Strategies

Support acquisition of job-specific skills through education, certification programs, or on-the-job training, often with personal development resources and other supports

Prohibit criminal history questions on job applications and postpone background checks

Match disadvantaged or at-risk youth with volunteer mentors in school or community settings

Provide basic skills (e.g., reading, math, writing, English language, or soft skills) and industry-specific training with other supports; also called occupationally contextualized basic education programs

Expand broadband availability and adoption in unserved and underserved areas through initiatives that address infrastructure and cost barriers

Provide occupation-specific training for low-skilled individuals in high-growth industries, with education and supports, usually with stackable credentials and work experience opportunities

Build assets through child development accounts (CDAs) with contributions from a sponsoring organization, such as government agencies or nonprofits, and family, friends; also called children’s savings accounts (CSAs)

Combine academic, mental and physical health, and social service resources in schools for students and families via partnerships with community organizations; also called community learning centers

Provide child care, parent education, physical health and mental health services, and other family supports to pregnant women and parents with low incomes and children aged 0 to 3

Provide confidential worksite-based counseling and referrals to employees to address personal and workplace challenges

Offer employees control over an aspect of their schedule through arrangements such as flex time, flex hours, compressed work weeks, or self-scheduled shift work

Provide pregnant and parenting teens with services such as education, vocational training, case management, health care, child care, and transportation assistance to support high school completion

Provided high quality preschool with home visiting to African-American children from families with low incomes with an emphasis on active learning in Ypsilanti, Michigan

Offer flexible working arrangements, allowing the duties of a single full-time position to be covered by two part-time employees

Organize workers to bargain collectively for improved wages, benefits, and working conditions

Delay school start times for middle and high schools to better align with adolescent sleep-wake cycles; often until after 8:30 or 9:00 a.m.

Provide employees with child care options at work; care may be provided free of charge, partially subsidized as part of an employee benefit package, or offered at market rates

Provide employees with paid time off for circumstances such as a recent birth or adoption, a parent or spouse with a serious medical condition, or a sick child

Require employers in an affected jurisdiction to provide paid time off for employees to use when ill or injured

Support home visits that teach parents about early childhood development and effective parenting strategies, with child development screenings, parental meetings, and links to community resources

Support quality improvement efforts in early child care and preschool via financial incentives, standards, processes to monitor standards and ensure compliance, etc.

Provide center-based programs that support cognitive and social-emotional growth among children who are not old enough to enter formal schooling

Provide industry-focused education and job training based on the needs of regional employers within specific sectors

Provide short-term employment opportunities for youth, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds

Allow employees to work outside a central office, using technology to interact with others inside and outside the organization; also called remote work, telework, or flexible working arrangements

Establish time-limited, subsidized, paid jobs to help individuals with barriers to employment transition to unsubsidized employment

Provide participating high school students with professional opportunities that combine academic and on-the-job training or mentorship