KRA Corporation is proud to have supported U.S. and foreign public- and private-sector agencies, and not-for-profit organizations in the provision of Workforce Development and Labor Research & Consulting Services.
U.S. Department of Labor
Employment & Training Administration
Employee Benefits Security Administration
International Labor Affairs Bureau
Office of Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management
Office of Faith Based Community Initiatives
Office of Workforce Investment
Employment and Training Administration
Professional, Administrative, and Management Services
Began providing support services to ETA in 1995, in the areas of communications, information management, and outreach; publications and website development; policy and program research, evaluation, and analysis; technical assistance (TA); and training.
Development of Toolkit for Effective Front-Line Services to Youth
Case management, TA, training, and program development professionals created Improving Services and Performance: Toolkit for Effective Front-Line Services to Youth, which provides strategic information for implementing Youth Services Programs.
Technical and Research Assistance to Out-of-School Youth/School-to-Work
For rural and urban Private Industry Council, Job Corp Center, and Community College grantees, provided logistical, research, and technical support services to promote the development of promising STW practices for OSY programs.
Support and Training Results in Valuable Employment Program
Conducted process evaluation of STRIVE grant program to identify predictors of success, as well as impediments and constraints to successful implementation. Assessed efforts for replication in other job-development programs that serve disadvantaged individuals.
Specialized/Targeted Dislocated Worker Services
Conducted evaluation, and provided TA, related to reporting and survey issues. First series of field visits centered on program implementation, and the second on early placement and earnings results, customer satisfaction, and program costs.
Dislocated Worker Technology Demonstration
Evaluation of the outcomes, impact, and benefits of DWTD grantees documented the existence of, and responded to, the widely reported shortage across the nation of workers in information and advanced technology jobs.
Dislocated Worker Manufacturing Technology Demonstration
Extracting lessons learned from the DWTD (above), evaluated the DWMTD project, which included programs that had been assisting Dislocated Workers to find jobs in technology-related manufacturing jobs and/or upgrade their technology skills.
Job Training Partnership Act of 1982
Evaluated the long-term employment outcomes of JTPA participants–pre-enrollment and 5 years post-training–as follow-up to a JTPA Evaluation that contained only 18-month follow-up data.
Capacity Building and Logistics Support
Provided comprehensive and extensive support services to assist ETA in providing information dissemination and operational upgrading to facilitate the introduction of JTPA Amendments.
Technical Support for ETA/JTPA Training
Provided subject-specific training for service-delivery area monitoring and course evaluation and analysis. Conducted extensive follow-up to determine if participants were satisfied with the training, including the youth-enrichment sessions.
JTPA Capacity Building and Reporting System Development
To improve the JTPA Management Information System, defined analytical requirements within the overall reporting system, assessed data-processing and reporting procedures, and developed a data reporting and program-performance analysis system.
Commercial Driver’s License Training for Arizona Farm Workers
Evaluated this program for potential replication with similar farm-worker populations, and found that CDL training was an effective way to upgrade the skills of former farm workers to qualify them for better paying, more stable jobs.
Training Grantee Boards of Directors – Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Programs
Under JTPA Section 402, conducted a centralized training conference for 35 non-profit organizations: designed and developed the agenda and a TA Train-the-Trainer Manual, in English and Spanish; and planned and implemented the training conference.
Technical Assistance and Support to the Enterprise Council
Provided strategic planning and organizational-development assistance to the Enterprise Council, and the Support Staff Teams of its five Standing Committees.
State Employment in the Agricultural Community
Researched the nature and scope of the U.S. agricultural-labor market to identify service groups, and to provide a strategic approach to addressing the immediate and future needs of workers who serve in this sector of the economy.
H-2A Alien Labor Certification Process
Analyzed administrative and statistical data, reviewed research reports, and interviewed Federal and State officials to assess the performance of the labor-certification process, and to project future system needs related to farm labor and immigration legislation.
Research Profiled UI Claimants – Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services System
To identify what labor-market information and strategies were being offered to claimants, conducted four One-Stop site visits to observe UI Orientation Sessions, to interview profiled claimants and staff, and to conduct focus-group discussions.
Senior Community Service Employment Program
Developed financial and administrative training for SCSEP grant regulations, and presented the training for SCSEP grantee staff at in Tyson’s Corner, VA; San Francisco, CA; and Dallas, TX.
Website Development for Services for LEP Customers
Designed, created, and maintained a website that reflected Persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) activities, research, a Catalog, and a TA Guide that assisted local-area grantees in developing effective plans for serving LEP populations.
Conference Management Support Services
Provided logistical management services for four conferences: LEP Grantee, Technology–Based Learning, Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development, and Dialogue with Foundations.
Core Data Elements Report Development and Presentations
Provided research, report writing, and presentation services to assist in identifying a core set of data elements for employment and training programs funded under five separate ETA legislative actions.
Measuring State UI Administrative Needs
Quantitative/qualitative data collection, comparable-systems and statistical analysis resulted in an automated modeling technique, combining technology and workforce requirements, to yield an overall sum for each State’s UI administrative requirements.
Study and Analysis of Employee Leasing Firms
Analyzed the employee-leasing industry and measured its impact on State UI programs and State trust funds. Conducted literature reviews and mail and telephone surveys of all State UI agencies, then obtained and analyzed wage-record data.
Advisory Council on Unemployment Compensation Rapid Response
Researched project effectiveness; made recommendations for improvement; prepared research summaries and briefing papers; performed quantitative data analysis; and developed allocation, workload, and performance-measures analysis database.
Improving Data Analysis Skills
Assessed skill gaps within ETA’s workforce and devised training to improve data-analysis skills, including a self-survey of incumbent workers’ competency levels related to detailed skill dimensions, and training modules for a course in data analysis.
Development of Research Synthesis Papers
Facilitated the creation of several papers: Trade and Broadly Shared Prosperity, State Programs to Provide Incumbent Worker Training, Job Readiness Training, and Post-Employment Services: What are States Doing to Help Welfare Clients Stay Employed?
Technical Assistance to Youth Fair Chance Project
Through on- and off-site services, telephone support, and materials development, provided TA to 17 YFC grantees to expand opportunities and to improve outcomes for youth through locally determined initiatives.
Technical Assistance to Youth Opportunity Grant Recipients
As one of 25 “coaches” assigned to a representative group of grantees, worked with YOG Centers in Pine Bluff, AR and Hillsboro County, FL. TA included startup, development, and management strategies; governance; and staff development..
Workforce Development Performance Measurement Standards Initiative
Supported the Initiative by collecting performance-measurement data from 16 One-Stop Implementation Grant States, preparing technical issues papers, and coordinating Policy Committee and Work Group meetings.
Workforce Innovations 2005
Provided pre-, on-site, and post-conference logistical services for DOL’s premier workforce investment event for more than 2,500 public- and private-sector industry professionals. Secretary Elaine Chao provided the Opening Plenary address.
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Employment Retirement Income Security Act Public Disclosure Office
Managed and operated the PDO, onsite for EBSA, and its predecessor, the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration. Provided employer-benefit plan documentation and financial information to DOL offices, other government agencies, and the public.
International Labor Affairs Bureau
Employment Services Counseling – Turkish Employment Organization
Assisted in developing effective service-delivery support systems for handling unemployed workers, dislocated or displaced as a result of national privatization laws, under which many State-owned enterprises were sold to private-sector enterprises.
Technical Assistance for ILAB
Supported the advancement of cooperative activities and technical exchanges between the U.S. and the Central-American Free Trade Agreement Ministries of Labor, including the planning and management of the inaugural Labor Affairs Council Meeting.
Office of Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management
National Skill Standards Board
Supported the NSSB mission by providing administrative, logistical, and management services for Board meetings, Executive Committee and sub-committee meetings, public hearings, public-speaking engagements, publications development, and transcription.
Management of NSSB Clearinghouse
Selected to manage the Clearinghouse, due, in part to our performance on the first NSSB assignment, as well as our demonstrated capabilities in operating Federal clearinghouses and information, referral, and resource centers.
DOL Information Technology Center
Provided extensive, highly technical LAN/WAN and programming services on-site to all of DOL, utilizing more than 30 different IT labor categories related to Microsoft Windows NT, Visual Basic, Lotus Notes, COBOL, Adabase Natural, and PowerBuilder.
Office of Faith Based Community Initiatives
WIB Grantee Support
Supported grantees for an initiative to engage FBCOs in connecting jobseekers with high-growth industry employers. Assisted in developing Sustainability Work Plans (SWP), and developed case studies on the top-three WIB’s accomplishments.
Project Reach Out
Monitored 13 WIBs to ensure they were fully implementing their SWPs; evaluated performance 6 months after new-SWP processes were in place; and from case studies developed, created a Toolkit, inclusive of SWP templates and how-to instructions.
SHARE (Sharing How Access to Resources Empowers) Network
To assist jobseekers access FBCO, non-profit, and public workforce development services, created and maintained an online Resource Directory for nine SHARE-designated States, and assisted nine more States to implement the SHARE model.
Website Development and Maintenance
Designed, created, and managed a website for WIB grantees and FBCOs. Posted information on specific projects, announcements, and news; and created links to the Document Library that housed SHARE Network templates and WIB-grantee materials.
Logistical and Reporting Services
Provided myriad support services for FBCO representatives, policy makers, corrections officials, and State-government leaders related to explore the unique strengths of FBCOs in delivering workforce development services for ex-offenders.
Development of Technical Assistance Guide
To increase collaboration between State governments and FBCOs, developed a Prisoner Reentry to Communities Guide to assist States in incorporating FBCO resources into their community programs for ex-offenders.
Office of Grants Management
Management Training Modules – Financial & Grants Management Policy & Review
Developed and delivered financial and grants management training for grantee organizations; provided oversight and technical assistance; and ensured that grantees were properly accounting for Federal funds in accordance with OMB cost principles.
Grant Proposal Review Support
Assisted with the management of the grant-proposal review process: studied proposals and prepared abstracts; contacted and coordinated activities of proposal-review panelists; and planned and facilitated review-panel orientation sessions.
Review Evaluation Results
Reviewed evaluation results of unsuccessful applicants that responded to solicitations for Grants Applications. Read evaluations for consistency and conveyance of proposal results, Edited evaluations for content, completeness, format, and grammar.
Office of Job Corps
School-to-Work Instructor Training for Job Corps
For selected instructional staff, designed, developed, and delivered training related to skills and strategies for integrating STW-system strategies into the traditional Job Corps training delivery model of academic education and vocational-training education.
Operation of Oneonta, New York Job Corps Center
Taking over from the incumbent contractor, operated managed the Oneonta JCC, providing comprehensive education, vocational training, social skills, employability training, and career-development and placement services for 370 residential students.
Management of Delaware Valley JCC Social Development Program
Operating as a subcontractor, continued the management of the Social Development Program, which included recreation programs, social-skills training, and related support services for 390 residential students.
Office of National Response
National Emergency Grant Applications
Provided onsite staff to process NEG applications in response to States affected by DOD Base Realignment and Closures (BRAC). Assisted in developing measurement guides for the overall NEG program, including performance analysis and reporting.
Special National Response Activities
Provided administrative support services for activities related to crisis-oriented Special National Response efforts, including various types of Dislocated Worker events, including activities precipitated by BRAC.
Grant Assistance
Provided administrative support for Trade Adjustment Act, Rapid Response, and NEG goals and activities, as well as planning and management of Health Care Tax Credit Demonstration Project Meeting.
Office of Outreach
Support ETA Communications
Educated Workforce Investment System stakeholders about ETA’s mission and initiatives: Edited and/or wrote speeches; developed, printed, and distributed educational materials; an designed and implemented media-outreach initiatives.
Office of Policy and Research
Logistical Support for Technical Assistance Sessions
Provided full range of pre-, onsite, and post-TA administrative and logistical services to support Regional OPR activities and events.
Office of Public Affairs
Materials Development and Production
Provided publications services for the development and production of 23 fact sheets and brochures on DOL programs nationwide. Edited and rewrote content, updated data and information, and created a “brand” design for all the materials.
Office of Workforce Investment
WIA Implementation
On-site staff supported the refinement and application of WIA performance measures: assisted in the development of accountability policies and guidelines for employment and training outcomes, and negotiated reasonable levels of performance with States.
Promoting Quality of One-Stop Career Centers Through Mystery Shopping
Designed and implemented a national mystery-shopper pilot program, evaluating services provided by One-Stops, and making recommendations for future mystery shopping efforts.
Reinvention Office
Technical Assistance and Support
Provided expert advice, assistance, and counsel to the Assistant Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary, designed and facilitated key meetings of the reinvention and management teams, and provided TA and support to program and field offices.
U.S. Agency for International Development - South Africa
National Clearinghouse for Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship
Established and managed the Pretoria-based Clearinghouse as an NGO-turnkey operation. Created a website, on-line databases, and a national resource network; provided outreach, promotion, and information-dissemination throughout the country.
Not-for-Profit Organizations
School-to-Work Technical Assistance Resource Bank
Assisted in implementing STW systems by providing TA in the following areas: Building Capacity of Community-based and Intermediary Organizations, Engaging Employers, Providing Professional Development, and Developing Skill Standards.
National Association of Manufacturers – Partnership for a Smarter Workforce
Supported the development and implementation of the PSW, providing project and budget management; coordinating communication among NAM partners; designing and conducting a study of employer practices; and producing a report on research findings.
