The Atlanta Fed's digital dashboard that helps lower-income families make informed decisions on career advancement opportunities is so effective that the primary call for improvement is for the tool to do more, according to survey results of pilot programs in three states.
Clients and coaches requested more job options be added to the limited number chosen to pilot the dashboard, and more choices for family size, languages, and career pathways that don't rely exclusively on time-consuming and costly two- or four-year degrees, according to the August 30 publication from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, CLIFF Dashboard Evaluations: Insights from Three State Pilots.
Atlanta Fed intends to consider these comments as they improve the Career Ladder Identifier and Financial Forecaster (CLIFF). Upgrades already in progress include a Spanish version to be made available soon, with versions for other languages under evaluation. Inputs for custom wages and additional income sources are available in the CLIFF Planner, a tool related to the CLIFF Dashboard.
The survey responses, collected by third-party evaluators, underscore the real-life utility of the CLIFF Dashboard. It helps people who are considering taking jobs that pay more to determine the cost of losing eligibility for public assistance programs as their income rises—also known as encountering the "benefits cliff." Clients know the extra money from work typically won't compensate for the lost benefits, such as subsidized healthcare and child care.
The tool provides information that allows families to better anticipate and plan for any short-term barriers. However, the consequences of lost benefits are so great that some families respond by not having members accept higher-paying positions, according to surveys cited in the report.
The challenge of these choices is portrayed in the fictional example of Leia, the central character of a video on a CLIFF web page. Leia, 25, is a single mother of two who wants to leave a low-paying job and study to become a registered nurse. If Leia fulfills her goal and is hired as an RN, she can expect to gain an additional $144,000 (present value) in annual lifetime net resources, but the short-term costs may be significant. Leia's rising income would push her over the benefits cliff and she may have to work up to a decade before the higher income would offset her lost benefits.
Individuals who face similar decisions have found that the CLIFF Dashboard delivers useful information. The state surveys in the Atlanta Fed's report cite the following responses, which affirm the dashboard:
- Connecticut's report observed, "The CLIFF tool as implemented here empowered families to visualize and plan for self-sufficiency."
- Florida's evaluation noted, "Clients reported the CLIFF Dashboard to be useful."
- Maine's report said staff found the dashboard "useful when working with individuals making long-term plans." One client's testimonial observed, "I was able to gain an understanding of the career I'd like to go into and see how it would affect my benefits. That's something that's always intimidating seeing if the end result will pay off and it definitely showed me that it will."
Recommendations submitted by coaches and clients in the three states reflect the expansiveness of services users expect in a program that has the potential to scale across the nation. The rollout of the pilot in three states along the Eastern Seaboard provided responses from workers navigating a diversity of economies-Connecticut and insurance, manufacturing, and wholesaling; Florida and tourism, agriculture, and aerospace; and Maine with its services, fishing, and forest products.
As of August 2022, the Advancing Careers initiative has formed partnerships with more than 80 institutions, including direct job training providers, employers, community development organizations, state government and nonprofits, and regional partnerships that include federal agencies.
The CLIFF Dashboard is part of the Atlanta Fed's Advancing Careers for Low Income Families Initiative, which includes a suite of CLIFF interactive career and financial planning tools designed to provide information about careers that support economic security, as well as potential benefits loss for some occupations and career paths. The initiative is part of the Atlanta Fed's program, titled Economic Mobility and Resilience: Everyone's Economy, which produces research results intended to "help improve the economic vitality of the Southeast."
David Pendered
Staff writer for Economy Matters