Work for America

Amidst massive staffing challenges, city government is over-relying on overtime and struggling to hire and retain the professionals needed to run key departments. In an essay for Vital City, Caitlin Lewis of Work for America and Grace Rauh of The 5BORO Institute contend that fixing the problems requires timelier data on how staffing needs are or aren’t matching up with the public sector’s many responsibilities. They say a new dashboard from the City Comptroller’s Office represents a leap forward — one that future policies must build upon. https://lnkd.in/e5K3jdKf

In the midst of a housing and affordability crisis in NYC, we need a strong and effective government workforce to deliver for New Yorkers. Thank you Vital City for giving us the opportunity to spotlight a new data-driven tool from the City Comptroller’s office that we believe could be a national model for cities struggling with staffing challenges. Such a joy to partner with Caitlin Lewis and Work for America on this project. And thank you to the Comptroller’s team for your support as well and leadership on the staffing dashboard.

Amidst massive staffing challenges, city government is over-relying on overtime and struggling to hire and retain the professionals needed to run key departments. In an essay for Vital City, Caitlin Lewis of Work for America and Grace Rauh of The 5BORO Institute contend that fixing the problems requires timelier data on how staffing needs are or aren’t matching up with the public sector’s many responsibilities. They say a new dashboard from the City Comptroller’s Office represents a leap forward — one that future policies must build upon. https://lnkd.in/e5K3jdKf

In government, real-time data = real solutions. Enter NYC Comptroller’s Agency Staffing Dashboard, which tracks staffing across 80 agencies. It’s a game-changer for solving workforce shortages—and could be a model for cities nationwide. Proud to have partnered with Work for America and Caitlin Lewis on a new case study exploring how this tool is shaping the future of public service. We need a properly staffed and effective government to deliver the services so many New Yorkers depend on, as The 5BORO Institute detailed in its 2023 report on the staffing crisis in city government. At the time we had 23,000 municipal jobs unfilled and the impacts were dire. Affordable housing projects were delayed and low-income families had to wait many months - in some cases close to a year - to receive nutrition assistance to buy food. Real-time data insights from the NYC Agency Staffing Dashboard promotes smarter decisions about staffing and ideally, better outcomes for New Yorkers. #GovTech #WorkforceDevelopment https://lnkd.in/eaAduNuY

🚨 US Job Alert 🚨 Civic Match by is connecting federal public servants with critical roles at the local level. This is a great opportunity for anyone transitioning and looking to make change happen within their communities. Check it out 👇

I spent the day with a room full of purposeful and public-spirited civil society leaders in DC for Work for America's "Powering Public Service" convening. And, wow, what a powerhouse this organization is becoming! Caitlin Lewis and her incredible colleagues are *doing the work*, and we should all be paying attention. I came away excited, motivated, and moved by the social and intellectual capital they are developing to ensure that our democracies (large and small) deliver. Flying in very early this morning, I was on limited sleep, but the content kept me charged the entire day. Looking forward to continued support of this great organization! Big ups to all the great orgs and people involved!

As Washington scales back, local governments have a unique opportunity to step up. How can cities recruit mission-driven talent, secure critical funding, and deliver for their communities? Mayor Quinton Lucas and I have some thoughts. Read our op-ed in Next City on how local leaders can seize this moment to shape the future of public service: https://lnkd.in/gCrSrA5U

In a new op-ed, Mayor Quinton Lucas of Kansas City and Work for America Executive Director Caitlin Lewis share their perspective on how local government leaders can seize our current moment to strengthen public service and ensure cities thrive. 👉 Read the piece in Next City: https://lnkd.in/gnNdZfsw At Work for America, we’ve been laying the groundwork to support cities in building strong, effective teams ready to meet the moment. Because when state and local governments are well-staffed, communities succeed. 💼✨

Are you (or your family, colleagues, or students) looking for an internship or early career role in public service? Check out a new public sector onramps aggregator from The Volcker Alliance, built by my colleague Will Fabian. Using GenAI, the Gov-Ramps Aggregator is a sortable and filterable database of >200 on-ramps programs from all 50 states. This is a live product and we'll continue building on it, so please share with early career future public servants and provide us feedback on how we can improve it, including by adding programs currently omitted. Brian Whittaker Michelle Skoor Angelica "Angie" Quirarte Gabe Menchaca Kyleigh Russ Octavia Abell Caitlin Lewis Shifra Goldenberg Joe Nail Anna Wallman Maggie Mello Carmen Iezzi Mezzera Kristy Daphnis Dustin Brown Sytease Geib Mike Bartlett Ariana Soto Barrett and Greene Inc. Susan Toman-Jones Chris Kuang Caitlin Gandhi William Resh Brett Hunt Rebeca Lamadrid Andrea Bennett Anne Wise Delainey Boyd Blair Corcoran de Castillo Jennifer Anastasoff Stephanie DeMaro Stephanie O'Neill Roger Hartley Amber Klemetti Pradeep Nair Shawn VanDerziel Troy Lillebo Will Slack Paige Bongiorno

In a new op-ed, Mayor Quinton Lucas of Kansas City and Work for America Executive Director Caitlin Lewis share their perspective on how local government leaders can seize our current moment to strengthen public service and ensure cities thrive. 👉 Read the piece in Next City: https://lnkd.in/gnNdZfsw At Work for America, we’ve been laying the groundwork to support cities in building strong, effective teams ready to meet the moment. Because when state and local governments are well-staffed, communities succeed. 💼✨