Evaluation of the Career Advancement Accounts Demonstration Project: An Implementation Study

摘要

This report presents interim findings from an implementation study of the Career Advancement Account (CAA) Demonstration Project, an effort to test a voucher-based, consumer-driven, self-guided approach to providing access to training for the U.S. workforce that contrasts with the approach used under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and other more regulated government-funded training program. The accounts provide $3,000 annually for up to two years to individuals seeking job training as a means to secure employment. As part of this study, Social Policy Research Associates (SPR) is examining the early stages of CAA demonstration project implementation in its eight participating states. This report describes how the states organized and implemented CAAs, what services were provided, and the overall level of account and expenditure activity, and offers a preliminary assessment of the overall project. It covers the period from spring 2007 until December 2008. A final report on the implementation and outcomes of the demonstration will follow this report. In the fall of 2006, the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) launched the CAA demonstration project to test a more streamlined training voucher, building off WIAs emphasis on streamlining training services, empowering customers, and relying on market-driven approaches to ensure accountability and performance. Taking the voucher approach exemplified by Individual Training Accounts (ITAs) one step further, workers are given an account of up to $3,000 per year for up to two years, which they can use to pay for the tuition, books, and fees associated with the education or training services of their choice, so long as the training program leads to a portable, industry-recognized credential. Within these broad parameters, states have discretion to tailor the application of CAAs to their own needs.