Verdugo ELL Co-Enrollment Pilot Project - California Workforce ...
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Verdugo ELL Co-Enrollment Pilot Project
Image, Glendale Community College, Garfield Campus. Image source: Glendale County, 2020
Grantee Team
LEAD GRANTEE Verdugo Workforce Development Board (VWDB)
Verdugo Jobs Center (VJC)
CORE PARTNERS1 Glendale Community College (GCC)
GlendaleLEARNS
International Rescue Committee (IRC)
Armenian Relief Society
Catholic Charities
Employment Development Department (EDD)
Glendale Library Arts & Culture
NEW PARTNERS2 Rx Research Staffing Solutions (RxResearch)
Project Overview
The Verdugo workforce development area is located in Los Angeles County and includes the cities of
Burbank, Glendale, and La Canada-Flintridge. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 American
Community Survey, 19.6 percent of people in this workforce area are Hispanic or Latino, and 45.1 percent
are foreign-born individuals. The Verdugo workforce area had an unemployment rate of 6.2 percent in
1
Core partners are those included in the original grant application.
2
New partners are agencies that began collaborating with the VWDB after grantee activities started. These were
mentioned in narrative reports and TA site visit reports.
1March 20203 and a median household income of $65,725.4 The 10 entry-level/low educational
requirement occupations projected to have the most job openings in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-
Glendale Metropolitan Division (MD) (which includes the Verdugo workforce area) between 2016 and
2026 are displayed in the box below5.
Top 10 Fastest Growing Entry-level Occupations in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-
Glendale MD (Los Angeles County)
• Home Health Aides
• Personal Care Aides
• Physical Therapist Aides
• Massage Therapists
• Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers, Including Fast Food
• Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles
• Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors
• Medical Assistants
• Carpet Installers
• Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
Source: EDD’s 2016-2026 employment projections
Context
In March 2020, approximately eight months after the beginning of the grant, pilot activities were affected
by the shelter-in-place (SIP) orders and social distancing requirements to combat the COVID-19 virus. In
the sections that follow, we describe the ELL pilot's initial implementation activities in key areas and
include highlights about how these have adapted—or are in the process of adapting—during the current
COVID-19 environment.
Project Goals
The ELL Co-enrollment grant, which is being led by the Verdugo Workforce Development Board (VWDB)
and the Verdugo Jobs Center (VJC), expands the Verdugo ELL Co-Enrollment System (VECES) and
3
California Employment Development Department (EDD) Labor Market Information Division (LMID),
https://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/file/lfmonth/2003pwib.pdf
4
EDD LMID, 2013-2017 American Community Survey estimates:
https://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/file/Census2017/dp2017-verdugo.pdf
5
The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD comprises all of Los Angeles County.
2enhances workforce opportunities for immigrant and ELL populations in the Verdugo workforce area.
Participants can gain credentials in career pathway-specific industries, achieve measurable skills gains,
find employment, or earn increased wages as a result of their participation in the program.
The goal of VWDB/VJC's ELL Co-enrollment grant is to provide ELLs with enhanced case management to
assist them with enrolling in leveraged career pathway programs, including a Medical Assistant program
at Glendale Community College (GCC) and a Food Manufacturing Apprenticeship program operated by
RxResearch, along with providing them with access to ESL classes, on-the-job training (OJT), and work
experience through co-enrollment in locally-funded Title I and adult education programs. More specific
service delivery and outcome goals for the project are as follows:
INITIAL SERVICE DELIVERY AND OUTCOME METRICS METRIC GOALS
# enrolled in the grant (job seekers) 20 participants
# of co-enrolled participants 20 participants
# directly served with grant funds 20 participants
# of participants with measurable skill gains 100% of participants enrolled in ESL/ABE/ASE
# of participants who have entered employment 16 participants
Source: Grantee Application, August 2019.
After approximately 10 months of implementation, the Verdugo ELL Co-Enrollment Pilot had enrolled
seven participants toward its enrollment goal of 20. These seven participants were also co-enrolled in
locally funded Title I programs and co-enrolled in CAEP services.
Number of Participants in the ELL Co-Enrollment Grant
July 2020
20
7 7 7
Overall Enrolled in Co-Enrolled in Local Co-Enrolled in
Enrollment ELL Grant ** WDB-funded Title I Title II and
Goal * Adult, Dislocated CAEP ***
Worker, or Youth
Programs **
Source: (*) Grantee Application, August 2019; (**) CalJOBS Report, July 2020; (***) TOPSpro Enterprise Report, July
2020.
3Program Design
Navigator Model
Verdugo is carrying out all elements of the navigator model through a slightly modified approach. Unlike
the other pilot programs, where one or sometimes two people are assigned a “Navigator” role, the ELL
Grant Coordinator and VJC Case Manager work together to carry out the different Navigator
responsibilities.
The Grant Coordinator plays a project management role by communicating with grant partners,
organizing data entry and management for those partners, and overseeing and coordinating service
delivery, while the Case Manager directly recruits and enrolls participants in the ELL grant. The Case
Manager also focuses on co-enrolling and providing WIOA Title I services. The Grant Coordinator’s
oversight includes reviewing partner case management notes, emails, and communications to clients, as
well as making recommendations for referrals and services as partners continue to learn about available
programs. During shelter-in-place (SIP), the VJC converted its programming to virtual services. Currently,
the Case Manager has returned to work at the VJC on a rotational basis; however, the Grant Coordinator
continues to work from home.
Role of Lead Grantee and Partners
The lead grantee and partner agencies play different roles in the Verdugo ELL Co-Enrollment Pilot Project
(see table below).
Assessment / Individual Action Plan
Services – Employment/Job Search
Services – General Education/GED
Services – Training/Vocational
Outreach / Recruitment
Co-case management
Services – ESL classes
Co-enrollment
Follow-up
Referrals
Intake
LEAD VWDB/VJC ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
GCC ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
GlendaleLEARNS ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
IRC ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
CORE Armenian Relief Society ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Catholic Charities ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
EDD ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Glendale Library Arts &
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Culture
NEW RxResearch ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Source: Grantee Application, August 2019. Grant Coordinator and partner interviews, May-June 2020.
4The following table provides a qualitative description of the role and services.
PARTNER SERVICES
Leads the design and implementation of the ELL Co-enrollment grant,
documents the co-enrollment process; develops Partnership Agreements,
confidentiality agreements, and data sharing agreements for co-
LEAD VWDB/VJC enrollment; tracks co-enrollments and outcomes; conducts recruitment
and intake (enrollment, assessment) of ELLs in the ELL Co-enrollment grant;
provides employment/job search services; and makes referrals to other
services as needed.
Provides ESL courses for the Medical Assistant program, as well as career
GCC
education.
GlendaleLEARNS Provides ESL courses.
Provides immigration services, citizenship, and acculturation for ELL Co-
IRC
enrollment grant participants co-enrolled in their programs.
Armenian Relief Provides immigration services, citizenship, and acculturation for ELL Co-
CORE Society enrollment grant participants co-enrolled in their programs.
Catholic Provides immigration services, citizenship, and acculturation for ELL Co-
Charities enrollment grant participants co-enrolled in their programs.
Provides employment/job search services for ELL Co-enrollment grant
EDD
participants co-enrolled in their programs.
Glendale Library Provides employment/job search services for ELL Co-enrollment grant
Arts & Culture participants co-enrolled in their programs.
A Glendale-based registered apprenticeship in the Bioscience sector that
NEW RxResearch
provides OJL.
Source: Grantee Application, Grant Coordinator interviews, Partner interviews, May-June 2020.
Service Flow
Outreach and Recruitment
Given the amount of funding the grantee received ($100,000), the VWDB/VJC ELL Co-enrollment grant is
focused specifically on just those ELLs who want to pursue a career pathway. A major source of such ELLs
was expected to be from among those enrolled in GCC’s new Medical Clinical Assistant program.
Although it was closed for a short time due to COVID-19, it has since been able to resume operating after
being converted to distance learning. The VJC Case Manager is coordinating visits to its virtual classes to
recruit students for the ELL Co-enrollment grant. Another source of recruitment is expected to be a new
Food Manufacturing Apprenticeship program focused on ELLs developed VWDB, GCC, and an employer
intermediary organization RXResearch. In addition, the VWDB/VJC ELL Co-enrollment grant has continued
to rely on partners as a source of participant outreach and recruitment. Prior to SIP, ELL participants were
referred over from IRC and digital literacy classes held at the City of Glendale Library. This practice has
slowed as classes transition to virtual courses as a result of COVID-19.
5Eligibility/Intake/ELL Co-enrollment Grant Enrollment The standard intake process for the VWDB/VJC ELL grant starts with the VJC staff conducting one-on-one initial assessments and eligibility. This process is currently virtual using CalJOBS to expedite services to individuals. The information is referred to the VJC MIS Analyst who reviews the documents and back-up documentation to confirm whether the applicant is eligible for the grant or any other VJC programs. Potential participants are then enrolled by the MIS Analyst into the programs they are eligible for (including the ELL grant). Individuals who are enrolled into the ELL grant in CalJOBS are assigned to the grant's Case Manager at VJC who then works with the new participants to complete the individual service plan and provide appropriate services accordingly. VWDB/VJC adopted this approach so that its Case Managers would not be put in the position of being able to screen people out of any programs for which they are eligible. The complete eligibility and planning documents are submitted to the Grant Coordinator who then co-enrolls participants in California Adult Education Program (CAEP) using TOPSpro. The intake process is slightly different for ELLs who are recruited when the VJC Case Manager assigned to work with the ELL grant visits ESL classes (formerly at VJC or GCC but virtual for now). For ELLs recruited in this manner, instead of the MIS Analyst entering them in CalJOBS, the ELL grant Case Manager does this herself—completing CALJOBS applications for all of these individuals for the ELL grant, the CAEP local grant, and—if appropriate—one or more locally-funded WIOA Title I program. These applications—as well as the back-up documents needed to support them--are later reviewed by the MIS Analyst who confirms participants' eligibility before finalizing their enrollment into any of these programs. The Case Manager also creates a hard copy of the application package, which she provides to the CAEP Coordinator (who is also the ELL Grant Coordinator) so that the CAEP Coordinator can then formally enroll these participants in CAEP in TOPSpro. For the ELL Co-enrollment grant, the VWDB/VJC is not enrolling people without right-to-work documents because the grant's focus is on working with ELLs who want to pursue career pathways training to become employed. However, VWDB/VJC is being flexible about collecting right-to-work documents during the pandemic, in that participants can self-report that they have them and then send pictures/scans of the required documents. The VWDB/VJC's overall policy regarding right-to-work for its programs other than the ELL co-enrollment grant is to provide as many services as allowed without requesting those documents and these clients are served through other WIOA and non-WIOA grants, including with California Adult Education Program (CAEP) funds. Despite its focus on ELLs who want to pursue career pathways, none of the first seven participants enrolled in the ELL grant is pursuing training but are instead receiving only job search and placement assistance. The ELL grant coordinator stated that—for at least some of these participants—this is because they changed their minds about pursuing training only after they were already enrolled in the grant. However, the ELL Grant Coordinator reported that she expected eight participants in GCC's Medical Clinical Assistant program to eventually be co-enrolled in the ELL Grant, as well as one or more food manufacturing apprentices. Title I and Title II/CAEP Co-enrollment Practices VWDB/VJC ELL Co-enrollment grant participants have the opportunity to co-enroll in either a Medical Clinical Assistant program launched in February 2020 or a Food Manufacturing Apprenticeship program that was launched in April 2020. 6
Initially, for grant participants who wanted to co-enroll in the Medical Clinical Assistant program or in ESL classes at GCC, the co-enrollment process was designed as follows: the VJC Case Manager for the ELL grant would assist those participants in registering with GCC in PeopleSoft (GCC's enrollment system) to receive student IDs. The Case Manager would also assist them in enrolling into selected courses at GCC using GCC's Canvas learning management system. The VJC Case Manager would then refer those participants over to a Career Counselor at GCC as needed for further assistance. finally, yhe VJC Case Manager would enter information on the participant's co-enrollment in GCC into CalJOBS. Ultimately, the program was unable to fully implement this co-enrollment process during SIP. The ELL Grant Coordinator reviews the co-enrollment of ELL grant participants through reviews of monthly and quarterly CalJOBS reports and TOPSpro reports of ELL Co-enrollment grant participant activities. Services During SIP, the VJC was closed for in-person services, however if an ELL grant participant needed accommodation, the participant could set up a face-to-face interview with the grant's case manager at another location. The VJC reopened on June 15, 2020; however, only individual appointments are served in the center. The VJC remains closed to walk-in traffic and has not been scheduled to fully reopen given the high number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the city of Glendale (the 3rd hardest hit city in LA County). Medical Clinical Assistant Career Pathway. GCC’s Medical Clinical Assistant program, which began in February 2020 just before COVID-19 hit, is also being continued virtually. It is a three-semester program where students take one class (M-TH, 8:30 to 12:30) each semester and complete an externship in the third semester. ELLs that enroll in the course take a separate advanced conversational language class (Fridays 8:30-12:30) set up specifically for this program where students can practice the specific vocabulary and conversation required for medical assisting. The college worked with VWDB/VJC to recruit students and any ELLs were automatically co-enrolled. The program is funded by different streams: Strong Workforce funds all program supplies and equipment, CAEP pays for the physical space (a leased facility across the street from the Garfield campus), and instructors are paid through district funds. Students in the Medical Clinical Assistant program attended class for the first three weeks of Spring semester before moving to remote learning. It took instructors about a week to get everything in place. This included ensuring students had access to class texts and other materials and loaning laptops to students who did not have personal computers or the right software to complete course assignments. Despite all of these changes to the program, GCC reported that none of the 24 students enrolled in this program had dropped out as of July 2020. The Medical Clinical Assistant program’s paid externship component, which would be funded by the VWDB through WIOA and/or CAEP funds, is currently being reevaluated given SIP. Originally, the VWDB was working to find employers to host students in the Fall for (possibly paid) externships. Given COVID-19 and SIP, GCC has yet to determine what flexibility it has in implementing the externship next semester (the district is very concerned about liability and nervous about having students be in workplaces where they could be infected with COVID). As the district looks at which classes to bring back to campus, it has 7
identified and prioritized the Medical Clinical Assistant program for face-to-face instruction given its externship component. Food Manufacturing Apprenticeship Career Pathway. The Food Manufacturing Apprenticeship program is another partnership between VWDB, GCC, and RxResearch, a Glendale-based staffing firm and apprenticeship intermediary. As the food industry is still hiring workers, grant partners were quick to launch the apprenticeship to meet the needs of employers and ELLs alike. RxResearch is serving as the lead entity for the apprenticeship, coordinating with the employer partners, and leading the development of the apprenticeship paperwork needed to register the apprenticeship with the California Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) (this paperwork was recently submitted to DAS for approval and the apprenticeship will soon be listed in the Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) by DAS). GCC's role will be to provide ELL apprentices with ESL instruction and related (virtual) classroom instruction for a certain number of hours per week, with the rest of their time spent in on-the-job training with the employer (the schedule still needs to be finalized). As of April 2020, seven individuals were being interviewed by RxResearch and employers for acceptance into the apprenticeship program, and one had been enrolled. Only one of these eight was an ELL who was also likely to be co-enrolled in the ELL grant; the rest were ELL dislocated workers that were not interested in ESL co-enrollment and who would be served with other funding. Eventually, the ELL Grant Coordinator reported that they hope to enroll 28 apprentices to meet the needs of the four participating employers. To cover the costs of training these apprentices, VWDB/VJC will pay RxResearch $4,500 per apprentice using local Title I funding or National Dislocated Worker Emergency grant funding. That funding will cover the costs of the classroom-based learning (on-the-job-learning or OJL) provided by GCC, the non- employer portion of OJT costs, and the cost of the apprentice mentoring. The VJC is also serving other ELLs who are not interested in career pathway training, but want to receive other services such as ESL classes by using funding from other grants (these ELLs are not enrolled in the ELL Co-enrollment grant). One service delivery challenge for VWDB/VJC has been supporting clients who have low digital literacy or lack the equipment to access virtual services. In fact, the VJC has shifted more of its staff to work with ELLs because of the length of time it has been taking to connect them to virtual services (e.g., helping with digital literacy, filling out forms, mailing correspondence). GCC ESL Classes. GCC has a large ESL program, which has been completely virtual since March. The college plans to continue virtual classes for the fall semester and recently the President of GCC announced that distance learning would continue through the spring 2021 semester. Although the Dean of Continuing and Community Education reported that the college's transition to distance learning went smoothly, he also noted that it has experienced a 42 percent decrease in ESL enrollment since SIP, with low-level literacy classes being the most impacted (GCC staff were surprised to see that conversation classes have not seen nearly that amount of enrollment loss). GCC staff stated that this drop in enrollment could be caused by barriers to remote learning, including a lack of equipment (e.g., sometimes the family has only one laptop and the children need to use it for school), a lack of Internet access or sufficiently fast Internet access, a lack of time to attend classes or complete classwork 8
due to other family or work obligations, and a lack of (digital) literacy. To mitigate these challenges, GCC has been reaching out to students who have dropped out to ask what assistance they would need to continue their education. In addition, the college has provided students with different types of support including loaner laptops, Wi-Fi hot spots, and referrals to community resources that can assist with Internet access (e.g., cable companies offering free Internet access; links to public assistance programs that could help families pay for such access). Case and Co-Case Management The VWDB/VJC ELL Co-enrollment grant has highly centralized data sharing and co-case management processes. Data is shared between VWDB/VJC and its partners, including GCC primarily via the ELL Grant Coordinator, and she is included in all communication regarding participant activities between the Case Manager and partner staff members. The grant partners are considering the long-term sustainability and scalability of these processes, as they agree that having only on person at VWDB/VJC as the conduit for all participant information from all partners is not practical as it puts a lot of burden on that person, which makes it difficult to grow and develop co-enrollment. However, adjustments to the ELL co-enrollment process have not been implemented due to SIP, once activities normalize they will be able to return to a more systematic co-enrollment and co-case management process, the Grant Coordinator will be able to step back from carrying out as many of data sharing and co-case management responsibilities once the initial connections are made between the Case Manager and partners. Both before and since the enactment of the SIP mandate, GCC and VWDB/VJC staff reported that they have tended to communicate informally, as needed. However, they also asserted that they have a close relationship, which has made it easy to deal any participant issues as needed. For example, if a participant needs assistance in accessing or succeeding in a GCC program, the ELL Grant Coordinator or VJC Case Manager do not hesitate to reach to their primary GCC contact who will connect them to the college's Disabled Student Services, an academic counselor, a case manager, or another college staff member to assist that participant. Funding After the VWDB/VJC ELL grant shifted to proving services remotely, the grant's Case Manager had to spend more time working with individual ELLs, helping them to develop digital literacy; assisting them with filling out forms; and mailing correspondence. As a result, VWDB may need to dedicate more (perhaps all of its non-administrative funds) of its ELL Co-enrollment grant funds to cover staffing costs and fund any training costs through leveraged funds instead of the grant. GCC reported that it may need to cut some classes and support staff in light of expected budget cuts. However, GCC staff reported that the Medical Clinical Assistant program is unlikely to be cut since it is a new and fully enrolled program. Next Steps As SIP continues, the VWDB/VJC ELL grantee and its partners continue to adapt and improve services for remote and online delivery. While virtual learning was new for many students and instructors in ESL classes and career pathway programs, the transition to distance learning was relatively smooth, though 9
access to equipment and technology remains a challenge for some. Grant partners, include GCC and VWDB/VJC, are working to provide participants with Chromebooks or laptops so they can access their school and work materials virtually. In addition, VWDB/VJC, GCC, and RxResearch continue to focus on the food manufacturing industry as it is one of the few sectors that has continued to hire during COVID-19/SIP. The partners submitted paperwork to DAS for the Food Manufacturing Apprenticeship program and expect it to be listed in the Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) shortly. The ELL Grant Coordinator is working with the apprenticeship program ESL instructor to customize the curriculum for ELL participants. 10
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