East Multnomah County One Stop Career System

1999-2000 ECOS Bi-Annual Workforce System Capacity Survey

January, 2000

History of the East County One Stop Career System (ECOS):

The East County One Stop Career System was initiated by Multnomah County Commissioner Sharron Kelley in May of 1996. Its organizing principal was to develop an environment that would foster a systemic approach to workforce development in East Multnomah County. It was anticipated that all organizations contributing to the employability and quality of the workforce in our region would be included in planning and implementation efforts. Charter organizers included the seven K-12 school districts and community based social service organizations in addition to county government and the following state and federally funded One Stop partners: Employment Office, Vocational Rehabilitation, Springdale Job Corps, AFS - Welfare to Work, the community colleges, and the former JTPA programs administered regionally through worksystems, inc.

ECOS initiated several strategies intended to create a cohesive workforce development system. Those strategies included:

Technology development: Creating the capacity for organizations to work with each other via email and use of the Internet and on-line resources. ECOS assisted with the development of an on-line information and referral system (Oregon Pathways, www.anydoor.org), obtained or purchased the hardware and software capacity to enable smaller organizations access to on-line tools, and conducted staff training on the use of these tools.

Relationship Development: Fostering an environment of trust among and between partner organizations through shared training, agency tours, open houses, and communication channels.

Research, Information and Data sharing: Compiling and sharing demographic and economic data to facilitate reports and resource procurement for ECOS partner agencies. Conducting primary research on workforce issues, trends, and system performance.

One Stop Center/Site Development: In addition to the “virtual” capacity established within the ECOS system, several existing programs have been enhanced to meet the criteria for “walk-in, brick and mortar” One Stop Resource Centers that administer programs mandated by the Workforce Investment Act passed by Congress in August of 1998. ECOS has three operating one stop centers with two more coming on line soon.

ECOS Capacity Survey Background:

Approximately 50 front line staff from 8 partner organizations participated in the initial ECOS capacity survey conducted in 1997. The survey was designed to determine barriers that prevent staff from providing the best possible service to customers and to obtain baseline data on what interagency collaboration and referral activity was in place within the system at that time.

The second bi-annual survey was conducted during the fall and winter of 1999-2000. Over 130 respondents representing 14 organizations participated in the second survey. Several additional organizations were included in the 99-2000 study. The same questions were asked in an effort to measure change in service, trends and system environment. Both surveys were conducted by members of the ECOS Capacity Action Team. Survey responses were compiled and edited by ECOS Coordinator, Joan Pasco.

ECOS intends to continue to gather this data every two years. Survey findings will assist with long range strategic planning, resource allocation decisions and on-going efforts to reduce service gaps in the workforce system.

1999-2000 Survey Findings of Significance:

Notable differences between the two studies:

The majority of respondents in the earlier survey referenced very basic service needs such and food, housing, child care, transportation. The 99-2000 group of respondents tended to reference more complex programs and solutions to service gap needs such as services for specific age groups, recreation center needs, counseling services for targeted populations, etc. There appears to be a better grasp of which services directly impact specific populations as expressed in the responses to this year’s survey.

Technology improvements have vastly changed the way people work and the tools they rely upon.

Client Groups: Respondents were asked: Who do you serve, and how has this changed in the past two years?

Staff tell us their organizations are serving an increasing number of people each year and that those served are “needier”. Many agencies stated that their case loads were growing at about 10% a year and that the time they have to spend with each client is diminishing. Demographic statistics support this trend as census data demonstrate that the percentage of people in poverty in East Multnomah County is increasing and will likely continue to increase over the next decade. All organizations responding to the survey indicated that they are serving more people with no correspondent increase in staff or resources.

There has been an increase in Russian and Asian speaking persons seeking workforce services. Most agencies lack translation and other resources to effectively work with these populations.

Collaboration: Respondents were asked to list which organizations they frequently coordinate services or refer clients to.

System coordination efforts since 1997 have improved the ability to locate appropriate services for customers. Agencies and organizations are now referring to more external entities and respondents expressed that they have better connections with other organizations. Respondents indicated that they were working with and coordinating services with more agencies/organizations that they were in 1997.

Services that are unavailable or in short supply: Respondents were asked to identify services that they are unable to provide or that are currently unavailable.

Respondents again are indicating that child care, adequate transportation (especially in the Columbia Corridor area), low income housing and emergency shelter, are still areas of great need. The need for all emergency services has increased over the past two years. Emergency shelter, cash assistance/emergency funding is almost non existent.

Mental heath and alcohol and drug assessment and follow up services were expressed as areas of need by many respondents and agencies. The mental health assessments and triage currently in use tend to “under report” those that staff believe should qualify. This was an area of need articulated by several agencies and individuals who participated in the survey. One staff member stated that “almost all of our clients have mental health issues, but only about 10% are diagnosed and able to receive state or county funded mental health services”.

The demand for services to non-English speakers continues to increase. The workforce system currently serves only about 50% of those requiring language tutorial and training in order to compete for jobs and access services. The system lacks space, trainers/teachers/tutors and adequate funding to meet current need. This is one of the largest gaps in the workforce system’s ability to fulfill need.

There are few services in our system to serve the underemployed and the working poor. The system cannot provide medical and health care services for families that are working, do not qualify for the Oregon Health Plan, but cannot afford insurance.

Effective job placement and retention services require intensive staff time – much more than the system is able to fund. Resources to follow up on placements are also in short supply. One solution could be use of the Employment Department tracking system.

Staff continue to express frustration at an increasing workload due to mandates from funders without any additional compensation or ability to hire staff to meet this workload. No one ever takes anything away. The system needs to negotiate what it can and cannot take on in terms of additional workload. Frustration with frequent change in contract policy was also high. Contracts need to be at least 18 months in duration or clients and programs suffer. Planning is difficult when funders announce that contracts are renewable for two or three years, then change their minds and go back to an annual release of RFP’s. This situation was bad in 1997 and seems to have gotten no better in 1999. Programs funded through these contracts are asking for system help to create a more stable process that will allow for planning and program stability.

Services that have improved since 1997:

Survey responsdents expressed approval of resources available on line. Connections to employers and jobs have improved and are easier to locate on-line than in 1997. Access to information and referrals has also improved, especially since Multnomah County programs were added to Oregon Pathways.

People seeking services are encountering fewer barriers to access (with a few exceptions). Processes have been streamlined with more services available to more people regardless of eligibility. The mandate to provide universal access in the one stop resource centers has made core services available, at those sites, to all persons over 16 years of age.

Systemic Responses that would improve conditions: Respondents were asked what their own agencies or others within the system could do to eliminate barriers to service.

Organizations feel overwhelmed and overloaded. Staff burn-out is a serious fear. This is an issue the system should address. When state and federal mandates create new tasks, old tasks need to be evaluated to determine what can go away. The system cannot continue to add new people, additional work, new evaluation procedures, etc., without additional resources or workload reduction. Realistic expectations about what can be accomplished with existing resources need to be determined. The system should be able to negotiate what it can and cannot realistically be expected to do. Several organizations also expressed frustration with the constant change and turmoil driven by bureaucracies over which they have no control or influence.

From a management and systems perspective, the system would be improved if mental health services were administered under the same umbrella as county services such as Aging and Disability.

Use a systems approach to child care issues. As an example, apply for a consortium grant through ECOS to create a fund to pay for the first year of child care after employment. Engage the services of volunteers, senior citizens, high school students to augment resources available to provide reliable and affordable child care.

Figure out a way to increase one-on-one support services to the newly hired individual. Peer counselor program, mentors, etc.

Create a multi-agency intake/triage team to do assessments and match clients to appropriate services. Educational entities would like to have their students come into class “ready to learn”. Valuable class time is being wasted when there is a wide variance of skills and ability and personal issues within the class. Those not ready to learn also tend to be the ones who fail to complete, fail to attend/show up etc. If the system could spend pre-training time on these applicants in a similar way that it develops people to be job ready, the classroom experience would be enhanced, less time would be wasted, and the system would be strengthened.

Engage more volunteers in the system and find the resources to coordinate and train them. Child care, translators, interpreters, parent training, etc.