Workforce Development and the Fed: A brief introduction
“The Bottom Line of Disabilities: Investing in Social Change”
Salt Lake City, UTApril 1, 2016
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1977: Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) aims to improve credit access to low and moderate income communities
1981: Federal Reserve Banks instructed to appoint Community Affairs Officers to act as community liaisons
1993: Mission statement – Support Fed’s economic growth objectives by promoting community development activities and fair access to credit
2012: Strategic plan emphasizes promoting economic growth and financial stability for LMI communities by convening, sharing research, and identifying emerging issues
A Brief History of Community Economic Development in the Federal Reserve: Recap
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Workforce Development and the Pushmi-PullyuModel of Community Economic Development
Act as community liaisons… promoting economic growth and financial stability for LMI communities byconvening…
… sharing research, and identifying emerging issues
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Our Workforce Development Effort in Action:
2014:Obtained survey responses from roughly 200 workforce development service providers with activity in about 400 locations.
Only 1 in 3 providers had a working relationship with even ONE employer!
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Our Reaction (After We Got Up Off the Floor):
The Metro Atlanta eXchange (MAX) for Workforce Solutions exists to strengthen connections and promote information sharing among workforce development (WFD) stakeholders of Metro Atlanta—employers, trainers/educators, funders, and policy makers.
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Lessons Learned From MAX Project, Apropos this Conference:
• Systems for training workers generally are often separate from systems aimed at assisting and training workers with disabilities
• Employers may overlook untapped talent pools unless efforts are integrated with the larger discussion and efforts around community human capital and workforce development needs