Data Science in the Public Interest: Improving Government Performance in the Workforce by Joshua D. Hawley

Author:Joshua D. Hawley [Hawley, Joshua D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-88099-675-4
Publisher: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
Published: 2020-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

OHIO—DATA ANALYTICS AND STATE GOVERNMENT

Overview of Workforce System

Ohio’s workforce system is large and complex, befitting a state of 11.6 million people in 2015. The state includes large cities, such as Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, as well as smaller metropolitan areas like Dayton, Akron, and Toledo. According to the 2010 Census, the rural population in Ohio is about 2.5 million. As with any urban community, there are pockets of poverty in Cleveland and Akron. However, according to data from the 2018 American Community Survey, much of the rural southeast of the state has high poverty rates—above 25 percent (Ohio Development Services Agency 2019). Much of the demand for workforce services comes from these poor but diverse areas. Ohio’s labor force contained 5.7-6.0 million jobs between 2007 and 2015, mostly located in its metropolitan areas. In recent years, jobs have grown consistently in Ohio. Annually, Ohio added about 35,000 jobs (Ohio Department of Job and Family Services 2017). Compared to the rest of the country, Ohio’s population is older and has fewer educated workers (though they are increasing). Ohio is a large Midwestern state with over 600 K-12 districts, two- and four-year colleges, and a network of vocational schools that is very accessible to the broader Ohio population. The public workforce system is operated through 20 workforce development areas. These areas include single-county operations in Columbus and Cleveland, as well as massive regional systems such as Area 7, which serves as the coordinator for 43 counties. These workforce areas serve Ohio’s 88 counties and over 95 OhioMeansJobs (OMJ) centers. The centers are a common institutional form for the state, providing a “single point of entry” for a range of coordinated services. Organizationally, each OMJ is controlled by the workforce board chair and board staff. The board provides back-office services (such as human resources and financial management) for the network of centers in each jurisdiction. The services each center provides vary but include those legally required by the state plan. A review of state plans for each county does show, however, that many of the linkages to programs under the state rules are “in process” rather than in place. For example, through the Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program, Ohio youth are offered an array of services, including mental health treatment and vocational training, in addition to traditional WIOA services (Hawley and Munn 2017).

At the state level, Ohio has a central Office of Workforce Transformation housed within the governor’s office. This office centralizes strategic planning for workforce development. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services is the primary office in the state that deals with workforce development. The agency divides responsibility for many of the different federal programs with other agencies in the state, such as the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities agency, which handles the rehabilitation services program, and the Ohio Department of Higher Education, which provides the Adult Basic Literacy and Education programs.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.