• Because the City's workforce development system lacks coordination, City departments implement workforce development programs on their own initiative, resulting in duplication of services to some communities and significant gaps in services to others. Overall, City programs do not show that individuals receiving services are eventually placed into jobs leading to financial self-sufficiency.

• The One-Stop Centers primarily provide basic job services, included self-directed job searches, and do not directly place many individuals into jobs. In FY 2006-2007, the three One-Stop Centers reported 13,157 clients receiving a range of services from casual contact to self-directed job searches and more intensive staff-assisted job services. Of these 13,157 clients, including walk-in clients, CalWORKS and Personally Assisted Employment Services referrals, and referrals from community-based organizations and other programs, 2,054 clients found jobs, or 15.6 percent. According to the June 2007 Business Services Monthly Report, 4,273 of these clients received more intensive services. Only approximately one-third of the One-Stop Centers' clients who received more intensive job services were placed into jobs that paid 125 percent of the San Francisco minimum wage, short of the targeted goal of 45 percent.

• Nor do Community-based organizations, which make up $15.3 million of the FY 2006-2007 funding of $29.1 million, place many individuals into jobs. In a review of 32 community-based organization contracts for which placement data was available, 10,530 individuals were served and 2,256 were reported to receive job placement, or 21.4 percent. Not all services provided by community-based organizations are expected to lead to job placement, but even when outcomes other than direct placement are a reasonable goal of the program, City departments do not routinely move participants from pre-employment programs to programs providing job training and placement.

• Planning for and providing services in specific City neighborhoods is not based upon a Citywide plan, or funding formula based on need, but rather each department's preferences or the availability of community-based organizations to provide services. For example, several City departments have workforce development programs targeting the City's southeast neighborhoods without collaboration with one another or participation in Citywide programs, such as CityBuild.

• Also, funding for community-based organizations is unevenly distributed among different neighborhoods because community-based organizations have greater capacity in some neighborhoods than others. In FY 2006-2007, combined funding to programs provided by community-based organizations in the Mission/ Potrero Hill and Tenderloin/ South of Market neighborhoods was 58 percent greater than to the combined Western Addition, Bayview Hunters Point, and Chinatown neighborhoods.

• City departments' workforce development programs target specific groups or populations needing services rather than targeting programs to available jobs. Service delivery is fragmented, with multiple programs to different populations and groups and insufficient links between workforce development programs and job opportunities. Further, this uncoordinated approach has resulted in uneven funding to different populations regardless of need. Differences in funding is compounded by lack of clarity in what constitutes workforce development programs. For example, in FY 2006-2007, funding for programs defined as workforce development programs targeted to mental health consumers was $2.98 million but funding for programs defined as workforce development programs targeted to individuals with disabilities was less than $100,000.

• Few City programs address the needs of young adults under 25 years, yet this population has significant needs. Of 3,412 youth and young adult clients of the One-Stop Centers, only 140, or 4 percent, were actually placed into jobs.

Because the City has no overall system to plan and coordinate workforce development programs, City departments implement programs independently of one another, resulting in inefficient allocation of services to communities and inadequate follow-through to ensure that services result in jobs providing financial self-sufficiency. The federal Workforce Investment Act established a one-stop system, intended to coordinate and provide services through physical one-stop centers, the local community college and educational system, municipal agencies, and community-based organizations. Workforce Investment San Francisco was intended to serve as the policy, planning and oversight body for the City's one-stop system, but because Workforce Investment San Francisco primarily oversees services funded by the Workforce Investment Act, most locally-funded workforce development services provided by City departments are delivered outside of Workforce Investment San Francisco's oversight.

The City's One-Stop Centers

The City currently has three One-Stop Centers, funded in part by Workforce Investment Act monies. The Human Services Agency operates two centers in southeast San Francisco and the Mission District, and the State Employment Development Department operates a third center in the Civic Center. Because these three physical locations do not serve all economically-disadvantaged San Francisco neighborhoods, the Board of Supervisors added $500,000 in General Fund monies to the Department of Economic and Workforce Development's FY 2007-2008 budget to develop two additional one-stop centers in Chinatown and the Western Addition.

The One-Stop Centers are intended to provide a range of job services, from "core" services, including self-directed job searches, to "intensive" services, including specific job training and case management supporting individuals through an array of workforce development services. Individuals are referred to the One-Stop Centers by the Human Services Agency, community-based organizations, and other venues, or may refer themselves.

The One-Stop Centers provide mostly core services to assist individuals in finding available jobs, and refer clients to community-based organizations for more intensive workforce development services. Employers who are required to participate in the City's First Source Hiring Program, making entry-level jobs available to economically disadvantaged residents, can post their available entry-level jobs at the One-Stop Centers, who then provide this job information to community-based organizations. The One-Stop Centers receive client referrals from the community-based organizations as well, providing employment assessment and placement into the First Source Hiring Program jobs.

The One-Stop Centers primarily provide basic job services, included self-directed job searches, and do not directly place many individuals into jobs. In FY 2006-2007, the three One-Stop Centers reported 13,157 clients receiving a range of services from casual contact to self-directed job searches and more intensive staff-assisted job services. Of these 13,157 clients, including walk-in clients, CalWORKS and Personally Assisted Employment Services referrals, and referrals from community-based organizations and other programs, 2,054 clients found jobs, or 15.6 percent. According to the June 2007 Business Services Monthly Report, 4,273 of these clients received more intensive services. According to the FY 2006-2007 SF Stat performance measures, only approximately one-third of the One-Stop Centers' clients who received more intensive job services were placed into jobs that paid 125 percent of the San Francisco minimum wage, short of the targeted goal of 45 percent.

The March 2007 San Francisco One-Stop System Review, prepared by the Corporation for a Skilled Workforce for the Department of Economic and Workforce, found that the One-Stop Centers and the community-based organizations formed two separate and unconnected systems. Many of the community-based organizations funded by City departments have not been directly linked to the One-Stop Centers. Nor have the One-Stop Centers had a formal process to refer individuals to community-based organizations for more intensive services or a system to track referrals. Workforce Investment San Francisco has adopted a new service delivery model in FY 2007-2008 that requires community-based organizations to locate staff within the three One-Stop Centers to provide intensive case management services and links to training for adults eligible for services under the Workforce Investment Act.

Many of the City's workforce development programs function independently of the One-Stop Centers. City departments often recruit participants for department-sponsored job programs from the One-Stop Centers but do not have formal ties to the One-Stop Centers generally.

Department-Sponsored Workforce Development Programs

Several City departments provide adult workforce development programs funded by enterprise or General Fund revenues. These departments have established apprenticeship or other job training programs based upon the departments' needs or interests but not linked to a larger City mandate or program.

These department programs vary in populations served, types of services provided, and expected outcomes, depending on the department's goals. This uncoordinated approach, however, has resulted in both duplication of and gaps in services.

Lack of Coordination in Serving Neighborhoods

Several of the City departments providing workforce development programs target their programs to the City's southeast neighborhoods. The Department of the Environment, Public Utilities Commission, Airport, and the Department of Public Works all provide programs emphasizing outreach to residents in the City's southeast neighborhoods with no coordination of these programs.

• The Department of the Environment has a contract with Goodwill Industries to provide services in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood. The Department's strategic plan links environmental justice issues with other barriers faced by economically disadvantaged City residents, including employment opportunities.

• The Airport's Office of Employment and Community Partnerships is responsible for connecting economically disadvantaged residents with Airport jobs, working with public agencies and community-based organizations to recruit for jobs with the Airport and its tenants. Because the Airport is located south of the City, the Office of Employment and Community Partnerships targets outreach and recruitment to the southeast neighborhoods.

• The Public Utilities Commission provides pre-apprenticeship programs for residents of Bayview Hunters Point as part of their program to mitigate the impact of the Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant on the surrounding neighborhood.

• The Department of Public Works provides a general laborer apprenticeship program for economically disadvantaged City residents, with a goal of providing residents of high-crime neighborhoods, especially the City's southeast neighborhoods, with employment training and access to construction jobs.

Overall, the City's workforce development programs are unevenly distributed among the City's neighborhoods. Table 2.1 shows the neighborhood distribution of programs provided by community-based organizations that received funding from nine City departments in FY 2006-2007.¹

Table 2.1

Neighborhood Distribution of Workforce Development Programs Provided by Community-Based Organizations
FY 2006-2007

Source: City Departments

Approximately 49.5 percent of funding to community-based organizations are Citywide programs, including programs provided by large community-based organizations, such as Goodwill Industries, Inc., and training services provided to individuals. 13.7 percent are programs provided in the Mid-Market and Castro neighborhoods, of which $1.96 million of the $2.1 million are programs provided by the Department of Public Health for mental health consumers.

The remaining funding, or 36.8 percent, is distributed among community-based organizations in the City's economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Some neighborhoods, such as the Mission District and the Tenderloin, receive a larger portion of funding due to greater organizational capacity in those neighborhoods. In FY 2006-2007, combined funding to programs provided by community-based organizations in the Mission/ Potrero Hill and Tenderloin/ South of Market neighborhoods was 58 percent greater than to the combined Western Addition, Bayview Hunters Point, and Chinatown neighborhoods.

According to interviews, the Western Addition especially lacks organizational capacity to provide services to the neighborhood. One of the main community-based organizations located in the Western Addition, Ella Hill Hutch Community Center, received more than $463,537 from City departments in FY 2006-2007 but was unable to meet contractual requirements. According to a November 2006 status report prepared by the Redevelopment Agency, the Ella Hill Hutch Community Center placed only 76 individuals into jobs between July 1, 2005 and September 30, 2006, or 38 percent of the 200 job placement goal.

Lack of Coordination in Serving Populations

The City's workforce development programs target specific groups or populations needing services rather than training individuals for employment in the City's business sectors. This has resulted in fragmented service delivery, with multiple uncoordinated programs to different populations and groups and insufficient links between workforce development programs and job opportunities.

Table 2.2

Population Distribution of Workforce Development Programs Provided by City Departments and Community-Based Organizations
FY 2006-2007²

Source: City Departments

At least ten City departments have implemented some form of workforce development program, of which nine have contracts with community-based organizations to provide some or all of the services. Although the Human Services Agency, as the City's social service agency, must provide workforce development programs to recipients of federally-funded cash aid, other City departments provide workforce development programs for a variety of reasons, including the department's own initiative. This has resulted in several departments providing programs to specific communities or populations with inconsistent coordination of efforts.

• The Mayor's Office of Community Development provides grants to community-based organizations and the Airport and Human Services Agency provide programs for lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender participants.

• The Mayor's Office of Community Development provides grants to community-based organizations and the Human Services Agency provides programs for homeless participants.

• The Private Industry Council and the Mayor's Office of Community Development provide funding to community-based organizations, and the Human Services Agency provides programs to refugees and immigrants.

• The Department of Public Health provides programs and the Mayor's Office of Community Development provides grants for programs for people with HIV/AIDS.

• The District Attorney's Office provides programs and the Mayor's Office of Community Development provides grants for programs for ex-offenders.

Several City departments provide programs for economically disadvantaged individuals in general.

• The Redevelopment Agency has job training and placement programs in their redevelopment areas in response to a State mandate.

• The Human Services Agency provides programs, and the Mayor's Office of Community Development and the Private Industry Council provide funding to community-based organizations for various job readiness, support, training and employment programs for low-income participants.

• The Port and the Public Utilities Commission both contract with the California Conservation Corps to provide work experience to economically disadvantaged individuals.

• The Department of Public Works contracts with the San Francisco Clean City Coalition to provide transitional economically individuals and the Human Services Agency contracts with the same organization to provide services to the homeless population.

• The Public Utilities Commission and the Department of Public Works have both provided general laborer apprenticeship programs.

• The Airport provides workforce development services to economically disadvantaged individuals through its Career Connect program.

• The Department of Public Health provides services to mental health consumers, including assessment, support services, training, transitional work experience and internships, and other employment services and opportunities.

Each of these departments has its own process of identifying populations to be served, programs to be provided, and expected outcomes. Several City departments may fund the same community-based organization to provide services, but each department selects the organization and establishes performance goals and outcomes independently. Some of the programs, such as the Public Utilities Commission and the Airport, are able to provide jobs to program participants but other City departments' programs do not link workforce development services and job training to employers and available jobs.

Nor do City departments necessarily identify job placement as an intended outcome. In a review of 32 community-based organization contracts for which placement data was available, 10,530 individuals were served and 2,256 were reported to receive job placement, or 21.4 percent.

Even if outcomes other than job placement are a reasonable goal, such as programs providing life skills training or mental health services, the various departments have no systematic method to move participants from pre-employment programs to programs providing job training and placement, nor a method to track if program participants are ultimately employed.

Further, this uncoordinated approach to planning and implementing workforce development programs by ten different City departments has resulted in uneven funding for different populations regardless of the needs. Differences in funding is compounded by lack of clarity in what constitutes workforce development programs. For example, in FY 2006-2007, funding for programs defined as workforce development programs targeted to mental health consumers was $2.98 million but funding for programs defined as workforce development programs targeted to individuals with disabilities was less than $100,000.

Programs for Young Adults

Neither the One-Stop Centers nor the First Source Hiring programs specifically address the needs of young adults under the age of 25 in seeking employment. The three One-Stop Centers provide very few jobs for young adults. From July 1, 2006 through March 31, 2007, the three One-Stop Centers reported 3,412 youth and young adult clients between the ages of 14 and 24 years. Only 140 youth and young adults, or 4 percent, were actually placed into jobs.³

In interviews, City and community-based organization staff often reported that young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 constitute a population that critically needs workforce development attention. However, because the City divides funding and programs into youth and adult categories, it is not clear if the needs of this group are being met or that resources and outcomes for this group are captured in current data collection. Although the City has made some efforts to ensure that a greater focus is placed on transitional youth, such as the Transitional Youth Task Force, interviews with City staff and community-based organizations indicate that much more still needs to be done.

In FY 2006-2007, City departments funded $1.7 million for workforce development programs for young adults, or approximately 5.8 percent of the City's total funding for workforce development programs of $29.1 million.

Table 2.1

Workforce Development and Job Training Programs for Young Adults Between the Ages of 18 and 24
FY 2006-2007

Source: City Departments

In addition to these programs provided by City departments, the District Attorney includes employment programs for young ex-offenders under the age of 25 in the "Changing the Odd" re-entry program. Under this program, private employers pay the costs for a four-week job-readiness training program provided by a non-profit agency and for six weeks of work experience. According to the District Attorney's Office, approximately 20 young adults participated in FY 2006-2007.

The workforce development programs served approximately 534 young adults under the age of 25. These programs for young adults were generally designed to provide life skills and job readiness training and work experience, rather than actual placement into permanent jobs. Job placement results varied among departments, as well as the definition of job placement. Some of the programs provided work or internship experience, such as the California Conservation Corps program. Other programs defined job placement as the goal but the type of job placement (permanent or temporary, living wage) was not uniformly defined. Both the Human Services Agency and the District Attorney's Office reported that all program participants were placed into jobs. The Airport reported placing 50 percent or more of program participants into jobs, and the Public Utilities Commission reported that one-third of the participants who completed the program found a job. The Mayor's Office of Community Development had not yet tabulated FY 2006-2007 program outcomes.

Although young adults also participate in the City's workforce development programs designed for the general adult population, the March 2007 One-Stop Center quarterly report shows that young adults are less likely to find a job than adults 25 years and older. In the nine-month period from July 1, 2006 through March 31, 2007, the One-Stop Centers reported that more than nine times as many adults 25 years and older found jobs than younger adults.⁴ The existing City programs designed for young adults reach too few individuals and are insufficiently geared toward job training and placement to address the problem of employment for this age group.

Tracking and Monitoring Workforce Development Programs

Systems to track and monitor workforce development programs Citywide are inadequate. According to the Human Services Agency, the One-Stop Centers cannot track referrals of the Centers' clients to other agencies and services, including eventual outcomes, due to inadequate systems and staff resources. Consequently, the One-Stop Centers' data shows that only 15.6 percent, or 2,054, of 13,157 clients were placed into jobs in FY 2006-2007. The Centers can not show if clients successfully received other services or were ultimately employed.

The One-Stop Centers were able to conduct a random sample of 633 jobseekers in January 2007, showing that 249 or 39 percent reported wages based on Employment Development Department data. Overall, though, the One-Stop Centers can not evaluate their own effectiveness and whether their services place individuals into financially self-sufficient jobs or that referrals to more intensive services lead individuals toward successful employment.

Different funding sources require different degrees of reporting. Federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Community Development Block Grants, and Workforce Investment Act programs all have different reporting requirements. Locally-funded programs can determine their own reporting requirements, but variations in definitions, data gathering, and departments' information systems prevent the City from tracking the outcomes of locally-funded workforce development programs. This lack of monitoring and tracking of workforce development programs and outcomes is significant, because existing data suggests that the City's annual investment of $29.1 million does not provide jobs and financial self-sufficiency for the City's most economically disadvantaged residents.

The Department of Economic and Workforce Development has grant funding in FY 2007-2008 to begin a needs assessment of workforce development program systems. Developing compatible tracking and monitoring systems will be significant in evaluating the cost effectiveness and successful outcomes of the City's workforce development programs.

Conclusion

City departments' implementation of workforce development programs is fragmented and unfocused. City departments provide services to specific populations or neighborhoods without consulting or coordinating with one another, resulting in duplicated and uncoordinated services. Some neighborhoods or populations receive significantly larger share of funding and programs based on capacity and interest rather than need or results.

Most importantly, City department programs do not ensure that placement in financially self-sufficient jobs is the end goal. In general, programs are targeted to types of individuals rather than available job opportunities. Although programs providing pre-employment support appropriately set performance goals on employment readiness prior to actual job placement, City departments have no system to ensure that individuals move from pre-employment to more specific job training and placement programs or that the individuals served by the system eventually gain jobs.

Section 1 of this report has recommended Administrative Code provisions that define the central planning and coordinating role of Workforce Investment San Francisco and the supporting role and responsibilities of the Department of Economic and Workforce Development, development of a comprehensive five-year strategic plan, and annual Citywide work plan and budget consistent with the five-year strategic plan.

As the central planning and coordinating entity, Workforce Investment San Francisco needs to ensure accountability and effectiveness of the City's workforce development programs. This includes an annual work plan and budget that allocates resources to City departments and programs based on need, effectiveness, and desired outcomes.

Recommendations:

The Director of Workforce Development of the Department of Economic and Workforce Development should:

Workforce Investment San Francisco, with the support of the Director of Workforce Development of the Department of Economic and Workforce Development, should:

Costs and Benefits

The FY 2007-2008 budget for the Department of Economic and Workforce Development includes both General Fund and Workforce Investment Act resources to provide for planning and coordination of the City's workforce development system. Planning and coordinating programs should provide more cost-effective services, filling in gaps and reducing duplication of services.

1 These departments include Airport, Port, Public Utilities Commission, Mayor's Office of Community Development, Human Services Agency, Department of Public Health, Department of the Environment, Department of Public Works, Redevelopment Agency, and programs funded by the Workforce Investment Act under the auspices of the Private Industry Council.

2 Programs for young adults (as shown in Table 2.3) are included in Table 2.2 under the subcategory, such as "Refugee/Immigrant" for programs targeted to immigrants between the ages of 18 to 24 years. Some programs serve more than one population, such as immigrants or homeless receiving cash aid, and are categorized as the subcategory, "Refugee/Immigrant" or "Homeless".

3 One Stop Career Link Centers Quarterly Youth Report, March 2007

4 According to the March 2007 quarterly report, 1,301 adults 25 years and older found jobs compared to 140 adults 24 years and younger.