October 24, 1996

TO:

Employment Support Oversight Committee

FROM:

Mike Curran

Alette Lundeberg
Raul Colunga
SUBJECT:

SANTA CLARA COUNTY EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT INITIATIVE WORK
FORCE PREPARATION TASK FORCE REPORT

BACKGROUND:

The goal of Santa Clara County’s Employment Support Initiative is to develop a policy agenda
that promotes self-sufficiency and employment for every family. The initiative was designed to
create a new paradigm for community participation and collaboration. It represents a change in
philosophy about how to address social issues and recognizes the interdependency of social,
political and economic systems. It has established new partnerships and dialogues and expanded
ownership of the problems, issues, and solutions associated with welfare reform. With

employment as the center of welfare reform, the efforts of the Work Force Preparation Task
Force are critical to the success of the Employment Support Initiative.

The Work Force Preparation Task Force was charged with developing policy recommendations
for education, training and employment service providers that will improve welfare recipients
and low income working families’ access to employment. Members of the task force were

recruited largely from domains outside of county government, not only for their expertise in the
field of employment and training, but because they reflect the community delivery system that
must rise to the challenge of increased service levels to the families who will be affected by
welfare reform. A listing of task force members is attached to this report.
OUTCOMES:

The guiding principles and critical success factors identified by the task force in the attached
report express a philosophy to sustain our efforts to put people to work. The task force’s efforts

have resulted in an expanded vision and mission for work force preparation systems. Finally, we
identified important strategies necessary for successful welfare-to-employment systems.
The task force’s report represents a new understanding of the interrelatedness and
interdependency of not only work force preparation systems, but of other social and economic

systems in the community. By sharing the challenge to respond to welfare reform and accepting
the assignment to develop this report, we have expanded ownership of the issues and broadened
the commitment to finding solutions to putting welfare recipients to work.

AL1023.wpd

SANTA CLARA COUNTY
EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT INITIATIVE

WORK FORCE
PREPARATION

TASK FORCE REPORT

October 24, 1996

Santa Clara County
Employment Support Initiative
Work Force Preparation

PREAMBLE:
The world is changing, the economy is changing, and the welfare system is
changing from one where children are supported by public resources to one where
public resources build family capacity, through employment, to support children.
Therefore it is recognized that the systems and cultures of the institutions which

serve welfare families including social services, education, labor and community
organizations must become employment focused. It is also recognized that to
successfully meet the challenges of the changing environment, the partners within
the work force preparation system must be committed to change and collaboration
in accordance with the following Guiding Principles.

Guiding Principles;
1*

There is a direct relationship among work force preparation, economic
vitality and quality of life for all people in the community.

2*

The leadership and commitment of business, education, labor,
community and government are critical to the success of work force
preparation.

3*

Everybody is potentially employable.

4*

The entire system needs to recognize and address the diverse needs of

the whole client base, from the “hard to serve” to the working poor; it
Page 1

is our collective responsibility to provide access to the full range of
services.

5*

The new work force preparation system should focus on access to

services and wages that enable families to rise above the poverty level
in our community.

6*

Work force preparation systems and strategies must be outcome

oriented, driven by the demands of the local economy and cognizant of
the diverse needs of employers and clients, and rewarded accordingly.
7*

The work force preparation system must also support continuous
employment recognizing the need for transition services, career
stabilization, retention, and advancement.

8*

The new work force preparation system must be capable of
capitalizing on areas in which the economy is growing.

Page 2

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS:
To develop a successful welfare-to-employment system, policy makers shall
recognize and foster, facilitate and be conducive to the following factors
critical to the success of the system.
1.

HOPE that over the long term our vision is achievable.

2.

Social Services Agency’s commitment and willingness to change.

3.

Community and education systems’ commitment and willingness to
work as a team to achieve the welfare-to-work vision.

4.

5.

Training to prepare clients for the 21st Century.

Connectivity to training, education,job placement and community
resources that work.

6.

Stopgap “triage” resources and short-term strategies to meet immediate
critical needs.

7.

Responsiveness to changes in the local economy.

8.

Adequacy of employment opportunities.

Page 3

STRATEGIES
Strategies for successful welfare-to-employment systems are based on the
factors identified as critical to the success of the systems. The following
strategies have been correlated to one or more of the identified critical

success factors. These are but some of the strategies that can be utilized.
What separates these from strategies to be solicited from policy boards is that
they are within the County’s domain.
1.

Promote and support community efforts that act as a safety net for
individuals ineligible for government benefits which would include the

provision ofjob training, ESL, citizenship training, medical, housing
and emergency services.
Critical Success Factor: 6

2.

Working with employers and established employer focus groups,
obtain ongoing employer input to insure balance between work force
supply and demand centering on what the employers value.
Critical Success Factor: 7,8

3.

Build a broad based collaboration to promote and support the Guiding
Principles.
Critical Success Factor: 3

4.

Allocate resources available to provide adult basic
education/remediation and/or English-as-a-Second Language(ESL)
within the context of vocational skills training.
Critical Success Factor: 4, 5

5.

Foster the commitment from private industry to promote and facilitate

life long learning for their workers including technical upgrading and
integrated English-as-a-Second Language and basic skills training.
Critical Success Factor. 4, 5, 7

Page 4

6.

Expand work experience opportunities that lead to employment.
Critical Success Factor: 4,5

7.

Develop client-oriented individual plans based on family resources and
circumstances that include strategies for upward mobility with
resources targeted to stop the back and forth slide into welfare by the
working poor based on targeted the family income to be above the
federal poverty level.
Critical Success Factor: 2,5

8.

Address child care as a critical issue in the transition from welfare to

work and long-term self-sufficiency by increasing access to child care
resources.

Critical Success Factor: 3, 5
9.

Employ strategies which are outcome oriented, targeted to employers
and focus on solutions.

Critical Success Factor: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7
10.

Promote flexible education and training programs and strategies with
essential elements such as open-entry/open-exit opportunities, short
term certificate programs, hands-on training, flexible scheduling
(including weekends), and career preparation offering upward mobility
opportunities.
Critical Success Factor: 3,4, 5

11.

Promote collaboration which will increase the financial resources and

capacity of community-based organizations to provide training which
is always state of the art and meets the changing technical
requirements of the employer community.
Critical Success Factor: 3, 5, 7

Page 5

12.

Include the following elements in the client/family work force
preparation plan; self-sufficiency, upward mobility, child care,
education and training, housing, medical coverage, and transportation.
Critical Success Factor: 2, 3, 4,5

13.

Establish a task force representative of employers, government,
educational systems, labor, employment and training organizations,
clients and the community at large to develop new and/or expand
existing models for work force preparation.
Critical Success Factor: 2, 3, 4,7

NEXT STEPS
It is recommended that the Oversight Committee:
1.

Adopt the above-referenced Guiding Principles, Critical Success Factors
and Strategies.

2.

Support the presentation of this report to other decision-making boards
within the work force preparation community to solicit their support to
identify strategies they will employ to contribute to the desired outcomes,
and to further a broad-based community commitment to this employment
support initiative.

Page 6

Workforce Preparation Taskforce
Mr. Richard Hobbs, Program Director

Ms. Jane Decker, Director

S.C. Co. Catholic Charities

Office of Strategic Planning
70 W. Redding Street, 11th Floor

2625 Zanker Road, Suite 201
San Jose, CA 95134
Phone: (408) 944-0691 x 274
Fax: (408)944-0347

San Jose, CA 95110

Phone: (408)299-4313
Fax: (408)295-1613

Ms. Amy Dean, Bus. Mgr./Exec. Director*

Ms. Betty Seimer, Executive Director

AFL-CIO Labor Council

Second Start
5677 Judith Street

2102 Almaden Road,#100
San Jose, CA 95125

Phone: (408)266-3790
Fax: (408)266-2653

San Jose, CA 95123

Phone: (408) 371-5881
Fax: (408) 371-0861

Mr. Bob Brownstein, Director*

Mr. Bob Johnston, Director

City of S.J., Public Policy/Budget

Center for Employment Training

801 N. First Street

701 Vine Street

San Jose, CA95110

San Jose, CA 95110

Phone: (408)277-5975
Fax: (408) 277-3755

Phone: (408) 287-7924
Fax: (408)294-7849

Ms. Rose Tseng, Chancellor
West Valley Mission College

Ms. Jane Baker, Committee Chair

14000 Fruitvale Avenue

SJTCC/Pohcy Committee
1464 Woodberry Avenue

Saratoga, CA 95070-5678
Phone: (408)741-2011
Fax: (408)867-8273

San Mateo, CA 94403
Phone: (415) 345-2128
Fax: (415)286-9724

Ms. Rose Amador, Executive Director

Ms. Esther Medina, Executive Director*

Center for Training and Careers
1600 Las Plumas Avenue

MACSA
130 N. Jackson Avenue

San Jose, CA 95133
Phone: (408)251-3165
Fax: (408)251-4978

Phone: (408)928-1122
Fax: (408) 928-2897

Mr. Ron Gurney, Area Administrator
EDD

San Jose, CA95116

Mr. Tommy Fulcher, Executive Director*
Economic and Social Opportunities

363 Civic Drive

1445-1447 Oakland Road

Pleasant Hills, Ca 94523
Phone: (510)602-0833
Fax: (510)602-0844

San Jose, CA 95112

Phone: (408) 971-0888
Fax: (408)971-2897

Ms. Celia Larson, Principal

Ms. Nancy Arnold, Vice-Principal

MAEP
1149 E. Julian Street

MAEP

760 Hillsdale Avenue

San Jose, CA 95116

San Jose, CA 95136

Phone: (408)947-2318
Fax: (408)297-9475

Phone: (408) 723-6455
Fax: (408)723-6449

* These individuals were invited and did not attend.

Mr. Charlie Harris, Committee Chair
SJTCC/Plng Cmte/Liaison to SVPIC

Ms. Alette Lundeberg, GAIN Manager
SSA/GAIN

1745 Comstock Lane

591 N. King Road

San Jose, CA 95124

San Jose, CA 95131

Phone: (408)264-5257

Phone: (408) 928-3598
Fax: (408)927-3501

Fax:

Mr. Mike Curran, Executive Director

Ms. Connie Martinez, Executive Director

NOVA

Economic Development Team Joint Venture

505 W. Olive Avenue., Suite 550
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Phone: (408)730-7232
Fax: (408) 730-7643

99 Almaden Blvd., Suite 620
San Jose, CA 95113
Phone: (408)271-7213
Fax: (408)271-7214

Mr. Ravi Ravindran, Emplymt. Prgrm. Mgr.
Silicon Valley Private Industry Council
1885 Lundy Ave., Suite 203

Dist. Lodge 93,lAM&AW
1736 Quimby Road

San Jose, CA 95131-1834
Phone: (408)953-1522
Fax: (408)433-9522

San Jose, CA 95122
Phone: (408)723-4900
Fax: (408)448-4618

Mr. Sam Saiu, SVPIC Member

Ms. Meri Maben, Coordinator

Mr. Paul Johnston, Consultant

Eastside Adult Education
625 Educational Park Drive

Social Services Agency
1725 Technology Drive

San Jose, CA 95133
Phone: (408)923-2306
Fax: (408)923-4587

San Jose, CA 95110
Phone: (408)441-5704
Fax: (408)441-7237

Ms. Karen Thaxton

Mr. Poncho Guevarra
AFL-CIO Labor Council
2102 Almaden Road #100

West Valley Mission College
14000 Fruitvale Avenue

Saratoga, CA 95070-5678
Phone: (408)741-2011
Fax: (408)867-8273

San Jose, CA 95125
Phone: (408)266-3790
Fax: (408) 266-2653

Mr. Hector Garza, SSPM

Mr. Manuel Ares, Director

Social Services Agency
1725 Technology Drive

SSA/Income Maintenance

San Jose, CA 95110
Phone: (408)441-5825

San Jose, CA95110
Phone: (408)441-5676

Fax: (408)441-7237

Fax: (408)441-7237

Ms. Linda Ramus, Management Analyst
Social Services Agency
1725 Technology Drive

IBM
7891 Fiesta Lane

San Jose, CA 95110
Phone: (408)441-5613
Fax: (408)441-7237

Phone: (408)463-3471
Fax: (408)463-2758

1725 Technology Drive

Mr. Michael Shum, SVPIC Member

Cupertino, CA 95014