Millions of Americans face barriers to achieving their education and employment potential. For people who are furthest from opportunity, those barriers are often structural and systemic. 

Consider a student parent, who lacks reliable childcare and transportation. Or a recent immigrant with limited English proficiency, who may not only struggle to navigate the complex job application process, but also face discrimination in education and employment systems.

Or someone experiencing homelessness who — despite their eagerness to learn and work — has no permanent address, making it difficult to access training or maintain steady employment.

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NACo is seeking leaders in post-secondary education, workforce development and human services interested in reducing barriers to employment and education to join the Counties for Career Success initiative’s peer-learning cohort. Members will gain access to free tools and technical assistance, build connections to peer counties and national experts and be recognized as leaders in their respective fields. The economy is rapidly changing, and counties play a crucial role in coordinating across systems to empower low-income residents in achieving lifelong success. Applications for the 8-county cohort are due June 23

Career and technical education and community colleges present tremendous opportunity for individuals who face these barriers. Unlike traditional four-year colleges, these programs require less time and money to complete.

And with the vision of local government leaders, they may also be designed to meet local industry needs — creating natural pathways to well-paying jobs for students and addressing workforce needs for locally based employers. 

However, partnerships between post-secondary education and workforce development organizations should come with the shared vision, commitment and resources to prioritize marginalized learners.

Existing workforce systems are frequently uncoordinated, involving multiple program rules and eligibility requirements that differ across agencies.

Navigating this confusing web of services can not only be stressful, but also exacerbate the inequities that individuals face. Effective cross-systems collaboration includes post-secondary education, workforce development and human services. 

County cross-systems collaboration

Because they serve at the intersection of many agencies, counties play a crucial role in coordinating across systems to improve career success outcomes for residents.

In many cases, they have the connections and authority to ensure that all relevant stakeholders — including representatives from marginalized groups — are present for program planning and data systems alignment.

They may steer the development of program and practice changes that make services more accessible, as well as codify those changes at a systems or policy level.

Critically, counties may also oversee the funding, resource and staffing allocations that support collaborative efforts.

All of these levers are crucial to the development of a truly cooperative system and counties are in a unique position to drive the adoption of these best practices. Some already have.

County success stories

For instance, to support its 78,000 residents, Wilson County, N.C.’s Department of Social Services (DSS) maintains a close partnership with Wilson Community College, where DSS navigators are co-located and share data to assist with human services, educational and financial aid enrollment.

DSS specifically includes educational and employment goal setting as part of their family stabilization plans, streamlining the path for student parents to graduate and secure a well-paying job.

The county also offers dual high school and college programming at Wilson Academy of Applied Technology for youth interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

All of Wilson County’s efforts aid in bolstering their healthcare workforce and health outcomes. In Montgomery County, Ohio, coordination between systems and levels of government has yielded the largest employment and training center in the United States — the Montgomery County Jobs Center. Here, county residents can access employers, educators, social service agencies and representatives from Sinclair Community College to achieve career readiness.

In 2021, the county opened its brick-and-mortar Employment Opportunity Center in West Dayton, where residents can receive mentoring and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act federal grant funds of up to $15,000 to pursue new skills or technical education.

Promoting cross-systems collaboration

To elevate important work from counties like these, NACo is launching its Counties for Career Success (C4CS) initiative supporting cross-systems collaboration between post-secondary education, workforce development and human services.

Counties interested in bridging these systems to support county residents who experience structural inequities and disparities in achieving economic mobility may apply for C4CS’s inaugural eight-county cohort as a cross-sector team. 

Selected counties for the cohort will not only receive free technical assistance, access to national experts and partners and peer learning opportunities, but also be nationally recognized as leaders in this field.

For more information and to apply, please see our website at www.naco.org/counties-for-career-success or contact Annie Qing, program manager for Health and Human Services, at aqing@naco.org. Applications are due June 23, 2023.