Connecting Residents to Skills, Careers, and Opportunity

The Community Workforce Development Scholarship Fund was born in 2018 out of a Community Benefits Agreement developed with community members in NW Washington, DC, and was established as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Since its founding, CWDSF has developed a new model for workforce development, one that can scale to create real, long-term change in DC’s labor market and help close racial gaps in employment.

From its inception, community leaders envisioned a program that empowers Ward 1 residents with the tools they need to improve their employability. Through access to a workforce development center, career training programs, and personalized support, CWDSF works to ensure that residents can build stable careers and earn enough income to continue living in their neighborhoods.

Rather than develop yet another new training program, CWDSF took a different approach: We partner with renowned workforce development partners, matching them with career-pathway programs that consistently don’t fill all their available seats. We help them reach low-income residents who may benefit from these opportunities. Our workforce development center works to ensure more people benefit from the many existing training resources.

We will test this model in Washington, DC’s most challenged communities. We seek to determine how well this approach reduces economic insecurity for African American residents in Ward 1 by expanding access to effective workforce development programs and stronger job pathways.

THE NEED

The existing workforce development system in Washington, DC, operated through the Department of Employment Services, or DOES, is not meeting the needs of low-income residents, particularly African American youth and young adults. During 2017, DOES programs reached 33,398 individuals, but less than half reported being employed. Those who were employed averaged $26,296 per year or $12.64 per hour, well below the estimated living wage of $17.76 per hour for a single adult and $30.34 per hour for an adult with one child. While DOES has some creative programs, including pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs, youth employment, and services related to TANF, and works with 25 approved vendors, unemployment and underemployment remain extremely high in Ward 1. Most programs are not fully subscribed, leaving many residents without the training and support they need. Clearly, a new workforce development model is required to meet the needs of the most economically challenged communities.

The CWDSF offers this new way. Through its workforce development center, residents will have access to effective, accessible, and responsive career training programs and pathways. The focus on Ward 1 means that CWDSF is targeting racial and economic disparities to connect its residents with stable, living-wage jobs and further improve long-term financial security.

CWDSF/DC’s past Partners