APHSA Annual Report 2017

employers look for and need regarding soft and technical skills when assessing candidates. This information was beneficial to members and partners as it provided them with suggestions on how to prepare and train potential employees for new careers. Ø Ø 2017 Affinity Group Education: NAPIPM in Cincinnati and the joint AASD/NASTA Conference in Memphis – attracted hundreds of participants from across the country. Both conferences highlighted innovative initiatives and proven programs in states and localities. State and local agency program experts and industry thought leaders shared lessons learned, best practices and ideas for successful program implementation. Federal partner engagement was also a top priority with representatives from FNS, ACF, GAO and others providing updates on Federal legislative and regulatory issues and listening to attendee feedback and suggestions. Ø Ø Federal Partner Engagement: AASD and NAPIPM leadership hold bi-monthly meetings with senior FNS staff to discuss a variety of topics including general SNAP policy, regulations and guidance, SNAP Employment and Training and SNAP QC. This enables APHSA membership to stay abreast of what is happening at the federal level and discuss the potential effects of policy, rules and regulations on state and local agencies. THE IMPORTANCE OF FRAMING How we speak about our work matters. We should speak strategically and artfully, creating a degree of cognitive dissonance that gets people to think differently about something that they have believed in for a long time. APHSA continues to interject framing science into our work, helping to create positive associations with health and human services and the services our members deliver every day.

MEMBER SUCCESS FROM THE COLLABORATIVE TO THE INTEGRATIVE BUSINESS MODEL: SETTING THE STAGE FOR TRANSITION TO THE GENERATIVE BUSINESS MODEL The enactment of the WIOA transformed the public workforce system to reflect the realities of the twenty-first-century economy and emphasize opportunities for public assistance recipients to gain the skills and supports necessary to attain sustainable, gainful employment. An essential part of the WIOA vision is a comprehensive, integrated and streamlined system for serving job-seekers, workers and employers. However, this requires a high level of coordination and alignment of the workforce, education and human services systems, which is much easier said than done. Massachusetts is one state that has made considerable strides in this area. Following the successful development of its state WIOA combined plan including TANF and SNAP Employment at Training, in 2017, the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) partnered with the Department of Career Services to provide direct funding for infrastructure and shared costs at its One-Stop Career Centers. The purpose/expected outcomes for 2017 and beyond include increased partnership between DTA and the One-Stop Career Centers on behalf of TANF and SNAP clients; joint articulation of career pathway models for low- income individuals, including DTA clients; increased DTA client engagement and participation at the Career Centers via prioritization of TANF/SNAP recipients; and increased DTA client job placement and retention. Like Massachusetts, Washington State also developed a state WIOA combined plan including TANF and Basic Food Employment and Training (BFET) in 2016. In 2017, Washington embarked on a unique initiative to explore the potential for even greater alignment of the human services and workforce development systems. Utilizing WIOA discretionary funds, Washington is investigating how two generation and Neuroscience, Epigenetics, ACE’s and Resilience (NEAR-science) informed approaches, which are already being implemented in its TANF and BFET programs, can be applied to its workforce development efforts and the impacts on outcomes.

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