In order to expand access to job training for low-income adults who live outside San Antonio's city limits, and at the urging of over one thousand COPS/Metro leaders last December, Bexar County Commissioners voted to invest $400,000 dollars in Project Quest for the first time. Testifying ahead of the vote, COPS/Metro leader Rena Oden from Macedonia Baptist Church said:
"Project quest has a proud 32-year track record of lifting families out of poverty. On average, participants come to Project Quest earning just $14,000. They end up making around $47,000 after they go through Project Quest. A 14-year study by Mark Elliot with the Economic Mobility Corporation showed that there was a 234% return on investment. I quote: 'These are the largest sustained earnings impact ever found in a US workforce development program. Only five or six organizations in the country have ever demonstrated significant earnings impacts in a rigorous evaluation of this kind.'''
Last year, independent researchers at Economic Mobility documented "remarkable impact" among graduates -- up to $138,000 in elevated earnings among older program graduates.
Project Quest is the flagship IAF labor market intermediary established by COPS/Metro in 1992 after building the political will for public investments in long-term training and bringing together employers, community colleges, and the community. It is one of several initiatives of the West/Southwest IAF to get people into good jobs and to make regular jobs pay better.
(Photo from the April 29th, 2025 Bexar County Commissioners Court video)