Narrative: III. a. 2. G.

Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS)

The Department of Workforce Solutions, in partnership with the four local boards are committed to leveraging federal, state and local investments to support workforce development and training programs. The following are just a few examples of some programs leveraged statewide by NMDWS and the local workforce development boards for resources:

• New Mexico Lottery Scholarship will pay a portion of tuition (up to an undergraduate degree) for students who meet eligibility. However the program is limited to youth students who have completed a high school at a public or accredited NM high school and students must enroll full-time and earn 15 credit hours per semester.
• Local Workforce Development Boards leverage federal funding such as FAFSA, work-study and other financial aid to support post-secondary training. Direct support to complete scholarship applications, as well as research/review of scholarships and awards available from non-profit agencies and other organizations is provided. Currently, the Central Workforce Development Board has a valuable working partnership with Mission Graduate specializing in college admissions and preparation for “returner” and older students.
• Engagement with youth leadership organizations such as NMCAN, Boys and Girls Club of New Mexico, Youth Development, Inc., Future Focused Education and Mission Graduate, who can provide support and additional resources to address, mentorship and civic engagement and positive youth leadership.
• Engagement with leadership organizations such as NM Municipal League, The Economic Forum, NM Technology Council, Hispano Chamber of Commerce and local chambers, who are available to leverage training and technical assistance for industry leaders, provide guidance on sector strategy approaches, and local governance strategies to improve regional planning and program implementation.
• Coordination with AmeriCorps program to leverage options for community service as a step toward career pathway development for high risk youth. Options currently include natural disaster planning, financial literacy, addressing housing opportunities for low income individuals, TEACH for America, environmental stewardship, health future education and veteran and military family services.

Title II – Adult Education and Family Literacy Program

Adult Education is committed to supporting the goals and overarching strategies presented in this Plan.  It is committed to service excellence within its scope of activities and to the identification of increasingly effective ways to align State and partner efforts to serve individuals with significant barriers to employment, especially individuals with low literacy levels.  This includes collaborating with WIOA core programs and partner programs included in the Combined State Plan, as well as outside partners in Education and Industry, Health and Human Services, Economic Development, and beyond.  Because of its focus as an education program that fundamentally supports workforce development, Adult Education is oriented more directly toward continuously improving the coordination, alignment, and provision of services to individuals, but excellent service in this domain necessarily involves the coordination, alignment, and provision of services to employers.  And it certainly involves close partner engagement with New Mexico's educational institutions, primarily with its institutions of higher education, but also with other eligible training providers and with the Public Education Department and community schools.

Adult Education services and strategies leverage resources and enhance access to postsecondary education and training programs.

As outlined in item (D), pursuing a Pathways to Prosperity cross-agency partnership with Jobs for the Future is a prime illustration Adult Education’s commitment to strategically leverage resources in the manner described above.  Other examples at the State agency level include collaborations with the U.S. Department of Education/OCTAE and its official partners (i.e. LINCS and the American Institutes for Research) to provide free or low-cost (but high quality) professional development and technical assistance, or collaborating with national organizations and coalitions like the National Association of State Directors of Adult Education (NASDAE), the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE), and the National Career Pathways Network (NCPN)  to strengthen and support our common mission-driven efforts.  Likewise, the State office has mutually supportive alliances with the Mountain Plains regional and New Mexico local Adult Education Associations, as well as with organizations like United Way of Central New Mexico and its “Mission:  Graduate” and “Mission:  Families” Initiatives.  Organizations like the New Mexico Coalition for Literacy and local community-based literacy providers help leverage resources and work hard to support the effort to address the crippling effects of low literacy in our state.  Many adults in New Mexico and nationwide are simply not ready for postsecondary education and training, and it takes significant resources and a dedicated network of individuals, both paid and volunteer, to address the barrier of low literacy and help people move themselves further along the literacy path and closer to postsecondary and career advancement readiness.

Some of the key ways NMHED and the Adult Education Division work with postsecondary education institutions to leverage resources and increase education and training access were highlighted in section (E).  The Adult Education Division works with core WIOA partners to support co-enrollment, pooling available resources to support student/client success.    As outlined in the Program-Specific Requirements for Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Programs (Appendix V) in the section addressing State Leadership, one of the Division’s highest priorities is to collaborate with DWS and other core WIOA partners to build on the Common Unique Identifier project and work toward the creation of interoperable data infrastructure and a streamlined referral and tracking system to support such efforts.  Other top State Leadership priorities include providing and participating in cross-agency training and professional development; working collaboratively to identify and reduce barriers to access, especially as they related to system barriers; and developing effective outreach and messaging to increase community support for/engagement with Adult Education and our core WIOA partners.

At the local programmatic level, superb examples of strategic efforts to leverage resources abound.    First, local provider programs are strongly encouraged to diversify funding streams beyond their AEFLA grants, and many actively pursue and leverage these additional resources to support program activities.  Some programs have large foundation or private industry grants (e.g. from Kellogg and Dollar General); others solicit local organization donations and engage in fundraising activities. Some funding comes in the form of large grants from federal agencies from which may benefit many Adult Education programs at once, such as a Second Chance Act grant or the DOL TAACCCCT grant mentioned in (E).  Most local provider programs are community colleges and branch campuses, so in addition to the AEFLA grant from NMHED to support Adult Education activities, these programs benefit from institutionally-leveraged resources like designated classroom space, IT support, additional academic support, counseling, advising, assistance with learning and other disabilities, and targeted institutional scholarships.  Most local providers have a network of relationships and formal partnerships with local community-based organizations, city and county entities, and regional collaborations like Bridges of Southern New Mexico. 

As discussed in many other sections, all local Adult Education programs partner with their local One Stops and regional workforce development boards to leverage resources; degree varies by region and program.   Many local providers partner with programs like NM Works and State-contracted providers like SER Jobs for Progress to help students secure needed wrap-around supports like childcare and transportation assistance, as well as cash support.  Providers partner with local libraries, with Chambers of Commerce, with tribal entities, and with trade associations.  One local provider (Albuquerque Adult Learning Center) recently joined up with Associated Builders and Contractors of New Mexico to develop an integrated education and training program designed to allow member company employees and others begin registered apprenticeship training programs they would have previously been blocked from, no matter how eager or otherwise qualified, because they didn’t have a high school credential.  The integrated education and training model allows participants to work on both aspects of their education and training simultaneously, rather than sequentially, a process which both speeds up progress toward education and training goals and increases the likelihood of program retention and success. 

Another local provider program (Catholic Charities) has a formal partnership with the New Mexico Roofing Contractors Association to help their apprentices earn their high school equivalency credential and progress to journeyman status.  This same program actually has international partners; it partners with the Mexican consulate to allow students to finish a Mexican diploma (K-8) to help prepare them for Adult Education classes.  In Farmington, one local program provider (San Juan College) has spearheaded efforts to set up co-location of WIOA partners on campus; DWS representatives will be in this new building location by the end of March.  Another (Eastern New Mexico University, Ruidoso) has created a Student Success Emporium on site to focus Adult Education, postsecondary, and WIOA Title 1 services squarely on jointly contributing to Adult Education student success.  And the work of one local provider program (UNM Taos) has literally influenced this branch campus to modify its organizational structure to function in a more holistic, integrated fashion.  Adult Education leadership from the Taos Education and Career Center have taken innovation to the next level via the creation of the HIVE project, which recently earned itself a $100,000 grant in the national Minds that Move Us contest, sponsored by the ECMC Foundation and the Institute for Educational Leadership.   The contest was designed to reward innovative projects nationwide that integrate high quality education and training, and to energize others to follow suit.  “HIVE” stands for the Hub of Internet-Based Vocations and Education, and it is a partnership of UNM-Taos, local business professionals and economic development organizations who aim to build community wealth by helping Taos residents acquire internet –based jobs or build a locally-based business online.  HIVE’s tagline “Live Local…Work Global” clearly communicates the essence of the project’s vision.  In all these ways and more, local Adult Education program providers are working hard to leverage resources at the federal, state, and local levels to increase access to education and training opportunities for all New Mexicans.  Additional examples of Adult Education strategy and alignment efforts will be addressed in subsequent sections (H)-(I).

Title IV - Vocational Rehabilitation

To better leverage resources, DVR will coordinate with the Higher Education Department (HED) to develop a plan toward maximizing use of that program’s remedial training for participants pursuing secondary education.

Commission for the Blind

Pursuant to 34 CFR 361.48(b)(4), the Commission will engage in “referral and other services necessary to assist applicants and eligible individuals to secure needed services from other agencies, including other components of the statewide workforce development system,” and to advise those individuals about the client assistance program. The Commission will also ensure that recipients of vocational rehabilitation services are able to access comparable services and benefits as required by 34 CFR 361.53 and as defined by 34 CFR 361.5(c)(10). In addition, pursuant to 34 CFR 361.48(b)(6), no training or training services in an institution of higher education  may be paid for with funds under this part unless “maximum efforts have been made” by the Commission and the individual to “secure grant assistance in whole or in part from other sources to pay for that training.” The goal is to secure the funding and resources necessary for persons who are blind or visually impaired to seek and obtain opportunities to participate in “work-based learning experiences, apprenticeship, and internship programs in health, aerospace and STEM, intelligent manufacturing, sustainable and value-added agriculture, sustainable and green industries, film and digital media, tourism and recreation, information technology and cyber security, education, and international trade.” The Commission for the Blind and the Commission for the Blind State Rehabilitation Council have jointly developed and adopted Goals and Priorities that will leverage other federal, State, and local investments, including Goals and Priorities “e” and “q,” which state:   

e. Enhance the number and quality of employment outcomes by partnering and working with community colleges and One-Stop centers to more effectively utilize services available through the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, Adult, Dislocated Worker, Youth, and Wagner-Peyser programs.

q. Enhance the number and quality of employment outcomes for consumers by providing enhanced benefits counseling and guidance to reduce concerns related to the loss or reduction of benefits.

COMBINED PARTNERS PROGRAMS

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF)

NMDWS and WIOA partners will meet on a monthly basis to discuss the new enhanced programs that are being provided by the colleges and universities. This will allow the WIOA partners to communicate this to the loca1 workforce boards to work with the educational partners to be able to enhance the individuals’ education to better position them to be jab ready.

Jobs for Veteran State Grants Program (JVSG)

Increase Education Access.  NM Dept. of Veteran Services facilitates the veteran-specific scholarships, in-State tuition, Apprenticeship and On-the-Job Training applications. Website at http://www.nmdvs.org/state-benefits/.

Veterans can apply to VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program for education/training benefits online at https://www.benefits.va.gov/vocrehab/.

Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)

The SCSEP is collaborating with the Peer-Support Worker program to train older individuals with stabilized behavioral health issues to provide support and assistance to others experiencing the same issues. This program is funded through SAMHSA. Other SCSEP participants, trained as Community Health Workers will assist in completing wellness checks on seniors when fire wood is delivered by the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps. Also, New Mexico community colleges provide low cost tuition to individuals over 65 years old, this includes many SCSEP participants, who take advantage of this benefit.