Anne Roder
September 2005

Promoting Opportunity is the final report on the State Workforce Policy Initiative, which was based on the premise that low-income individuals with limited work experience and skills may be able to obtain jobs, but they also need support to minimize barriers to steady employment and to advance to better positions in order to achieve long-term economic stability. During the four-year initiative, P/PV documented the efforts of five states to incorporate retention and advancement strategies into local workforce development programs and to strengthen state workforce policies to support these strategies. This report describes the results of their efforts, including an analysis of the outcomes of 477 individuals who participated in the local programs. The evidence suggests that retention and advancement strategies have the potential to benefit low-income workers, and the authors highlight promising program practices and implications for state policy.

Read the Report