HOW will Independence County ensure sustainable access to a living wage for the emerging workforce?

THE PROBLEM

IMPACT Independence County is rooted in the core belief that every resident has the right to strive to create the environment they desire.

Through our collaborative SYSTEMS REDESIGN work with Civic Lab, we are rethinking how we collaborate to dissolve problems.

Through years of engagement with our community, we have learned that workforce problems often begin as social issues. We view social issues not as isolated instances but as systems problems. In other words, there is a problem with how we have chosen to work together as individuals journey through our systems.

As we consider increasing access to a living wage, we must engage many stakeholders with diverse responsibilities and services throughout the system.

Real Stories

  • Persona 1

    Annie

    A female student enrolled in an alternative learning environment (ALE) transitioned to a virtual learning option during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually returned to in-person education in the ALE. She accessed numerous services—like the food pantry and mental health resources—but the deep cycle of poverty in her family remained an overwhelming barrier. Sadly, she didn't complete her concurrent class, and while she did graduate, she may now be facing time in a correctional facility.

  • Persona 2

    Bobby

    A student-athlete who lived with his grandmother was chronically absent and lacked motivation to attend school. He had a relationship with his coaches but was not motivated to participate in the classroom. School attendance was driven solely by athletic participation. The student was a JAG participant but cannot be tracked now.

  • Persona 3

    Claire

    A female student who experienced a teen pregnancy accessed several services like "parents as teachers." She enrolled in concurrent courses but ultimately dropped the course due to conflicting priorities. The student now lives in a domestic violence shelter and works at a fast food job as she completes her K-12 education.

  • Persona 4

    Doug

    A student was from a "broken home," where drug use, neglect, maltreatment, and unmet mental health needs for family and student existed. He transitioned to junior high from an elementary ALE program before ultimately returning to the ALE program. He received school-based mental health, interacted multiple times with the juvenile justice system, and received unlimited opportunities to complete classroom assignments. He frequently interacted with a counselor but failed in the junior high system. He is now incarcerated for a major crime.

  • Persona 5

    Ellen

    A neurodivergent student with a weak support system at home faces significant academic and behavioral challenges at school, resulting in intermittent interactions with the juvenile justice system. School staff encourages the student to get involved in the EMT program at UACCB, but the student eventually drops out. The student is now enrolled in a hybrid ALE program to gain their diploma.

  • Persona 6

    Frank

    A student was offered multiple college opportunities, including transportation and dorm room supplies, but did not take advantage of the offers.

What do these stories tell us? 

  • LOW-RESILIENCE & PERSISTENCE Many individuals struggle long before adulthood with low resilience and persistence due to the high prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and insufficient developmental assets to combat them. These factors critically undermine their ability to attain educational milestones, such as a high school diploma, further education or training, and ultimately, living wage employment.

  • INCONSISTENT ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITIES Opportunities that could illuminate a path forward for the emerging workforce are sporadic and vary greatly in both access and quality, based on where a student attends school. This inconsistency leaves many students without clear or reliable pathways to envision a better future.

    • Students often feel disconnected from available opportunities, perceiving them as "not for me." This perception can stem from a lack of personalization and relatability in the way these opportunities are presented.

    • Many students exhibit a lack of engagement with school, career pathways, or supportive resources. This disengagement may be driven by previous experiences of failure, disconnection from their communities, or a belief that current opportunities are not meaningful or impactful.

    • Students often do not form deep enough connections with mentors, educators, or future employers to inspire meaningful action. Without strong, trusting relationships, students are less likely to take ownership of their futures or invest in their own success.

    • A common belief among students is, “I can’t do it,” especially when they face discouragement from others. This lack of self-efficacy hinders their willingness to take risks or strive toward ambitious goals, compounding the impact of external challenges.


What targeted approaches might be needed for specific sub-groups of people who are situated in the system differently? 

  • Equitable Access 

  • Hispanic and Latino student supports

  • Trauma-Informed Approach

  • Work-based learning experiences (ALE, SPED, ELL, Out of School Youth, etc.)

by the numbers

$18.25/hr

Living Wage in Independence County

3.4%

Teenage Pregnancy Rate

9,008

Under 18 Population (24% of the county population)

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

1 in 5

Children under 18 living below the poverty line (25% more than the national average)

Early Childhood STUDENT ENROLLMENT

k-12 STUDENT ENROLLMENT

Under 18 Population

Percentage of Under 18 Population living in Poverty

    1. Physicians

    2. Pharmacists

    3. Dentists

    4. Nurse Practitioners

    5. Chief Executives

    6. Logisticians

    7. Industrial Production Managers

    8. Computer & Information Systems Managers

    9. Physical Therapist

    10. Commercial Pilots

    11. Engineers

    12. Occupational Therapists

    13. Financial Managers

    14. Loan Officers

    15. Administrative Services Managers

    16. Medical & Health Services Managers

    17. Electrical Engineers

    18. Computer Systems Analyst

    19. Lawyers

    20. Diagnostic Medical Sonographers

    1. First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

    2. Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

    3. Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers

    4. Registered Nurses

    5. Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers

    6. Physical Therapists

    7. Postsecondary Teachers

    8. Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses

    9. Home Health and Personal Care Aides

    10. Customer Service Representatives

    11. General and Operations Managers

    12. Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

    13. Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary

    14. Production Workers

    15. Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists

    16. Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive

    17. Stockers and Order Fillers

    18. Industrial Production Managers

    19. Pharmacy Technicians

    20. Health Technologists and Technicians

Engaged Partners

Redesigning a social system requires significant collaboration among numerous stakeholders with diverse responsibilities and services.

Our SYSTEM

How we work

How could Independence County become the community with the best access to a living wage for the emerging workforce?

“Best access” is characterized by students receiving what they need to develop their full potential, guided by their current situation and future aspirations.

A “living wage” in Independence County is $18.25/hour, based on the MIT Living Wage Calculator, which is a place-based methodology adopted to determine how much an individual in a household must earn to cover the cost of basic needs.

“Emerging workforce” includes individuals 0-25 in Independence County, primarily students who are enrolled in an education or work-based learning program within our system.

Principles that amp up ambition

STUDENT-CENTERED
”Treat me with respect and allow my voice to be heard.”

ASSET-BASED
”Help me build on my strengths and push me to keep getting better.”

EQUITY-FOCUSED
”Support me with what I need to achieve my potential.”

CULTURALLY-COMPETENT
”Show me that I belong and respect me for who I am.”

PROACTIVELY-SUPPORTIVE
”Help me achieve my goals.”

COMMUNITY-ENGAGED
”Connect me with people and places in my community.”

MEASURED-ACHIEVEMENT
”Improve my life outcomes.”

SYSTEM-BUILDING SUPPORTS

  • WorkWired Guiding Team

  • Stakeholder Engagement Process

  • Guiding Principles

  • Backbone and Project Management Support

  • Integrated Support Team

SCHOOL-BASED STRATEGIES

  • School-based strategies co-created with staff, students, and families

  • Relationship- and Asset-Building

  • Integrated Support Teams

TARGETED APPROACHES

  • Equitable Access and Outcomes

  • Hispanic and Latino Student Support

  • Trauma-Informed Care

  • Work-Based Learning Opportunities for Special Populations (ALE, SPED, ELL, etc.)

powering the grid

  • Independence County Early Childhood Education Providers

  • Independence County Public Schools

    • Counseling and Advising Teams

    • Career Coaches

    • EAST Facilitators

    • JAG Facilitators

    • School-Based Mental Health Providers

    • Apprenticeship Coordinators

    • CTE Program Faculty

    • ALE Program Faculty

    • SPED Teams

    • Multicultural Student Service Teams

  • University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville

    • Concurrent Enrollment

    • Secondary Career Center

    • Adult Education GED

    • Prior Learning Assessment

    • Apprenticeship

  • Impact Independence County

    • Facilitation and Project Management Support

  • Partners for Inclusive Communities

    • Prevention Pilot Funding

  • Juvenile Justice System

  • WIOA

    • In & Out School Youth Programs

  • Independence County Health Coalition

  • Faith-Based Institutions

    • Youth Pastors & Program Leaders

  • Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce

    • Employers with Living Wage Occupations

conductors

Student Measures

  • LEARNING & SKILLS

    • Kindergarten Retention Rate

    • Third Grade Reading Achievement

    • School Attendance Rate

    • High School Graduation Rate

    • Post-Secondary Attainment Rate

  • MENTAL HEALTH

    • Suicide Ideation

    • Student Death by Suicide

  • PERSONAL RISK

    • Student Drug Use

    • Teen Birth Rate

  • FAMILY & COMMUNITY SAFETY

    • Juvenile Cases in the Justice System

    • Child maltreatment cases found to be true

    • Juveniles in Foster System

Student Perception

  • Developmental Assets Profile

mobility measures

  • Median Household Income

  • Educational Attainment

  • Poverty Rate

Currents to measure

High voltage outcomes

Solve for one, extend to many

  • Focus on the emerging workforce as a targeted population to build better access to a living wage for the whole community.

  • Inspire the community to use a place- and equity-based lens to visualize and use data in a new way, showing meaningful differences to guide positive systemic change.

Upward Socioeconomic mobility

  • Build assets and relationships in every student across all contexts that result in better resilience and persistence.

  • Disrupt the predictability of educational attainment and economic mobility that currently correlates with any social, racial, cultural or geographical factors.

integrated support systems

  • Pilot new ways of working together, creating an integrated approach that significantly improves how we serve and work with people.

  • Engage students and their families in the development of pathways, activities, practices, and policies, giving them more voice and choice in the decisions that affect them

Work Together

•

Work Together •