Projects

Helping Strengthening Working Families Initiative (SWFI) Grantees Succeed

2017-2021

Project Overview

Objective

To help parents gain the training and education needed to increase their skills to obtain or advance in jobs in high-growth or in-demand H-1B industries, Mathematica and our partner provided grantee technical assistance.

Project Motivation

Strengthening Working Families Initiative (SWFI) grantees were public-private partnerships that collaborated to address parents’ training and supportive service needs, while creating sustainable local changes that helped families navigate the workforce and childcare systems simultaneously. Mathematica’s SWFI technical assistance team supported grantees in these ambitious efforts.

Partners in Progress

Urban Institute

Prepared For

U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration

We worked with 13 nonprofit organizations, local workforce development boards, institutions of higher learning, and municipalities that operated SWFI programs to connect participants’ training and education with child care. The 13 SWFI grantees provided services in 12 states across the continental United States. 

Strengthening Working Families Initiative

SWFI grantees were public-private partnerships that collaborated to address parents’ training and supportive service needs, while creating sustainable local changes that helped families navigate the workforce and childcare systems simultaneously. The Mathematica team provided ongoing technical assistance (TA) to grantees as they operated their SWFI programs.

The TA aimed to increase grantees’ capacity to assess challenges and needs, and capitalize on opportunities to align workforce and child care systems; identify creative, workable strategies for systems change and for engaging and serving families; and assist grantees to implement the strategies and monitor success. Mathematica’s LI² (Learn, Innovate, Improve) framework informed the SWFI TA team’s work. The TA team provided individualized coaching to each grantee; organized numerous convenings, webinars, office hours, and peer sharing sessions; and developed and curated dozens of written resources including tip sheets, Bright Ideas briefs, promising practices, and blog posts. Please contact info@mathematica-mpr.com for further information.

Related Staff

Grace Roemer

Grace Roemer

Principal Researcher

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Elizabeth Brown

Elizabeth Brown

Senior Researcher

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Jessica Harding

Jessica Harding

Senior Researcher

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Kara Conroy

Kara Conroy

Senior Researcher

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Jeanette Holdbrook

Jeanette Holdbrook

Senior Managing Consultant

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Nickie Fung

Nickie Fung

Researcher

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