Adult Education Consortia: Using Data, Partnerships, and Workforce Pathways to Drive Results

And Nat, talking about that funding, with the federal changes in particular, have we seen differences in the need for accountability, more data, how you're doing things to continue to get funding?

One of the things that we're seeing is that tracking the placement is becoming more and more important for funding.

So it's pay for performance, pay for placement.

And Workforce Pell is a really good example where it's like if you don't make that placement, the, the institution doesn't get anything for leading an adult through that training.

So I actually feel like part of the drive for collaboration is if one org doesn't have insight into the job placement, they don't get paid.

And to me, the, if a case manager at Unity Council hears about a job placement- That OA actually the credential helped produce, then sharing that information becomes super important for funding.

And the other big trend I'm seeing is we need more regional funders to see the value of the collaboration and a story like, "Hey, we have the partners in place.

We already are collaborating." But being able to tell the story of the outcomes.

One adult takes an average of four interventions before they're able to be placed, and this is the cost, and that's impossible to tell that story.

But I think philanthropy and regional funders are very interested in that story if we could tell it.

So that's another kind of motivation to even bring partners in one place to coordinate.

It's like, can we attract more local dollars that don't have so many restrictions to actually scale the impact?

I think there's a lot more strings going on to federal financial aid.

Just speaking with my client, one of my clients the other day about the one program area of study.

You can't go into community college undeclared now.

You need to pick your major, your area, and then there's gonna be a winnowing of financial aid being offered to kind of occupations or programs that don't lead to in-demand oc- high wage occupations.

There's a need for connectivity between the financial aid that you're getting, the training, and the job that you're getting in some sort of in-demand sector, and demonstrating all of those outcomes.

There's quite a bit of focus, and it's like I would say it's an existential threat to the system, right? It's a great opportunity to clean things up, but it's a lot of work.

And just to build on what you said, Shruti, about foundations.

Out in Stockton, Stockton is currently one of the Irvine Foundation's priority communities, which has been a, a great boon to the community.

Some great work has been done there in terms of capacity building and supporting different organizations, and we've been connecting with them to some extent, and that's been a really positive thing.

It helps amplify our work and then also just, like I said, just get connected to other organizations as well.

One piece of the data tracking that we've been looking at is there's a big push around...

So we hear about in the K12 system, dual enrollment, but there's also adult dual enrollment where you can be at Kim's program completing your high school diploma, and then over at Laney working on your AA into some classes over there.

So there's been a lot of push to get those programs started, but then the question is, well, how are they going, right? And where are the students? And so I was doing a count at a community college, like this is the number of former adult school students, and then I was like, wait a second.

And Nat, talking about that funding, with the federal changes in particular, have we seen differences in the need for accountability, more data, how you're doing things to continue to get funding?

One of the things that we're seeing is that tracking the placement is becoming more and more important for funding.

So it's pay for performance, pay for placement.

And Workforce Pell is a really good example where it's like if you don't make that placement, the, the institution doesn't get anything for leading an adult through that training.

So I actually feel like part of the drive for collaboration is if one org doesn't have insight into the job placement, they don't get paid.

And to me, the, if a case manager at Unity Council hears about a job placement- That OA actually the credential helped produce, then sharing that information becomes super important for funding.

And the other big trend I'm seeing is we need more regional funders to see the value of the collaboration and a story like, "Hey, we have the partners in place.

We already are collaborating." But being able to tell the story of the outcomes.

One adult takes an average of four interventions before they're able to be placed, and this is the cost, and that's impossible to tell that story.

But I think philanthropy and regional funders are very interested in that story if we could tell it.

So that's another kind of motivation to even bring partners in one place to coordinate.

It's like, can we attract more local dollars that don't have so many restrictions to actually scale the impact?

I think there's a lot more strings going on to federal financial aid.

Just speaking with my client, one of my clients the other day about the one program area of study.

You can't go into community college undeclared now.

You need to pick your major, your area, and then there's gonna be a winnowing of financial aid being offered to kind of occupations or programs that don't lead to in-demand oc- high wage occupations.

There's a need for connectivity between the financial aid that you're getting, the training, and the job that you're getting in some sort of in-demand sector, and demonstrating all of those outcomes.

There's quite a bit of focus, and it's like I would say it's an existential threat to the system, right? It's a great opportunity to clean things up, but it's a lot of work.

And just to build on what you said, Shruti, about foundations.

Out in Stockton, Stockton is currently one of the Irvine Foundation's priority communities, which has been a, a great boon to the community.

Some great work has been done there in terms of capacity building and supporting different organizations, and we've been connecting with them to some extent, and that's been a really positive thing.

It helps amplify our work and then also just, like I said, just get connected to other organizations as well.

One piece of the data tracking that we've been looking at is there's a big push around...

So we hear about in the K12 system, dual enrollment, but there's also adult dual enrollment where you can be at Kim's program completing your high school diploma, and then over at Laney working on your AA into some classes over there.

So there's been a lot of push to get those programs started, but then the question is, well, how are they going, right? And where are the students? And so I was doing a count at a community college, like this is the number of former adult school students, and then I was like, wait a second.