Kudos to College of Southern Maryland (CSM) GED^® Instructor Rhonda Cowie, and Adult Education students Kristian Mills and Antonio Irizarry

Rhonda Cowie was hired by the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) Adult Education Program in 2023 to serve as an onsite GED® Prep class instructor for a new partnership with the Jude House, Inc. Recovery Center, a residential substance use treatment facility located in Charles County. Rhonda’s hard work, dedication and compassion were key factors in the success of  Antonio Irizarry and Kristian Mills (respectively, to the right), two Jude House residents who recently not only completed the Jude House Recovery Program, but also successfully passed the GED® test and received their Maryland High School Diploma. Job well done by all!

Employee Spotlight Meet Stacey Hoffman, the New Deputy Director for the Office of Correctional Education Stacey Hoffman has just come on board as the new Deputy Director for the MD Department of Labor's (Labor's) Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning’s (DWDAL’s) Office of Correctional Education (CE). Ms. Hoffman brings extensive experience to her new role. She served five years serving as a special education teacher in Washington County Public Schools, followed by six years serving as a Teacher Supervisor for the MSDE Western Maryland Children’s Center. Since 2016, Ms. Hoffman has worked with DWDAL’s CE program as a Principal, Academic Teacher Supervisor, and Occupational Teacher Supervisor. In addition to a Bachelor’s of Science in Recreation and Sports Management, Ms. Hoffman holds master’s degrees in Special Education and Teaching in Elementary Education. She is certified by MSDE to teach health and physical education, elementary education, and special education for grades K-12. She is committed to the success of CE and looks forward to using her experiences and expertise to lead the CE team in a positive direction.

Meet Michael Siers, the New Chief Economist for DWDAL Michael recently  joined DWDAL and serves as the Chief Economist in Labor's Office of the Assistant Secretary. He is the program manager of the Labor Market Information team and helps stakeholders within Labor and outside the Department make sense of relevant economic trends and data. Prior to joining the Labor, Michael served as the economist for the Maryland Department of Commerce starting in February 2020. In that role, he was the lead economic researcher for the Department, provided stakeholders with reports and briefings on trends in Maryland's economy, and oversaw all economic impact modeling conducted at the Department.  Prior to joining Commerce, Michael worked at Towson University's Regional Economic Studies Institute from 2016 to 2020. His most recent title was director of research and he was in charge of the group's day-to-day operations. Other jobs include time at IMPAQ International, where he worked on evaluations of healthcare programs. Michael has a master's degree in agricultural and resource economics from the University of Connecticut and a bachelor's degree in economics from Goucher College. When Michael isn't working, you can find him fly fishing and hiking, falling behind on his reading goals, and exploring Baltimore with his wife and one-year old daughter.

Workforce Partners

Maryland Department of Labor                                                                  Maryland Department of Human Services

Maryland State Department of Education                                                Governor's Workforce Development Board

Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development                            Maryland Workforce Association

Maryland's Latest Workforce Development Updates                                                                                                                           

• What is Plain Language?

  Using plain language (also called plain writing or plain English) is essential to effective communication. The Plain Writing Act of 2010 defines plain language as writing that is clear, concise, well-organized, and follows other best practices appropriate to the subject or field and intended audience.

  It is always crucial to consider the audience. Language that is plain to one set of readers may not be plain to others. Material is in plain language if your audience can:

  • Find what they need
  • Understand what they find the first time they read or hear it
  • Use what they find to meet their needs

  There are many techniques that can help you achieve this goal. Among the most common are:

  • Reader-centered organization
  • “You” and other pronouns
  • Active voice, not passive
  • Short sentences and paragraphs
  • Common, everyday words
  • Easy-to-follow design features (lists, headers, tables)
  The Plain Language Action and Information Network (PLAIN) is an unfunded working group of federal employees from different agencies and specialties who support the use of clear communication in government writing. This group has developed templates, checklists, and in-depth writing guidelines to help writers develop communications in plain language. If you would like to improve your ability to communicate effectively using plain language, you can access free training resources here.
  

• Accessibility Tips -

  Interested in making your communications more accessible? Here are a few tips to help you ensure that your posts are accessible to everyone. For more detailed guidance, visit DigitalGov's social media accessibility toolkit.

  • Make sure your profile page includes alternative contact options, such as an accessible "contact us" form or toll-free phone number, or an email link to somebody who can assist people with questions.
  • Write social media posts informally and in plain language. Avoid abbreviations and spell out acronyms.
  • Use @mentions to tag other organizations on social media and use relevant hashtags on keywords and phrases to categorize posts.
  • For multi-word hashtags, capitalize the first letters of each section of a compound word (#LikeThisExample).
  • Provide closed captioning for YouTube videos. You can do this automatically, or you can add and edit captions.
  • Add captions to Facebook video posts. Make sure captions are turned on for live videos.
  • Link to pages with full captions or transcripts of photos, videos or audio.
  • Avoid using emojis, or at least refrain from using excessive emojis in posts.
  • Describe your photos in the caption of social media posts on Instagram.
  • Turn on image description settings in Twitter and compose descriptive text to make images accessible. Note that this setting doesn’t work for GIFs.
  • Add and edit alternative text descriptions to images posted on Facebook.
  • If possible, test your tweet with assistive technology before posting it.

  For additional resources regarding social media accessibility, visit the Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology at PEATworks.org.

• The Center for Adult Experiential Learning's (CAEL's) Conference 2023 - November 8-10 - 

  Now in its 49th year, the CAEL Annual Conference is right around the corner. This conference brings together leaders from postsecondary education, workforce and economic development, and industry to focus on aligning learning to help adults achieve continuous economic advancement. The conference will be delivered both in person and virtual. Learn more about the conference tracks and how to register here.

• October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month -

  Maryland's Department of Information Technology (DoIT) is proud to announce its partnership with the National Cybersecurity Alliance during this year's observance of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. This collaboration aims to promote cybersecurity awareness and education across Maryland. As technology becomes more integrated into our daily lives, it is important to remain informed and vigilant about cybersecurity.  

  Read the Governor’s proclamation here.

  And here are some DoIT-approved recommendations for password managers!

• Maryland Gears Up for National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) 2023 - 

  NAW is a nationwide celebration during which industry, labor, equity, workforce, education, and government leaders host events to showcase the successes and value of Registered Apprenticeship for re-building the economy, advancing racial and gender equity, and supporting underserved communities. Here in Maryland, more employers than ever before are adopting apprenticeship as an effective way to develop a highly-skilled workforce by allowing workers to earn while they learn. This year, Labor is holding the third annual Maryland Apprenticeship Awards to recognize exemplary participants in Maryland apprenticeships and highlight apprenticeship as an outstanding workforce development model. Learn more about the numerous activities taking place across Maryland to celebrate NAW here.

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Benchmarks of Success Newsletters

• For all previous newsletter issues, click here.

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Benchmarks of Success Committee Updates

Committee Chairs welcome questions from newsletter readers regarding the work in which their groups are involved! To be connected with a committee's leadership team, feel free to contact the Communications Committee at dlwdalcommunications-labor@maryland.gov.

All committees are currently meeting virtually.

• The Executive Steering Committee is composed of the agency leaders of the partner agencies who meet periodically to provide the WIOA Alignment Group with high-level guidance. You can learn more about the Executive Steering Committee’s ongoing activities here.
• The WIOA Alignment Group is composed of the department and division-level leaders of partner agencies who meet on a monthly basis to collaboratively address issues, plan joint efforts, make recommendations to the Executive Steering Committee, and manage and guide the activities of the Benchmarks of Success committees. The WIOA Alignment Group typically meets on the last Monday of each month. The most recent meeting was held on September 25, 2023. The next meeting is scheduled for October 30, 2023. You can learn more about the WIOA Alignment Group’s ongoing activities here.
• The Data and Dashboard Committee is comprised of representatives from partner agencies who possess subject matter expertise in program-based performance requirements and data collection methodologies and tools. The Committee meets on a quarterly basis to develop a consistent, sustainable system all workforce partners can use to measure, analyze, display, and apply Benchmarks data to continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of services. The Committee held its most recent meeting on August 8, 2023. The group's next meeting is scheduled for November 14, 2023. You can learn more about the Data and Dashboard Committee’s ongoing activities here.
• The Communications Committee is comprised of representatives from partner agencies who possess subject matter expertise in programs and communications methods and tools. The Committee meets on a monthly basis to foster the integration of Maryland’s workforce system by broadly promoting the activities of the Benchmarks of Success committees and the services and resources of partner agencies and programs. The Benchmarks of Success newsletter is the committee's main deliverable. The newsletter serves as a central forum targeting frontline service providers, where partners can share information on important developments that impact the system. The Committee held its most recent meeting on October 12, 2023. The group's next meeting is scheduled for December 7, 2023. You can learn more about the Communications Committee’s ongoing activities here.
• The Policy Committee is comprised of representatives from partner agencies who possess subject matter expertise in workforce system policy issues. The Committee meets on a monthly basis to research policy issues and produces an annual Policy Recommendations Report. The recommendations included in the Report help to guide system priorities and initiatives. The next meeting of the Committee is to be determined. You can learn more about the Policy Committee’s ongoing activities here.
• The Professional Development and Technical Assistance Committee works to advance a unified professional development program that helps all partner programs maximize access to and use of skills and credentialing and life management skills, eliminate barriers to employment through the use of supportive services, and strengthen and enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the workforce system. The Committee typically meets on the third Wednesday of each month. The group held its most recent meeting on October 18, 2023. The date for the committee's next meeting will be determined. You can learn more about the Professional Development and Technical Assistance Committee’s activities here.

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Contact us!

Have a story you would like to see featured? Email us at dlwdalcommunications-labor@maryland.gov.