An Assessment

of Client
Barriers:
A Sample of NYCWORKS
Program Participants

A REPORT FOR THE UNITED WAY

of NEW YORK
 PREPARED BY THE WOMEN OF COLOR POLICY NETWORK at the
Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York
University

The Women of Color Policy Network is dedicated to ending the

invisibility and enhancing the life chances of women of color
The Women of research,
through policy Coloradvocacy,
Policy Network
public education and at NYU Wagner is dedicated
to ending
the invisibility
mentoring a new ofgeneration
women of color
of advocate in public policy through research,
advocacy,
-researchers.

education and mentoring a new generation of advocate-researchers.

The Network uses a co-production model of research that incorporates the

knowledge of communities and nonprofit leaders into reports and policy
analysis. The approach has helped place some of the issues facing women of
color on the public agenda, while spurring local legislative action and
informing the public.

Acknowledgements

This report is the third in a series of reports produced for the United Way of
New York on the NYCWorks project, a joint New York City Council and United
Way initiative to ensure that chronically unemployed and underemployed
adults and out-of-school youth acquire both the hard and soft skills
necessary to gain and retain employment. The Women of Color Policy
Network was contracted to study client barriers to employment among
program participants. In addition, the Network produced a regional
occupational and industry assessment and report on staff perceptions.

This report was written by Ramona Ortega with assistance from Diana Salas;
WOCPN interns Mathew Graham , Grace Kaissal and editorial assistance from
Angela Dews.
 Staff

NYCWorks and Study Goals 3

Key Findings 4

Background and NYCWorks in Context 5

Methodology 7

Characteristics of NYCWorks Sample 8

Understanding Barriers to Work 10

Barriers to Employment 11
Limited Educational Attainment 11
Limited Human Capital and Job Skills 15
Case Study 16
Limited Life Skills and Mental Health 19
Limited Support Systems 22
Community Isolation 24
Formerly Incarcerated 27
Conclusion 30

Walter Stafford, PhD, Principal Investigator

C. Nicole Mason, PhD, Executive Director
Diana Salas, Associate Director
Jyoti Venketraman, Staff Social Scientist
Ramona Ortega, Staff Social Scientist
NYCWorks and Study Goals

Launched by the New York City Council in March 2006, NYCWorks was a $14 million
workforce development initiative conceived to provide the chronically unemployed and
out-of-school youth in New York City’s most distressed neighborhoods the skills
necessary to find living wage employment. United Way of New York, which
administered the initiative, provided an additional $800,000 of private funding to support
the program. The additional support was targeted towards building the capacity of
grantee organizations that were located in distressed areas.1 The funds went towards
professional development activities, technical assistance and organizational capacity.

The Initiative involved 82 community based organizations in all five boroughs.2

Additionally, United Way created unique collaborations between larger institutions , and
smaller, less-experienced community groups, giving the community organizations the
opportunity to be competitive for larger government grants.

By focusing on the city's most distressed neighborhoods, NYCWorks aimed to capture

displaced workers, the chronically unemployed; the formerly incarcerated; out-of-school
youth ages 17 through 21; and the working poor who hold low-paying jobs yet still live in
relative poverty.3

Study Goals
In 2007, United Way commissioned the Women of Color Policy Network at NYU Wagner (the
Network) to conduct a study on the structural and personal barriers that affect an individual’s
ability to successfully find and sustain employment. This report, a third in a series of reports for
the United Way on NYCWorks, specifically highlights personal and structural barriers to
employment faced by participants in the NYCWorks programs. Public Private Ventures, an
independent research organization, was contracted to provide a separate program evaluation.

This study aims to provide 1) a clear analysis of the ways in which structural and personal
barriers coalesce to hinder job seekers with multiple barriers and 2) to provide a set of concrete
recommendations for future programs aimed to serve this population.

Using qualitative and quantitative methods we attempted to unpack the complex interactions
between structural and personal barriers for low-wage workers and the chronically unemployed
in highly distressed New York City neighborhoods. The analysis looks at multiple barriers in the
context of national trends and current shifts in policies related to workforce development.

1
Researchers from the Women of Color Policy Network worked closely with the New York City Council to develop a methodology to
allocate NYCWorks funds.
2
http://www.unitedwaynyc.org/?id=17&pg=nycworks
3
One out of five New York City residents -- or 1.7 million people -- live below the poverty line. Many are working, yet still forced to
choose between paying the rent and buying groceries.
Key Findings

The following is a summary of key findings from survey data and interviews collected
from a sample of 206 participants in the NYCWorks program. The analysis is based on
a multi-question survey and hour-long interviews. This summary articulates major
findings about personal and structural barriers to employment as indicated by program
participants. Each of these findings is elaborated in this report.

• Structural and Personal Barriers overlap in the lives of individuals to create a set
of interconnected barriers that cannot be addressed by piecemeal programs or
policies.

• Workforce development and social service agencies often serve the same client
population yet are administratively disconnected, making it difficult to provide
streamlined transitional supports to jobseekers who need services from both..

• Despite job preparedness workshops and hard-skills training, individuals

continue to face difficulties in finding employment.

• A majority of program participants with prior work experience had experience in

low-wage occupations with high turnover.

• Occupational segregation by race and gender persists in New York City and was
also reflected in enrollment in NYCWorks job-training programs.

• Despite numerous GED and literacy programs geared towards low-income

workers, low levels of educational attainment continue to be a major barrier to
employment and higher wages.

• Structural unemployment and a shifting economy that is increasingly

“knowledge” based, creates great challenges for job seekers with multiple skill
deficits.

• Job retention continues to be a major barrier to high wage employment.

• Both participants and community based organizations in distressed

neighborhoods have limited social networks to high wage employers and
occupations.

• Workforce development programs too often emphasize rapid labor force

attachment, when, for those with multiple barriers, a more long-term and
comprehensive program would be more beneficial.

• Clients and service providers alike lament the limited range of transitional
supports for low-wage workers, including caps on housing assistance, limited
availability of child care and TANF time limits.
 Background and NYCWorks in Context
Between 1996 and 1998 two major legislative shifts in social policy took place that
impacted current models of workforce development.

First, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996
established Temporary Assistance to Needy Families block grants, replacing the federal
entitlement program Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). The overhaul
shifted the cash entitlement to a means-tested
program that emphasized work first. Second, “Many professionals involved in
the 1998 the Workforce Investment Act (WIA)4 administering secondary vocational
replaced the Jobs, Training and Partnership education programs, welfare-to-work
Act with a comprehensive workforce and other public assistance programs
development system that emphasized and regional economic development
employers and job seekers as customers of a initiatives now use workforce
workforce development system of job training development to describe their
programs, job readiness, supplemental services” Jacobs, R. & Hawley J.
education, transitional supports and social
services.5. The expansion of workforce development programs has given rise to
important challenges and questions of coordination, efficiency and effective
implementation, particularly for disadvantaged populations.

Studies have shown that individuals with multiple barriers make up a large percentage
of those who continue to receive public assistance or suffer chronic unemployment. The
question of how to move those with multiple barriers into employment became
increasingly important during the shift towards work-first. 6 These individuals often cycle
in and out of low-wage work and public benefits programs and face a combination of
structural and personal barriers, including drug addiction, criminal backgrounds, limited
work experience and skills, low literacy and domestic violence. These barriers serve to
discrimination and marginalize them from employment opportunities and pose a
particular challenge in meeting workforce development objectives.

These major shifts paved the way for numerous inter-agency links between traditional
welfare-to-work training programs and innovative workforce development strategies.7 In
New York City, workforce development systems are housed in the Mayor’s office of
NYC Business Solutions Centers and is governed by the Workforce Investment Board
4
Workforce Investment Act - On August 7, 1998, President Clinton signed the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA),
comprehensive reform legislation that supersedes the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) and amends the Wagner-Peyser Act.
WIA reforms Federal job training programs and creates a new, comprehensive workforce investment system. The reformed system
is intended to be customer-focused, to help Americans access the tools they need to manage their careers through information and
high quality services, and to help U.S. companies find skilled workers. From the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.
http://www.dlt.ri.gov/lmi/maps/wia.htm
5
Jacobs, R. & Hawley, J. (in press). Emergence of Workforce Development: Definition, Conceptual Boundaries, and Implications. In
R. MacLean & D. Wilson (eds.), International Handbook of Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Amsterdam: Kluwer.
Loprest, Pamela and Sheila Zedlewski. Making TANF Work for the Hard to Serve. Copyright© April 2002. The Urban Institute.
6
Ibid.
7
Collaboration between the Welfare and Workforce Development Systems. Nanette Relave. Issue Notes, Welfare Information
Network. Vol. 4, Issue No.2
(WIB). The Business Solutions Center funds hundreds of workforce development
programs and operates Workforce1 Career Centers throughout the five boroughs.

While New York’s welfare reform efforts and the economic boom of the 1990’s served to
shrink the welfare rolls and place a number of people into work, the success was short
lived with the recession of early 2000.8 In early 2004, a report by the Community
Service Society shed light on the particular crisis of unemployment amongst black men.9
In response to the crisis, the New York City Council created a $10 million fund to
establish and evaluate pilot programs to address the needs of the chronically
unemployed with an explicit mandate to fund agencies in distressed neighborhoods. It
was through this initiative that the New York City Council partnered with the United Way
of New York to establish NYCWorks.

8
Bram, Jason, 's Economy Before After September 11. Current Issues in s Finance, Vol. 9, No. 2, February 2003
Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=682622
9
“A Crisis of Black Male Employment:Unemployment and Joblessness in New York City, 2003” Mark Levitan. Community Service
Society.and Janny Scott. “Nearly Half Of Black Men Found Jobless,”New York Times. February 28, 2004
Methodology
This study examines the barriers to employment for unemployed and underemployed
adults and out of school youth in NYCWorks. Women of Color Policy Network staff and
consultants interviewed 206 clients at 32 agencies between June 1 and September 30,
2007.

Primary data was collected using survey instruments. Survey instruments included
client and staff interview guides, consisting of quantitative and qualitative questions,
both open- and close-ended. The interview guides were rigorously pre-tested in both
English and Spanish. Korean interviews were conducted by a consultant and were not
pre-tested. Client participation was solicited through outreach at 32 agencies that
represented populations prioritized by NYCWorks (out of school youth, homeless
individuals, current and past welfare recipients, individuals with criminal backgrounds,
people with disabilities and immigrants). Researchers conducted one-on-one interviews,
lasting approximately one hour. Most interviews were audio-taped, with interviewee
consent, for transcription purposes. Flyers were posted at agencies and
announcements were made at program sites to solicit participation.

Intake data from the evaluator, Public-Private Ventures, was used as a guide for
choosing agencies for targeted outreach.

All of the research materials, inclusive of survey instruments and correspondence, were
reviewed and approved by New York University’s Committee on Activities Involving
Human Subjects (UCAIHS). Responses to the questions were transcribed and analyzed
using statistical package SPSS and qualitative software Nvivo.

Survey interviews were constrained, to some extent, by 1) clients’ ambiguity in

determining to which program they were assigned, 2) length of participation in programs
(particularly for those in programs for less than a week), and 4) lack of client
administrative data from agencies.
Characteristics of NYCWorks Client Sample
The study findings are based on interviews conducted at 32 agencies funded through
NYCWorks from June 1 to September 30, 2007. A total of 206 individuals were
surveyed.

Demographics
The average age of all respondents was 35 years old. Over half of survey participants
were adults under 50. Out-of-school youth made up 32.6 percent of the sample
(technically defined as 16-24 and not currently enrolled in school and unemployed, but
in our sample youth represented 18-24). Adults older than 50 made up 20 percent of the
sample. Over half of the respondents were female. There were twice as many females
as males who were 50 years old or older. However, there were slightly more males
than females in the youth category.,

African Americans comprised a majority of the sample (58.5%), while 29.5 percent were
Hispanic-Latino. Whites, Asians, American Indians and “Others” made up less than 10
percent of respondents. Twenty-eight percent (28%) of the sample were foreign-born. A
majority of the Latino immigrant respondents came from the Dominican Republic, and
Colombia. A smaller subset of the immigrant population was from Korea.

Nearly 60 percent (59.2%) of the sample had children. More than half (53%) of the
sample had one or more children living in the home with them. A majority of those with
children said they had childcare. Almost 13 percent (12.8) were married, while 67
percent had never been married and 10.1 percent were divorced. (See Table 1).
While most of the sample had housing, housing was unstable and over-crowding was
common. Sixty percent (60%) of the sample lived in some type of shared housing.
Over 50 percent stated that they received help paying the rent or mortgage; most often,
they were helped by family
Table 1: Sample Demographics members or intimate partners.
Eighteen percent (18%) of the
Survey
sample had moved two or more
Demographic Respondents times in the last two years.
% Females made up over half of
Male 43.1 those in homeless shelters.
Gender
Female 56.9
Youth (age) 32.6 Although it was difficult to
Age Adult 47.4 capture, many of the host
Older Adult (50+) 20.0 families with whom the
Average Age 35.0 individual was living were
African American 58.5
themselves receiving some form
Hispanic-Latino 29.5
White 3.8
of government housing
Race/Ethnicity assistance. Several people
Asian 2.7
Other 2.2 stated that family members who
American Indian 0.5 were helping to pay the rent
Foreign born 27.7 received Section 8.
Married 12.8
Never Married 67.0
Marital Status Divorced 10.1
Separated 6.1
Widowed 3.4
Has Children 59.2
Has Some High School 34.7
Has GED or High School
Diploma 44.3
Education Associates Degree 7.2
Bachelors Degree 6.0
Some College 6.6
Masters Degree 1.2
Own home/apartment 8.5
Rent and live alone 23.8
Rent and live with family or
friends 33.9
Sharing with family or friends
Housing (non-rental) 25.9
Arrangement Homeless shelter 3.2
Transitional housing 0.5
Supported housing (SROs
run by non-profits) 1.1
Drug treatment- residential 1.6
Other 1.6
Understanding Barriers to Work
Numerous studies and researchers have cited structural and personal barriers as
contributing factors of intractable poverty and chronic unemployment. Although welfare
reform replaced “welfare dependency” with work individuals continue to face persistent
and cyclical unemployment as they transition from welfare-to-work.10 A post-welfare
reform study on barriers to work concluded that “multiple barriers were strongly and
negatively associated with working, and among the individual barriers, low education,
lack of access to transportation, poor health, having drug dependence or a major
depressive disorder, and several experiences of workplace discrimination reduced
employment.11

Evelyn Blumenberg, a Professor at UCLA, found that for each barrier a welfare
participant faced, there was an added negative value on employment, with the effect
more marked for men than for women.12 Blumenberg also underscores the
compounded affects of multiple barriers on race and gender.

Multiple barriers are not limited to past and former welfare recipients.13 In a report on
chronic unemployment, John Bouman and Joseph Antolin point to single mothers,
persons leaving prison, low-income youth and people living in communities with high
poverty as those most affected by persistent and chronic unemployment. They also
acknowledged that structural and personal barriers are compounded by racial and
sexual discrimination and other socio-economic factors not always assumed to affect
employment status.

For close to a decade the Women of Color Policy Network (the Network) has conducted
research on public policies that impact low-income women of color in New York City and
has found that race and gender coalesce through historic and contemporary
government policies and market failures to deny economic opportunity and jobs to
women of color. 14

The NYCWorks initiative was designed specifically to meet the needs of people with
multiple barriers and in this report we focus on the intersections of structural and
personal barriers to employment, instead of focusing on structural and personal barriers
in isolation. Where possible we also look at the racial and gender dimensions of each
barrier.

Barriers to Employment
10
By John Bouman and Joseph Antolin, Attacking Poverty by Attacking Chronic Unemployment: A Proposal to Stabilize
and Grow the Transitional Jobs Strategy
11
Barriers to Employment. Institute for Research on Poverty. Discussion Paper no. 1193-99.
12
Blumenberg, E. (2002). On the Way to Work: Welfare Participants and Barriers to Employment. Economic Development
Quarterly, 16(4), 314-325.
13
Blumenberg, E. (2002). On the Way to Work: Welfare Participants and Barriers to Employment. Economic Development
Quarterly, 16(4), 314-325.
14
Stafford, Walter. Gender, Race and Class: The Need for Targeted Support. Women of Color Policy Network, Roundtable of
Institutions of People of Color. NYU, Wagner School or Public Service. 2003.
 • 44% of the sample had a GED or high
Barrier: Limited school diploma.
• 35% had only some high school or
Educational less.
Attainment • 21% had some college, an Associates
Bachelors, or Masters degree.
• 25% did not speak English as their
primary language

“It was very frustrating and it made me angry sometimes, because I felt like what was
holding me back was I didn’t have my bachelors degree yet. There were jobs that I
would see that were so simple to do and they want you to have a bachelors degree.
And it would frustrate me so much. Because I can was say to myself, I can do this job
with my eyes closed. And that bachelor’s degree was just a hindrance of me getting my
foot in the door. And that’s all I wanted was to get my foot in the door. Then I’ll take it
from there.” Female Participant

Education is considered the key to upward mobility yet recent legislative reforms have
made it increasingly harder to access higher education. Writing about educational
opportunities for disadvantaged populations, Kathleen Shaw and Sara Rab cite the
“market-driven approach” of education and training programs delivered under The
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998:

“…it employs a work-first philosophy that actively discourages the acquisition of either
education or training.”15

The New York City public school system is the largest in the nation, and is ranked 44 th
out of 50 urban high schools in America to NOT graduate students on time, according to
a new report released by EPE Research Center.16 In 2004, only 45% of students
graduated on time from New York City schools.
Not surprisingly, a large percentage of the people with weak literacy skills have low
labor force participation in New York City’s advancing technological workplace, and
some studies are concerned that, even as job readiness is barely being considered, the
attainment of personal development and a broader range of skills is not being
addressed at all.

According to the 2000 Census, in New York City the Hispanic drop-out rate (18 percent)
was about four times that for whites (4.5 percent), while the rate for Blacks (11 percent)
is more than double that for whites.17 Thousands of teenage students are “aging out” of
elementary and junior high school without receiving a diploma. The reality is that
15
Kathleen M. Shaw and Sara Rab. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 586, Community
Colleges: New Environments, New Directions (Mar., 2003), pp.172-193.
16
Christopher B. Swanson, Ph.D. “Cities in Crisis: A Special Analytical Report on High School Graduation.” EPE Research. April
2008
17
Counting Drop-Outs by Andrew Beveridge. August 14, 2003.
http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/demographics/20030814/5/492
actually many more teens do not finish high school but are not captured in the official
dropout figures since they are “pushed out” or counseled to pursue a GED program.
Employers routinely shun these youth, giving the city one of the highest youth
unemployment rates in the country (unemployment rates among 16 to 19 years olds in
2004 was 23.1 percent).18
Participants in NYCWorks organizations viewed education as a critical barrier to
employment and to higher wage jobs. When asked why they were unemployed, those
without a GED cited that as the main reason. Even those with a GED or high school
diploma said that the shifting job market increasingly requires a Bachelors degree.

Among the NYCWorks sample, Latinos had the highest rate of high school completion
or a GED, and Whites had the highest rate of attainment within higher education.
Whites made up 29% of those with a Bachelors degree and were the only group with a
Masters degree.

Gender differences within races were more nuanced at higher levels of education.
Latino men had a higher rate of Associates but a lower rate of Bachelors degrees, while
Latina women were more likely to pursue four-year degrees.

Table 2: Education Attainment by Gender

High School or GED Associates Degree Bachelors Degree
Race Male Female Male Female Male Female
Black 56.4% 38.2% 2.6% 5.5% 5.1% 5.5%
Latino 47.6% 50.0% 9.5% -- 4.8% 6.7%
White*(n=7) 40.0% 50.0% -- -- 40.0% --

Clients also shared that GED courses often require intensive time requirements without
transitional cash benefits, making GED classes prohibitive for many in need of an
immediate job. Several participants complained that the GED programs available were
insufficient in preparing them for the exam. Of those that did not have their GED, many
said they had previously taken the GED exam and failed, noting difficulty with the math
portion of the exam.

Agency staff indicated that many participants had low-literacy levels and often needed
basic skills preparation even before taking GED courses. Providers also voiced
frustration at not being able to provide more GED classes, including bilingual GED
classes, and more pathways to higher education.

Immigrants in the sample also cited education as a barrier. 25 percent stated they did
not speak English as their primary language and saw their inability to communicate as a
major barrier. They indicated the need for ESL courses that were inexpensive and

18
Stafford, Walter. The Case for Renewed Advocacy and Organizing: Nonprofit Organizations and New York City Public Schools in
Communities of Color. Unpublished study commissioned by the Schott Foundation for Public Education. 2005.
available. Many had degrees in their home country and were attempting to find work in
a similar field. Others, cited the absence of bi-lingual GED classes as a barrier.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Education attainment is clearly affected by structural and personal circumstances.

Structurally, the failing school system in urban and high poverty areas negatively affects
students who have a distressed family support system. The upside is that the institution
of education is one that many Americans and policy makers take seriously and there
are clear opportunities and initiatives in place to strengthen it. The following
recommendations are based on client observations.

• Assist participants in obtaining substantive benefits and cash assistance while

participating in intensive education programs;
• Offer weekend and after-work opportunities for GED and supplemental assistance;
• Provide additional tutoring for individuals based on initial TABE testing data;
• Tailor educational programs to career pathways and long-term educational plans;
• Provide opportunities for low-wage workers to obtain advanced degrees, with a
focus on collaborations with community colleges and four-year institutions;
• Develop internship and apprenticeship opportunities, in particular for older or
displaced workers who are unlikely to re-enter institutions of higher education but
need long-term training
 • 84% of clients were unemployed and
Barrier: Limited Human looking for a job at the time of the
interview.
Capital and Job • Of those respondents who were looking for
a job, 28.3% had been unemployed for a
Skills year or more at the time of the survey.
• 32% of participants had been in two or
more job training programs in the last five
years.
• 27% were working full-time or part-time on
and off the books.
• 85% of respondents had applied for more
than two jobs since being unemployed.

“I was working for 1 year, as a security guard with an 8-hr certificate. The
schedule didn’t work, so I went to Forest Hills and got my GED. I wanted to go to
school for networking. Before I was looking and I didn’t have the certificate, but I
realized I needed the A++ first which I got from the program” Successful
participant in IT training

Human capital is defined as a set of skills which an employee acquires on the job,
through training and experience and which increases that employee's value in the
marketplace. Persons with multiple barriers usually have erratic work histories and
limited job skills, making their prospects for finding stable living wage work difficult.
Workers with limited work histories and limited skills can also suffer from structural
unemployment.

Structural unemployment is defined as a mismatch between available jobs and the skills
of those looking for work. Structural unemployment derives from a shifting job market
that has replaced many accessible low-wage jobs with middle-tier jobs requiring
advanced skills. The changing labor market, characterized by intense competition and
saturation of highly qualified candidates, even for middle sector jobs, underscores the
challenges faced by those who are structurally unemployed.

Structural unemployment is complex, and those who are trapped within its hold often
blame themselves for not having the skills necessary to acquire a job. This is especially
true for older participants who are trying to re-enter the workforce after being displaced
after a long period of time at one job. A study of psychological barriers to work force
participation of older adults found that structural barriers for this age group include
flexible working hours, relocations and multi-tasking.19 (see case study below for
narrative example).

19
Rob Ranzijn, Psychological barriers to work force participation of older adults, University of South Australia. 1999
 Case Study
Female Participant, 50+ Years old
Brooklyn, NY

In June of 2007 I was placed in an internship with the Baruch International

student center and got hired part-time but with the budget cuts I got cut off. I
used to work at the alcohol and beverage control for 27 years but I got laid off. I
had gotten that job through the unemployment office.

I came here to [program] through another program, I did the 12 week program, it
was excellent because I was frightened, I was older and everything. It used to be
you went to the unemployment office now it is about who you know even for jobs
at the hospital, or housekeeping. When you go and apply nothing happens, you
realize you need connections. You can’t really go around looking for a job and
not everyone has a computer, it is not fair to poor people.

I am over 50, my patience is not the same, the nerves are not the same, I need
to be on a slower track. Nowadays you have to give your all for that particular
job and I have to wonder if I have what it takes. I am not a computer person. I
know the basics but I have a learning disability and I don’t have a GED. Before,
people in my situation found work, but now they made a clerical job an
administrative assistant, now you have to multi-task; so I have a lot of barriers.

I have been on public assistance but it doesn’t make people human, people need
to have dignity and pride, they make you forget you have dignity, makes a person
get anxiety.

Another issue is that a long time ago I had a record. Society say’s they don’t
discriminate, but I had a felony so I try and be upfront. You can’t judge a person,
you have to give a person a second chance. Only recently was it an issue, I
never had a problem, after all these years, now I have to deal with it. If they are
not going hire me, why should we have to discuss it, it creates a stigma.

I left school because I had a learning disability and went into a program and got
my first job at a publishing company as a billing clerk, and then they moved to
California, then I went to the unemployment office and they sent me downstate to
do medical records. Finally I went to the alcohol beverage control. When they
relocated, alcohol and beverage control wanted me to move with them upstate
but my son was in college and I didn’t want to uproot my family, at the same time
I had lost my father and brother and it was just too much, I went to therapy. Right
now I just want a steady job not a temp job. I worked temp but I don’t really like it.
Now I am willing to get outside of the box. I don’t want to get back on public
assistance.
NYCWorks focused specifically on persons who were chronically unemployed or
underemployed. While a number of survey respondents had prior work experience,
their experience was erratic and short-term. Nearly 30 percent had been unemployed
for more than a year, while an almost equal proportion (27 %) were currently working
full or part time jobs (on or off the books). Clients characterized prior job experiences as
temporary, unstable, and low-wage. Participants often worked in administrative
services, health services, low end retail (often seasonal), security services, and fast-
food. Twenty-three percent (23%) of the sample had experience in Building, Cleaning,
and Maintenance, 18% in Administrative Services, and 11% in Food Prep and Sales.

Table 3: Amount of Time at Thirty-seven percent (37%) of the sample had spent
Longest Job less than a year at their longest job. The median
number of months survey respondents had been
Survey unemployed was eight. The highest median hourly
Time Respondents wage was $11.50, and 77.4 percent of the sample
% was willing to work for minimum wage or less. The
A year or less 36.6 median number of months respondents spent at their
last or current job was six months, and the median
1-2 years 17.8 number of jobs people held in the last two years was
two.
2-3 years 9.7
There are a number of common characteristics that
4-5 years 4.8 are prominent in the low wage sector: job saturation,
limited worker protection, few human resource
5 + years 14.6
supports, few opportunities for mobility and limited
10+ 16.1 opportunities for job training. Both clients and
providers where frustrated by the lack of job choices
and limited mobility within jobs but both attempted to
cope with the options provided to them. Some clients, especially young people, had
very little work history. Limited work history among participants often led to a cycle of
unsuccessful attempts to attain employment.

NYCWorks agencies sought to provide opportunities for participants to gain job skills
and work experience through an internship or temporary work assignment. Staff
attempted to keep clients in job placements for at least six months, even when clients
were opposed to staying. Attentive staff dedicated time to check-in on employees and
often convinced them to work through transitional adjustments. Programs rotated clients
through internships to the frustration of clients who wanted permanent employment or
jobs with high levels of mobility. Some programs, using the welfare-to-work model, had
clients working at union jobs for much less pay and with little or no chance of advancing
to full time work. This was particularly aggravating and humiliating for parolee clients
who understood their role as doing someone else’s job.

Agencies offered a range of job preparation programs that included basic skill building
and resume preparation, interview skills, and soft skills. In addition many programs
offered basic computer literacy classes as part of its general curriculum.
Clients expressed that while they appreciated the basic computer classes they felt they
needed more advanced computer and program training to be competitive in the job
market. Hard skills training programs ranged from very specific, i.e. tech or cable work
to very broad, basic computer skills and retail training.
“I Still would like to
Clients were generally asked upon entry into the program improve my speaking
what type of employment they were seeking, but that was skills, I know I need to
not always matched with a complimentary training learn to speak without
program. Many clients identified a range of work they my hands, I need to
would like to be engaged in but ended up participating in brush up on my
whatever program was offered. Many clients identified computer and spelling
specific career paths they would like to pursue but were skills but I am
unclear about the types of supports they would need to improving.” Female
achieve their goals. Additionally, some clients had participant, Brooklyn
unreasonable expectations about pay and job mobility.
This was particularly true for the young adults.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Structural unemployment aggravates already existing barriers for clients with limited
human capital and calls for more intensive job training programs and support services.
In particular those that are structurally unemployed require that programs provide up-to-
date training programs in order for them to acquire skills in demand. Particular attention
must be given to the occupational segregation of people of color in low-wage jobs and
efforts should be made to diversify highly homogenous industries and occupations.

• Use available data on occupational segregation to inform program design and work
with industries to develop diversity initiatives;
• Review follow-up data to understand the effectiveness of placing clients in
internships;
• Track data to see where clients were employed and their retention in each
placement
• Tailor individual career pathways to prior skill sets, opportunities for leaning new
skills, and reasonable educational opportunities;
• Provide both basic and advanced computer and computer programming training;
• Develop broad skill set trainings, including effective communication, basic math and
writing, and problem solving techniques (as recommended by O*Net, see Industry
Assessments);
 • 11% had a physical/Mentalcondition
Barrier: Limited Life affecting employment
• Females were more likely to be
Skills and Mental stressed out by their life situation (60%)
Health compared with 40% of males

“So many needs out here. People need classes to help with self confidence. Not
just life skills or computer training. We have issues that we need to get rid of.
Past experiences, hurts… A lot of people are falling through the cracks.” Female
Participant

Life skills have been defined by the World Health Organization as “abilities for adaptive
and positive behavior that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and
challenges of everyday life”. They represent the psycho-social skills that determine
valued behavior and include reflective skills such as problem-solving and critical
thinking, personal skills such as self-awareness, and interpersonal skills. Practicing life
skills leads to qualities such as self-esteem, sociability and tolerance, competencies to
take action and generate change, and to capabilities to have the freedom to decide
what to do and who to be. Life skills, which are a comprehensive range of skills,
including what is termed “soft skills” in workforce development jargon are influenced by
a number of factors including life experience and have implications for ones mental
health.

Soft skills, like time management,

professionalism and on-the-job initiative are Soft Skills that are Important to
critical to job retention and job mobility. A recent Employers in a Recent Study on
survey of employers’ perceptions found that race Entry Level Jobs
and cultural norms are linked to “soft-skills” and
Interaction:
that employers perceive minorities as not having  Friendliness;
“soft skills.”20  Teamwork;
Recent studies suggest that behavioral health  Ability to fit in;
conditions are indeed a barrier to employment  Spoken communication skills;
 Appearance and attire;
and that the chronically unemployed population
Motivation,
have higher rates of poor mental health than the
 Enthusiasm;
general population.21 Both perceived and real  Positive work attitude;
psychological barriers have an intense emotional  Commitment;
impact on the lives of the clients in the sample.  Dependability;
These emotional impacts manifest themselves  Willingness to learn;
as immobilization, disempowerment,
helplessness and general anxiety. Ones’
emotional stability often frames the way in which
20
Philip Moss and Chris Tilly, "'Soft' Skills and Race: An Investigation of Black Men's Employment Problems," (New York: Russell
Sage Foundation) 1995 [http://epn.org/sage/rstill.html]).
individuals react to and deal with stressful situations on the job and in the home.
Emotional instability can lead to irrational behavior and a state of continual crisis.

NYCWork agencies attempted to address “soft skills” through workshops that dealt with
anger management, communication skills, and appearance and attire. Among clients,
many identified a lack of soft skills as connected to their limited work histories. In
particular many stated that they either left their job voluntarily or were fired due to anger
management, citing problems with their immediate supervisor. Scenarios that involved
disruptive misunderstandings with supervisors or management were also characterized
by lack of mediation or third party involvement at the job site and the inability to
reasonably cope with the problem by the employee.

Mental health problems are hard to identify and most “Discouragement can
agency staff were not qualified to properly handle issues of creep in without you
mental illness and addiction. However, agencies that knowing that it’s there.
specialized in substance abuse and rehabilitation focused Sometimes may go on
heavily on personal barriers and integrated counseling and interviews and you may
psychotherapy into their programs.22 One such program in think you’re projecting a
Brooklyn, found that those who underwent psychotherapy positive image, but
had an 89% completion rate compared with 59% for those you’re really not because
that did not undergo psychotherapy. the depression and
frustration is there and
you just don’t realize it.”
Case managers and clients alike in the NYCWorks sample Male Participant
identified low-self esteem, depression and erratic behavior
as barriers to work but were frustrated that many of these
issues were symptoms of undiagnosed or untreated mental
health issues.23
Most participants had very little access to or
“I would start reaching young women were resistant to traditional forms of
10 or 11. And speak to them about self therapy and counseling. Many identified
esteem and respecting themselves. past failures as a source of low self-esteem
How to speak to people with love and and expressed a lack of proper role models
not judging or condemnation. To reach and support. For those that experience
out and speak so they can be drug and alcohol addiction, mental and
receptive”. Brooklyn, Female physical health problems increase, as do
Participant challenges accessing stable housing. In
this particular sample, less than 10% were
21
Behavioral Health Problems as Barriers to Work: Results from a 6-year Panel Study of Welfare Recipients. Denise Zabkiewicz,
MPH Laura A. Schmidt, PhD. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research 34:2 April 2007
22
The Positive Impact of Psychotherapy on Program Outcomes. The Hope Program. ( A NYCWorks Funded
Program)
23
Depression is perhaps the most salient mental health problem reported by both regional and national studies. The Women’s
Employment Study found that over 25% of a representative sample from Michigan experienced depression and studies in several
other states have reported rates approaching 50%. In Behavioral Health Problems as Barriers to Work: Results from a 6-year Panel
Study of Welfare Recipients
in supportive housing or residential drug treatment centers, but of those in treatment
centers, almost all were male.
While workforce development programs cannot ameliorate long-standing personal
barriers, they can serve as conduits to other programs that provide counseling and case
management. In addition, workforce development programs can develop strong soft
skills training that can address some employer concerns.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Although limited soft skills are personal barriers,they are often connected to or
aggravated by high levels of anxiety and undiagnosed mental health issues.
Additionally, structural barriers arise when individuals that suffer depression and other
anxieties are not able to qualify for exemptions from work-first requirement or unable to
qualify for additional benefits for their mental/physical illness. While more research
needs to be conducted on the relationship between the two areas, there are some best
practices that have been used throughout the country that are showing promise in
reducing barriers in this area.

• Conduct proper and thorough intake assessments that include probes to identify
mental health issues;
• Assist clients in accessing support systems and medical attention for substance
abuse and other physical/mental disabilities;
• Provide at a minimum group or individual counseling and seek partnerships with
social work schools to obtain students through internships;
• Develop strong “soft skill” trainings and ensure that staff develop and model
superior soft skills in their work;
• Work with employers to develop meaningful soft skills curriculum
 • 22% were currently receiving public
Barrier: Limited assistance and 13% had previously
received it
Support Systems • 47% were currently receiving food
stamps and 4% had previously
received safety net
• 46% were currently receiving Medicaid
and 6% were receiving SSI
• 37% were receiving financial
assistance from family and 18% were
getting financial support from “other”
source
• 8% had a family member with a
condition affecting employment

“Not having the proper clothing for interview or job. Not having carfare and
anybody to go to get carfare. Sometimes you’ll be hitting the pavement so hard
and you need lunch and you don’t have money for that. That’s discouraging. You
don’t want to be out at 12 noon and everybody’s eating lunch and your stomach
is growling.” A woman living in a homeless shelter.

The concentration of poverty in some New York City neighborhoods is a structural

barrier that directly impacts ones personal and family obligations. Families that live in
high poverty areas are often juggling multiple responsibilities, dealing not only with their
own set of circumstances but also with the additional stress of other poor family
members and neighbors that live in close proximity. As a result of an overburdened
support system, families rely heavily on government supports to fulfill basic needs.24
New regulations brought about by welfare reform have created tougher eligibility
requirements and have made it particularly challenging and cumbersome to access
public benefits.

Personal and family barriers are often interconnected and work to undermine and
impede personal and professional development and only reinforce other related
barriers. Personal and family barriers encompass a wider range of challenges, including
physical disabilities, mental health issues, drug/alcohol addiction, domestic violence,
learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and multiple family obligations. Early trauma,
due to poverty or unstable households can cause mental health issues which can lead
to substance abuse and unhealthy life choices. Women and people of color are
generally more prone to cycles of violence and poverty starting in childhood than whites,
leading to disparate rates of unemployment and incarceration.25

24
John Icelnad. Why Concentrated Poverty Fell in the United States in the 1990s. Population Reference Bureau.
25
Separate and Unequal: America's Children, Race, and Poverty, by Marian Wright Edelman and James M. Jones The
Future of Children © 2004 The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and the
Brookings Institution.
The inflexibility of traditional low wage employment, characterized by few sick and
personal days and little flexibility, forces people to choose between employment and
family obligations. Twenty-one percent (21%) of the sample cited family obligations as a
barrier to employment. Many of the survey respondents stated that their family
dynamics were stressful, weak or nonexistent. Some clients characterized their
personal relationships with family and friends, or even between mothers and children,
as emotionally draining or unhealthy.

Family obligations can range from taking care of children,

grandchildren and elderly family members to responding to “I was staying with my
family crisis, all of which cause persistent challenges to sister and she was
steady work without additional supports. Family obligations giving me hell for some
lead to issues with time management and make an reason I don’t
employee appear irresponsible and unable to properly understand. I couldn’t
manage time. go to work and talk to
anybody and I couldn’t
Many clients who were working stated that they continued to go home and talk to
find it hard to make ends meet. Less than half of the clients anybody so I just
where currently receiving cash benefits at the time of the crashed. “ Female
interview, yet they were managing to survive through family, Client
friends and, for some, through the benefits they were
receiving through the program. Sixty-five percent (65%) of clients said they would need
transitional benefits to keep a job. More than half of the sample was relying on food
stamps and the support of a family member or friend to survive.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Neighborhood isolation and high concentrations of poverty are clearly results of
structural policies but agencies can mitigate some of the negative impacts by working
with families and individuals as a unit to maximize all available resources. Despite
barriers in accessing public benefits, low-wage workers in the sample were resilient and
resourceful. Given the right strategies, agencies can serve as conduits to informal
opportunities and maximize the resourcefulness of clients by providing additional
supports in the area of public benefits.

• Develop networks to free support services such as food banks and medical clinics;
• Work with clients to manage unnecessary family obligations
Barrier: Community • Bronx poverty rate 27%
• Brooklyn poverty rate 21.9%
Isolation • Citywide poverty rate 18.5%
• Thirty percent (30%) of respondents
were living in households where there
were no adults working.

Community isolation is particularly common among low-wage workers and immigrant

communities.26 Research has shown that individuals find work through social networks,
including friends, family, and neighbors. One study found that 40 to 50 percent of all
jobs are found through friends or family. Informal hiring practices exacerbate
employment segregation because they are based on networks of highly segregated
social circles.27 High concentrations of poverty in racially segregated neighborhoods
tend to lead to social and spatial isolation that limit access to social networks these
communities need to gain access to better quality jobs.

Decades of research by policy makers and academics have shown that racial
segregation leads to undesirable community outcomes. High concentrations of poverty
in Black communities have transformed many of these areas into physically deteriorated
neighborhoods of high crime, low education, single-headed households and excessive
mortality.28 Massey specifically attributes concentrated levels of poverty amongst Blacks
and Puerto Ricans in New York as a leading cause of an underclass in some of New
York City’s neighborhoods.

The New York City poverty rate at the end of July 2007 was 18.5 percent, slightly above
the national average. A more precise measure of poverty currently being touted by
researchers puts the NYC poverty at roughly 23 percent.29 New York City is one of two
states that have counties with the highest poverty rates in the country (the Bronx and
Brooklyn) alongside counties with the lowest poverty rate (Nassau county).30
Numerous studies have shown that New York City’s poor live in areas where poverty is
highly concentrated, with rates as high as 35 percent.31

In recognition that some communities and the community based organizations that
serve them are under-resourced, the City Council and United Way made a special effort
to partner community based organizations with larger institutionalized organizations in

26
Ghettos and Barrios: The Impact of Neighborhood Poverty and Race on Job Matching among Blacks and Latinos Author(s):
James R. Elliott and Mario Sims Source: Social Problems, Vol. 48, No. 3 (Aug., 2001), pp. 341-361
27
Are black workers missing the connection? The effect of spatial difference and employee referrals on interfirim racial segregation.
Ted Mouw. Demography VOl 39 NO. 3 (August 2002). 507-528
28
American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass Author(s): Douglas S. Massey Source: The American
Journal of Sociology, Vol. 96, No. 2 (Sep., 1990), pp. 329-357
29
City Refines Formula to Measure Poverty Rate. Cara Buckly. NYTimes. July 14th, 2008
30
Poverty Rate Declines in New York By SAM ROBERTS. August 26, 2008
31
American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass Author(s): Douglas S. Massey Source: The American
Journal of Sociology, Vol. 96, No. 2 (Sep., 1990), pp. 329-357
order to strengthen their ability to compete for government grants and bolster
professional development opportunities. Many NYCWorks agencies themselves were
reflections of the communities they served and had few professional networks to
employment opportunities outside of the low-wage labor market, this was particularly
true for job developers at these sites. In silent competition with private employment
agencies, programs worked hard just to place people in industries and occupations that
were already saturated or where clients had previous job experience. This system
created an environment where clients “cycled” through unstable low-wage jobs. A
majority of NYCWorks agencies placed or had “training programs” in one of four general
occupations: 1) security services, 2) janitorial services, 3) home health aide and 4)
cable installation. Established Workforce Development Institutions has existing
networks with employers that
A few sites with specialized programs such as IT, health care (excluding home health
aids) and Cable installation, offered opportunities for advanced training and living wage
employment opportunities.

Latino immigrant groups located in the Bronx and Washington Heights had networks for
jobs, but the jobs were often low-wage or had few opportunities for mobility. There were
also specific gender dimensions among job referrals for Latino immigrant men. .
Agencies in Washington Heights for example had networks to the building maintenance
industry, allowing them to place Latino men in jobs with an average wage of $10.00
while the women were being placed into home health care work at a lower starting
wage. A smaller sub-group of immigrants in the Bronx also suffered anxiety about
leaving the community for work and stated they feared riding the train outside of their
neighborhood.

While community isolation for racial minorities has severe repercussions for community
stability, some immigrant communities have been able to use isolation as a competitive
advantage, particularly homogenous immigrant communities, such as Korean immigrant
communities. According to Massey and Fischer, as residential segregation works to
isolate some, it has marginal success for some middleman groups.
The Korean community in Queens in our sample demonstrated many characteristics of
a middleman group. The NYCWorks agency in this community used its contacts with
local businesses and churches to establish employment opportunities for its program
participants. Their choice in providing training in medical billing was linked to a local
employer’s need for billing clerks and receptionists. The local agency was also a
recipient of a spacious office from a local benefactor, evidence of strong and beneficial
internal relationships within an isolated community.

Conclusion and Recommendations

It is undeniable that historical discrimination is in part responsible for persistent
economic inequality and that discrimination continues to manifest in defacto practices
related to hiring and housing. The contemporary residuals of historical discrimination
exist in housing segregation, persistent poverty and educational outcomes. Although
remedying discrimination is outside the scope of workforce development programs, it is
important to note the impact it has on the job market, employees life/soft skills, and
program outcomes. In order to reduce workforce segregation agencies should attempt
to diversity the workforce through policy advocacy and industry roundtables...

• Create supportive links for communities to access networks outside of their

community;
• Work with industries and business sectors to move more jobs into low-income
neighborhoods;
• Shift resources to local agencies and ensure proper professional development of
staff;
• Work with the local WIA board and other government agencies to create long-term
economic development plans that incorporate specialized trainings that meet the
needs of clients and employers
 39.9% of the sample had previously
Barrier: Formerly •
been arrested
Incarcerated • 64.7% had been convicted
• 36% of clients were currently on parole
at the time of the survey

“I was working in Demo, and rebuilding apartments through some guy I knew. I
want to find work in that industry because I just need someone to give me a
chance. Most likely they won’t give me a chance. I’ve been in and out for 8
years. I need a job on the books… because of parole, I have a baby on the way.
I was working for a couple of weeks, but it is temporary, 70 to 80 a day for a
couple of days, but I would like to be involved in a permanent company” Male,
Bronx, Ex-Offender

The last decade has seen an unprecedented increase in the incarceration of young men
of color and a subsequent flooding of ex-offenders in their home communities. Data
shows that four-times as many prisoners were released in 2004 as in 1980 and within
three years of release, two-thirds were arrested and more than half returned to prison or
jail.32 According the David R. Jones, president of the Community Service Society, the
New York neighborhoods of Harlem, the South Bronx, and Jamaica as well as portions
of Bedford-Stuyvesant and East New York in Brooklyn and Central Bronx are bearing
the brunt of large concentrations of the formerly incarcerated, many of whom cannot
find employment.33

A criminal history in combination with traditional barriers “It’s sad, especially for
creates almost insurmountable challenges for job seekers Black men who have been
returning home. Ex-offenders look to local community incarcerated. If I already
organizations and family networks for necessary supports, paid for my crime, how long
particularly during the first months of re-entry. Beyond the do I have to keep getting
badgered? Why can’t we
emotional stress of readjusting to life outside of prison,
just get on with our lives? It
many ex-offenders battle depression, anxiety, and stagnates us, especially in
pressure to find a job. The stigma of a criminal record is our jobs, and brings up the
just the first of many barriers ex-offenders face. The stress levels. Especially
seriousness of the crime and the time spent in prison also November and December,
influence the intensity of the stigma and deepen social and and if you got little ones,
structural barriers. Barriers to employment include you feel guilty if you are not
employers' attitudes, legal barriers and parole regulations, working.” Male, Brooklyn
education and financial obstacles, substance abuse,
mental illness, and difficulties in finding stable housing.

Ex-offenders in the sample were found both in workforce development programs

specifically designed for ex-offenders and community based organizations throughout

32
Dan Bloom ,Cindy Redcross ,Janine Zweig (Urban Institute) ,Gilda Azurdia Transitional Jobs for Ex-Prisoners Early Impacts from
a Random Assignment Evaluation of the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Prisoner Reentry Program
33
http://www.cssny.org/pubs/urbanagenda/2008_05_01.html
the sample. While many ex-offenders share common characteristics with the rest of the
sample, they face the added impediment of prejudice from employers or legal barriers to
particular types of jobs (these barriers vary by state, see Appendix A for NY list).

Participants that had spent a substantial period of time in prison had benefited from
programs such as GED and “janitorial” trainings. Many of them had hard skills related to
custodial work and were eager to utilize their skills. They were also very aware that their
criminal history would be an obstacle to employment.

Clients interviewed understood the benefit of a

Table 4: Respondents with
Criminal Background specialized program where staff could help with
Survey resumes and job readiness and intercede with
Respondents employers, even if they felt that the programs were
Status % not offering new skills or employment beyond
Currently on transitional job sites. Participants admitted that being
Parole in a program was better than being on the streets or
N=53 35.8 sitting at home.
Ever been
arrested
N=178 39.3
Ever been
convicted
N=68 64.7

“My convictions are for burglary and people don’t look kindly…I wouldn’t have
nobody (without the program). We had this discussion. They said they work with
people who hire people like me. Without a job history ” Male, Bronx

For those who had been recently released, the programs served as a place to re-
assimilate into society. Those who had a past criminal history but were no longer on
probation were frustrated by the stigmatization of their conviction. Many clients
expressed frustration in being unable to attain stable employment due to their prior
conviction despite having paid their debt to society.

Despite various attempts to clear their criminal backgrounds through the legal system,
the bureaucracy of state clearance is particularly cumbersome. The programs that were
able to place people were able to do so through very specific initiatives and
relationships with employers. One program in particular negotiated a lower starting
wage in exchange for giving participants a chance to work. Participants who were
gainfully employed through these programs expressed gratitude towards the program
and felt obliged to do their best, ensuring that others would have the same chance.
While specific programs exist to address the particular need of ex-felons, more
relationships with employers need to be established and legislative reforms should be
pursued to reduce the legal burden on ex-offenders.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Distressed neighborhoods with concentrated poverty and few resources often manifest
particular characteristics that involve criminal behavior leading to disproportionate rates
of incarceration in poor communities. Poverty and crime often converge in the lives of
many young African American and Latino youth who have few coping mechanisms and
family supports and end up getting caught in the criminal justice system. If the right
supports are not in place, like job opportunities, education and stable housing, the
chances of recidivism are high.

• Establish working relationships with industries most willing to hire ex-offenders;

• Look for innovative legislative models to increase incentives for industries that
employ ex-offenders;
• Facilitate and provide guidance with employer interviews, particularly in prepping
employer and client;
• Develop concrete initiatives for out of school youth, developed in conjunction with
schools and employers;
• Provide individual support to employee and employer as they transition into work;
• Provide group counseling and family therapy where needed;
• Provide innovative opportunities for work, including entrepreneurial projects,
cooperatives, and other alternative forms of employment;
• Build partnerships with parole officers and Department of Corrections to better serve
recently released parolees;
• Conduct thorough assessment of individuals skills including those gained through
employment during incarceration
Conclusion
The economic vitality of states, cities, and communities depend on an educated
workforce and an equal distribution of opportunity. Healthy vibrant
communities need economic development policies that create real
opportunities for all residents. Government, business, and civil society are
equally responsible for preparing a workforce that is able to participate and
benefit from the local economic engine. Successful models of workforce
development should integrate all stakeholders and benefit the community
equally, including those most marginalized.

Recent reforms of public policies impacting workforce development provide an

opportunity to make “work-first” a reality for all; even those with multiple barriers. Much
research has already been conducted that has identified creative “out-of-the-box”
solutions and best practices. The challenge is to synthesize this knowledge and develop
a workforce development system that is tailored to New York City and inclusive of all its
diversity.

New York City is home to the largest and most diverse workforce in America,
representing every demographic group imaginable. The city’s economic engine is
equally complex, encompassing a wide range of industries and occupations. This
scenario makes workforce development no easy feat but creates opportunities for real
innovation. Regional workforce development strategies must embrace the diversity of
the workforce and find ways to capitalize on the different capacities of its residents.

Each report in this series has focused on a different dimension of the NYCWorks
program and each contains a set of concrete recommendations. These following
recommendations pertain to overall workforce development systems and not just
NYCWorks.

Collaboration amongst the city’s stakeholders is key. No one agency and no one pot of
money will be sufficient to address the needs of New York’s diverse workforce,
particularly those with multiple barriers. City agencies, non-profits and, most importantly,
employers need to be in collaboration and in conversation about what is working and
what needs improvement.

Policy research, data, and academic inquiry need to be integrated into the design and
evaluation of programs. Every program cycle presents an opportunity to gain insight
into the success and failures of a program; and academic inquiry focused on various
dimensions of workforce development provides critical insight into barriers faced by
participants and successful program implementation.

Policy makers, program developers, and service providers must have a comprehensive
understanding of the complexities and interactions between structural barriers, i.e.
economic policies, legal barriers, and personal barriers, i.e. the impact and disparities
brought about by deep rooted discrimination and poverty, family trauma, and mental
health issues. While individual workforce development agencies and social service
agencies might operate individually, it is critical that they find ways to operate in ways
that benefit the clients.

Transforming workforce development into an engine of opportunity will require diligence

and commitment by all stakeholders but it can be accomplished with leadership and
innovation. Workforce development should be a piece of a larger plan of action to
combat poverty and disparate rates of employment for under-served and marginalized
communities. New York City has the capacity to remedy urban poverty and chronic
unemployment and can serve as a national model.
Appendix A
 New York State Occupational Licensing Survey
Prepared by Legal Action Center
Over one hundred occupations in NYS require a license, registration, or certification by
a state agency. In determining job-relatedness and risk to property or public safety,
licensing agencies must consider New York’s public policy to encourage the licensing
and employment of individuals with criminal records, the specific duties and
responsibilities related to the license being applied for and any bearing the individual’s
criminal history will have, the seriousness and time elapsed since the criminal conduct,
the individual’s age at time of occurrence, as well as any evidence of rehabilitation.
There are only a few statutes that automatically bar individuals with criminal records
from licensure solely on the basis of past convictions, and most of these statutes allow
for lifting the automatic bar when the individual is granted a Certificate of Relief from
Disabilities, a Certificate of Good Conduct, or Executive Clemency (pardon). Although
Certificates of relief and Good Conduct lift automatic bars, individuals with criminal
records may still be denied licenses, as licensing agencies are required to make
licensing decisions on a case-by-case basis whether convictions are “directly related” to
specific license or would create an unreasonable risk to property or safety. Private
employers of more than 10 employees may not bar individuals from applying for or
holding jobs based upon criminal convictions unless the convictions are job-related or
the individual poses a direct threat to public safety or property. Evidence of rehabilitation
must be considered, including certificates of good conduct and certificates of relief from
disabilities.

The New York State Department of Health (DOH) requires that individuals who work for
home health agencies that it licenses or certifies, long-term home health care programs,
personal care services agencies, AIDS home care programs, and employees of
temporary employment agencies who provide direct care to patients all be subject to a
fingerprint-based criminal history background check. Convictions for certain felonies will
bar the agencies from hiring the applicant.
Certificates of relief from disabilities and certificates of good conduct are offered and
automatically lift occupational bars. Certificates of relief from disabilities are available to
individuals with any number of misdemeanor convictions but no more than one felony
conviction. Separate certificates are necessary for each conviction. Temporary
certificates are available while on probation or parole, and become permanent unless
revoked. N.Y. Correct. Law §§ 700-03. Following waiting periods that vary based upon
severity of the offense, certificates of good conduct are available to individuals with any
number of misdemeanor convictions and two or more felony convictions. One certificate
will cover all convictions.

The following is a selection of occupations with licensing requirements that may affect
an individual with a criminal record, as well as whether the restriction is mandatory or
discretionary. Information is also provided that describes the circumstances under
which a bar may be lifted, and the appeal procedures that can be taken. These listings
do not include State and City Civil Service positions, municipal licenses, or criminal
record bars imposed in certain industries, such as home health care or trucking.
Individuals with a criminal record are usually barred from certain professions like home
health care, nursing, education, and childcare.
 Occupations with Licensing Requirements
that may Affect an Individual with a Criminal Record

Removal of
Criminal Record Criminal Appeal
Occupation Agency
Restrictions Record Procedures
Restriction

Alcoholic Beverage State Liquor Mandatory bar for Bar for Bar for
Wholesale/ Authority felonies and employees employees
Manufacturer specific may be lifted may be lifted
Retailer misdemeanors for by SLA by SLA
licenses & permission, for permission,
employees employees & for
all others by employees &
pardon, C/GC all others by
or C/R. pardon,
C/GC or C/R.
Animal Health Permit Dept of Discretionary-
Agriculture& Markets application may
be denied or
revoked if felony
conviction
Bail Bondsman Mandatory if
convicted of any
offense involving
moral turpitude or of
any crime
Barber, Barber Shop Dept of State Discretionary N/A N/A
Owner
Bingo NYC Consumer Bar for conviction Pardon. C/GC. Pardon.
Distributor/Operator Affairs of any crime Or C/R C/GC. Or
C/R
Bus Driver DMV Mandatory- felony May be May be
bar for certain sex waived if 5 yrs waived if 5
and vehicular since release yrs since
offenses from release from
sentence, and sentence,
C/R(in case of and C/R(in
felony) case of
felony)
Disposal Plant or Dept of Discretionary Lifted by Lifted by
Transportation Service Agriculture& Markets pardon or pardon or
Operator C/GC C/GC
Licensed Electrician Dept of Buildings Discretionary

Emergency Medical State Emergency Mandatory bar for Waived if Waived if

Technician Medical Services certain felonies convictions convictions
Council and does not does not
embezzlement demonstrate demonstrate
present present
danger danger
Farm Labor Contractor Dept of Labor Discretionary

Firearms Carrier Licensing Officer of Mandatory for N/A N/A

City felony and serious
offenses
Firefighter Fire Dept Mandatory felony N/A N/A
bar
Entitlements and Legal Barriers for Individuals with Criminal Records
Public Benefit Eligibility
Food Stamps Yes
Public Housing New York City Housing Authority
makes individual determinations
about applicant's eligibility based
upon the relevance of the criminal
record, and will consider evidence
of rehabilitation.
Denial for households with
methamphetamine production on
PH premises or in lifetime sex
offender registry.
TANF Yes
Federal Financial Aid No, if drug-related offense
Driver’s Licenses Suspended for drug-related
offenses.
Notes
NYS opted out of federal
drug felon ban
NYCHA does not consider
arrests that did not lead to
conviction in its admission
criteria.. Conviction bar(s)
range from 2-6 years
following completion of
sentence, depending on
the classification of
conviction.
NYS opted out of federal
drug felon ban
Ineligible for any grant,
loan, or work assistance.
Eligibility may be
reinstated if conviction
reversed.
6 months suspension, one
year for prior conviction.
Restricted use licenses
available for purposes of
employment, education,
and medical treatment at
discretion of the
Commissioner of motor
vehicles.