Chicago Region October 15, 2014

1. Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Chicago Region October 15, 2014

2. Agenda • Overview of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) • Key Implementation Dates • Focused Discussions • Governance and the One-Stop System • Performance • Youth • Partnerships

3. WIOA Overview • President Barack Obama signed WIOA into law on July 22, 2014. • Passed by Congress with wide bipartisan majority(the Senate voted 93-5 and the House of Representatives voted 415-6). • Broad vision of workforce programs: reaffirms ongoing role of American Job Centers and also requires coordination and alignment of key employment, education, and training programs. • Promotes program alignment at the Federal, State, local, and regional levels. • Builds on proven practices such as sector strategies, career pathways, regional economic approaches, work-based training.

4. Six Broad Goals of WIOA (1) increasing access to and opportunities for the employment, education, training, and support services that individuals, particularly those with barriers to employment; (2) supporting the alignment of workforce investment, education and economic development systems in support of a comprehensive, accessible and high-quality workforce development system; (3) improving the quality and labor market relevance of workforce investment, education and economic development efforts; (4) promoting improvement in the structure and delivery of services; (5) increasing the prosperity of workers and employers; and (6) for purposes of title I, to provide workforce investment activities, through statewide and local workforce development systems, that increase the employment, retention, and earnings of participants, and increase attainment of recognized postsecondary credentials by participants, and as a result, improve the quality of the workforce, reduce welfare dependency, increase economic self-sufficiency, meet the skill requirements of employers, and enhance the productivity and competitiveness of the Nation.

5. Connecting the Job-Driven Agenda • Engaging Employers • Earn and Learn • Smart Choices • Measuring Matters • Stepping Stones • Opening Doors • Regional Partnerships The “Job-Driven Checklist”

6. Key implementation dates • In general, the Act takes effect on July 1, 2015, the first full program year after enactment, unless otherwise noted. • Title IV, amendments to the Rehabilitation Act takes effect immediately. • The State Unified Plans and Common Performance Accountability provisions take effect July 1, 2016. • Notices of Proposed Rulemaking must be published by January 18, 2015 (no more than 180 days after enactment). • Final Rules must be published by January 22, 2016 (no more than 18 months after enactment).

7. Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Governance & the One-Stop System

8. Streamlines and strengthens strategic roles of workforce development boards WIOA makes state /local boards more flexible and better-positioned to meet local and regional employers’ workforce needs. • Functions of the State/local boards are enhanced. • Must coordinate and align workforce programs to provide coordinated, complementary, and consistent services to job seekers and employers. • Increase employer engagement • Implement career pathways, industry/sector partnerships • Disseminating proven and promising practices • Promote more effective use of technology • State/local board membershipis streamlined • Mandatory AJC partners are no longer required board members. • Registered Apprenticeship is a new required member. • Requires members from institutions of higher education (including community colleges).

9. Fosters regional collaboration WIOA promotes alignment of workforce development programs with regional economic development strategies to meet the needs of local and regional employers. • States are required to identify regions within their state, which may consist of multiple local areas. • Local areas in regions are required to conduct regional planning, incorporating regional service delivery strategies, regional labor market data, and a focus on in-demand industry sectors .

10. Improves American Job Center system WIOA increases the quality and accessibility of services that job seekers and employers receive at their local AJCs. • AJC partner programs are required to dedicate funding for infrastructure and other shared costs. • WIOA requires One-Stop operators to be competitively bid. • States are required to establish certification criteria for AJCs at least every three years to ensure continuous improvement, access to services, and integrated service delivery.

11. Discussion Question What opportunities do the new State/local board membership requirements present? Challenges?

12. Discussion Question WIOA requires states to identify regions within their state and for local areas in regions to coordinate planning and service delivery. What are your ideas of specific guidance that will support states/local areas in carrying out these requirements?

13. Discussion Question The functionsof State and local boards are enhanced. What opportunities does this present? Which functions present the greatest challenge(s) in terms of implementation?

14. Discussion Question WIOA now requires that State Boards focus on continuous improvement of the One-Stop delivery system and develop One-Stop standards and a certification process.  What is your input in terms of guidance that will support states in carrying out this mandatory role?

15. Discussion Question WIOA includes provisions about the sharing of One-Stop infrastructure and other common costs related to the operation of the centers and the provision of career services. What challenges do you foresee in this area? What can ETA do to facilitate the implementation of these provisions?

16. Discussion Question WIOA requires One-Stop Operators to be competitively bid. What should the WIOA regulations say about this provision?

17. Discussion Question If we are successful in implementing WIOA, what does One Stop service delivery look like two years from now?

18. Discussion Question Is there anything else you want to share with us today?

19. Youth Services

20. Makes key investments for disconnected youth WIOA prepares vulnerable youth for successful employment through the increasing use of proven service models. • Local areas must increase the percentage of youth formula funds used to serve out-of-school youth to 75% from 30% under WIA. • Local areas must spend at least 20% of youth formula funds on work experience activities,such as summer jobs, pre-apprenticeship, on-the-job training, and internships, so that youth are prepared for employment. • The Youth Council requirement is eliminated; allows for standing local board committee to focus on strategic planning, oversight and service delivery for youth programs.

21. Makes key investments for disconnected youth • Eligibility criteria are changed for the youth formula program: in-school youth aged 14-21, and out-of-school youth aged 16-24. • Low income includes those eligible for free or reduced lunches, and out-of-school youth living in a high poverty areas are automatically eligible. • There are 5 new program elements to the youth formula program.Additional allowable activities include: • Financial literacy education • Entrepreneurial skills training • Provision of LMI on in-demand industries, including career awareness and counseling • Education offered concurrently with workforce preparation for a specific occupation • Activities to prepare for transition to post-secondary education and training

22. Discussion Questions What opportunities do you see for youth under WIOA?

23. Discussion Question What is challenging about implementing the youth-related provisions in WIOA?

24. Discussion Question What strategies will you use to meet the increased Out-of-School Youth (OSY) expenditure requirement?

25. Discussion Question What strategies might be employed to match more youth participants with work experience activities including pre-apprenticeship and Registered Apprenticeship?

26. Discussion Question What program structure and strategic direction opportunities do you envision for the local youth council? Challenges?

27. Discussion Question With the OSY age range expanded to age 24, what considerations are being made for increased service integration/access in the AJC?

28. Discussion Question Are you concerned about integrating any of the 5 new program elements into the program? If so, which ones do you need technical assistance to achieve?

29. Discussion Question Is there anything else you want to share with us today?

30. Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act PERFORMANCE

31. Promotes accountability and transparency WIOA ensures that Federal investments in employment and training programs are evidence-based and data-driven, and accountable to participants and tax-payers. • Core programs and other authorized programs are required to report on common performance indicators: • Percentage of workers that entered employment • Percentage of workers that retained employment • Median wages of these workers • Credential attainment of these workers • Measurable skill gains of these workers. • Effectiveness of services to employers.

32. Promotes accountability and transparency • The Departments of Labor and Education, with input from stakeholders, will establish common performance accountability system for core programs, including common reporting templates. • Negotiated levels of performance for common indicators will be adjusted based on statistical model that takes into account economic conditions and participant characteristics. • Performance reports for states, local areas, and eligible training providers will be made publicly available. • Eligible training providers are required to provide data on performance outcomes for all students in a training program. • States will be sanctioned 5 percent of Governor’s Reserve for performance failure or failure to submit performance reports.

33. Discussion Questions WIOA increases accountability and information for job seekers, employers, and the public. What challenges do the provisions of section 116 on performance accountability present for states and local areas? New opportunities?

34. Discussion Question WIOA includes several new performance measures and we’d like to get your input on how we might define and measure them, including: • Measurable Skills gains • Effectiveness in serving employers

35. Discussion Question What technical assistance will be most useful to states and local to prepare for successful implementation of: • common performance measures? • new state and local performance reports?

36. Discussion Question WIOA makes available data on training providers’ performance outcomes, based upon new reporting requirements for the Eligible Training Provider List. • What opportunities exist, and how can DOL, Education or other Federal partners assist to realize those opportunities? • What challenges do you anticipate to making such data available, and how might DOL, Education or other Federal partners assist to address those challenges? • Have states developed similar consumer information or “scorecards” that may provide examples or models that can be shared? • What technical assistance would be useful for smaller training providers to be able to comply with these new reporting requirements?

37. Discussion Question The Departments of Labor and Education are considering the definition of performance failure and failure to report in determining the application of sanctions. What factors should be considered?

38. Discussion Questions Which provisions related to performance accountability require specific guidance or regulation to help your program operations?

39. Discussion Questions Which provisions should be left more flexible, and why?

40. Discussion Questions WIOA requires the Secretaries of Labor and Education to provide guidelines on the establishment and operation of a fiscal and management accountability information system. What might the Departments consider in the development of these guidelines?

41. Discussion Questions What opportunities are there to one integrated reporting layout? What would facilitate the use of one integrated report layout? What would the challenges be to using one integrated reporting layout?

42. Discussion Questions • What additional measures might States use to assess program success?

43. Discussion Questions Is there anything else you want to share with us today?

44. Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Partnerships

45. Strategic alignment • WIOA creates a core partner structure • Expansion of One-Stop required partner membership • Wagner Peyer/Employment Service co-location • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) • Re-integration of Ex-Offenders (RExO)- Adult program • Strengthens employer/industry partnerships • Industry/sector strategies • Work-based strategies (incumbent worker training, registered apprenticeship, transitional jobs, OJT, customized training)

46. Strategic alignment WIOA ensures that employment and training services provided by the core programs are coordinated and complementary. • Single Unified Strategic Plan - Every state will develop and submit a four-year strategy for core programs: • DOL: Adult, Dislocated Worker, Youth • DOL: Wagner-Peyser • ED: Adult Education and Literacy • ED: Vocational Rehabilitation • Plans will discuss the State’s strategy to prepare an educated and skilled workforce and meet the workforce needs of employers.

47. Strategic alignment • Combined State Plan – States can include other key partners, such as: • Jobs for Veterans State Grant program • Unemployment Insurance • Trade Adjustment Assistance • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families • Perkins career and technical education programs • Integration of intake, case management, and reporting systems.

48. Discussion Questions WIOA promotes the alignment of the workforce, education, and economic development systems in support of a comprehensive, accessible, and high-quality workforce development system. What opportunities or challenges do you see in the implementation of this vision?

49. Discussion Questions WIOA adds new One-Stop required partners. Employment services are required to be co-located with One-Stops under WIOA. TANF and Reintegration of Ex-Offenders (RExO) Adult program are now required partners.  WIOA provides that UI services to be provided through the one-stop delivery system include both information and assistance in claims filing. What issues should DOL consider in drafting the regs and guidance to ensure the active involvement/participation from these required partners?

50. Discussion Questions States are required to submit a single unified strategic plan for the core programs or may submit a combined state plan that covers the core programs plus one or more One-Stop partner programs. What policy guidance or technical assistance would be helpful to you? Do you have examples of integrated planning that you would like to share?