Appendix B: Glossary of Acronyms and
Terms
ACC Austin Community College
ADA Americans with Disabilities Act
AISD Austin Independent
School District
CACI CACI is an international information systems and high-technology
services corporation. The scope of the Marketing Systems division includes
demographics and market research.
CAN Community Action Network
CAWDB Capital Area Workforce
Development Board
DOL Department of Labor
DOT Department of Transportation
ESL English as a Second Language
GACC Greater Austin
Area Chamber of Commerce
GED General Educational Development certificate
JTPA Job Training and Partnership Act
MHI Medium Household Income
MSA Metropolitan Statistical Area
RC Resource Council
TANF Temporary Aid to Needy Families
TAB Texas Association of Builders
TEA Texas Education Agency
TEA-21 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
TWC Texas Workforce Commission
UW /CA United Way / Capital
Area
WIA Workforce Investment Act of 1998
Adult Basic Education For people whose skills are less than ninth-grade-level
or who have limited English proficiency. These programs offer help with
reading, writing, math, ESL, and other skills that can be used in the workforce,
as a consumer, with government, law and health agencies, and community
services.
Adult Education Program Provide assistance to people 18 years
old or older, whose skills are lower than high school-level skills. These
programs provide help with basic literacy, English-as-a-Second-Language
(ESL), and preparing for the General Educational Development (GED) certificate
or high school diploma.
Adult Secondary Education Helps prepare people for the General
Educational Development (GED) certificate or high school diploma.
Average Household Size The number of persons in households by
the number of households using. A household is an occupied housing unit.
Basic Skills Deficient With respect to an individual, that the
individual has English reading, writing, or computing skills at or below
the 8th grade level on a generally accepted standardized test or a comparable
score on a criterion-referenced test.
Best Practice Programs, services, or processes that research
or expert opinion has shown to be effective through measurable, demonstrated
results.
Case Management The provision of a client-centered approach in
the delivery of services, designed-- (A) to prepare and coordinate comprehensive
employment plans, such as service strategies, for participants to ensure
access to necessary workforce investment activities and supportive services,
using, where feasible, computer-based technologies; and (B) to provide
job and career counseling during program participation and after job placement.
CHOICES A TWC program that assists TANF applicants and recipients
to obtain long-term employment and self-sufficiency. This is administered
by the CAWDB.
Civilian Labor Force That portion of the population age 16 and
older employed or actively seeking employment.
Community-based Organization A private nonprofit organization
that is representative of a community or a significant segment of a community
and that has demonstrated expertise and effectiveness in the field of workforce
investment.
Comparative Advantage Traditional economic development advantage
of one city or region relative to another, e.g., Austin’s comparative
advantage historically has included relatively low cost land; a well-skilled
workforce available at competitive wages; and a desirable quality of life.
Competitive Advantage A region’s economic development advantage
that enables its industries to be competitive and add value relative to
industries and sectors in other regions.
Developmental Disability A severe, chronic disability of an individual
5 years of age or older that is: a) attributable to a mental or physical
impairment or combination thereof; 2) manifested before the individual
attains age 22; c) likely to continue indefinitely; d) results in substantial
functional limitations in major life activities; and e) reflects the individual’s
need for a combination and sequence of special, interdisciplinary, or generic
services, supports, or other assistance
Disability A physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual
Dropout A student is identified as a dropout if the individual
is absent without an approved excuse or documented transfer and does not
return to school by the fall of the following year, or if he or she completes
the school year but fails to re-enroll the following school year.
Economically Disadvantaged Students are considered economically
disadvantaged when they qualify for reduced price or free meals. According
to the USDA, the eligibility for reduced price meals is 185% of poverty
and for free meals, 130% of poverty.
Eligibility The meeting of specific qualifications to receive
certain benefits; the criteria used by public assistance programs to determine
which people may receive help.
Job Training Partnership Act Provides funding for programs to
help people prepare and train for jobs. Offers programs for the economically
disadvantaged, older individuals, and dislocated and laid off workers.
Job-seeker Anyone who needs/seeks job employment, training and/or
information services. These individuals can be seeking first, new, or better
jobs.
Living Wage An earning level that supports self-sufficiency without
reliance on public and private subsidies.
Medium Household Income The value that divides the distribution
of household income into two equal parts. Pareto interpolation is used
if the median falls in any income intervals with a width of $5,000 or more,
except for the lowest income interval. For income intervals with a width
of $2,500 and the lowest interval, <$5,000, linear interpolation is
used.
Metropolitan Statistical Area A large population nucleus (a county
or group of counties with a total population of at least 75,000 and a central
city or urbanized area of at least 50,000) together with adjacent communities
that have a high degree of social and economic integration within that
nucleus.
Offender Any adult or juvenile (A) who is or has been subject
to any stage of the criminal justice process, for whom services under this
Act may be beneficial; or (B) who requires assistance in overcoming artificial
barriers to employment resulting from a record of arrest or conviction.
Outcomes Specific, measurable desired changes in conditions resulting
from strategies.
Population Growth Rate Average annual compound rate of change
from 1990 to 1998. For example: Rate = 100*[((P98 / P90)^(1/8.25))-1].
SCANS Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills; a
Labor Department initiative to study employer needs in the marketplace. It
categorizes specific employee skills required by employers.
Supportive Services A variety of services provided to a client
or household to promote well-being and enable them to live as independently
as possible; e.g. transportation, child care, housing
Sustainable Advantage A unique set of regional advantages that
provides the economic foundations and conditions to achieve long-term economic
growth, increased economic opportunities for residents, and other regional
community objectives, including social, environmental, and quality of life
objectives.
Texas Rehabilitation Commission
Provides assessments, evaluations, counseling & guidance, medical
treatment/therapy, assistive devices, training to learn job skills in a
trade school, college, university, or on-the-job, and job placement services
to people with disabilities and their families.
Texas Workforce Commission
Services Texas through 28 employment programs and services. Provides
assistance with unemployment insurance, employment listings, job placement,
skill and aptitude testing, employment counseling, support services, and
referrals to education and training programs.
Underemployed Having less than full-time, regular, or adequate
employment
Unemployed individual An individual who is without a job and
who wants and is available for work. The Department of Labor bases their
unemployment rate on those receiving unemployment benefits.
Veteran An individual who served in the active military, naval,
or air service, and who was discharged or released from such service under
conditions other than dishonorable
Work First Texas’ welfare reform program design that stresses
employment for able-bodied adults
Wraparound Services see Supportive Services
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