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About
the Coalition
The Boston Workforce Development Coalition was convened in 1996 to provide a coherent voice for the interests of diverse, low income, disadvantaged populations about workforce development issues, and to provide a forum for initiatives by Community Based Organizations in policy development, legislative advocacy, professional development, and program development.
The Coalition has identified five major organizational goals:-
Participate in shaping public policy which responds to the needs of diverse low income communities, especially those which have historically faced the barriers of low skills, limited access to education and training, and isolation from job opportunities;
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Promote effective program development, coordination, and resource sharing among members of the CBO community;
- Engage a broad range of public, private, and independent sector institutions in the identification of new resources and in the creation of innovative approaches to workforce development for historically disenfranchised populations;
- Support ongoing staff and leadership development among community-based organizations concerned with workforce development;
- Provide effective access to the political process, as it relates to workforce development issues, for disadvantaged populations and for the community-based organizations, which serve them.
Annual
Report
Laurie Sheridan, Executive Director
February 24, 2004
The year 2003 has seen several major challenges for the Boston Workforce Development Coalition, most of which are increasing. Following are some of the challenges since the last Annual Meeting.
Growth This Year for the Coalition:
Despite major challenges, the Coalition has accomplished a number of steps forward, achieved major breakthroughs, and maintained an organization that is larger and more active than ever:
The Career Ladders Initiative has continued to grow, share lessons, and provide training, technical assistance, resources, information and visibility for local career ladders efforts, including:
- Held another successful training series on Career Ladders that was attended by over 50 individuals, evaluated the series, and on the basis of member recommendations, began planning a new, focused series
- Completed the long-awaited Career Ladders "How-to" Manual. It incorporates many of the lessons learned by local career ladders projects and shared through our three career ladders training series, and it includes many local examples.
- The Coalition has made Boston a national leader in career ladders. Its Career Ladders Initiative remains virtually unique in the nation, and is now sought out by many local CBOs, WIBs, unions community leaders, and employer collaborations wishing to establish initiatives or partnerships modeled on the Career Ladders Initiative.
- This year, the Coalition was invited to present the career ladders initiative and lessons from the manual, at several conferences, including the National Network of Sector Partners conference in September and the Mass. Coalition of Adult Educators (MCAE) conference in October.
- Career ladders staff and committee have made many presentations about career ladders to a wide range of types of organizations, including career counselors, CBO's, unions, community colleges, and policy groups.
In the advocacy arena, the Coalition has made headway this year, done effective advocacy locally and statewide in conjunction with our allies, and achieved some major victories.
- The Coalition decided to prioritize documentation of Boston CBOs' value and role in workforce development, as a key tool to promote our advocacy agenda and bring community-based organizations to the forefront in policy, legislative, budget and other advocacy arenas.
- The Coalition has begun working with the Center for Social Policy at U. Mass. Boston to develop a research report and study, for use in advocacy, documenting the outcomes, gains and successes of workforce development CBO's in Boston.
- The Coalition was instrumental in getting $6 million in new funding for job and skills training into the Economic Stimulus package that recently passed the Mass. Legislature. Through testimony at joint committee hearings and contact with local legislators, BWDC helped ensure that the Senate version of the state budget included this needed funding in its Emerging Technologies Bill, and in urging legislators to override the Governor's veto of ¾ of the funding.
- The Coalition worked closely with the Mass. Workforce Alliance and other advocacy groups in workforce development, to develop legislative and local strategies including the new economic stimulus legislation, developing relationships with key legislators, and connecting and prioritizing the needs of a local constituency in the statewide advocacy arena.
- The Coalition has been a key participant in meetings with Jane Edmonds and others in the Romney Administration's Department of Workforce Development. Under the auspices of MWA, a valuable dialogue with DWD Director Edmonds is currently underway and the interests and needs of CBO's and their underserved clients, well represented with a Boston voice.
- The Advocacy Committee meets regularly with City Councilor Felix Arroyo, chair of the Council's Employment and Workforce Development Committee, to help develop a workforce development agenda for the Councilor and his committee.
- In conjunction with Councilor Arroyo, the BWDC helped organize a large and effective public hearing before the Council's committee in May, 2003, on the needs of Boston residents in workforce development. These efforts have helped build relationships with Boston legislators and City Councilors, and helped bring their attention to the workforce development needs of the community.
- The Coalition has begun organizing a response to Governor Romney's and DTA's changes to the work requirements for welfare recipients including those with disabilities and those with young children, and funding for training for those leaving welfare, which directly impact Coalition member organizations and their clients.
Organizational growth has included:
- Laurie Sheridan became the Executive Director in November, 2002, after serving as the Career Ladders Program Director and also as the Interim Director on two occasions
- The Coalition has included several new Board members, Rita Lara, Esther Leonelli, and Sandy Goodman), increased its diversity, and recruited several new candidates.
- This year, the Coalition's membership has grown from 77 to 86, an increase of 14%. Current membership stands at 23 as the membership year begins.
- In late October, the Coalition's Board held a half-day Retreat at which a plan for work priorities was developed with timelines, products and work plan outlined
- BWDC has formed a new working group on documentation of CBO efforts in workforce development and begun developing a new study and report in conjunction with the Center for Social Policy at U. Mass. Boston.
- The Career Ladders Committee has continued to be engaged in evaluation, planning and development of career ladders training, as well as the new career ladders manual and book event.
- The Coalition has built strong alliances with other workforce development organizations, including JTA, MWA, the Capacity-Building Coalition (now re-named the Commonwealth Workforce Coalition), the PIC, the Boston City Council, the Boston legislative delegation, the Family Economic Initiative, Working Families Mass., Mass INC, and closer working relationships with many of the CBO's that are Coalition members, as well as institutions of higher education including Northeastern, U. Mass. Boston, Bunker Hill and Roxbury Community Colleges.
- The Coalition is contacted regularly by organizations across the country wishing to start a similar coalition or career ladders project, requesting publications, and/or needing technical assistance. The Coalition has become a resource and information center for such information and expertise.
The Coalition faces many large challenges at this time:
- A large challenge in seeking new and continued funding at a time when our funders themselves are facing greatly decreased revenues and have prioritized the Boston Workforce Development initiative,. Therefore the BWDC needs to seek out new funding sources including fee for service for career ladders assistance and increased support from employer and from BWDC members.
- The Coalition's member CBO's are under great stress and pressure, as clients needs increase but CBO resources decrease.
- The Boston Workforce Development Initiative has become the focus of most private and public workforce development funding locally, and BWDC has not been included in its funded efforts.
- The Coalition, as in some ways the representative and voice of smaller, more community-specific CBO's in the workforce development field, faces particular challenges in the face of consolidation at the state level and economic pressures towards merger or dissolution at the community level. It will be difficult to keep CBOs alive and active when the demands on them are so great, and it is incumbent on the Coalition to provide a persuasive argument for their survival and for resources to make that possible.
- Seeking continued funding for the Career Ladders Initiative and for advocacy initiatives.
- Planning and funding training and technical assistance/consultation around the Career Ladders manual, to facilitate its wide use by employers, CBOs, unions, WIBs, and others
- Meeting member needs as they change and grow; finding ways to build member capacity and expertise; helping create and tap into new funding sources and assist our members in obtaining the funding they need, and partner in new collaborations to do new projects and seek funding together.
- Trying to build and re-build our staff, and continue to use volunteer help wisely and well.
- Finding productive ways to collaborate with our local allies, especially the JTA, the PIC, the Commonwealth Workforce Coalition, and organizations focusing on adult literacy, youth and welfare recipients, as well as MWA, the Workforce Solutions Group, MCAE and local and state labor organizations.
- Continuing to develop, refine and focus our advocacy agenda, and build our expertise in advocacy, policy and legislation, and our relationships with City and state officials
- Finding arenas in local economic development, including the Democratic National Convention, and development in Allston-Brighton, the Seaport, and elsewhere where the Coalition can have a significant effect locally, carve out a niche for itself, and focus attention on the need to include jobs and training in local economic development.
- Working as a real coalition in our efforts to address and influence policymakers, funders, and local leaders, so that our collective voice is loud and articulate, and our presence in the workforce development field cannot be ignored. We have a lot to gain by working together. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and through the Coalition can do things that no one member organization can do.
The Coalition faces many serious challenges at this time. The future is somewhat uncertain. Clearly, the work of the Coalition and its members is needed more than ever. As the income gap and poverty increase locally, CBOs and our work with clients become ever more critical. The Coalition will need to in maximize existing resources, utilize volunteer capacity and technology efficiently, and collaborate wherever and whenever possible in order to focus our efforts. As a diverse and broad Coalition, it must protect the interests of CBOs; support collaborations with community colleges and other institutions of higher education and support their efforts to protect their dwindling funding; and at the same time, reinforce the critical message that without CBOs in workforce development, the whole system would topple, and would lack a critical infrastructure and entry point for the most needy and vulnerable.
For every challenge, there is an opportunity. The Boston Workforce Development Coalition has just completed a very challenging year, and stands poised to take on a new year of even greater challenges.
Laurie Sheridan
Executive Director
February 23, 2004
Boston
Workforce Development Coalition
165 Brookside Ave. Extension
Jamaica Plain MA 02130
Tel:
617-524-8888 ext 138
FAX:
617-524-4939
