Resources for Understanding Federal Programs

U.S. Department of Education. Program Memorandum FY 2010-12. Use of Funds Provided Under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) for Integrated Education and Training. (June 2010)

This guidance from the DOE Office of Vocational Education (OVAE) provides the Department's interpretation of statutory provisions in the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) that can be used to support the development of career pathway models.

Funding Career Pathways and Career Pathway Bridges: A Federal Policy Toolkit for States. CLASP (2010)

This toolkit is designed to help interagency state teams identify and use federal resources to support career pathway models. Using the Funding Options Worksheet and the ten Federal Program Summaries, state teams can identify and facilitate "braiding" of federal resources to design and develop career pathways and bridges into them for adults and out-of-school youth. The toolkit also will help state teams identify state policy barriers to using federal resources for career pathways and bridges and, ideally, address them.

U.S. Department of Education Dear Colleague Letter GEN-09-05.

This letter provides guidance to Financial Aid Administrators on their use of professional judgment in recalculating financial aid for dislocated workers. (May 2009)

U.S. Department of Labor Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 21-08.

This letter is to encourage states to broaden their definition of approved training for Unemployment Insurance (UI) beneficiaries, to notify them of their potential eligibility for Pell Grants and other student aid, and to help individuals apply for Pell Grants through One-Stop Career Centers. (May 2009)

The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. The National Skills Coalition.

This guide summarizes key features of the most recent reauthorization of federally funded career and technical education programs.

Education and Training for TANF Recipients. Elizabeth Lower-Basch. Center for Law and Social Policy (2008).

This brief explains how the final rules implementing changes to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program affect recipients’ access to education and training.

Congress Expands Student Aid and Supports Innovation in Student Success, Basic Skills and Workforce Partnerships. Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield and Julie Strawn. Center for Law and Social Policy (2008).

This brief describes changes in the recent reauthorization of the Higher Education Act that affect postsecondary access and success for nontraditional students.

Using the Workforce Investment Act to Develop and Foster Innovative State Workforce Policies and Programs. David Fischer. Working Poor Families Project (2008).

This policy brief explains the use of state discretionary funds under the Workforce Investment Act to support career pathways and other innovative initiatives.

Adult Basic Education to Community College Transitions Symposium: Proceedings Report.
United States Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education (2007).

This publication summarizes the proceedings of a symposium on Adult Basic Education to Community College Transitions held in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 14, 2006.  More than a dozen experts on adult and postsecondary education discussed how to improve transitions from secondary education to postsecondary education and employment.