City of Boston Office of Workforce Development
Good Jobs Metro Boston Coalition Wraparound Supports
Summary
The Good Jobs Challenge is a $500 million investment from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration to provide opportunities for training and placement into good, quality jobs using a sector strategy. The City of Boston’s Office of Workforce Development (OWD) was one of 32 organizations selected as a Good Jobs Challenge grantee out of 509 applicants, receiving $23 million in funding. Over the four-year grant period, the Good Jobs Metro Boston Coalition aims to train and place residents in 4,618 quality jobs in the childcare, healthcare, and clean energy industries. This grant represents a once-in-a-generation investment to transform Boston’s communities and local economy.
Beginning in January 2025, Root Cause began partnering with OWD to help Good Jobs Metro Boston Coalition (GJMBC) partners provide wraparound supportive services to their program participants. Root Cause is working closely with organizations in Greater Boston to strategize, plan, and successfully deliver services that will enable more GJMBC participants to secure quality jobs.
Goals & Results
| From January through May 2025, Root Cause met with Good Jobs Metro Boston Coalition grantees to help them identify wraparound services that would support their program participants and develop budgets that detailed how they planned to spend grant funding. Once these budgets were approved, beginning in June 2025, Root Cause provided technical assistance and met regularly with grantees to support the successful delivery of wraparound services to program participants. Through their work with individual grantees, Root Cause heard about various challenges they experienced in accessing, spending, and documenting the use of grant funds. Root Cause worked closely with the Office of Workforce Development to produce a Frequently Asked Questions document that identified challenges and suggested solutions to common problems. Based on Root Cause’s learnings, we will also produce a report by September 2025 that discusses challenges, identifies solutions, and provides recommendations for the successful implementation of future workforce development grant programs. |
About the Partner
City of Boston Office of Workforce Development
The Office of Workforce Development (OWD) works toward the full participation of all Boston residents in the city’s economic vitality and future. It connects low-income residents with job training and employment opportunities. It also promotes lifelong literacy and educational pathways.
OWD focuses on competitive workforce development initiatives and policies. These initiatives aim to put Boston’s youth and adults on career paths toward economic security. OWD stresses the importance of collaboration with the City’s workforce development and education initiatives. The emphasis is on empowering Bostonians to fulfill their educational and employment aspirations.
