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Policy&Practice
June 2017
6
from
our
collaborative
centers
A
PHSA’s Center for Employment
and Economic Well-Being
(CEEWB) is looking deeper into how
the chronic stress of economic inse-
curity affects people’s work readiness
and employability, and how we can
utilize this understanding to better
serve and empower unemployed and
underemployed workers. In the last
issue of
Policy and Practice
, “Utilizing
Our Understanding of Brain Science
to Strengthen Workforce Engagement
(Part I)” explained how the conditions
of poverty can negatively affect the
development of the brain that deals
with executive functioning such as
decision-making, goal-setting, and
goal-attainment skills. These are the
skills that low-income people need to
succeed in employment opportuni-
ties that can lead to self-sufficiency.
Fortunately, we have learned that the
developed adult brain is flexible, so it is
still possible for individuals to improve
their executive functioning skills.
The human services system, through
successful case management models,
is well positioned to help clients
exercise and improve their execu-
tive functioning skills, an important
step toward alleviating the condi-
tions that cause stress and
divert cognitive resources
away from a focus on self-
improvement. Through its
safety net programs, the
human services system
can reach clients and
support a more secure,
less stressful envi-
ronment. But a more
intense focus is needed
for success. This
article describes how
Utilizing Our Understanding of Brain Science
to Strengthen Workforce Engagement (Part II)
By Kerry Desjardins
Photo illustration by Chris Campbell
executive function–informed human
services can help clients prepare for,
attain, and retain employment.
Exercising and Improving
Executive Functions
The first need is to look at what is
necessary for individuals to improve
their executive functioning skills.
While ultimately it is up to individuals
to strengthen their skills, execu-
tive functioning expert Adele
Diamond suggests there
are three basic ways to help
them improve the likelihood
of success:
1
1) Work on strengthening
and developing execu-
tive functions by
training them, chal-
lenging them, and
practicing them.
2) Work on reducing
things that impair
executive functioning, such as stress,
lack of sleep, poor health, or lack of
social support.
3) Find ways to reduce the demands on
executive functioning. This can be
done in part by circumventing the
need for executive functions.
The
Goal Achievement
Framework
These three strategies for improving
executive functioning skills can be
utilized within an emerging concept
known as the
Goal Achievement
Framework
to help clients prepare
for, attain, and retain employment.
This framework requires rigorous
and purposeful assessment focused
on individual skills. What is the
overarching goal, what skills and
resources are needed to achieve it,
and what skills and resources does
the participant have? The assess-
ment identifies potential obstacles to