MET CENTER Metropolitan Education and Training Center A MET CENTER CASE STUDY Presented to Working Families Success Network National Conference Detroit, Michigan November 7, 2013 By Carolyn Seward President & CEO - FWCA/MET Center

2

THE HISTORY OF MET CENTER  Vacant, Manufacturing Building o Formerly Wagner Electric  Located in an economically challenged area in the urban community o Unemployment Rate (year 2000) - 16% o Average Household Income $24,688 o Poverty Level – 39.1%  Received federal funding to create a training facility for low- income residents o 6-Story Facility o 3 Floors Renovated

THE HISTORY OF MET CENTER (cont’d)  5-7 Years of Existence o 2 Partners (Community College & CBO) o Approximately 200 customers served each year  Community College & CBO Programs o Began to expand from 200 to 700 customers per year  Center Focus o Training o Employment

A.Who will be served by the MET Center?  Low-Income Adults w/Criminal Backgrounds & Educational Deficiencies  Unemployed  Adult Ex-Offender  Community Residents B.Funding Sources  TANF  WIA  ITAs  Pell Grants  Other Federal, State & Private Funding Opportunities

GROUP DISCUSSION #1 1.How do you begin to coordinate partners & resources that will benefit the community? 2.How do you develop the governance & organizational structure for a CWF?

MISSION The MET Center is a strategic partnership created to stimulate the economic self-sufficiency of individuals living in low-income communities of the St. Louis Region. The Center seeks to accomplish this mission by delivering focused, comprehensive, and accessible job training, placement, assessment, career development services and transportations services. We serve the underemployed, unemployed, and displaced workers, leading to sustainable work and a competitive regional economy. Centrally Located Near the MetroLink Comprehensive Skill-Based Training Focused Individual Employment Planning Accessible Career Development and Placement Services Personal Financial Education/Transportation Services

MET CENTER GOVERNANCE  Board of Directors  City & County Workforce Investment Board  Community College  CBOs  Public School System  Economic Development  Quarterly Meetings  MET Program Directors Meeting  Program Directors/Representatives  MIS Representative  Executive Director  Monthly Meetings

ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

GROUP DISCUSSION #2 1.At what point is the customer considered a CWF participant?  Center Orientation  Skills Training 2.How to ensure you have the right partners delivering services to the community (i.e. financial institutions)? 3.If the focus is training & employment services, what type of supportive services are needed and who will deliver them?

MET CENTER/CWF INTEGRATED SERVICE DELIVERY MODEL

SERVICES & TRAINING SERVICES & EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS SKILL-BASED TRAINING PROGRAMS  Recruiting & Orientation  GED/AEL  Transportation  Job Search  Work Readiness  Tax Preparation  Employment Training  Placement & Retention  Business Services  Transportation  Career Pathways  Construction  Manufacturing  Healthcare  BioScience Technology  Distance Learning

SUPPORTIVE SERVICES  Financial Education & Asset Building Services  Home Buyers Education & Investment Services  Tax Services (Vita Site)  Transportation Services (MWA)  Health and Wellness Education (Clinical)  MET Mobility Center  Dr. J’s Family Weight Loss  Healthy Relationship Education/Responsible Fatherhood  Individual and Group Counseling Services (Clinical)

 St. Louis County Government  St. Louis County WIB  St. Louis Economic Development Partnership  St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association (RCGA)  Family and Workforce Centers of America (FWCA) – CBO  St. Louis City WIB (SLATE)  Fathers’ Support Center  Metropolitan Training Alliance (MTA)  ARAMARK  Washington University in St. Louis  St. Louis Community College (STLCC)  Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF)  East-West Gateway Council of Governments  Special School District (SSD)  St. Louis Public Schools  Construction Prep Center (CPC)  BFL, Inc. (CBO)  Saint Louis Community Credit Union (STLCCU)

GROUP DISCUSSION #3 How do you bundle services?

CWF PROCESS FLOW

EFFECTIVENESS OF BUNDLING AND SEQUENCING SERVICES  Bundling Leads to Long-Term Engagement o Increase in participant contact frequency o Multiple partners collaboration and resource integration  Sequencing Leads to Effectiveness of Services o Recruitment, orientation, assessment, incomes support [training, employment, retention, continuing financial education and asset building) o Specific sequencing is designed to optimize customers’ utilization of services  Increase in Customer Retention  Increase in Participants Wages

GROUP DISCUSSION #4 How do you capture the data?

MET CENTER DATABASE  Unified Data Source  In addition to all of the training and supportive services offered at the MET, we also have the ability to store, collect/manage, and report program data in a single secured data source.

DATABASE FUNCTIONALITY  Customer Demographics  Program Enrollment  Program Cost/Funding  Placement & Employment History  Customer Advancement  Milestone Reporting by Program

CHALLENGES W /DATA  Managing Data Integration from multiple data sources (double data entry)

ACCOMPLISHMENTS  Since 2006, 18,132 unduplicated residents have requested Employment and Training services from The MET Center. As of September 30, 2013, the following outcomes have been achieved through our CWF initiative : –5,469 Enrolled in training/3,716 Completed training –5,431 Receiving financial literacy services –4,876 Placed in employment –$9.00 per hour average wage  2012 Estimated Economic Impact: $31.9M (1950 placed into employment at $9/hr. by 35 hrs./wk by 52 wks/yr= $31.9M)  Partnered With Saint Louis Community Credit Union to implement Behavioral Economics and offer financial products to participants (co-located at MET Center)  Increase in Participant’s Wages (Post training wages are higher)  Strategic partnership reduced total cost (by minimizing duplication of services)  Publication: “A Bottom-up Definition of Self-Sufficiency” (Hong, Sheriff, 2009)

THE FUTURE  Funding received to complete 4 th, 5 th & 6 th floor renovations o 4 th and 5 th floor completion – January 2014  Accredited early childhood education center opening August 2014  Build relationships with major corporations to deliver pre-employment services for entry-level positions w/potential career pathways within the company

QUESTIONS