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Reports and Other Documents from MASSCAP
To further its advocacy and public policy initiatives in support of the state's low-income communities, MASSCAP has issued the reports and other materials listed below. Electronic versions of these documents can be accessed from the listing. Hard copy versions also are available, as noted below.
Some of the documents listed below are in PDF format. To open a PDF file, you need to have the free Adobe PDF Reader installed on your workstation. If you do not have this free software, you can download it from the Adobe Web site. Even if you already have the Reader installed, you might need to update it with the current version.
Reports
Resource Guides
Workforce Development: Report from the Minority-owned Small Business Assistance Project
In 2006 MASSCAP, along with key workforce development partners, collaborated to create the Minority-owned Small Business Assistance (MSBA) Project. The goal of the project was to identify the workforce development needs of employees and owners of minority-owned small businesses in Massachusetts and to build bridges to existing systems, networks, and resources that would provide customized workforce development approaches and opportunities for low-income, minority populations.
The project team, which included MASSCAP and representatives of other organizations, elected to study small businesses in the Hispanic and Brazilian communities in Lowell, Massachusetts. Hispanics are the largest minority group in the United States, and Brazilians are among the fastest growing groups in Massachusetts. Both groups have a strong presence in Lowell.
In the study, employers and employees identified several barriers to participating in education and training programs. These barriers prevent them from growing their businesses or obtaining higher-level skills training, education, and support services that could help them to transition to career ladders and higher paying jobs. Workforce Development Resource Guide
To assist Community Action Agencies (CAAs) and other community-based organizations (CBOs) in their quest toward establishing effective workforce development programs, this guide presents ideas, examples, promising practices, and technical information. We recognize that each state, region, city, and neighborhood in which CAAs/CBOs operate is unique and requires customized workforce strategies to best meet identified needs. For this reason, this guide is designed to provide resources to support program efforts. While CAAs operating in Massachusetts represent the primary audience for the guide, our expectation is that the wealth of information provided also will be useful to other CBOs operating in the workforce development arena across the country. Workforce Development Materials: Case Studies
Helping to move low-income individuals
and their families from poverty to economic self-sufficiency presents
continuing challenges. Among policymakers and practitioners, there
is now a growing awareness that what is needed is closer integration
between community-based organizations and the workforce development
system. One approach that shows promise, based on initial research,
is to provide workforce development and other support services
within a broad framework in which attainment of self-sufficiency
is viewed as the ultimate outcome of many incremental steps.
This section of the Web site presents case studies and other materials from a research project focusing on community-based organizations that have experience with this type of approach to workforce development. The project identified key practices, drivers, and challenges in using the “self-sufficiency continuum framework.”
- Community Action Agencies and Other Community-Based Organizations: Adapting to the Big Change—Providing Information Technology Access and Training (2005)
- Complete Document (pdf)
- Establishing Effective Workforce Development Programs for Community Action Agencies and Other Community-Based Organizations in Massachusetts (2004)
- Complete Document (pdf)
Other Documents
- Fact Sheet on Community Action Agencies in Massachusetts (2001)
- Fact Sheet (pdf)
To Obtain Printed/Multiple Copies
If you wish to obtain printed versions and/or multiple copies of the reports listed on this page, contact the MASSCAP office at (617) 357-6086 to inquire about current availability and charges (i.e., a fee for postage and handling).
You also can submit your request using the Contact Us email form on this Web site.
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