Wraparound Supports

Why wraparound supports?

Inclusive worker training programs that prioritize the recruitment, training, and retention of workers from underserved communities provide important pathways to quality jobs. When designing these programs, it is critical to understand that individuals from marginalized groups may need additional (or “wraparound”) supports to take full advantage of these training programs. Black workers and women participating in training programs have lower completion rates compared to their white and male counterparts—a disparity that can be attributed to the lack of tailored supports and comprehensive services designed to address their specific needs. Due to historic and ongoing anti-Black racism, Black workers are disproportionately unable to meet their basic needs, creating significant financial barriers to engagement with workforce development programs, particularly those with low or unpaid training or educational components. In addition, gendered caregiving requirements create an additional hurdle for women, particularly for Black and other women of color. 

Basic needs must be addressed to ensure that people facing barriers to employment can meaningfully engage in training programs and job opportunities. Providing support services and paid training opportunities lowers the barriers for BIPOC workers, women, veterans, people with criminal records, as well as un and under-employed folks who are interested in training for a new career. Low-income workers who are interested in upskilling and securing higher paying jobs face barriers to participating in unpaid and time-intensive training programs. This is largely because they cannot afford to forgo the income they earn at their lower-wage job(s). 

In order to engage with a job training program, workers often need support such as transportation subsidies, case worker access, financial literacy classes, job readiness training, and financial resources. Without free or subsidized child care services, caretakers and single parents—especially women—face significant challenges to pursuing training programs and retaining their jobs. Deploying supportive services as part of a comprehensive targeted hiring policy allows cities and regions to bring often overlooked and left behind groups into the local workforce. Researchers found apprenticeship programs that provide childcare increase completion rates by 11 percent, and programs that subsidize transportation costs increase completion by 7 percent.

What are the potential benefits?

Comprehensive wraparound support services are a critical tool for dismantling barriers to employment and driving more inclusive workforce outcomes. These services can significantly improve completion rates for BIPOC individuals, women, veterans, and people with criminal records, who often face additional barriers to employment. By addressing these challenges, wraparound services help reduce local unemployment and underemployment among marginalized populations, creating more equitable access to job opportunities. Furthermore, they foster lasting partnerships between community-based organizations, local governments, and employers, enabling the identification, recruitment, and training of workers in high-growth sectors. These collaborations strengthen local economies while expanding opportunities for underserved communities.

Higher Completion Rates for Marginalized Groups: A study of a five-year demonstration program found that in Northeast Ohio, participants who received supportive services were four times more likely to complete their occupational skills training compared to a control group. Services were comprehensive and available at each stage of a worker’s journey, including career planning, career readiness training, job search assistance, and post-employment coaching. The career coaches helped a participant understand the value in sticking to a job and taking advantage of opportunities for growth despite his past struggles with coworkers and supervisors. Career coaching encourages job retention as graduates complete their training, which creates meaningful impacts on participants’ careers and secures workforce retention rates. 

Addressing Racial Inequities in Employment and Income: Increasing employment and providing pathways to quality jobs could boost U.S. GDP by $8 trillion. Strategic investments that connect marginalized residents to quality jobs lead to improved economic outcomes and provide financial benefits to workers of color and low-income communities. By offering tailored services like financial assistance, transportation support, caregiving subsidies, and ongoing coaching, these programs make job training and placement more accessible. Individuals who receive such support are more likely to complete training, secure employment, retain their jobs, and increase their earnings. For example, a woman enrolled in the Apprenticeship and Non-Traditional Employment for Women (ANEW) program and successfully completed her pre-apprenticeship due in large part to the support services provided, including fuel funding, test preparation, and necessary tools and equipment. After completing the program, she began earning $17 per hour, and shortly after, she entered an apprenticeship program with a starting wage of over $20 per hour.

Building Enduring Community-Agency Partnerships: Wraparound service partnerships enable public agencies to develop long-term relationships with community-based organizations (CBOs) and service providers. Seattle’s Priority Hire program (see case study) relies on local intermediaries, like CBOs, to provide pre-apprenticeship training and support services to workers living in priority ZIP Codes. CBOs can also play a critical role in recruitment and participant retention. In 2022, Seattle’s community organization partners recruited nearly half of all participants for their priority hire program (326 of 776), and provided retention support to more than half the participants (671). By building enduring partnerships, nonprofit partners can recruit and connect residents to the workforce development training they need to expand their economic and employment opportunities.

How do you design and implement an equitable program?

Designing and implementing an equitable wraparound support program requires thoughtful planning to ensure accessibility and effectiveness for marginalized populations. Jurisdictions seeking to improve employment outcomes for people of color and others facing barriers must consider equitable design principles, including recruitment strategies, community partnerships, and flexible services tailored to individual needs. By addressing these factors, cities and counties can create programs that more effectively support underserved communities in accessing job training and employment opportunities.

• Structure recruitment to avoid political and legal delays in implementation: Race-based targeting is preferable because it directly addresses the discrimination and systemic racism that impacts workers of color. However, some states—like California—prohibit race-preferential hiring, and all programs that receive public funds are subject to strict scrutiny when implementing race-based programs. Given recent jurisprudence and a political climate hostile to racial equity, jurisdictions will likely avoid using race or ethnicity as criteria for interventions. In an attempt to target underserved communities, which tend to heavily overrepresent Black and other people of color, localities use a variety of proxies, frequently based on economic factors. These may include targeting geographic areas (e.g., local hire policies that prioritize recruitment from specific ZIP codes), employment status, criminal record status, English-language fluency, skill or education completion level, and other non-race-specific targets in which Black and other people of color are overrepresented.
• Work with CBOs to identify and remove barriers for community members: It is not enough to prioritize recruitment of marginalized populations if those trainees continue to face barriers to participation. To identify needs and create tailored strategies to address gaps, agencies typically work with CBOs to design high-impact interventions. As described in our case study, Mecklenburg County funded She Built this City to design interventions that support women, marginalized communities, and youth accessing job training opportunities. They specifically identified access to technology and flexible financial support as key barriers for these target populations. With these needs identified, the program was designed to provide qualifying participants with weekly stipends and laptops. Likewise, using ARPA funding, the organization was able to expand Spanish-language offerings to better support the County’s growing Latinx population. The County has also adapted the nonprofit’s Career Connections Expo as its model for connecting workers with job training programs and entry-level careers. 
• Provide flexible wraparound services to address participants’ needs: Transportation, childcare, housing, and career counseling are primary services that can increase job-training completion and job placement. However, all job-seekers have individual needs. Programs that offer unrestricted cash or other flexibilities may be best prepared to serve a variety of job seekers. For example, Los Angeles County, California's Workforce Equity Fund (see case study) provides participants with the cash to meet their specific needs. Similarly, Humboldt County, California’s North Coast Hire program provides flexible support services from the start of the program through job placement and beyond. Training cohort participants received basic support such as meals, workwear, and financial literacy training and career coaching. This program also allocates individualized wraparound supports administered at the discretion of the case managers. Flexible approaches to provide wraparound services provide job-training participants with holistic care and the freedom to meet specific, essential needs without the bureaucratic barriers to accessing supports. 
• Reduce barriers to partnering with CBOs and service providers: These partnerships are the foundation for a city or county’s ability to reach target populations effectively and provide tailored, culturally competent services. Prioritizing community-based organizations (CBOs) with deep ties to the community, or that are led by community members, can further enhance program delivery and trust. A jurisdiction can identify and contract with local organizations through its usual procurement channels, but it will need to refine and streamline the process to reduce barriers to nonprofit participation. The procurement process, including proposal requirements and forms, should lessen nonprofits’ administrative burden. Jurisdictions can provide informational sessions and generous windows for submitting questions, use clear and accessible language throughout the request for qualifications/proposals, as well as trim and tailor proposal requirements so they are less time intensive. Streamlined requirements should focus on simplifying the narratives and documentation needed to convey the nonprofit’s qualifications. Likewise, the agency should review contracting requirements and eliminate non-essential compliance and reporting protocols. Agencies should also streamline payment processes to ensure timely reimbursements. For CBOs with restricted cash flow, agencies may, on a case-by-case basis, consider providing an initial payment to support contract initiation. As Tulsa, Oklahoma learned through its revised CARES Act procurement process, having a more flexible and tailored process can result in community organizations sharing important insights and ideas with the city and improving overall program delivery.

Where is it working?

Several jurisdictions across the country have successfully implemented wraparound support services to enhance workforce development programs, demonstrating the power of targeted investments in marginalized communities. By leveraging ARPA funds, these initiatives have expanded services, helping participants overcome employment barriers and secure higher-paying jobs in high-growth sectors. Programs in Franklin County, Detroit, Seattle, and Los Angeles County have provided comprehensive support, including stipends, childcare, transportation, and career coaching, allowing individuals to access training opportunities, complete programs, and transition into stable careers. These examples illustrate how strategic investments in wraparound services can drive equitable workforce outcomes.

Franklin County, OH - Building Futures Program

Of Franklin County’s $11 million ARPA funding investment in job training assistance programs, more than $2 million supported the Building Futures program. Building Futures is a 12-week pre-apprenticeship program designed as an entry point for those seeking a career in the construction trades. The holistic training curriculum includes life skills training such as interpersonal skills and financial budgeting, as well as more technical job-specific skills like safety certification. The County also offers and connects participants to support services that address needs like housing and transportation and provides a weekly stipend of $250. Upon completing the program, participants have an opportunity to move directly into a registered construction apprenticeship program.

Detroit, MI - SkillsforLife 

Detroit committed $75 million of its ARPA funding for SkillsforLife. This program prepares un and under-employed Detroit residents, particularly those facing barriers like unstable housing and limited formal education, for employment via temporary job placements with the city of Detroit. Jobs available to community members are focused on neighborhood improvement and providing community care services. The program offerstransportation and childcare assistance, career coaching, and other forms of support. To further reduce barriers and increase access for target populations, the program eliminates the requirement for drug tests and actively encourages those with criminal records to apply.

Seattle, WA - Priority Hire Program 

Seattle launched Priority Hire as a pilot project on the Elliott Bay Seawall in late 2013. By 2015, the program was formalized for public works construction projects exceeding $5 million, and in 2017, it expanded to include public-private partnership projects with substantial city investment. Since 2016, Seattle has partnered with community organizations and nonprofits to provide engagement, recruitment, training, and support services for program participants. Over this period, the City invested $4.8 million in recruitment and support services, including a $350,000 infusion of ARPA funds in June 2021. Seattle estimates that annual earnings for Black/African American, Latinx, and Native American workers who participated in the Priority Hire program have at least doubled since becoming gainfully employed through this initiative.

Los Angeles County, CA - Wraparound Services for Critical Employment Initiatives

Los Angeles County invested $2 million of its ARPA funding towards its Wraparound Services for Critical Employment Initiatives (also known as the Workforce Equity Fund) to support workers participating in High Road Training Partnership (see case study) and Careers for a Cause, two ARPA-funded workforce development programs. The Fund provides participants with $1,500 cash assistance to address barriers that may otherwise prevent their participation in the workforce programs and hinder them from accessing greater economic opportunities. This program is unique in providing workers with cash and giving them freedom of choice in how they would meet their needs with the supporting funds. It targets individuals with criminal records and/or experiencing homelessness. The average wage amongst those who completed training programs and secured jobs was approximately $20/hour—25 percent higher than the local minimum wage.

What are complementary policies?

Addressing employment inequities requires a comprehensive approach that includes policies focused on expanding access to quality jobs for marginalized populations. These policies not only provide direct employment opportunities but also foster long-term economic stability by ensuring that individuals with criminal records and other barriers are given fair access to the labor market. Initiatives such as municipal jobs programs and fair chance hiring laws play a critical role in breaking down barriers to employment and creating pathways for those disproportionately affected by systemic discrimination. Jurisdictions can enhance these efforts by integrating them with broader workforce development strategies:

• Municipal Jobs Program - Creating municipal jobs programs is another way for jurisdictions to create greater access to employment opportunities for marginalized residents. Detroit's Skills for Life and Los Angeles County’s PLACE Program are examples of this type of multi-benefit investment.
• Fair Chance Hiring Laws - To further reduce barriers to employment for individuals with criminal records, cities and counties can establish fair chance hiring laws that apply to private sector employers within their jurisdiction. So far, at least 15 states and 22 local governments have these laws in effect.

Acknowledgements

This brief was initially researched and drafted by Samantha Guerrero and Leah Hubbard of Estolano Advisors, with contributions to the final draft by Madeline Neighly and Ashley Thomas of the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy.