer case studies can be found in Volume II of this report. 1 . San Diego Skills Center B-l San Diego, California 2. Texas State Technical Institute B-2 Harlingen, Texas 3. Gordon Cooper Area Vocational-Technical School B-3 Shawnee, Oklahoma 4. Fayetteville High School West Campus B-4 Fayetteville, Arkansas 5. Wilson County Technical Institute B-5 Wilson, North Carolina 6. Fall River Diman Regional Vocational High School B-6 Fall River, Massachusetts 7. Copiah-Lincoln Manpower Development Training Center B-7 Fayette, Mississippi 8. Area Vocational-Technical School B-8 Camden, New Jersey 9. Opportunities Industrialization Center of Santa Clara County B-9 San Jose, California 10. Central Alabama Opportunities Industrialization Center B-10 Montgomery, Alabama 1 1 . Multi-Agency Coordinating Center B-l 1 Wardell, Missouri 1 2 . Gila River Career Center B- 1 2 Sacaton, Arizona 13. Accelerated Business Leadership Education B-13 University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 14. Pittsburgh Business and Job Development Corporation B-l 4 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15. 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Project Description The San Diego Skills Center is a component of the Adult Division of the San Diego Community Colleges, and was established in 1962. In addition to the training function, the Skills Center provides its students with supportive services, such as testing and counseling, job development and job placement, necessary to be prepared for the labor market. Since the Skills Center has been in operation, it has offered, at various times, courses in 42 dif- ferent skills areas, ranging from Food Service Practice to Office Machine Repair. The key ele- ment in determining training programs at the Skills Center is its relation to business or indus- try needs at the time of the actual training course. The institutions' funding sources are as varied as the training programs it offers, the principal ones being MDTA, WIN, NAB, the Educational Training Program, Project Transition, and a local/ state program called Average Daily Attendance (ADA). Project Impact Since EDA funding, the Skills Center has enrolled 6,613 trainees in its programs. Based on the stratified interview sample of trainees in the study, it is estimated that nearly 85% of the trainees during this period came from EDA's target population. Of that number, it is estimated that 68% were assisted by the program, that is, either placed or upgraded. The enrollees projected rate of income increase and total post-training increase was significantly higher compared to pre-training income. Statistical data for community and business impact show that the San Diego Skills Center is not a panacea for the unemployment problems and the economic downturn in San Diego. The data did show that the Skills Center is making inroads into the twin problems, but their magnitude and complexity preclude any one manpower training program from having substantial impact on them. B-l TEXAS STATE TECHNICAL INSTITUTE Harlingen, Texas EDA Project Number: 08-1-00696 Date EDA Approved Application: March 1968 Period of Funding: October 1968 to May 1971 Amount of EDA Grants: $1,905,000.00 Project Objectives The project is designed to meet the need for training or retraining the under-employed and unemployed in the Lower Rio Grande Valley; to help the Mexican-Americans realize their inalienable right to learn and to earn in the modern world of work; and to help attract major industry to the Valley by creating a trained pool of manpower. Project Description Texas State Technical Institute (TSTI) is the second facility established of a future state-wide system of such institutes which offer technical vocational and skills training at competency levels up to the junior college level. TSTI in Harlingen offers three types of programs to enrollees: 1 ) A tuition program for students who can afford to pay for schooling and wish to pursue a more advanced technical curriculum. 2)MDTA -funded programs aimed at the disadvantaged in the area. 3) The Adult Migrant Program, aimed more specifically at the migrant population of the area. Tuition students at the Institute are drawn primarily from the area's high schools, while in the other two programs, students are drawn from a variety of referral agencies in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Although the Institute cooperates with local community agencies, institutions and businesses, it is a self-contained system, offering the trainees counseling and testing services, job develop- ment and job placement assistance. The school is unique in that it is the first institution of its kind that is bilingual, with the majority of teachers and staff speaking Spanish as well as English. TSTI has four primary funding sources: state appropriations from the Texas Education Agency, from federal sources, mainly the Office of Economic Opportunity for the Migrant program, and the Department of Labor for MDTA's disadvantaged program, and finally, from the tuition students who enroll at the Institute. Project Impact Since the Institute became operational, 2175 students have enrolled in the programs. On the basis of the study sample, it is estimated that 86.4% of all enrollees come from EDA's target population, and of that number, 76.3% have been helped either in job placement or upgrading. Analysis of study findings on pre-training income and post-training income indicate that trainees have benefitted from their training at the Institute. Statistics on business and community impact derived from the study show that less impact has occurred in these two categories, but that nevertheless, it has occurred. B-2 GORDON COOPER AREA VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL Shawnee, Oklahoma EDA Project Number: 08-1-00707 Date EDA Approved Application: May 1968 Period of Funding: July 1, 1969 to June 30, 1969 Amount of EDA Grant: $ 1 ,224,000.00 Project Objectives The objectives of the project are to provide occupational training or re-training to individuals in the school's geographical jurisdiction who are either unemployed, underemployed, or eco- nomically distressed, and to provide industry and businesses in the area with trained, employable manpower. By working toward these objectives, existing conditions of underemployment and unskilled unemployables should be alleviated. Project Description The Gordon Cooper Area Vocational Technical School is part of a state-wide system of area vocational schools, and serves both adult and high school students. The majority of adult classes are held during afternoon and evening hours, while high school students from the district attend one of two three hour shifts, one in the morning, or one in the afternoon. The school's training program is self-contained, with in-house staff carrying out the functions of recruitment, intake, counseling, job development and placement. To carry out its programs, the Gordon Cooper school maintains a staff of three administrators, one counselor, and 38 instructors. The functions of job development and placement are directed by the three top administrators, and delegated to the instructors. The institution's major funding sources are the State Department of Vocational Education and the local vocational school district. Minor revenue sources include local community action agencies and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Project Impact Since the project became operational in January 1970, 1178 trainees have been enrolled in training courses. On the basis of the study sample, it is estimated that 29.6% of the enrollment of the school comes from the EDA target population. Of this number, 46.2% were assisted in job placement, or were upgraded in their jobs. Both the rate of income increase over pre-training income, and total income increase suggest that trainee impact has been minimal. Statistical analysis of data collected in the community and business impact categories also show that the school has not affected to any appreciable extent these two sectors. B-3 FAYETTEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL WEST CAMPUS Fayetteville, Arkansas EDA Project Number: 08-1-00762 Date of EDA Approved Application: February 13, 1969 Period of Funding: February 1969 to Present Amount of EDA Grant: $480,000 Project Objectives The training facility is set up to educate secondary pupils, and to provide the facilities necessary to reach the unemployed, the dropouts and the underemployed. A third objective is to provide adequate facilities to train employees for new industries locating in the area, thus helping to attract the location of new industry. Project Description The only vocational-technical high school in the three county area surrounding the city of Fayetteville, the West Campus offers full services, including intake and recruitment, counseling, job development and job placement to day-time students, most of whom are from the high school systems in the three counties. No supportive services are provided adult enrollees by the West Campus itself, although some are referrals from the local community action, and employ- ment security agencies in the area. The institution's funding sources are the local Fayetteville School District and the State Depart- ment of Education. Project Impact In the past three program years, there have been a total of 4,702 enrollments at Fayetteville High School's West Campus. Based on the study sample, 5.1% of this enrollment is estimated to be EDA's target population. Of this number, 83.3% have been assisted, either in job placement or upgrading in skills and/or jobs. The rate of income increase of post-training income over pre- training income suggests that the impact of the training facility on trainees has been nominal. However, most trainees already held jobs and attended for personal improvement reasons, thereby limiting the possibilities for assistance impact. Statistics and on-site observation show that impact on business and industry has been more significant than impact on trainees. This is attributed to the school's upgrade and supplemental training programs for industry in the area. B-4 WILSON COUNTY TECHNICAL INSTITUTE Wilson, North County EDA Project Number: 03-1-00542 Date EDA Approved Application: May 7, 1968 Period of Funding: 1968 to 1969 Amount of EDA Grant: $510,000.00 Project Objectives To provide training and supportive services to the economically deprived citizens of the area served by the Institute. To cooperate with other agencies and institutions to upgrade the area's residents in skills needed for available and potential jobs. Project Description The Wilson County Technical Institute conducts 20 technical and vocational programs of study for full-time tuition students. Technical programs run for two years, vocational programs one year. The school in addition conducts year round courses for adult basic education, occupational extension, new industry training, and special classes for students enrolled under the Manpower Development and Training Act referred through the North Carolina State Employment Security Commission. The school also maintains a program it calls Program Outreach, designed to recruit disadvantaged people in the Wilson area, give them remedial basic education, and either offer them a short term skills training course to prepare them for immediate employment, or to pre- pare them for matriculation in one of the school's technical or vocational programs. WCTI's funding sources are primarily the State Department of Vocational Education, Wilson County School taxes, and to a lesser extent, federal programs administered by the Department of Labor and Health, Education and Welfare. Project Impact Since EDA's funding, 12,903 students have enrolled in Wilson County Technical Institute's programs. Of that number, based on estimates from the study sample of program participants, 52.9% are part of EDA's target population. Of these people, 70.4% were aided by the school's program, either in job placement or upgrading on the job. Because of the large number of enrollees at the Institute since its inception in 1959, the study showed that community, business and economic impact have been substantial. The Institute is supported strongly by the community and business, and both sectors are actively involved in the school through in-kind services, and in lending it political support. B-5 FALL RIVER DIMAN REGIONAL VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL Fall River, Massachusetts EDA Project Number: 01-1-00051 Date EDA Approved Application: June 1966 Period of Funding: June 1966 to April 1969 Amount of EDA Grant: $3,053,000.00 Project Objectives To provide opportunities for members of lower income families to acquire new skills leading to more stable employment and higher income; to provide a growing, diversified industry with a higher skilled labor supply; and enhance local efforts to establish new diversified industries. Project Description The project serves the four county area of Fall River, Swansea, Somerset and Westport. The school offers occupational training in approximately 19 different programs designed for students in grades 9 through 14 in daytime classes, and 16 different programs in the evening primarily for adult students. The Diman school is self-contained, with staff to conduct normal supportive services to enrollees, such as recruitment, guidance and counseling; regular day students are the main beneficiaries of these services. Diman funding sources come from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, federal manpower training programs, and from the local school district in Fall River. Project Impact Since EDA funding began in 1968, 4,312 trainees have enrolled in training programs at Diman. Based on the study sample, it is projected that of this number, only 12% belong toEDA's target population. Of this percentage of the target group, it is estimated that 91 .6% were helped either through placement in jobs or upgrading. The rate of income increase of the enrollees was nearly 42% over their pre-training income, while the absolute income increase over pre-training income was 30%. Both figures compare favorably with study findings of other training projects. Data collected from interviews with community leaders and employers in Fall River corroborated findings based on data obtained from the sample of trainees interviewed. Diman is serving the community, and program participants are being trained for and placed in viable jobs. The com- munity perception of vocational education is improving and employers are using Diman as a resource for skilled labor. However, the small number of EDA Target Group participants dilutes the project's overall impact. B-6 COPIAH LINCOLN MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT TRAINING CENTER Fayette, Mississippi EDA Project Number: 04-1-00396 Date EDA Approved Application: May 21, 1968 Period of Funding: 1968 to Present Amount of EDA Grant: $242,000.00 Project Objectives Specifically, the project was established to: 1 . Offer courses in seven major occupational categories predetermined by an industry-by-industry job survey. 2. Place approximately 300 vocational center graduates in gainful employment within one year. 3. Brighten the economic hopes of the poor; the untrained; previously unskilled and underemployed white and Negro citizens. Project Description The Center is administered by the Copiah-Lincoln Junior College, and has been in operation for over one year. The functions of outreach and intake, job development and placement are the responsibilities of the Mississippi State Employment Security Commission, with whom the Train- ing Center works closely. Having been in operation for just over one year, the Center offers only the following skills training courses: Production Machine Operator, Steno-Clerk, Woodworking, Metal Fabrication, and Cablemaking. The Center's funding sources are three: Jefferson County School Tax levy, the State Department of Education for Adult Basic Education, and MDTA monies from the Department of Labor, channeled through the Mississippi State Department of Education. Project Impact Since March 1970 the center has served 251 participants. It is estimated that 60% of the total number of trainees at the Copiah-Lincoln Manpower Training Center are part of EDA's target population and less than 20% of the EDA target group was assisted through job placement or upgrading. Meaningful analysis of community and business impact of the Co-Lin Training Center is not possible because the Center has had only one full cycle of training. The study consequently showed very little positive impact. B-7 AREA VOCATIONAL-TECHNICAL SCHOOL Camden, New Jersey EDA Project Number: 02-1-00292 Date EDA Approved Application: June 1967 Period of EDA Funding: 1967 to Present Amount of EDA Grant : $ 1 ,650,000.00 Project Objectives To educate and train students, including adults, from the lower socio-economic groups in the community; to have as its primary target the children of lower socio-economic groups who are unable to enter existing vocational high schools; to train out-of-school young people and unem- ployed adults in the daytime program as well as in evening programs; to emphasize training in the industrial skills sought in the area to assure that training will lead to employment, and that in- dustry will obtain a trained labor force. Project Description The Area Vocational-Technical School in Camden is administered by the Camden City School System and has been in operation for 18 months. The day-school program provides pre-vocational and vocational training in office education and industrial education to high school students. The evening program offers 20 vocational education courses. Vocational counseling, job develop- ment and job placement services are offered to all enrollees in daytime and evening courses. Funding sources for operational expenses include the following: Vocational Act of 1963, MDTA. Title IV of the Economic Opportunity Act, Beadlestoy Special Education Act, NDEA Guidance, Local Industry, and the Camden Public School System. Project Impact Since EDA funding, 2,145 people have enrolled in the Area Vocational-Technical School's programs. Based on study sample projections, 13.9% of the school's enrollment comes from the EDA target population. Of this number, 40% have been assisted by the school, either through job placement or upgrading on the job. Community and business impact resulting directly from the establishment of the Area Vocational- Technical School has been low thus far, and can be attributed principally to the short time the school has been in operation, and the location of four other major manpower training centers in Camden. OPPORTUNITIES INDUSTRIALIZATION CENTER of Santa Clara County San Jose, California EDA Project Number: 07-6-09145-2 Date EDA Approved Application: May 1968 Period of Funding: May 1968 to Present Amount of EDA Grant: $589,187.00 Project Objectives The objectives of the Santa Clara County OIC are to a) provide manpower assistance to the disadvantaged, unemployed and underemployed workers of Santa Clara County, b) to open up career-potential job opportunities for the disadvantaged in the San Jose area, c) to further the possibilities for industrial expansion in the area by providing a skilled labor force, d) to enlist the resources of the business community in the job training and community improvement effort, and e) to decrease the dependence on public assistance and private charity. Project Description The OIC program is all inclusive. While it works closely with public service agencies in Santa Clara County, it maintains an in-house staff to carry out trainee recruitment, orientation and enrollment, technical and skills training, counseling, job development and placement. Skills or vocational training are offered in six categories: Machine Shop, Drafting-Printing, Electronic Assembly, Automotive Repair, Body and Fender Work, and Welding. The training project has received substantial financial inputs for operating expenses from four sources: EDA, Model Cities, the Work Incentive Program (WIN), and from private donations from community and business sources. Project Impact Based on the study sample, it is estimated that almost seventy-eight percent of the enrollees are EDA's target population. Of this number, 100% were assisted by the training facility in job placement, and were actually placed or were upgraded in their job skills. Income statistics for the trainees after completing their program at the OIC reinforce the conclusion that the facility is adequately serving all of its program participants. Similar information obtained in the study on the community and businesses in the area point to an overall positive impact of the OIC in Santa Clara County. The impact is one of scale, how- ever. The OIC is not a large operation, and the magnitude of the unemployment problem in Santa Clara County, coupled with the large potential population from which the facility could draw enrollees, and the large number of big employers in the area, reduce the total impact to a scale which corresponds to the total number of job placements compared to the high percentage of unemployment in the area. B-9 CENTRAL ALABAMA OPPORTUNITIES INDUSTRIALIZATION CENTER, INC. Montgomery, Alabama EDA Project Numbers: 04-6-09157, 04-6-09157-1 and 04-6-09157-3 Date EDA Approved Application: March 1969 Period of Funding: March 1969 to Present Amount of EDA Grants: $235,905.00 Project Objectives The project's general objective is to serve the manpower development needs of the disad- vantaged in the greater Montgomery area. Other objectives are to a) involve the community in planning and implementing the training program, b) develop an outreach arm for the program using local, voluntary resources, and through diagnostic testing and assessment, evaluate each trainees' present and potential abilities in the labor market. Project Description The Central Alabama OIC is governed by a community Board of Directors. A staff of 27 people manages the day-to-day operations of the OIC. Classes at the Center are divided into two catego- ries, those in the "Feeder Program," and those in the "Skills Courses." Courses in the Feeder Program are remedial, or upgrade courses in communications, computa- tions, minority history and job readiness. Intensive personal counseling is also provided the trainee as well. From the Feeder Program the trainee has eight skills areas from which to choose to go into: secretarial science, graphic technology, electricity, merchandising and marketing, com- mercial sewing, commercial cooking, minority history, and counseling. The OIC maintains a staff to provide adequate trainee services such as medical, transportation, and child day care, as well as job development and job placement. Project Impact Since the project began operations in 1969, 867 people have enrolled in its training programs. On the basis of the study sample, it is estimated that 86.8 percent of the enrollees are from the EDA target population. It is further estimated that 57.6% of the target population enrolled were assisted, either in job placement or in upgrading on the job. The rate of income increase, and the total income increase of post-training income over pretraining income in the study sample suggest that trainees have benefitted from training, but not on a substantial scale. The study also showed that established community leaders and agencies are increasingly rec- ognizing the OIC's ability to reach, train and produce skilled, job-qualified people from dis- advantaged sectors. In the business sector, indications from the study indicate that while program participants at the OIC compare favorably with other employees, the OIC as an institution has not made any significant impact on the business sector. B-10 MULTI-AGENCY COORDINATING CENTER Wardell, Missouri EDA Project Number: 06-6-092381-1 Date EDA Approved Application: June 30, 1969 Period of Funding: June 30, 1969 to June 30, 1971 Amount of EDA Grant: $61,870.00 Objectives To create and sustain linkages between the people in the Bootheel area of Missouri who need jobs and training, and the training institutions and industry in an area which needs a pool of trained manpower. A secondary objective is to attempt to create a transportation system which can facil- itate the potential trainee's enrollment in a training program, and then assist him in getting to and from a job once he gets that job. Project Description The Multi-Agency Coordinating Center (MACC) has three staff members, a Project Director, an Administrative Assistant, and a Secretary. The Center's functions are a) recruitment, job referral and placement, b) information/data collection and distribution, c) agency coordination activities, and d) job development and counseling. Project Impact Information gathered in the field study indicates that the MACC has been instrumental in devel- oping and coordinating the efforts of a multitude of service agencies in the six county area known as the Bootheel of Missouri. A functioning, effective Federation of Agencies in the Booth- eel area is attributed to MACC's efforts. MACC has also fulfilled another role in the area as well. The study indicated that MACC has been effective in functioning as a job and training referral agency, and has provided recruiting, out- reach and counseling services to the disadvantaged, EDA target population in the six counties as well. Specifically, MACC's evaluation results have indicated impact in the following categories: • coordination of agency activities • publication and dissemination of Directory of Services and monthly Newsletter • recruitment and referral to training • liaison with industries • liaison with community leaders and community services • information and data gathering • counseling and job placement MACC's target population is virtually the same as EDA's. The study showed that it is serving this group, and that it has achieved more than its stated objectives. However, MACC's scope is smaU and its overall impact on the area is therefore quite limited. Since the project began, MACC ha served 402 participants. It is estimated that 87.5% of the participants are from the EDA target groups and 61.9% of them have been assisted. Figures on income also bear out the conclusion that MACC has had a significant impact on its participants. B-ll GILA RIVER CAREER CENTER Sacaton, Arizona EDA Project Number: 08-1-00692 Date EDA Approved Application: April 1969 Period of Funding: April 1969 to Present Amount of EDA Grant: $616,000 Amount of EDA Supplemental Grant: $369,000 Amount of EDA Loan: $165,000 Total EDA Funding Assistance: $1,150,000 Project Objectives The Center's primary objective is to offer each trainee an environment designed to meet individ- ual needs, interests and capabilities in becoming a successful wage earner and citizen. The goal of the training facility is to prepare unemployed and underemployed adults for work and to move them into an employed status as early as feasible in keeping with the enrollees' interest and capa- bilities. Project Description The project is administered by Central Arizona College under a contract with the Gila River Tri- bal Council. The program is open to all adult residents of Pinal County. The Center maintains a staff of thirty people who administer the program. Because the primary source of funding at the present time is through Arizona State Employment Service MDTA monies, the ASES main- tains nominal control over recruitment and intake of trainees, job development and placement. Project Impact Project impact was impossible to measure in the study, because the training facility had just be- gun its first cycle of training. B-12 ACCELERATED BUSINESS LEADERSHIP EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS Amherst, Massachusetts EDA Project Numbers: 99-6-09104 and 99-6-09082 Date EDA Approved Application: September 1969 Period of Funding: September 1969 to Present Amount of EDA Grant : $ 1 1 5 ,000.00 Project Objectives The project's aim is to increase the short supply of minority professionals who are qualified in business development and who are able to assist in minority entrepreneurship development, in the nation's inner cities. Specifically, the project proposes to train professionals who will serve on the business outreach, counseling, and service staffs of four EDA grantees— the Interracial Council for Business Opportunity, the National Urban League, the National Business League, and the Black Economic Union— to provide professional advice to the minority entrepreneurs served by these organizations. Project Description The project is carried out through the University of Massachusetts' Business School. Students for the ABLE project are recruited through publicity campaigns in minority communities and at colleges in the United States, and are also nominated, but not selected by the four EDA grantees listed above. Final student selection is made by the Business School Assistant Dean and the ABLE Project Director at the University. The projects' academic program consists of an intensive summer orientation and remedial edu- cation program which prepares the students for the business course work during the regular school year. Students are required, during the 15 month period of the program to take 30 grad- uate hours in business and satisfactorily pass a written examination to qualify for their MBA degrees. The University of Massachusetts project staff is responsible for job development and job place- ment counseling to the trainees. Project Impact The ABLE project has definitely had an impact on the trainees enrolled in the program. Average post-training income increased by $4,600 over pre-training income. All of the trainees inter- viewed in the study indicated satisfaction with their jobs. Only 50% of those interviewed, how- ever, were involved in minority business or economic development. B-13 PITTSBURGH BUSINESS AND JOB DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania EDA Project Numbers: 01-6-09421 and 02-6-09033-7 Date EDA Approved Application: 1965 Period of Funding: 1965 to Present Amount of EDA Grant: $796,000.00 Objectives To develop and provide information and referral services for minority business ventures for financial, technical, training and educational resources available to them, and to offer prelim- inary guidance to these ventures. To assist organizations and individuals in developing and imple- menting comprehensive business plans for new ventures. To assure that management assistance is available to organizations and individuals who are assisted by the organization in implementing business plans. Project Description To achieve its objectives, the Pittsburgh Business and Job Development Center has developed three programs: 1. Minority Business and Industrial Development 2. Minority Job Development and Placement 3. Minority Training BJDC's Minority Training Program offers three basic types of training: a) skills training for indi- viduals to prepare them for entering jobs in the BJDC figurine factory, b) training for minority businessmen and entrepreneurs in the Small Business Management Training Program, and c) man- agement development training for mid-level minority managers. Job training for the figurine factory is focused on the hard-core unemployed and underemployed in Pittsburgh's inner city. The remaining two training programs are aimed at improving the skills of individuals who are either already employed or are about to start a small business. Project Impact BJDC is primarily an economic development agency which concentrates on attracting and devel- oping business and industry in the depressed areas of Pittsburgh. The only skills training is for the figurine plant. The study indicated that this phase of its operations has been successful in recruiting, training and placing a small number of EDA's target group. Training impact on small business entrepreneurs and mid-level business managers was more dif- ficult to measure. Training in all three areas, the study showed, was but a small fragment of the BJDC's total operations. B-14 AMERICAN INDIAN INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT INTERN PROGRAM Boston, Massachusetts EDA Project Number: 99-6-09156 Date EDA Approved Application: June 1, 1970 Period of Funding: June 1 , 1970 to Present Amount of EDA Grant: $57,962 Project Objectives The project is designed to train American Indians in the techniques of industrial development. A secondary objective is to have the interns, once they have completed their twelve month program, return to their home reservations and assist them in their economic and industrial development efforts, applying the knowledge and expertise learned in the internship to the specific situations encountered on their home reservations. Project Description The American Industrial Development Council's Educational Foundation administers this project. The interns, all Indians, were placed for 1 2 month periods with members of the Council, who acted then as the local sponsors for the interns. The interns were to be considered as full-time employees of the sponsors, and were to receive on-the-job training from them, being exposed to the wide range of industrial development activities in which the sponsor is involved. AIDC provides counseling and job development services to the interns, and sponsors the interns at three annual AIDC events: the AIDC Annual Conference, a one-week Basic Industrial De- velopment Course, and a one-week Industrial Development Institute Course. Project Impact Project impact at this point is not measureable due to the fact that the project is still on-going. Data collected in the field did indicate satisfaction with the program on the part of both interns and sponsors. AN EVALUATION of EDA TRAINING -RELATED PROJECTS METHODOLOGY - PROJECT CASE STUDIES VOLUME II VOLUME II TABLE OF CONTENTS A. Field Methodology B. Data Collection Instruments 1. Trainee Questionnaire 2. Community Questionnaire 3. Employer Questionnaire 4. Area Data Checklist 5. Training Program Information Sheet C. Sample Methodology for Each Project D. Individual Project Case Studies 1. Public Works Projects • San Diego, California • Harlingen, Texas • Shawnee, Oklahoma • Fayetteville, Arkansas • Wilson, North Carolina • Fall River, Massachusetts • Fayette, Mississippi • Camden, New Jersey • Sacaton, Arizona 2. Technical Assistance Projects • San Jose, California • Montgomery, Alabama • Wardell, Missouri • Program ABLE • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • AIDC/Boston, Massachusetts Field Methodolo £Y Introduction "The requested study has three purposes: (1) To describe EDA's current and past training-related activities; (2) To evaluate the impact of these activities for a sample of public works and technical assistance projects; and (3) To recommend program changes. " (RFP, pg. 1) With this paper we presented to EDA the methodology we proposed to use in achieving these purposes for the thirteen community-oriented programs. Projects ABLE and AIDC required revisions in some of the elements outlined here. II. Overall Focus There is no one, overall impact of an EDA training-related project. Our field test demonstrated that the assumption in our proposal and other documents was correct—that the impact of EDA training -related projects was felt, and therefore had to be measured by the effect of the project on: • project participants • local business • the community and its economy Only by putting these individual effects together can EDA obtain a pic- ture of overall project impact. Development Associates was required to do more than collect data and analyze the impact of projects to achieve the study's purposes. In addition, we had to: • determine whether the project actually caused the impact identified; • determine the role of the EDA input in causing the impact; • develop an analytic information base on each program for making detailed recommendations. Page 2 In the following sections we discuss how we obtained this infor- mation, provide some indications of the specific data gathered, and also indicate some of the areas on which we made recommendations. III. Methodology Each project* was reviewed by a team seeking data on: • the area • the program • project trainee impact • local business • impact on the community and the economy The teams followed the standard procedure discussed below: Day of Eval . Team Activity ** Evaluation Instrument 1st day am Interview Project Director Interview 1 Instructor Interview 1 Counselor Interview 1 Job Placement Staff Interview 1 Outreach Staff Program Interview Guide 1st day pm Review Participant Files Construct Sample of Participants Construct Sample of Employers Set Up Schedule for Interviews Participant Questionnaire Employer Questionnaire 1st day pm Review Data ik Materials Provided Program Interview Guide Set Up Schedule for Additional Community Questionnaire Staff and Community Interviews 2nd day Begin Participant Interviews Begin Employer Interviews Begin Community Interviews Begin Collection of Financial & Enrollment Data Participant Questionnaire Employer Questionnaire Community Questionnaire Program Basic Data Form * ABLE and AIDC excepted. #* Team members normally held simultaneous interviews. Page 3 Day of Eval. Team Activity Evaluation Instrument 3rd day Continue Interviews w/all Sources Same Conduct Any Needed Additional Program Interview Guide Staff Interviews 4th day Same as 3rd Day Same Review and Compile All Data 5th day Fill Any Gaps Shown by Review Meet with Program Director Depart Dependent on local conditions, we were able to do the following using the above procedures: Interview 30-45 participants. Interview 8-10 employees. Interview 7-10 community people. Interview 5-10 project staff. Observe the project's operation. Review relevant financial files. Review trainee files. Review other relevant files. A. The Evaluation Instruments and Their Application Each instrument was designed to get specific necessary data from relevant sources. Below we discuss each instrument and the sources. 1. Participant Questionnaire - Was designed to obtain as much tabulatable data as possible from the program participants. From it, we developed the following data: Types of people served by: Age Sex Race Education Family Size Page 4 For the people served, impact in terms of: Before and after income Source of income Housing Health Transportat ion Personal Savings Food Consumption Satisfaction of Present Job Compared to Pre -Training Job In terms of the training program itself: Adequacy of training for job, % Percent of trainees assisted in placement Convenience of trainee facility, % Role of various supportive services transportation fees % who were provided service lunch % who would not participate without it stipend Convenience of class time, % No. of people enrolled No. of people completing training No. of people placed in jobs Opinion of target population on program This data was gathered from a selected sample of participants in the program. In all cases, private interviews were held. The number in the sample varied with each program but normally totalled 30-45 participants. 2. Community Questionnaire - Was also designed to obtain tabu- latable answers to questions requiring an informed opinion. It was also used to obtain information on other sources of infor- mation on the project. From it, we derived opinions on the following: • effect of the project on economic development efforts • effect of the project on unemployment /underemployment • effect of the project on the poor and minority groups • community support received by the project • effect on the quality and quantity of available skills • training quality Page 5 • the acceptance of the project as a training institution in the community • the likelihood of community support for the project if federal funds were terminated This information was obtained from interviews with a cross section of the community. The cross section normally included representatives of local government, community agencies, economic development officials, and people from the target group of the program. The number varied depending on the local situation, but normally totalled 7-10 people. 3. Employer Questionnaire - Was designed to get both statistical and opinion data from employers of project participants. From it we obtained the following information: Statistics on: Total No. of Jobs in Business Types of Businesses Types of Jobs Filled Comparability of Salaries & Benefits w/Other Employees Program Participant comparison with Other Employees for: Turnover, Absenteeism, Productivity Role of Program in Attracting Business or Helping Business Expand Types of Business Involvement, i. e. , Money, Personnel, Jobs, etc. Quality of Training Business Satisfaction with Placements Business Willingness to Hire Other Graduates Acceptance of Program as a Manpower Training Institution in the Community Effect of Program on Local Economy These data were gathered from a selected sample of employers who hired program participants. In all cases, private interviews were held. The number in the sample varied depending on local conditions, but nor- mally totalled 8-10 employers. 4. Information on the Area Basic data descriptive of the area was also collected for each project. This data provides Page the reader with an understanding of the context the project operates in and permitted more accurate analysis and judgments to be made. The data included statistics on: Work Force Unemployment Population Ethnic Breakdown Location Geography Wherever possible, information for two different time periods was obtained, e. g. , I960 or 1965, and 1970-71, in order to provide an idea of the area in which the project was operating, and an indication of basic trends therein occurring. This data was collected from sources such as the local Chamber of Commerce, local government, the Employment Service, the Welfare Department, etc. By combining the data on project impact and process, we have been able to discuss and determine: • the role of EDA inputs in project impact • the most effective systems for handling participants, i. e. , outreach, counseling, training, placement, etc. • the respective roles of federal, state, and local inputs to the projects • the need for participant supportive services and the appropriate types of services • the role required of industry and the community • effective methods of involving industry and the community • the contribution of each project toward achieving its own and EDA's objectives • the contribution to institutional and attitudinal change in the community The flow chart which follows outlines the entire process used. Page 7 Page 8 IV. Recommendations The field test provided the experience necessary to determine: • the information which could be collected • the analysis which could be performed • the areas in which we were able to make recommendations given all the parameters which existed for the project. We have been able to provide EDA with data-supported recommendations the appropriate training role for EDA methods for complementing or supplementing other programs project selection and evaluation criteria implementation policies and procedures types and methods of training to implement, including the overall project system and supportive services EDA's role and relationship to other government agencies Attachment A Scope of Study 6 Technical Assistance Projects 9 Public Works Projects Of the 15 projects studied: 13 were community -based training/employment programs 2 were nationwide professional level programs Field Contacts * No. of participants interviewed 401 No. of employers interviewed 84 No. of community people interviewed 101 No. of project staff interviewed 102 Total Interviews 688 Includes only those contacts for the eleven projects studied and included in the data, analysis and recommendations in Volume I. B. DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS Page 1 TRAINEE QUESTIONNAIRE Trainee Impact Source: Trainee Date Training Started Length of Training 1. How did you first learn about and happen to come to the program? 2. What job were you trained for 3. Would you list the subjects and skills you learned in training? 4a. What aspects of training did you find most helpful? b. least helpful? Page 2 Trainee Impact 5a. Are you presently employed? b. Who is your employer? c. Address? 6. What is your job? 7. How long have you worked there? Did the training program adequately train you for getting a job? Did the training facility placement service help you find a job? If the answer is no, who did help you find a job? Yes_ No 10. Are you satisfied with your present job? Explain: Page 3 Trainee Impact 11. How would you compare your present job with your job(s) before training? Explain: Better Worse Same Undecided 12. Was the location of the training facility convenient for you? 13a. Did the training facility provide your transportation to and from its location? b. If yes, would you have remained in training if transportation had not been provided? If not, please explain: 14a. Did you attend morning, afternoon, or evening classes at the training facility? Morning After noon_ Evening b. Which classes were most convenient for you? Morning After noon_ Evening c. If there is a difference, please explain: Page 4 Trainee Impact Did the training facility exempt you from any fees it normally charges students? If yes, please list those fees which you did not have to pay: If you had had to pay all fees, would you have remained in the training program? If no, please explain: 16 a. Did the training facility provide you with lunch? (if applicable) b. If yes, would you have remained in the training program if lunch had not been provided? c. If no, please explain: 17a. Were you paid any stipend or salary while in training? b. If yes, what was the source? Welfare Unemployment Retirement Pe r s onal Employer Other Page 5 Trainee Impact 18a. Is the training facility known to your friends and neighbors? Do your friends and neighbors think it': a worthwhile program? c. Would you refer other people to the program? With your permission we would like to ask you some statistical questions. Your answers will only be used as part of a large group and your name will not be used. a Age b Sex c d e Married Head of Household Race f. Education (in years) g Previous Ir Family size (total) icome History Immediately prior to training: Gross total income :_ Benefits: b. For the 2 yrs. prior to training: Source: Gross total income: Benefits : Gross total income : Benefits : c. Present Income Status: Gross total income: Benefits : Page 6 Trainee Impact 21a. Have you received any raises in your present job? b. If so, what was their amount? As I indicated earlier, we are attempting to determine all of the effects of training. We would therefore like to ask you a few final questions about it. 22. Has the training and your employment had any effect qualitatively or quan- titatively on your life in terms of: a . Housing Y e s If yes, describe before No and after situation. If yes, describe before and after situation. Transportation If yes, describe before and after situation. Foo d Cons umption Y e s _ If yes, describe before and No after situation. Page 7 Trainee Impact Personal Sav ings If yes, describe before and after situation. "ere there any other effects the training or employment had on you or )ur family? (To interviewer: We are looking here for attitudinal, less your family tangible effects Thank you very much for your time. B-2 Page 1 PROGRAM IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY Community Impact Source: Community Leaders la. Does the training facility receive active support from the community at large? b. What kind of support? Explain. 2. List community organizations most involved in the training facility programs, and the nature of involvement. 3a. Are there community factions or groups Yes who are opposed to the training facility, No or who constrain its operation? Don't know_ b. If yes, list those groups or factions, and why they are opposed. Page 2 Community Impact Does the general community have confidence in the training institution's capability to turn out qualified, skilled graduates? Explain. Is the facility accepted as a training institution in the community? 6a. Is the training facility having a positive effect on the general unemployment and underemployment situation of the community? b. Please explain the effect. Is the training facility an asset to the community's economic development efforts? Is the training facility effectively helping the : a. Unemployed b. Underemployed c. Poor d. Minority Groups: Mexican Americans_ Blacks Others Page 3 Community Impact 3. (cont'd.) e. If so, how. List ways. Does the community have confidence in the program? 10. Has the training facility positively affected the quality and quantity of skills in the community? How? The training institution is largely operated with State and Federal funds. If these funds were reduced or termin- ated, would the community be prepared to support the facility to: a. Expand project b. Maintain status quo_ c. Reduce project d. Don't know 12. Have there been any positive or adverse side effects as a result of the training facility, such as housing starts, increased sales, in-or-out migrations, inter-agency or inter -group friction? Page 4 Community Impact Are there other persons and/or organizations whom we should interview regarding the training facility? List. INTERVIEW GUIDE - EMPLOYER S Business Impact Source: Business Executives /Employers Name of Company _ Address of Company _ Person(s) Interviewed (Name & Position)_ Type of Business Length of Time in Area_ 1. Did the training facility play any role in Yes_ your decision to locate in this area? No 2a. Is the company or its personnel involved in any way with the training facility? b. Please list types of involvement. 3a. Has the training project enabled you to create any jobs in the last year? b. If yes, categorize by skill, wage or salary, length of work year, and turnover rate. Page 2 Business Impact Since it began operations, has the training project enabled you to retain any existing jobs at this plant? If yes, categorize by skill, wage, or salary level, length of work year, and turnover rate. Are the program's graduates well trained for your business? Please explain. Yes_ No 5. Are you satisfied with the program's graduates? 6. Would you hire other program graduates? Yes_ No 7. Do EDA program graduates compare Yes_ favorably with other new employees? No Page 3 Business Impact 8. Does the program provide you with people in the needed quantities and skill areas. 9. Does the training program compare favorably to other manpower training programs in the community. 10. Are the jobs into which training graduates are going stable and viable? 11. Has the program been an asset to the local economy? 12. Has the program become an accepted institution in the community? Yes_ No Please explain. 13. Can you cite any examples of businesses that the program has been of real help to in filling manpower needs? Please list. Page 4 Business Impact 14. Do you have any other relevant comments that we have not touched upon? 15. Total number of jobs in your business, locally. Management/Admin. Hourly Wage Earners_ 16. Total number of jobs filled each year: Management/Admin. Hourly Wage Earners_ 17. Total number of entry level jobs filled each year. 18. Annual turnover rate: Management/Admin. Hourly Wage Earners_ 19. Date of first program placement. 20a. Number of program placements to date, b. Type of jobs filled. Number of program placements that have left the company. Page 5 Business Impact 21a. Salary of program placements. b. Is this salary the same as for other new Yes_ employees? No 22a. Do program placements receive employee benefits? b. At what percent of salary do you calculate employee benefits? Yes_ No 23. How do program placements compare a. Turnover: Better_ with other new employees in terms Same of: Worse b. Absenteeism: Better Same Worse c. Productivity: Better_ Same Worse 24a. Do program placements have opportunities for advancement? b. Have any program placements received raises or promotions? Yes_ No c. How much? AREA DATA CHECKLIST Population Anglo Saxon Mexican -American Black Other Total Work Force % Unemployment Number Unemployed Number Underemployed Average Earnings Per Capita Income Number of Poor or Disadvantaged Number on Welfare Number of Dwelling Units Bank Debits School Enrollment Number of Hospital Beds Gather other information on: Location Geography BASIC DATA ON TRAINING FACILITY; FINANCIAL DATA B-5 Training Program Information Source: Training Facility Files, EDA /Washington Files EDA Project Number_ Project Name Project Location_ Date EDA Funding Began_ Date EDA Funding Ended_ 1. Total EDA Investment 2. Period of EDA Investment Inputs 3. Local Dollar Investment: In-Kind Services In Buildings $ Other $ 4. Other Investment: Federal $ Regional ! Other $ 5. Other resources allocated: (elaborate) Public Sector Private Sector Community_ 6. Total expenditures since the beginning < EDA funding input: Program Interview Guide Checklist (For DA Team Use) Briefly outline the flow of a participant from initial contact with the training facility to job placements. List (or attach copy) of courses offered. How was it you decided to offer these courses? When are the courses offered? 3. Briefly outline in general the methods of training used 'attach sample curricula). 4. Briefly describe the physical facilities of the project. 5. Briefly describe the atmosphere of the project. 6. Briefly outline how the project carries out each of the following functions. Outreach Counseling Job Development Job Placement Follow- Up 7. Briefly outline the supportive services provided each participant. Income or Stipend Legal Health Day Care Transportation Waiver of Fees Other 8. Briefly describe the role of the project Board. 9. Briefly describe the role of instructor. 10. Briefly describe the relationship of the project to other community agencies. 11. Briefly describe the role of participant target population groups in the project. 12. Define in specific terms the role of EDA's investment in the project. Staff Information (For DA Field Team Use) Total Number of Staff No. of Instructors No. of Counselors No. of Outreach Staff No. of Job Placement Staff No. of Follow- Up Staff No. of Admin. Staff No. of Clinical Staff Instructor /Participant Ratio Counselor/Participant Ratio Placement Staff/Participant Ratio Follow- Up Staff /Participant Ratio Describe the approach of the project toward hiring staff in terms of: Types of People Recruited Qualifications (general criteria) Prior Experience c ■ a 3 s W »H V ft ft c 1.& \ years ago was 656. This figure is all but insignificant in view of the total number of civilian labor force unemployed in March 1971 - 34, 300. Secondly, most of the businesses interviewed were well established in the area long before EDA provided funds to the training facility. In the case of all companies interviewed, the OIC training facility does not affect in any appreciable way the company's hiring or employment patterns. As a result of increased business awareness, and due in part also to pressures from local educators involved in manpower training programs, many employers are revising their criteria and qualifications for entry-level positions. As a case in point, some companies no longer require high school diplomas or G. E. D. 's as employment prerequisites. The third factor is the level of funding presently received by the OIC. Although it is one of the larger manpower training programs in the area, its financial position does not permit expansion of facilities and staff to train larger numbers of students. Community Impa ct Analysis After 3j years of operation, the community and business leaders with whom the DA study team spoke all recognized the OIC as an established community institution, enjoying community confidence in it as a training institution. One measure of its legitimacy is the regard held for it by the business and community organizations. Private contributions to the OIC from these sectors is substantial. From October, 1969, to September, 1970, contributions from the community and business sectors totalled $153, 000. From September 15, 1970, to September 14, 1971, the OIC expects to receive approximately $250, 000 in contributions. A majority of community leaders interviewed also believed the OIC was adequately serving the area's minority groups, and was helping alleviate the unemployment situation in San Jose. Seventy-five percent indicated the center was aiding economic development efforts in the area. Another visible impact which measures the degree of interest and community involvement in the LIC is its advisory board. Its industrial advisory board is more than an "in-name-only" group. The businesses and community organizations they represent contribute personnel as instructors and advisors; time, in the form of personnel excused from business hours to fund-raise for the OIC; and curriculum advice to train for the future employment trends and needs in the area. Conclusions Unanimously, the community leaders whom the DA field team inter- viewed were favorably inclined to expand the OIC, its goals and effectiveness in reaching the target population confirming the trainee survey results. The OIC's widespread reputation and impact in the community then, could perhaps be attributed to three factors: 1. Quality of output; 2. Effective recruitment of target population; and 3. Business and community involvement - actively encouraged by the OIC staff. V. Funding Sources For the first six months of its operation, the OIC did not have the benefit of EDA funding. Total expenditures for October, 1967, to May, 1968, were $64, 000. During that period, 162 trainees enrolled in the training program, with 65 placed in jobs. Present EDA funding to the San Jose OIC ends September 15, 1971. The OIC director and his staff are exploring other avenues of funds to maintain the present level of operation, and expand into new skills training areas that they have determined as needed in the San Jose area. Present funding sources of the OIC are listed below: September 15, 1970, to September 15, 1971 EDA $150,000 Private Donations 250, 000 Model Cities 185, 000 WIN Program 125, 000 $710, 000 From EDA's initial funding in May, 1968, to the present time, 1077 trainees have enrolled at the OIC. Total program expenditures during the same period have totalled $1, 099, 322, of which EDA has contributed $533,465. Recently the San Jose OIC was officially designated by MDTA and the Bureau of Indian Affairs as qualified for funding from those two sources. The OIC National Institute in Philadelphia as well will be providing funds in the future. Other state and federal sources are being approached to contribute to the OIC. Through its machine tool shop, automotive repair, and electronics assembly shop, the OIC has the potential for earned income, doing small contracts with local industry. A conservative estimate by the OIC staff of the earning potential in the machine shop is $10, 000 per month, net income. There is a division of opinion within the OIC as to whether it should actively promote small contract activity with local business. The division of opinion centers on the OIC program's goals as a training facility to adequately train and place the target population. A number of the staff expressed concern that contract activities might co-opt this principal goal of the OIC. VI. Role of EDA At the time of the study, the Santa Clara OIC, its staff and particularly its top administrators, were actively investigating and promoting all potential funding sources. Were it not for EDA's inputs, the San Jose OIC operations during the past three years would have been greatly cur- tailed; the number of skills areas taught would have been reduced; the OIC staff would have remained small; and the facility's output, or gradu- ates, would not have increased. Three other situations would probably have occurred: 1. The quality of training would have probably suffered as a result of cutbacks in expenditures for instructors and training equipment. 2. Job placements would have been fewer, not only because of a reduced number of enrollees in the program, but also because the number - and perhaps quality - of job counselors and developers would have been reduced. 3. Employment turnover of the OIC graduates may have been affected as well, as a result of inadequate training, and a reduced on-the-job follow-up counseling program. Development Associates believes that the EDA funding had its largest impact on the OIC and the target groups by acting as a catalyst, in the sense of helping the OIC initially open its doors to trainees. EDA 1 ! funding, then, was the "seed money" that gave the OIC an opportunity to get the program off the ground, demonstrate its capability to the com- munity and business sectors, and begin the process of making itself a legitimate community institution. CENTRAL ALABAMA OPPORTUNITIES INDUSTRIALIZATION CENTER Montgomery, Alabama | I. Basic Information on Study The Development Associates team conducted this study and compiled basic data from May 24 through May 28, 1971. A total of sixty-nine persons were interviewed in the following numbers and groups: - Program Participants 38 - Community Residents 18 Program Staff 7 Businesses 6 II. Community Background : The population of the area served by CAOIC is 167, 790, according to the 1970 U.S. Census. The Black population of the area is 60, 744, or 36% of the total population. The total work force in the area, estimated by the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations, is estimated at 86, 200 for the area. The city of Montgomery is the capital of Alabama, with the state being the largest employer. After civil servants, the next two largest employment sectors are service and sales. The under -employed and unemployed dis- advantaged population has considerable difficulty in penetrating at least two of these sectors. A great majority of the rural population that has migrated to the city does not have the necessary skills for urban employment. Once this rural population arrives in the city, it finds itself in low cost housing areas with limited child care facilities and lack of transportation to potential job sites. III. Program Description Program Objectives The CAOIC has the following program objectives: To train and re-train the under- and unemployed between the ages of 21 and 60 for meaningful employment. - To equip the CAOIC trainees with the necessary skills, education, and psychological motivation to obtain and hold down a job. - To provide counseling and supportive services concurrent with pre -job training to further motivate the trainee towards keeping a job. - To provide the initial stages of remedial education and job related subjects. - To foster a sense of self-worth and pride in the trainees. Program Operations The Central Alabama OIC is governed by a community-based Board of Directors, which establishes policy for the OIC and participates in the planning and operation phases of the program. A staff of twenty- seven handles the daily program activities. Classes provided by the CAOIC are divided into two categories: the "Feeder Program" and the "Skills Courses" The first program provides the trainees with the following courses: - Orientation and Counseling - Communications Skills - Computation Skills - Good Grooming and Hygiene - Consumer Education - Minority History - Job Finding Techniques Skills courses provide the trainees with instruction in secretarial science, graphic technology, electricity, merchandising and marketing, commercial cooking, commercial sewing, minority history and counseling. Additional supportive services are also provided the trainees in the areas of medical and dental assistance, a nutrition program, welfare assis- tance, enrichment counseling, transportation to the training facility, early childhood development center services for pre-school aged children, food services and a "brotherhood fund" for trainee assistance. The CAOIC does not screen applicants for its services, accepts all individuals on a first come basis, requires no fees for its service and provides no trainee stipends. Both day and evening classes are available to the under- and unemployed disadvantaged population. The core of the CAOIC program is the Feeder Program which each trainee enters either before or while taking courses in a specific skill area. This program lasts approximately three months and is officially titled the "Concentrated Feeder Program". IV. Program Impact Trainee Impact The DA team selected 105 program participant names from the CAOIC files, for the period of January 1, 1970, to December 31, 1970. Of the 105 individuals selected, successful interviews were completed with 38. Below is a breakdown of the 105 participants selected for an interview: - Moved to an unknown address 45 - Moved out of the area 12 - Applied but never entered the program 10 - Successfully completed interviews 38 - Total Sample 105 The 38 participants interviewed cover the spectrum from those trained and placed in a job, to drop-outs from the program after one to three months of training, to one who is currently undergoing training. Of the 38 inter- viewed, the majority had learned of CAOIC through various communication media; i. e. , radio, television and the newspaper. A substantial number had heard of CAOIC existence from friends and relatives. The smallest number of those interviewed had heard of the CAOIC from previous program participants. The majority of trainees were trained as secretaries and cashiers. The remaining were trained in sewing, plumbing, sales and as electricians. All participants interviewed received all or part of the feeder program and the majority claime'd that this program was most useful to them. However, several felt that the program was too long. Approximately 34 # 2% of fteparticipants interviewed had been placed on a job by the CAOIC. Thirty-seven percent expressed satisfaction with their present jobs. The majority of the trainees indicated that the training location was convenient. Transportation was provided for participants living in rural Montgomery and the adjacent counties. All participants interviewed attended evening classes. No fees were required for entering the program. When asked if they would have par- ticipated in the program if fees were required, 50% of those interviewed responded negatively. Although no stipends were given for training, more than half of those interviewed were employed and received an income while in training. The majority of participants felt the program was worthwhile and would refer others to it. For the majority interviewed, the program's impact on the housing, health, food consumption and personal savings of participants was minimal. The following figures show the CAOIC participant characteristics of those interviewed: - Average Age 27. 8 years - Male 13.1% - Female 86. 9% - White 2.6% - Black 97.4% - Average Education 11.1 yrs. - % on Welfare before training 7. 9% - % unemployed before train- ing 36. 8% - % employed before training 56. 4% The average annual income for the twenty-two participants employed before training was $1, 782. After training, the average increased to $2, 793. Business Impact At businesses and manufacturing plants employing CAOIC participants, interviews were held with persons ranging from company presidents to personnel managers. The companies differed in size from 642 to 30 employees and covered such diverse fields as retail sales and glass manufacturing. Employers who had hired OIC trained individuals were most impressed by the ex-trainees' strong motivation. However, more than half of the employers displayed little knowledge of CAOIC operations. In addition, the team found the following information: - CAOIC played no role in influencing the location of businesses in Montgomery. All businesses had been in existence prior to CAOIC operations, - With the exception of Sears and Brockway Glass Company, CAOIC linkages with employers were minimal. - CAOIC played no role in influencing local employers to create new jobs or retain existing jobs. - All employers expressed satisfaction with CAOIC trained employees, comparing them favorably with non-CAOIC trained employees. All indicated they would continue hiring CAOIC trainees. - An assessment of CAOIC as an accepted institution or a com- parison with other training facilities could not be made by employers due to their lack of knowledge of CAOIC operations. - Generally CAOIC graduates entered stable jobs and compared favorably with or better than non-CAOIC employees in turnover, absenteeism, and productivity. Salaries were comparable to other employees in the same field and in fifty percent of the cases fringe benefits were provided. - CAOIC graduates in all cases haze the same chances for promotion based on ability and seniority as non-CAOIC trained employees. Community Impact Eighteen interviews with community and business leaders were completed. Community leaders interviewed were the Mayor of Montgomery, State Representatives, the Welfare Director, bankers, business leaders, CAOIC Board Members, and the CAMPS Director. All interviewed were well aware of CAOIC activities and had been in contact with its director periodically. The majority interviewed indicated that CAOIC received both public and financial support from political leaders, business leaders, and the black community. The community displayed support both publicly and through cash donations to the program. Political and business leaders gave their support because they believed that the CAOIC was actively imparting a philosophy of self help to its participants. CAOIC linkages with the public sector have not been consistent. However, CAOIC is initiating steps to remedy this, and has recently received funds from CAMPS for an UPTO program, with 20 training slots in house building and 20 in duplicating machine operations. The CAOIC has no opposition in Montgomery and the community is becoming increasingly aware of CAOIC's ability to turn out qualified and skilled people. Most community leaders felt that CAOIC was making an attempt to affect the unemployment and underemployment situation in Montgomery County by providing unemployed and underemployed blacks with the oppor- tunity to acquire necessary job skills. However, all recognized the limitation of CAOIC due to the size of the program and the immense task before it. Analysis and Conclusions CAOIC impact on the unemployed disadvantaged population can be traced directly to the program and its director. The director has analyzed the areas of weakness displayed by those tagged "unemployable" and has developed a program that attacks those weaknesses both psychologically and programmatically. Psychologically the concept of self help has been instilled into and accepted by CAOIC participants. Self help on the part of trainees is displayed by their personal motivation in entering a training program in which they receive no stipends. Programmatically the CAOIC's feeder program is geared to reinforce the self help philosophy by instilling confidence in each trainee and providing him with the tools necessary for employment. Giving substance to this philosophy is the staff, which comes primarily from CAOIC trainees, and who are dedicated to the philosophy of the program and knowledgeable of the target groups served by the CAOIC. These factors have continued to produce a skilled, and highly motivated individual prepared to enter the existing job markets and become productive. This type of individual has slowly made area employers aware that CAOIC is effective in training previously termed "unemployable s " to become skilled qualified people who compare favorably in all aspects with non-CAOIC trained people. Evidence of this is the Jobs '70 contract that CAOIC has with Brockway Glass Company. Here CAOIC provides on-the-job counseling to one hundred and ten employees. The program resulted in an increased retention rate for the company. Previously, with non-CAOIC counseling, the retention rate was 37%. With CAOIC providing on-the-job counseling the retention rate increased to 63%. CAOIC has been in operation for approximately two years. During this period, the major impact has been on-the-job motivation of the participant training through the program. Indications are that local employers have not been substantially affected by the program. The Development Associates team sees overall program impact in the fol- lowing areas : - Established agencies are increasingly acknowledging CAOIC effectiveness to reach, train and produce skilled qualified people from disadvantaged sectors in the area. Evidence of this is the CAMPS Brockway Glass Company contracts with the CAOIC. - The community has been sold on the seriousness and determina- tion of Blacks helping themselves. This determination has been demonstrated to the white community by the fact that CAOIC trainees receive no stipend, attend classes primarily at night and contribute to the self help and self determination concept. - Participants have received new skills and have developed new attitudinal values. - Participants emerging from CAOIC are demonstrating their ability to perform at the same level and in some cases better than non- CAOIC trained people. - Participants for the first time are entering employment satisfying to them as cashiers, secretaries, plumbers and electricians. The program thus has basically demonstrated its effectiveness on a small scale. CAOIC is continuously winning more supporters and its future looks bright. However, a limited budget and the lack of funds to pay trainee stipends serve to keep the CAOIC and its impact small. If EDA were to reduce funds or not refund the project, CAOIC would not receive monies elsewhere. V. Funding Sources The CAOIC was first funded for a five month period in March, 1969, by EDA for $25, 000. This grant was followed by a $98, 998. 81 full year grant in November, 1969. Currently, the CAOIC operates on a budget of $107,410. The in-kind contribution for the CAOIC operations is $134, 300 from the following sources: - Local in-kind services, $104, 300 - Cash contributions from the community, $10, 000 - Montgomery League of Woman Voters for a library and reading center, $20, 000 From 1968 to 1969, the Central Alabama OIC processed 850 applica- tions. In 1970, 447 applicants were served, and from January, 1971, through April 31, 1971, 84 persons have been served by the CAOIC. VI. Role of EDA EDA's role has been primarily financial. The funds received from EDA have enabled CAOIC to remain in operation, expand the size of its program, demonstrate its capability to the community and business sectors, and begin the process of making itself a legitimate community institution. EDA funds enabled CAOIC to purchase nine buses which were used to transport participants from rural Montgomery and several, outlying counties to the center for skills training. MULTI-AGENCY COORDINATING CENTER Wardell, Missouri I. Basic Information on Study Development Associates, Inc. (DA) began its study of the Multi-Agency Coordinating Center (MACC) on May 17, 1971, and completed the collection and compilation of basic data on May 20, 1971. A total of 45 interviews were conducted and completed in the Bootheel area with participants and staff of the MACC project, business and community leaders and employers. Interviews were divided into the following categories. Program Participants 24 Program Staff 2 Businesses 5 Community Residents 14 Other methods utilized by the team included inspection of MACC files, progress reports and observation of MACC referrals at training centers. Because of the different nature of MACC, the format of this report will differ somewhat from that of previous reports. Sections on analyses and conclusions will be included at the end of the report, rather than included sequentially in each section dealing with trainee, employer, and community impacts. II. Community Background The Bootheel area is located in the extreme southeast corner of Missouri and is composed of five counties: Dunklin, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscott and Stoddard. According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, in 1970 the population of the area was 125, 953. The only minority group of any size in the area is the Negro, which, according to the 1970 census, comprises about 14% of the population. The Missouri Division of Employment Security estimates the 1971 labor force in the area to be 52,130. The Division only calculates unem- ployment rates on a yearly basis for non-industrial areas, and thus no reasonable estimate could be obtained on the current employment situation in the area. The 1970 unemployment rate averaged 5.1%. Analysis of information furnished by the grantee indicates that the predominant social and economic problems of the Bootheel area are the following : - High out -migration, particularly among the younger, more productive group; - High unemployment, particularly among the older, least educated, least skilled group; Low income, resulting from a lack of economic oppor- tunity and lack of skills; - Low levels of public and community facilities and services. The roots of the poor economic conditions can be traced to: - Mechanization of farming displacing large numbers of land laborers ; - Lack of job opportunities outside of agriculture; - Lack of employability - deficiencies in education and skills of most of the displaced farm workers; - Poor income distribution, with income falling largely at the high and low extremes; - Inertia; socio-economic leadership reluctant to deviate from past traditions; - Lack of professional leadership in the area to provide innovative or cooperative approaches to changing situations. III. Program Description Program Objectives The objectives of MACC, as stated by the staff in interviews with the evaluators are: To work with local and state agencies, industry and business to encourage more training and job oppor- tunities for the unemployed and underemployed. - To develop and continually update a Directory of Services and a Directory of Trainees so that residents are informed of changes and the duplication of services is minimized. - To serve as a liaison with state, regional, and national EDA offices to keep them informed of new developments in the Bootheel Region. - To explore the possibility of establishing public trans- portation facilities, especially to and from large employment areas. To continue working with a newly formed inter-agency committee. - To work with civic groups and others to promote industrial expansion. Program Operations MACC has three staff members : the Project Director, an Administrative Assistant, and a Secretary. Functions carried out by the staff are : - Recruitment, job referral and placement; - Information /data collection and distribution; - Agency coordination activities ; - Job development; and - Counseling. Recruitment and Referral The Project Director conducts outreach activities in all of the Bootheel area. Additionally, referrals for MACC services are made by the Missouri Associated Migrant Opportunities Services, Delta Area Economic Opportunity Corporation, the Delmo Housing Corporation, and other local agencies. When individuals make contact with MACC, either through re- cruitment efforts by MACC or referrals from other agencies, information concerning the individual is obtained and placed on a data card. These individuals are then referred to sources of employment, job training, and sometimes educational training. Records on each referral are kept and placed within one of five categories: - Labor available; - Referred to employment source or training, but no action; - Referred to employment source or training and accepted; - Referred to job source or training but application still pending; and - Others. Information/Data Collection and Referral MACC has compiled a directory of services which lists all the agencies in the Bootheel area, the services provided by each, the eligibility requirements, and the location of the service area. This directory has been distributed to all cooperating agencies and is available to individuals in the Bootheel area. An information Newsletter is distributed in the six county area, which spotlights available services and job opportunities . Coordinating Activities MACC works with Bootheel area agencies in an attempt to stimulate joint planning, reduce duplication of services and explore avenues where services can and should be expanded. Coordination is done through inter-agency meetings. Job Development MACC negotiates with local businessmen and industry to employ- its participants. This portion of MACC work includes contacting employers and informing them about available labor and the qualifications of MACC participants. In turn the MACC Project Director asks local businesses and industry for their employment criteria and recruits individuals who meet those standards. Counseling This is done on an informal basis and only when a person MACC has referred has problems affecting his work. Funding In Program Year One, EDA funded the MACC in the amount of $29,810 and in Program Year Two $32, 560. In Program Year one there were no in-kind contributions. In Program Year two in-kind contribu- tions amounted to $10, 853. In both program years total number of participants was 402. Of these participants, 224 were placed in a job or training program. IV. Program Impact Trainee Impact The 24 participants interviewed are widely scattered throughout the six-county area. They live in rural areas, small towns and village hamlets. They were picked at random from the participants' rolls and include graduates of training programs, current trainees, dropouts, as well as direct referrals to jobs who had not participated in training. The following statistics have been compiled on those interviewed: Average Age 29 years % Male 66.6% % White 16.7% % Black 83. 3% Average Education 9. 1 years Average Family Size 6.4 % on Welfare 2 5% % Unemployed 33.3% The mean participant income before referral to jobs or train- ing by MACC was $2, 048, and mean after income was $3, 366 for a 64. 4% increase. Of the 19 participants who attended a training program, 61. 9% were assisted by the agency, either in obtaining a job or being upgraded on their present jobs. Participation in the training programs and job placement has had a measurable impact in other areas. Thirty-three percent reported that they had improved their housing, 20% describe their health as better, 37. 5% have better transportation; food consumption has improved for 29%, and likewise, 29% were able to make some personal savings in addition to paying off existing debts. Business Impact Discussion of Data At seven plants employing program participants, interviews were held with persons ranging from the company president to plant and production managers. The companies range in size from 35 to 250 employees and are in such diverse fields as ship-building, garment and shoe manufacturing, and private home construction (on an assembly- line basis). They are located in four different counties of the Bootheel area. No statistically valid conclusions can be drawn from these interviews, because two of the seven employers were unable to identify precisely those employees who graduated from a training program as a result of MACC's efforts. These two fill all their personnel require- ments through the local State Employment Service offices and it is unknown whether the referral there was made by MACC. However, two plant managers deal directly with the MACC Director. In these cases, the MACC referred to the two plants only people who had received the most relevant training for the job or who had the actual required skills. Furthermore, the MACC director personally follows up referrals by providing counseling services to participants. Consequently, the turnover rate among MACC referrals at one particular plant is approximately 5% in contrast to a 90% turnover rate at another plant in the same community that could not identify any MACC referrals. One employer had located in the area because, as one of many factors, MACC's services helped to provide him with adequate manpower. The other six had been in the area before MACC existed. Four of the seven are in regular contact with MACC concerning their specific personnel requirements. Only one employer - the smallest - was able to create jobs as a result of MACC's manpower pool. This prefab plant created jobs and hired people to work on construction sites. N employer, though, has kept existing jobs as a result of MACC's activities, that otherwise would have been phased out. Of the five plants that can identify MACC referrals two consider them well qualified for their jobs. The other three stated that MACC referrals are better than the average, or better than referrals from the State Employment Service, but that they need considerably more training for their particular jobs. Four of the 5 were satisfied with MACC referrals, one was undecided. All claimed that they would like additional MACC referrals. Employers felt the MACC provided them with referrals in the needed quantities and skill areas, though one modified this by stating that for clerical-secretarial personnel, this was not the case. All compared MACC's job referral functions favorably with other referral agencies. Jobs for MACC referrals are stable ones in all companies. All interviewed employers consider MACC's activities an asset to the local economy, but three were undecided as to whether the MACC has become an accepted institution in the community. One compared it to the school system or the Rotary Club, and one thought many other companies used it in their planning. The number of entry-level jobs filled through the MACC referrals annually ranged from 6 to 30, and their turnover rate from a low of 5% to a high of 50%. Starting wages range from $1.60 an hour to $3.10. MACC referrals receive the same wages and benefits as other employees and have the same opportunities for advancement and promotion. Those employers in the sample who do utilize MACC's referral services are well satisfied. However, they do assume that more employers use the MACC services than is actually the case. They believe that the MACC has helped the area and that its effect is more far-reaching than most people are aware. Several employers stated they could rely on the quality of MACC's referrals. MACC's director also takes time to counsel referred employees when they get into trouble on their jobs and more than a few times he has been able to persuade irate employers to give the MACC -referred employee a second chance by pointing out to them the background and difficulties the referred employee had to overcome. Community Impact Discussion of Data A total of 15 interviews with community leaders were conducted. Questionnaires were completed on 14 of these and provide the basic data for this section. Community leaders interviewed were the Mayor of Howardsville, clergymen, a County Welfare Department Director, the Director of the Bootheel Economic Development Corporation, a VISTA Volunteer, employees of local State Employment Service Offices, the Director of the Delmo Housing Corporation and the Director of MAMOS's Education Department. All were well aware of MACC's activities and had been in contact with its Director at regular intervals. Ten of the 14 in this sample stated MACC received active support from the community at large. However, many qualified the term "community" to mean employees of agencies, employers, participants and those who are in one way or another involved in community bettermait efforts. The vast majority of the area's inhabitants, it was stated, did not know of the MACC. The major agencies that are working in antipoverty efforts cooperate in the MACC- sponsored Inter-Agency Committee. All community leaders interviewed stated that there are no community factions or groups who are opposed to the MACC or who constrain its operations. Opinions were mixed on the question of whether the general community had confidence in MACC's capability to refer qualified and skilled employees. Eight were positive, while 6 were undecided, primarily because of the doubt about the meaning of the term "general community". No one, it should be noted, gave a negative opinion on MACC's capability. The MACC is accepted in the community as a referral institution in the opinion of 10 interviewees. Three thought it was not, and one was undecided. Ten considered the MACC as having had a positive effect on the general unemployment and underemployment situation of the community, 2 were negative and 2 undecided. This, however, says nothing about quantitative impact. The area's unemployment is much greater than MACC's abilities to substantially alleviate the problem. A majority (9) regarded MACC as an asset to the community's economic development efforts, 4 were undecided, and one replied negatively. There was positive response from those interviewed about MACC's helping the unemployed, underemployed and poor. Of minority groups, the blacks benefited most, though some community leaders stressed that the MACC was assisting blacks and whites without discrimination. If more blacks benefit from the program it is because the need among them is more acute. Nine community leaders thought the community had confidence in MACC's ability to refer potential trainees to the proper training facility; five were undecided (again primarily due to a lack of proper definition of the term "community") and none negative. Ten believed MACC's services had positively affected the quality and quantity of skills in the community and three were undecided and one negative. Analysis /Conclusions 1. Overall Impact of Program In considering the overall impact of the program, there should be a distinction between a) MACC's primary mandate, its coordinating role, and b) its referral and placement services. a) As far as coordination of services is concerned, MACC's impact has been successful. The Directory of Services of all federal and non-federal projects in the 5 county area provides, for the first time, a guide for the agencies as well as the poor to the sources of service. This directory now serves as a model and is being emulated by service agencies in other areas. The Federation of Agencies and its Planning Committee are functioning entities. Through its work much of the previous duplication of effort, as well as omissions of necessary action, is avoided. Its work on a Directory of Trainees will go a long way towards spotting and eliminating the "professional trainee". The Federation of Agencies likewise provides for much needed cross -fertilization of ideas which will result in better programs and projects as well as a more equitable utilization of the various training institutions in the area. b) Though the referral and placement services have yielded some notable successes in alleviating needs and hardships, assisting employers and gaining the admiration of community leaders, their overall impact on the area is negligible (as mentioned above, one community leader described the area's needs as so acute that he compared MACC's efforts to "digging the ocean with a teaspoon"). That this part of the services has had so little overall impact should, however, not be interpreted as its having no impact. The gratitude of the assisted individual families testified to its effect. In terms of money, the following breakdown is relevant. In the first program year the project made 224 referrals for training and/or employment and 121 previously unemployed persons were placed on jobs. Estimating that they earned an average wage of $1. 65 an hour, together they earned and circulated $415, 272 per year. These figures show that the referral/placement aspect of the program had some impact on the area. As a footnote to this section, it should be noted that if about 10%, i. e. , $41, 527, of the money earned by the placements were paid in federal taxes, the federal government took in as a result of this program $12, 217 more than the project was funded for in its first year. Summarized, MACC's impact can be found in the following areas: - Coordination of agency activities; - Publication and dissemination of the Directory of Services and a monthly newsletter; - Recruitment and referral to training; - Liaison with industries; - Liaison with community leaders and community services; - Information and data collecting; - Counseling; - Job placement. These accomplishments described above would fulfill MACC's mandate. However, MACC has gone well beyond the coordinating role. It has become, in addition, a virtual job and training referral, recruiting, outreach and counseling service. The MACC Director himself is in frequent contact with employers to ascertain their needs for unskilled and skilled man- power. In the current program year he has thus been able to place directly (not counting those referred to and placed through the State Employment Service) 98 persons in jobs with 18 different employers, and 34 in educational or training programs and institutions. Em- ployers, agency and state officials, as well as the participants who have been assisted, speak highly and with genuine respect of the MACC and its director. They praise the diligence, honesty and reliability as well as his dedication to the cause of effectively helping the poor to be able to take care of themselves and their families. 2. Basic Reasons for the Program's Success There are various reasons for the program's success, fore- most of which is the person and personality of MACC's director. He is the program, and among the agencies, communities and industries involved little distinction is made between the agency and the man. These two are referred to interchangeably. The director is the right man in the right job, and he makes the best of this crucial position. Another factor is the recognition of the need for the offered services The participant agencies recognized the need for this type of coordina- tion and were therefore prepared and willing to cooperate to the best of their ability. This is even true of the State Employment Service which sometimes tends to look at MACC's direct work with employers as competition. V. Role of EDA The Economic Development Administration, Office of Technical Assistance, has provided grants of $29, 310 in Program Year one (1969/70) and $32, 560 in Program Year two (1970/71) to the grantee, Missouri Associated Migrant Opportunities Services, Inc. (MAMOS) for the establishment of a Multi Agency Coordinating Center (MACC) under Title III, Section 301(a) of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965. In Program Year One no non-federal funds were added to the project, while in Program Year Two an in-kind contribution of $10, 853 was made by MAMOS. EDA's total contribution to the project thus amounted to $61, 870 for the two program years. On the basis of the data gathered and observations made, it is safe to predict the following: a) If federal funds (EDA funds) were cut off, the program would terminate since there are no community resources to continue it. b) With funding on about the same level as in Program Year two , the program's operations could increase in volume and input, since much of the groundwork has been done and a basis exists on which to build. Much time spent until now in establishing working contacts, compiling basic data and information can be spent on expanding contacts and soliciting cooperation with employers, community sources and agencies and on improving existing channels. c) Should EDA find it possible to increase the funding, the additional money would most effectively be spent on increasing MACC's professional staff. Ideally, MACC should have a full-time representative in each of the MAMOS centers. Another staffing pattern might allow for specializations at MACC/HQ along lines such as: counsel- ing, outreach, industrial relations, publications, and agency coordination, all of which are currently performed by the MACC director alone. PROGRAM ABLE Amherst, Massachusetts I. Basic Information on the Study The DA field team began its study of Program ABLE (Accelerated Business Leadership Education) at the University of Massachusetts in Am- herst on June 1, 1970. Using questionnaires and instruments revised to respond to the unique nature of the program, the team carried out a compre- hensive survey of files and records and conducted personal and telephone interviews with staff, participants and employers. A total of 33 people from the following categories were interviewed: Program Staff 7 Businesses 4 Program Participants 22 II. Community Background: Program ABLE is a project designed to increase the short supply of minority professionals who are qualified in business development and who are able to assist in minority development. To this end, ABLE offers selected minority group members accelerated academic training leading to an MBA degree. The original idea for the project came from the University of Massachu- setts Business School, concerned at the time with the small number of minority group members pursuing an MBA degree. Because ©f the need for such repre- sentatives with MBA training to work in minority business development was intensifying, EDA agreed to sponsor eight Program ABLE students for the 1969-1970 school year. l The sponsorship was not handled directly through the University of Massachusetts Business School. Four minority business development groups received EDA grants to nominate, sponsor and later hire the eight students. The four sponsors were: The Interracial Council for Business Opportunity (ICBO); The National Urban League; The National Business League; and The Black Economic Union. sored by individual businesses. In the 1969-1970 school year, Polaroid and Morgan Guaranty Trust Company each sponsored one student. In 1970- 1971 Morgan sponsored another student. Since that business sponsorship, however, there has been little business support. Program ABLE was designed to include fifteen (15) months of study: two summer terms in addition to a regular school year. The first summer session included orientation and some remedial education; the remaining 12 months were devoted to the regular MBA course. Program ABLE started in June, 1969, and the first calss graduated in August, 1970. A second group began in June, 1970, and will finish in August, 1971. A third group just began its studies in June, 1971. III. Program Description Program Objectives The objectives of the Program ABLE are: To overcome the shortage of business trained minority group professionals; To provide a specified number of minority group students with academic training leading to an MBA degree on an accelerated basis; To asist in overcoming the problems of minority business development in the inner city; and To assist organizations which focus on minority business development by providing trained and qualified professionals. The majority of Program ABLE students are recruited through publicity in publications circulated in minority communities and at colleges through- out the country. Interested people submit applications to both the Business School and Program ABLE. Normal entrance standards apply, but many- exceptions have been made, particularly for those students with low under- graduate grade point averages and low scores on the national Business School entrance exam. In its three year history, the program has been able to fill all its positions but has not had to turn away many qualified ap- plicants. Selections are made by the Business School, with the Assistant Dean and ABLE Project Director usually making the final selection. The sponsors are not involved in this process and do not actually sponsor individual students. All ABLE students begin the program in early June and for twelve weeks receive an intensive orientation while participating in a remedial program in math, statistics and accounting. Instruction, which takes place in the classroom and in tutoring sessions in the summer program, is under the overall supervision of a regular Business School faculty mem- ber. Upon completion of the summer program ABLE students begin the regular MBA program and receive no preferential treatment. A few students in the early groups have had difficulty in satisfactorily completing the required work in the accelerated 15 month period and are now given the option of completing the work during the normal 20 month period. The relationship of the students to the sponsors is non-existent. In- deed, many did not even know of the sponsor's involvement in the program. The use of sponsors appeared to be a device for paying living allowances, etc. Placement with sponsor agencies upon graduation was only partially successful since only 3 of the original 8 students were placed with 2 of the 4 sponsors. None of the students from the second class are scheduled for placement with the sponsors. Originally,, plans envisioned that a significant number of students would be sponsored by business, but only two members of the original class and one from the second class were sponsored by business. However, al- though plans appear not to have worked out, the school is continuing its efforts. Another new development is the involvement of two other schools -- Boston University and Syracuse University, in June, 1971. It is reported that each school has 5 ABLE students this year (The University of Massa- chusetts has 10) and each is carrying out the program with its own resources Project Operations The project's academic program is operating as it was planned. The comprehensive summer orientation and remedial education program appear to be helping the students get ready for their regular course work. This year the school has added additional graduate students as tutors and the ABLE students will receive more intensive individual attention. The summer program operates for twelve weeks: four hours a day of class work and four hours a day of independent work supported by tutorial assistance. Courses in mathematics, economics, calculus, accounting, and statistics are offered in the summer and together they are equivalent to four regular business school courses. During the regular school year and following summer, ABLE students pursue the standard program leading to an MBA. ABLE students are not restricted to one course of study, but are free to select areas of concentration or specialization. During the last twelve months of the program the students take 30 semester credit hours of graduate courses and must pass a written general examination. The Assistant Dean, who is also the ABLE Project Director, is the advisor for all ABLE students. Formal efforts to place the students in development agencies begin in March of each year. Each student is given some training on resume writing and access to the school's equipment for duplication. They are also given lists of possible job openings in the field of minority business or economic development. During the last two years the project staff has contacted many potential employers by letter, including many EDA and Small Business Administration grantees. To date these efforts have largely not been successful. Efforts to place students with the sponsoring agencies have been only partially successful. In the first year, three of the eight EDA-funded students were hired by two of the four sponsors. While the second class has not yet graduated, placement prospects are so bleak that the project was obliged to relieve the students of their pledge to work in minority businesses or the field of economic development for 18 months. While the students will have little trouble finding good jobs, DA interviews indicate it is likely they will go to work in private business since the salary offers are quite attractive, i.e., $15, 000 plus per annum. Student Recruitment ABLE students generally come to the program: Immediately from undergraduate school; or After one to three years of working experience; or After six or more years of working experience. Some other salient characteristics of the 29 ABLE students are: 25 of 29 were male; All were college graduates; Their average age was 27.6, but the range was from 20-45; Average family size was 2.4; 27 out of 29 were Black, 1 was Mexican-American and 1 Indian; For those employed prior to ABLE, their average income was $11, 216. 00 ard xar^ed from $7, 000 to $13, 600 per annum. All tuition and fees were waived by the University of Massachusetts for ABLE students. In addition, they were paid living allowances in accordance with this schedule: Students Beginning Students Beginning in 1969 or 1970 in 1971 If married $400 per mo. $300 If single $300 per mo. $250 If a veteran $150 per mo. $150 Students are required to pay all of their expenses, except travel to Amherst, from these allowances. Program Administration Program ABLE is administered by the Assistant Dean of the School of Business Administration. He is responsible to both EDA and to the school for all aspects of the project, including project performance and finance. However, since his job as Assistant Dean is full-time and since he is also involved in outside consulting work, he is able to devote only limited time to the project. In addition, he serves as faculty advisor to the ABLE students. Therefore, he delegates the day-to-day details, such as payroll, to his secretary. A majority of the academic-related program work is handled by a full- time Associate Professor of the School. He is responsible for designing and operating the summer program and, through the summer counseling process, appears to have the greatest academic effect on the students. He is assisted by 10 part-time tutors who are doctoral candidates in the Business School. Overall, the project appears to be operated quite informally with few written plans, evaluations or other documents developed. An exception to this is the summer orientation program which is planned in detail and for which an evaluation is planned this year. It also appeared that follow-up of graduates was an informal process. For example, ABLE staff knew where only six of the ten original graduates were working and one of these was incorrect. The informality of the over- all operation is in marked contrast to the summer program, which appeared carefully planned and tightly administered. Project Financing It was impossible to determine project expenditures or even project contributions for any period on a meaningful basis. An examination of the University books revealed the following expenditures charged to Program ABLE: 7/1/69 - 6/30/70 $43,321.29 7/1/70 - 3/31/71 $53,671.66 However, it was impossible to determine the source of funds for these ex- penditures without a complete audit. The following facts are, however, known: In 1969, EDA made grants of $12, 500 each to four sponsors to contract with the University of Massachusetts for Program ABLE. Total funding involved was $50,000. These four sponsors did pass on a total of $50, 000 to the University of Massachusetts. EDA just recently made grants of $25,000 each to two sponsors for the same purpose in the 1970-71 school year. EDA made a direct grant of $15, 000 in 1970 to the University of Massachusetts for the summer program. Polaroid Corporation has contributed an undetailed amount for one student and Morgan Guaranty Trust for two students. The University of Massachusetts has contributed undetailed amounts for tuition, fees, material, space, time, etc. Thus, at this point, EDA has made three grants, totaling $115,000, for Project ABLE. In all three cases the grants were made months after the program started and expenses were incurred. Apparently, in anticipa- tion of another grant, the University of Massachusetts started a third class of ten ABLE students on June 1, 1971. IV. Program Impact Trainee Impact Program ABLE has unquestionably had considerable impact on the students enrolled. In the first graduating class the students' income was raised from an average pre-program income of $11,216. 00 to a post-program income of $15,816. One graduate was making $18,500. Nevertheless, only one of six graduates interviewed indicated his new job had positively affected his life in terms of housing, health, transportation or food con- sumption. Three of six, however, did indicate an increase in personal sav- ings. Four of the six stated the training prepared them adequately for their job . Five of the six received help from the school in getting a job and all six were satisfied with their job. In terms of placement the results with the first class were mixed. Three of the six interviewed were placed with 2 of the 4 sponsors. The other three found jobs with private industry. In the second class while, at the time of interview no final commitment had been made, all of the students were re- leased from the pledge to work in minority business development and appeared headed for private industry. Interestingly, all graduates interviewed stated they would have gone to school even if they would have had to pay for all fees. This mirrored a frequent comment that they were planning to go to graduate school, although some said at night. Business and Community Impact The only impacts other than the personal development of ABLE students are those brought about by program participants who, by working for an employer, are involved in minority business or economic development pro- grams. Specifically, the project envisioned impact occurring on inner-city development through each of the four sponsoring agencies. To determine these impacts of the project, DA was able to interview three of the graduates' employers where five graduates work. Two were the only original sponsors to employ graduates and one was one of the private businesses who paid for two employees to participate. Based upon interviews with six of the ten participants in the first class and 16 participants from classes 2 and 3. These figures only refer to the first graduating class. The private business sponsors indicated considerable dissatisfaction and stated they were terminating their involvement. They stated the program was only average and taught no new skills. They were quite concerned about the lack of communication with the ABLE Program and the fact they re- ceived no progress reports. The two original sponsors were quite happy with the results of ABLE and indicated their three graduates were a real asset. Both indicated they would hire other graduates but only one of the two is currently a sponsor. The graduates 1 impact on minority businesses and economic development programs is only measureable by determining the overall effect the employer was having on the community. Since three of the present graduates are cur- rently working for employers in this area, it is assumed they are having some impact. In addition, though, at least three of the remaining six graduates work for private businesses and are not in minority businesses or economic develop- ment programs. The other graduates were unavailable for interviews. Analysis /Conclusions From the data collected, it is clear that Program ABLE's major im- pact to date has been to accelerate the professional development and earnings of its graduates. From the comments and caliber of the students, it appears that many would have eventually reached their present level but it would unquestionably have taken considerably longer. A few students in the early groups have had difficulty in satisfactorily completing the required work in the accelerated 15 month period and are now given the option of completing the work during the normal 20 month period. The relationship of the students to the sponsors is non-existent. In- deed, many did not even know of the sponsor's involvement in the program. It is clear that the use of sponsors is almost totally a device for paying living allowances, etc. Placement with sponsor agencies upon graduation was only partially successful since only three of the original eight students were placed with 2 of the 4 sponsors. None of the students from the second class are scheduled for placement with the sponsors. While it is clear that ABLE has added skilled minority group profes- sionals to the manpower pool, some are not using their skills in minority group efforts. Thus, ABLE has not had as much impact on minority business or economic development as anticipated. At present it appears ABLE's impact on minority-focused efforts will be even further diluted: The class graduating in August, 1971, has been released from its pledge in this area and the students state they will now work with private business. Each student did state that he would have honored the pledge had a job been available. V. Role of EDA It is evident that EDA's role is crucial in Program ABLE. "Without question, Program ABLE would be a marginal or non-existent project in the absence of EDA support. It is significant to note that Program ABLE at the University of Massachusetts has catalyzed the development of non-EDA funded projects at Boston University and Syracuse University. Given the increasing demand for graduate -trained minority group professionals, this unanticipated project impact is welcome. However, the fact remains that EDA's stated goal of assisting minority businesses and economic development programs has been only marginally achieved. VI. Some Conclusions The data indicate the project only partially achieved its original goals, but clearly its achievements are worthwhile. It is questionable, though, whether the varieties of impact are those EDA wishes to support. In terms of the project, there are several points which could be im- proved or strengthened. Specifically, these points include: Recruitment - greater efforts to reach those with ability but who lack opportunity could be made. Such efforts should focus the project more on the EDA target population. Administration - at present the project is operated, not administered. There are few financial or program reports. Requests for EDA grants and therefore the grants themselves have all been retroactive. This has caused concern in both EDA and private businesses. More time and attention in the administrative area is clearly necessary. Placement - It is difficult to comment on this aspect of the program. The project's staff and participants had made significant efforts to secure jobs in minority business and economic development programs, but with little success. It appears that greater assistance from EDA and other govern- ment agencies is the only possible solution. While it, too, may fail, it would be worth attempting to insure greater impact for the present investment. PITTSBURGH BUSINESS AND JOB DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania I. Basic Information on the Study Development Associates (DA) began a four-day study of the Business and Job Development Corporation (BJDC) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 14, 1971, and completed collection and compilation of basic data on June 17, 1971. A total of 38 interviews were conducted and included the BJDC staff, former participants in BJDC programs, community and business leaders. Interviews were distributed among the following categories: Number Former Participants in BJDC Programs 24 BJDC Staff 8 Business and Community Leaders 6 Additional information and data were obtained by inspecting the BJDC files, reviewing progress reports and other studies relating to BJDC programs, observing a job-training facility operated by BJDC and visiting commercial establishments operated by graduates of BJDC's small business management training courses. II. Community Background The population of the City of Pittsburgh has been steadily declining over the past decade. According to the 1970 U.S. Census, the population is 520,117, a decline of 84, 215 over the past ten years. The minority group composition of the city's population has, during the same period, increased; in 1970 Blacks represented 20. 2% of the population. Most of the Black population is concentrated in the four areas of the city where BJDC focuses its efforts. Unemployment rates in these four sections of Pittsburgh are high in comparison to the rates for the rest of the city. The District Office of the Bureau of Employment Security (BES) in Pittsburgh has estimated that in February, 1971, the unemployment rate for non-whites in Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, was 7.4%, almost twice the overall rate of 4.1%. Even this figure understates the high concentration of unemployed in the non-white sections of Pittsburgh. A BES study produced the following estimates of unemployment rates for the four Pittsburgh neighborhoods served by BJDC: 19. 4% 14. 9% 10. 5% 9. 1% Neighborhood Rate of Unemployment Hill North Side Ho me wood- Br us hton Lawrenceville The number of black entrepreneurs serving the population of these four districts is very low. A survey conducted by BJDC located 39 commercial establishments owned by blacks. Black-owned enterprises showed assets of only $1, 425, 000 and employed a total of 268 blacks. In 1968 Pittsburgh experienced a series of civil disturbances in which most of the non-black commercial enterprises in the black sections of the city were destroyed. Minority entrepreneurship has not filled the gap created by the disappearance of those commercial assets. As a result, many of the residents of non-white areas are forced to travel several miles just to make their normal purchases of food and other necessities. III. Program Description Program Objectives BJDC's prime objectives are to: - Promote economic and industrial development in order to raise the economic base of the black communities in the Pittsburgh area; - Assist in financing proposed industrial, business and commercial projects in the black community; Build and acquire industrial and commercial establishments, and assist other black individuals to achieve these same objectives; and - Sponsor educational opportunities and training programs geared to upgrading the skills necessary to the small black businessmen, the hard core unemployed, and individuals seeking positions at supervisory or management levels. Program Operations The Business and Job Development Corporation (BJDC) is a private, non-profit development corporation organized in 1962 by a group of volunteer Black businessmen. In order to achieve its objectives, BJDC has developed a three-pronged program which includes: Minority Business and Industrial Development; - Minority Job Development and Placement; and - Minority Training. Minority Business and Industrial Development This component of the BJDC program is specifically limited to the following functions : - Providing counseling and technical assistance to prospective small business entrepreneurs; - Attracting established industries or developing new light industry in or near ghetto areas which would generate employment opportunities for the residents; - Upgrading, through the promotion of quality commercial facilities, the commercial areas of Pittsburgh's ghettos in order to attract business into the area. Minority Job Development and Placement BJDC works with business, industry, and other organizations to develop minority job opportunities and, on a limited basis, place qualified persons on jobs. Minority Training BJDC's minority training program offers three basic types of training : - Skills training for individuals to prepare them for entering jobs in the BJDC figurine factory. This is a thirteen week on-the-job training program geared specifically to the hard-core unemployed. The figurine factory produces plaster piggy banks and markets them for revenue to run the factory. Participants are trained in molding, baking, painting and packing the piggy banks. - Training for minority businessmen and entrepreneurs in the Small Business Management Training Program. The program is ongoing and recruits individuals by advertising courses through public media sources. Individuals who are receiving small business loan application counseling are encouraged to take the courses. The courses are held in the evening and concentrate on subjects that will assist the minority businessmen to succeed. Courses include basic accounting, bookkeeping, personnel management, public relations and financial management. Training, which lasts for twelve weeks, can accommodate 25 trainees in each twelve- week cycle. ■ - The Management Development Training Program for mid- level minority managers is a twenty-eight week course designed by BJDC to further develop managerial skills. Basically, this program is for individuals already employed in an agency or business, at the middle management level, who wish to further develop their managerial skills to move into higher level management positions. Courses include communications, interpersonal relations, motivation, leadership skills, decision making, organization, and program review and evaluation. BJDC primarily serves four target areas in the Pittsburgh vicinity: Hill, Manchester/Chateau, Homewood-Brushton, and Lawrenceville. The majority of people served are black and come from low-income areas. BJDC has estimated that 7, 100 individuals have participated in their programs; of this, 4,100 individuals received business training •»- seminars on marketing, retail sales, bookkeeping; and 3000 individuals received counseling assistance on loan applications and financial arrangements. Additionally, in the past year BJDC has trained 75 individuals in small business management; 20 in the management development program, and 50 for the BJDC figurine plant. Of the three training programs sponsored by BJDC, the job training program for the figurine plant was the only program involved in preparing and placing the hard core unemployed and underemployed. All individuals participating in the training are employed in the BJDC figurine plant at the end of their training. The remaining two programs improve management skills of individuals already employed or individuals about to open a small business. All three programs center on developing skills leading to productive employment, and an increased standard of living for poor, black, un- and underemployed individuals in Pittsburgh. IV. Program Impact Trainee Impact The team selected twenty-four participants for interviews from the three training programs in 1970 sponsored by BJDC. Characteristics of the sample interviewed are given in the following two tables. The first table describes the characteristics of the three groups and the second relates the characteristics to the type of training received. Table I Total Number of Participants 175 Number Interviewed 24 Average Age 41.2 % Male 62.5 % Female 37.5 % White -0- % Black 100 Average Education 12.8 Average Family Size 4.2 % on Welfare -0- % Unemployed -0- % Employed Table II 100 Job Training Small Bus. Management Program for Management Development BJDC Fig. Rant Training Program Total # of Participants 50 100 25 # Interviewed 9 8 7 Average Age 34. 4 yrs. 42. 3 yrs. 48.7 yrs. % Male 57% 63% 57% % Female 43% 37% 43% % White 0% 0% 0% % Black 100% 100% 100% Average Education 12.1 yrs. 12. 6 yrs. 14 yrs. Average Family Size 4.1 4.7 3.7 % on Welfare -0- -0- -0- % Unemployed -0- -0- -0- % Employed 100% 100% 100% Pre-Training Avg. Income $4, 580 $11, 650 $8, 538 Post-Training Avg. Income $5,927 $11, 463 $9,456 The tabulation and compilation of data showed that average annual income, for all individuals interviewed, was $8, 715 before training. Annual income after training increased to $9, 213. Thus, the average increase per participant was $498. 00. All individuals interviewed, then, were either employed, owned their own business or had been promoted to higher positions. The majority (96%) felt that the training program had prepared them adequately to do their job or had improved their present status of employment. All participants felt the training facility was convenient and accessible. Trainees in the BJDC figurine training program attended classes in the morning and afternoon, while the rest of the participants attended evening classes. With the exception of one program, none of the participants received stipends. Overwhelmingly, the participants interviewed considered the program worthwhile and supported it. Business and Community Impact As stated previously, BJDC is primarily involved in business and job development and in attracting commercial businesses and industry into the depressed areas of Pittsburgh. Primary emphasis is placed on these activities and only secondary emphasis is on training; little or no emphasis is placed on referral activities. The little job placement that does occur is placing trainees in the figurine plant. It should be noted that all individuals interviewed believed that BJDC's operations would be reduced if state or federal funds were terminated. Analysis /Conclusions BJDC is primarily an economic development agency which concen- trates on attracting and developing business and industry in the depressed areas of Pittsburgh. The only skills training is for the figurine plant which has been successful in recruiting, training and placing a small number of poor black people into meaningful employment. The success of training given to small business entrepreneurs is more difficult to measure. Although courses were well attended, BJDC felt that twelve weeks was not long enough to train businessmen. The success of the management development training is equally- difficult to measure. BJDC feels that the students attending the training benefited from it; however, to what extent is not really known. In the final analysis BJDC feels that training is a minor function of its overall operations. The feeling is that training should not be done for training's sake. Training should be on a continuous basis, particularly when it involves small business training. Additionally, it is felt that job training should be in the hands of the employers. In light of these factors BJDC has concentrated on attracting and developing businesses in the ghettos of Pittsburgh. Such efforts, it is felt, are more important in the long run and will produce not only jobs but additional revenue for the community. Positive examples of BJDC's efforts are the Westinghouse electrical vehicle plant, the Alcoa Nail Company, and its program to assist small business minority entre- preneurs. Plans for the future, some of which are in the process of being realized, include an industrial park which will create 460 jobs; ten small shops creating 25 jobs; and a shopping center which will create 87 jobs. Based on past performance, present activities, future plans and the community's perception of the program, BJDC's future looks positive. BJDC is one agency that is able to bridge the gap between established industries and agencies and the newer social action agencies of Pittsburgh. In terms of training, BJDC feels that if it had a larger budget it would consider making training a larger function of its overall operations. However, BJDC feels its present approach to Pittsburgh's problems are more realistic. V. Funding Sources BJDC has received financial assistance from community people, local businesses, and state and federal programs. Additional income has been generated by BJDC-owned business and property. Federal funding began with EDA's initial investment in November of 1965 and extended to March of 1971. In November, 1970, BJDC became an Office of Minority Business Enterprise (OMBE) affiliate and was funded through OMBE by EDA. Additionally, BJDC received a grant from the Model Cities program in 1970. State funding for the Merit Employment Program was initiated in 1969. In September of 1969, Westinghouse Electric Corporation donated a five story partially air conditioned building to BJDC that is valued at $900, 000. Additional income has been generated by fund raising activities which have attracted financial contributions from community people, local businesses and industry. The BJDC's figurine manufacturing plant is a spin-off business which also generates income. The following is a list of funding sources for BJDC from 1965 to 1970. Funding Source Total - EDA $796, 00Q 00 OMBE (EDA) 136, 000. 00 HUD/MCA 24,286.31 State 142, 291.07 Total $ 1, 108, 577. 38 VI. Role of EDA EDA's financial assistance has allowed BJDC to pursue activities related to economic and job development. BJDC estimates that since its inception it has received $796, 000 from EDA which has attracted, in real dollars, $4, 974, 920. 00 in investments from local industry, banks and other lending institutions, local and state government, foundations and other sources. On this basis alone the return to the federal government has been in a ratio of 5 1 dollars generated for each dollar invested. The Business and Job Development Corporation's accomplishments in helping to rebuild Pittsburgh's depressed areas are impressive. If many of the development plans now on the drawing boards become a reality, BJDC will have made a major contribution towards revitalizing and rebuilding Pittsburgh's inner-city areas. THE AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL Boston, Massachusetts I. Basic Information on the Study Development Associates, Inc. (DA) began its study of the American Indian Industrial Development Intern Project on May 20, 1971. As the interns were located at widely dispersed worksites throughout the U.S. , the collection of data continued until July 19, 1971. Data was gathered at the grantee's head- quarters in Boston, Massachusetts, through on-site discussions with employers and interns and via telephone. Overall, the following interviews were conducted: Program Participants 6 Program Sponsors 8 Program Staff _3 Total 17 The DA team also thoroughly reviewed the project's files at EDA, and all relevant documents and financial records. II. Community Background The American Industrial Development Council (AIDC) Indian Intern Project was designed and implemented to assist U.S. Indian reservations in their economic development efforts by training Indians to work on their own reser- vations in industrial economic development roles. The project is based on the premises that: Industrial development of reservations has been growing rapidly; EDA, BIA and OEO have made grants and loans to over 61 reservations, many of which have focused on industrial and economic development; While many reservations have detailed, concrete develop- ment plans and at least 69 professional people working in their development efforts, in fact there are few Indians qualified to fill the available positions; and This project was reviewed using the standardized instruments and methodology as much as possible. Many questions, however, were irrelevant and therefore dropped. At the time of the AIDC project's funding, there were no specific programs geared to train Indians for economic development. In early 1970 EDA approached the American Industrial Development Council's Education Foundation in an effort to meet the above needs. AIDC was contacted because it is the only international association of career practi- tioners and laymen in the field of industrial development and because AIDC has for many years been successfully conducting formal career educational programs on all levels. It was, in short, a marriage of need and resources (Indian and AIDC) with EDA serving as the marriage broker. The program formally began on August 1, 1970, and will operate 16 months until November 30, 1971. III. Program Description Program Objectives The objectives of the AIDC program are: To train nine Indians in the techniques of industrial development; To provide the interns with a well rounded background in all aspects of the industrial development profession; and To assist the interns, upon completion of the program, to fill positions in the industrial and economic development programs of tribal and other on- reservation Indian groups. Program Operations Indian interns are placed with an AIDC member organization which is involved in industrial development; the intern becomes a full-time staff mem- ber, and is expected to carry out the range of industrial development activities expected of regular staff members, but under close professional supervision. In addition, each sponsoring organization has prepared a plan for the intern which is designed to expose him to the widest possible range of industrial development activities. AIDC provides some counseling and supervision and sponsors the intern at three AIDC annual events: the AIDC Annual Conference; a one -week Basic Industrial Development Course; and a one-week Industrial Development Institute Course. This combination of OJT, professional conferences, and academic training makes up the one-year internship. A list of Indian intern sponsors was developed by canvassing the AIDC membership by mail, phone, and on-site visits by AIDC staff. Initially, sponsors were limited to public or nonprofit agencies but the selection was subsequently expanded to include businesses involved in industrial development (mostly state or regional utility companies). Ten sponsors were originally recruited, and nine were finally used (the intern assigned to the tenth firm dropped out of the program). Each sponsor was required to submit a proposal on how the intern would be used and supervised. Some sponsors submitted quite elaborate proposals, others little, and a few virtually nothing. Each sponsor agreed to: Hire the intern for one year; Pay one-half of the intern's annual salary of $8, 000; Carry out the agreed-upon work program for each intern; and Not employ the intern upon completion of his program. Intern Recruitment The program was open to all Indians interested in development work and who were capable of college -level training and work experience. EDA, BIA and OEO sent out notices on the program to U.S. Reservations, and received 76 applications. The nine interns were selected on the basis of merit and background, and their potential for an industrial development career. Each sponsor was given information on three or four applicants and asked to select one from that group. Sponsors and interns each had the right to refuse the other. In all cases every effort was made to place the intern close to his home reservation. A composite statistical picture of the nine interns appears below: All Male Average Age 30.5 years Average Education 14. 5 years Average Family Size 3 Average Pre-Program Income $7, 676 The project formally started on August 1, 1970. Although the original plan called for starting all interns at the same time, the short start-up time caused some changes, so that beginning dates were staggered over several weeks. However, all nine interns started between October 1 and November 1, 1970, and will finish in 12 months. Basic selection criteria eliminated anyone presently in college or anyone with a serious criminal record. Upon selection, both the interns and sponsors were briefed and oriented by AIDC at the sponsor's location. After the initial one -day orientation, the intern began work as a staff member. According to intern and sponsor interviews and reports, the intern's work has involved: Basic economic and industrial research; Meetings (staff, intergovernmental, development, etc. ); Professional conferences (including the 3 for AIDC); Evaluations; Assistance on industrial prospect planning; and Participation on development work with prospects (including travel). In addition, some interns have been involved with Indian reservations as coordinators or advisors in their economic development efforts. AIDC's contact with interns and sponsors has been limited by the availa- bility of travel funds; however, at a minimum, AIDC staff had seen all interns twice after 9 months of operation. AIDC is now working on placement of the interns. At this point, however, there appear to be few prospects for placement either on the intern's reser- vations or on an Indian development project. The AIDC is still pursuing the original objective; it is prepared, as an alternative, to assist the interns' placement in industrial development jobs which have some impact on Indians. The alternative would include permitting the intern to be hired by his present sponsor (except for the two businesses sponsoring interns). Project Administration The project is administered by a full-time Project Director and secretary from AIDC headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. AIDC contributes the time of its Executive Vice President and a part-time clerk and bookkeeper. The AIDC staff manages the project, monitors all monthly reports, and over- sees payments and financial matters. The staff is also responsible for de- veloping a Project Participant Manual, designing report forms and ensuring sound project administration. Project Financing The project is financed from a variety of sources as listed below: EDA $59,152 Grantee Cash $94, 668 In- Kind $ 6,810 Total $165,630 The grantee cash contribution included a $40, 000 grant from the Donner Foundation and pays one-half of the interns' salaries. EDA pays only for project administration and related expenses. As of April 31, 1971, $81,311 had been spent. IV. Program Impact Since training is still in process it is not possible to measure the impact on the participants. Below, however, we do provide a subjective analysis of the impact to date and a projection of the possible future impact on participants and the Indian Reservations involved. Trainee Impact None of the interns who was interviewed was negative in his review of the internship program. A number of them, however, had concerns and criticisms on the program. All of the interns believed that they were participating in a worthwhile program that was giving them good exposure to the business of industrial de- velopment. They were participating in an interdisciplinary program with their sponsors, working in the areas mentioned earlier in this report. Four of the six interns interviewed said that they had been offered jobs, or were having jobs created for them by the agencies for whom they worked. Two of the interns were being recruited by at least one business outside of, but related to the immediate job discipline in which they were training, such as banking. However, only one intern of the six interviewed was assured of a job offer from one of the reservations with which he was working. In fact, two- thirds of the interns interviewed mentioned the lack of job opportunities to work with Indian groups after their internships. Half of the interns interviewed expressed concern that the state economic development agencies with which they were working did not have formal ties with the Indian Reservations located in their states. Consequently, the agencies were not devoting much attention to the economic and industrial de- velopment of the reservations. In two of the states where the interns are located (Arizona and North Carolina), the interns are playing important roles as catalysts in establishing closer ties between the state economic development agency and the Indian Reservations. In the former state, the intern, along with his sponsor, is trying to establish an "Indian Desk" within the agency. In the latter case, the intern is working with the Cherokee Reservation and Indian groups in the southern part of the state to establish an economic and industrial council that would promote the groups' own development, as well as coordinate in- dustrial promotion efforts with the state agency. Most of the trainees considered the amount of the stipend unrealistic: most felt that given the areas' cost of living, $8, 000 was not enough to support their families. The interns criticized the program for lack of provision to transfer them and their families to the city in which they were assigned. All, except one, stated that moving was a financial hardship. Three interns criticized the lack of planning in detailing their scope of work with their sponsors. Initial down-time while their programs were being arranged with the host agency ranged from two weeks to, in one case, over two months before a plan of action was finalized and implemented. Two of the interns with state economic development agencies felt that they could look back now and see where, if tighter planning and programming had been done between their sponsor and AIDC at the outset, a six-month internship would have been adequate. Sponsor Impact The AIDC Indian intern sponsors were unanimous as were the interns in their support for the program. All the sponsors were complimentary of their interns, expressing that they showed initiative, were highly motivated and were very responsive to the agency. All of the sponsors except one believed that the interns were receiving a good foundation in economic and industrial development and would be assets to any agency or business hiring them. The sponsors, as did the interns, criticized the lack of planning time prior to the initiation of the program. Had more time for planning been available, a more comprehensive plan of action would have ensued. The sponsors also believed that the program guidelines from AIDC could have been more specific, and therefore more helpful to the sponsor's program- ming responsibilities to the interns. Two of the sponsors suggested that a briefing with AIDC officials and EDA about the program would have been helpful in planning a meaningful program. While all of the sponsors interviewed felt the program was worthwhile and should be continued, half of them were not willing, or able to consider training another intern at present. One said that because of the change in state administration, the intern's program was nearly cut from the state economic agency's budget. Another cited difficulties in appointment of the intern through the state civil service machinery. Most sponsors gave their reasons coupled with budgetary considerations. The state agencies particu- larly had difficulties in obtaining the required finances for sponsoring the intern; the majority of the sponsors interviewed suggested that in the future the intern program should be funded totally by the federal government. V. Role of EDA EDA's role in the AIDC project has been crucial. While AIDC has con- tributed much to the project, the original idea and design and the great bulk of the funds have come from EDA. VI. Conclusions Both the intern and sponsor interviews DA conducted corroborated the fact that the relative benefit, or impact of the intern program on Indian communities and their industrial development efforts is impossible to docu- ment at this point. In the two cases mentioned, efforts are being made to in- volve the trainees more in the economic development of Indian communities, and to bring together the cooperative efforts of state economic development agencies and the Indian communities. However, DA believes the most substantial impact will be on the interns. They have had a unique exposure to the economic and industrial development process of their areas which will be of great help to them in the future. It is likely that some of their new expertise will be of assistance to their reservations although its nature and depth cannot be predicted. If, however, provision can be made for direct use of intern skills on the reservations, it is likely the overall effect would be substantial and the original project objectives achieved. PENN STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES IVVVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ADQDD7m4n4M