Under
the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), the Governor of each State
must submit a Unified or Combined State Plan to the U.S. Secretary of Labor
that outlines a four-year workforce development strategy for the State’s
workforce development system. The publicly-funded workforce system is a
national network of Federal, State, regional, and local agencies and
organizations that provide a range of employment, education, training, and
related services and supports to help all jobseekers secure good jobs while
providing businesses with the skilled workers they need to compete in the
global economy. States must have approved Unified or Combined State Plans in
place to receive funding for core programs. WIOA reforms planning requirements,
previously governed by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), to foster
better alignment of Federal investments in job training, to integrate service
delivery across programs and improve efficiency in service delivery, and to
ensure that the workforce system is job-driven and matches employers with
skilled individuals. One of WIOA’s principal areas of reform is to require
States to plan across core programs and include this planning process in the
Unified or Combined State Plans. This reform promotes a shared understanding of
the workforce needs within each State and fosters development of more
comprehensive and integrated approaches, such as career pathways and sector
strategies, for addressing the needs of businesses and workers. Successful
implementation of many of these approaches called for within WIOA requires
robust relationships across programs. WIOA requires States and local areas to
enhance coordination and partnerships with local entities and supportive
service agencies for strengthened service delivery, including through Unified
or Combined State Plans.
A
State has two options for submitting a State Plan — a Unified State Plan or a
Combined State Plan. At a minimum, a State must submit a Unified State Plan
that meets the requirements described in this document and outlines a four-year
strategy for the core programs. The six core programs are—
Alternatively, a State may submit a Combined State Plan that meets the
requirements described in this document and outlines a four-year strategy for
WIOA’s core programs plus one or more of the Combined Plan partner programs.
When a State includes a Combined State Plan partner program in its Combined
State Plan, it need not submit a separate plan or application for that
particular program. If included, Combined State Plan partner programs are
subject to the “common planning elements” (Sections II and III of this
document) where specified, as well as the program-specific requirements for
that program. The Combined State Plan partner programs are—
__________
* States that elect to include employment and training activities carried out
under the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Act (42 U.S.C. 9901 et seq.)
under a Combined State Plan would submit all other required elements of a
complete CSBG State Plan directly to the Federal agency that administers the
program. Similarly, States that elect to include employment and training
activities carried by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and
programs authorized under section 6(d)(4) and 6(o) of the Food and Nutrition
Act of 2008 that are included would submit all other required elements of a
complete State Plan for those programs directly to the Federal agency that
administers the program.
The
major content areas of the Unified or Combined State Plan include strategic and
operational planning elements. WIOA separates the strategic and operational
elements to facilitate cross-program strategic planning.
When responding to Unified or Combined State Plan requirements, States must
identify specific strategies for coordinating programs and services for target
populations.* While discussion of and strategies for every target population is
not expected, States must address as many as are applicable to their State’s population
and look beyond strategies for the general population.
__________
* Target populations include individuals with barriers to employment, as
defined in WIOA Sec. 3, as well as veterans, unemployed workers, and youth.
Unified
or Combined State Plan. Select whether the State is submitting a Unified or
Combined State Plan. At a minimum, a State must submit a Unified State Plan
that covers the six core programs.
Unified
State Plan.
This plan includes the Adult Program, Dislocated Worker Program, Youth Program,
Wagner-Peyser Act Program, Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Program, and
Vocational Rehabilitation Program. No
Combined
State Plan.
This plan includes the Adult Worker Program, Dislocated Worker Program, Youth Program,
Wagner-Peyser Act Program, Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Program, and
Vocational Rehabilitation Program as well as one or more of the optional
combined State Plan partner programs identified
below. Yes
Indicate
which Combined Plan partner program(s) the state is electing to include in the
plan.
Career
and technical education programs authorized under the Carl D. Perkins Career
and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et
seq.) No
Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families Program (42 U.S.C. 601 et
seq.) Yes
Employment
and Training Programs under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(Programs authorized under section 6(d)(4) of the Food and Nutrition Act of
2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4))) Yes
Work
programs authorized under section 6(o) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7
U.S.C. 2015(o))) No
Trade
Adjustment Assistance for Workers Programs (Activities authorized under chapter
2 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2271 et
seq.)) Yes
Jobs
for Veterans State Grants Program (programs authorized under 38, U.S.C. 4100
et. seq.) Yes
Unemployment
Insurance Programs (Programs authorized under State unemployment compensation
laws in accordance with applicable Federal law) No
Senior
Community Service Employment Program (Programs authorized under title V of the
Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3056 et
seq.)) No
Employment
and training activities carried out by the Department of Housing and Urban
Development No
Community
Services Block Grant Program (Employment and training activities carried out
under the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9901 et
seq.)) Yes
Reintegration
of Ex-Offenders Program (Programs authorized under section 212 of the Second
Chance Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17532))] No
The
Unified or Combined State Plan must include a Strategic Planning Elements
section that analyzes the State’s current economic environment and identifies
the State’s overall vision for its workforce development system. The required
elements in this section allow the State to develop data-driven goals for
preparing an educated and skilled workforce and to identify successful
strategies for aligning workforce development programs. Unless otherwise noted,
all Strategic Planning Elements apply to Combined State Plan partner programs
included in the plan as well as to core programs.
The
Unified or Combined State Plan must include an analysis of the economic
conditions, economic development strategies, and labor market in which the
State’s workforce system and programs will operate.
The
Unified or Combined State Plan must include an analysis of the economic
conditions and trends in the State, including sub-State regions and any
specific economic areas identified by the State. This must include—
Provide
an analysis of the industries and occupations for which there is existing
demand.
Provide
an analysis of the industries and occupations for which demand is emerging.
With
regard to the industry sectors and occupations identified in 1 and 2 above,
provide an assessment of the employment needs of employers, including a
description of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required, including
credentials and licenses.
(A)
Economic Analysis. Louisiana is a major energy producing state. In Louisiana,
9.1% of the state’s gross state product is derived from oil and gas extraction
and production; basically triple that for the nation as a whole. In fact we are
ranked 2 in production of both oil and natural gas if the Gulf waters are
included. When energy prices are strong, the state prospers. When oil prices
are declining, it is tough----especially for certain areas of the state. Last
year has been one of those bad years, and it is reflected in the 2015
employment numbers and the prospects for 2016. The Louisiana Economic Outlook
forecasts are based on the following assumptions:
• Slowed
by rapid increases in regulations and higher tax rates, the U.S. economy will
continue its plodding pace of expansion with RGDP averaging 2.6% growth
annually. • Inflation will remain in the modest 2.1% range, and minor increases
in interest rates can be expected. • The LEO is projecting a rebound in oil
prices to $55 in 2016 and $60 in 2017, though enormous uncertainty requires us
to place a $30 to $90 a barrel range around those forecasts. • An increase in
industrial demand combined with a reduction in supply due to much reduced rig counts,
should put upward pressure on natural gas prices, with the price per mmbtu
going to $3.50 in 2016 and $3.90 in 2017. • About half of the $125.1 billion in
announced projects are under construction and about half are at the FEED and
permitting stage. Viability of the FEED group is threaten by the EPA (1)
lowering ozone standards in the U.S. and (2) imposing the Clean Power Plan that
will radically raise industrial utility rates.
With the
addition of the Hammond MSA, Louisiana is now home to nine metropolitan
statistical areas. Prospects for each will dramatically turn on where the MSA
is located. Essentially, the LEO sees the state split into three regions: (1)
the rapidly expanding Baton Rouge and Lake Charles regions; (2) the languid
northern tier of the state; and (3) an oil patch region that will decline
through 2016. From the largest to the smallest MSA, the LEO MSA forecast: •
Louisiana’s largest MSA---New Orleans---is projected to show meager growth of
0.5% (+2,900 jobs) in 2016 and a better 0.8% (+5,100 jobs) in 2017. Layoffs in
the MSA’s oil sector and declining spending by the Army Corps will arrest
growth that would be much better due to (1) the opening of two new, large
hospitals, (2) $1.1 billion in industrial expansions underway, (3) expansion of
the airport, (4) a condo building boom, and (5) a number of new firms coming to
the region. New Orleans’ record could be much better in both years if some
$23.5billion in projects at the FEED and permitting level actually go
“vertical”.
• After
cracking the 400,000 employment level for the first time, the 9-parish Baton
Rouge region is poised to enjoy two good years of growth, adding 8,900 jobs
(+2.2%) in 2016 and 6,200 (+1.5%) in 2017. This MSA has about $8 billion in
industrial projects under construction. The slightly slower growth rate in 2017
is due to several of those winding down and few firms at the FEED stage in this
MSA. Several high tech firms are entering this market led by IBM---and the
remarkable 125% growth in tonnage at the Port will be repeated as the pellet
exports evolve. The loss of two significant headquarters and threats from the
EPA will stifle growth here.
• After
basically seven years of decline, the Shreveport-Bossier MSA will be dragged
down again In 2016 by a suffering extraction sector (-800 jobs) but a modest
rebound should occur in 2017 (+800 jobs) led by the Benteler Steel expansion at
the Caddo-Bossier Port and additions at the Computer Sciences Corporation.
•
Persistent layoffs in the energy sector will drive employment lower in the
Lafayette MSA for a second straight year in 2016 (-2,600 jobs), but if our oil
price forecasts are near the mark, 2017 should be a recovery year (+2,000
jobs). The opening of the new Bell Helicopters plant and the addition of four
new high tech firms will help this region.
• Like
Lafayette, the Houma MSA is being pounded by the energy sector and
energy-related firms. Edison Chouest and Gulf Island Fabricators alone have
cuts 3,000 jobs. The LEO projects the energy sector to drag in 2016 (-2,000
jobs) before recovering about 1,000 jobs in 2017 as oil prices hopefully
rebound and stabilize. Substantial coastal restoration monies are about to
reinvigorate this region as well.
• The
hottest area of the state right now is the Lake Charles MSA. This region has a
remarkable 39.6 billion in industrial projects under construction and an
equally remarkable $45 billion at the FEED and permitting stage. A huge boom in
industrial construction workers will drive this region up by 7,400 jobs (+7.1%)
in 2016 and another 2,000 jobs (+1.8%) in 2017. This latter year’s growth rate
could become much larger if the projects at the FEED stage move to
construction. Other good news for this region came when the Golden Nugget
Casino opened and actually grew the gaming market without cannibalizing
business away from the other two casinos.
•
Unfortunately the Monroe MSA has been languishing for 13 years and there seem
to be few prospects of that changing over our forecast period. We expect the
region’s employment to be flat in 2016 and expand by a modest 200 jobs in 2017.
The area was rocked by the announcement that its largest
employer---CenturyLink---was starting a round of layoffs. Fortunately only 55
jobs were targeted in this MSA.
• Our
forecast for the Alexandria MSA is a continuation of the modest growth the
region has experienced for the last two years---adding 500 jobs a year. This
projection could turn out to be radically conservative if American Specialty
Alloys follows through with their proposed new $2.4 billion, 1,400-person
plant.
•
Louisiana’s newest, and smallest MSA is Hammond. Composed of only Tangipahoa
Parish, this university town is enjoying a very good 2015 due to enrollment and
budget boosts at SLU and from an energetic healthcare sector. These same factors
should enable the region to add an expected 700 jobs a year over 2016-17.
The
combination for the forecasts for these MSAs, along with modest growth in the
29 rural areas of the state, should put the state on a path to add 15,400 jobs
in 2016 (up 0.8%) and 19,600 jobs in 2017 (up 1%). If the LEO forecasts are
near the mark, sometime between the latter part of 2015 or early 2017 Louisiana
will have more than 2,000,000 non-farm employees for the first time in
Louisiana’s history
The
Louisiana Workforce Commission’s Labor Market Information (LMI), Louisiana
Occupational Information System (LOIS) Scorecard is the state’s Virtual Labor
Market Information Web Portal. This interactive site provides users with access
to the latest Louisiana labor force, wages, population, industry employment,
training schools, training programs, Scorecard for completion rates, Youth Web
Portal, projections, demographics, nonfarm employment, employer database,
unemployment claimants, industry staffing patterns, licensed occupations,
demand occupations and career products. The LMI tables and charts and figures
that follow provide projections for Louisiana’s long term industry growth
projections.
Additional
supporting data can be found at:
Existing
Demand Industry Sectors and Occupations Louisiana’s short term and long term
employment projections suggest that the annual average workforce demand to
increase at 1.3 percent outpacing the national annual average workforce demand
of 1.1 percent. http://www.laworks.net/Images/WIOA/ExistingOccupations_1.jpg
Top 20
High-Demand Occupations by Employment High demand occupations are those with
three, four, or five star rankings as determined by the Louisiana Workforce
Commission. LWC’s star ratings system takes into account wages, job openings,
employment, and projected growth for over six hundred occupations, both
statewide and regionally. Tables 4 and 5 show some of the highest rated
occupations sorted by wage and employment, respectively. http://www.laworks.net/Images/WIOA/ExistingOccupations_2.jpg
Emerging
Demand Industry Sectors and Occupations 2022 Industry Projections for
Louisiana, Two-Digit NAICS The first chart provides projections on industries
expected to have the greatest growth by 2022. The highest growth occupation
according to these projections will be the medical field.
http://www.laworks.net/Images/WIOA/EmergingOccupations_1.jpg
2022
Occupational Projections for Louisiana, Highest Forecasted Growth Jobs with
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses having the highest growth
rate of 18.3%. http://www.laworks.net/Images/WIOA/EmergingOccupations_2.jpg
Number of
Job Vacancies Across Industry Sectors, Second Quarter 2015 - The industry
sector Trade, Transportation & Utilities leads statewide in number of
vacancies (14,760 vacancies), followed by Education & Health Services
(13,890 vacancies) and Leisure & Hospitality (13,320 vacancies).
http://www.laworks.net/Images/WIOA/EmployerEmploymentNeeds_1.jpg
Employers’
Greatest Challenges in Meeting Workforce Needs -In the 2015 Job Vacancy Survey,
employers were asked the open-ended question, “What is your greatest challenge
in meeting your workforce needs?” The chart above summarizes these responses
into the most common responses. It is encouraging that the most common response
was “No difficulty.” The second and third most common responses involved a
shortage of qualified applicants based on experience and work ethic.
http://www.laworks.net/Images/WIOA/EmployerEmploymentNeeds_2.jpg
The
Unified or Combined State Plan must include an analysis of the current
workforce, including individuals with barriers to employment, as defined in
section 3 of WIOA.* This population must include individuals with disabilities
among other groups** in the State and across regions identified by the State.
This includes: Individuals with barriers to employment include displaced
homemakers; low-income individuals; Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native
Hawaiians; individuals with disabilities, including youth who are individuals
with disabilities; older individuals; ex-offenders; homeless individuals, or
homeless children and youths; youth who are in or have aged out of the foster
care system; individuals who are English language learners, individuals who
have low levels of literacy, and individuals facing substantial cultural
barriers; farmworkers (as defined at section 167(i) of WIOA and Training and
Employment Guidance Letter No. 35-14); individuals within 2 years of exhausting
lifetime eligibility under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program;
single parents (including single pregnant women); and long-term unemployed
individuals. ** Veterans, unemployed workers, and youth, and others that
the State may identify.
Provide
an analysis of current employment and unemployment data, including labor force
participation rates, and trends in the State.
Provide
an analysis of key labor market trends, including across existing industries
and occupations.
Provide
an analysis of the educational and skill levels of the workforce.
Describe
apparent ‘skill gaps’.
(i)
Employment and Unemployment
Total
Nonfarm Employment, Not Seasonally Adjusted, LA (2012-2015)
http://10.1.26.80/LaWorks/Images/WIOA/WorkforceAnalysis_1.jpg
Total
Employment for Selected Sectors, Not Seasonally Adjusted, LA (2014) - Includes
Mining, Education&Health Services, and Trade, Transportation, &
Utilities.
http://10.1.26.80/LaWorks/Images/WIOA/WorkforceAnalysis_2.jpg
Over-the-Year
Change in Total Nonfarm and Private Sector Jobs (NSA), LA (January 2013 -
September 2015) -The
state has consistently added jobs year-over-year since the beginning of 2013. Year
over Year Change in Total Government Jobs (NSA)-Another trend evident in is
the decline in the number of jobs in the public sector
http://10.1.26.80/LaWorks/Images/WIOA/WorkforceAnalysis_3.jpg
United
States and Louisiana Employed-to-Unemployed Ratio - Comparison from January
2008 thru January 2015.
http://10.1.26.80/LaWorks/Images/WIOA/WorkforceAnalysis_4.jpg
Initial
Weekly Unemployment Insurance Claims, January 2008 to October 2015 -It is evident over
this period that hurricanes created large disturbances in the labor markets of
Louisiana. For example, Hurricane Gustav August of 2008.
http://10.1.26.80/LaWorks/Images/WIOA/WorkforceAnalysis_5.jpg
Continued
Weekly Unemployment Insurance Claims, January 2008 to October 2015 - The highest 4
Week moving averages were during the recession, 2009.
http://10.1.26.80/LaWorks/Images/WIOA/WorkforceAnalysis_6.jpg
National
and State Labor Force Participation Rates
|
Date |
Louisiana
Population |
Louisiana
Labor Force |
|
Jan 2011 |
3,463,150 |
2,082,124 |
|
Jan 2012 |
3,492,668 |
2,070,340 |
|
Jan 2013 |
3,517,345 |
2,095,765 |
|
Jan 2014 |
3,540,316 |
2,110,805 |
|
Jan 2015 |
3,563,305 |
2,203,170 |
http://10.1.26.80/LaWorks/Images/WIOA/LaborMarketTrends_1.jpg
Participation
Rate and Unemployment Rate in Louisiana (1976-2015)- The charts above
show the unemployment rate and labor force participation rate from 1976 to
2015. This time period covers the last five U.S. recessions as designated by
the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
http://10.1.26.80/LaWorks/Images/WIOA/LaborMarketTrends_2.jpg
Employment
Status of the Civilian Non-Institutional Population, Annual Averages, Louisiana
(October 2014-September 2015)
http://10.1.26.80/LaWorks/Images/WIOA/LaborMarketTrends_3.jpg
Civilians
Not in the Labor Force by Sex and Age, Annual Averages, Louisiana (October
2014-September 2015)http://10.1.26.80/LaWorks/Images/WIOA/LaborMarketTrends_4.jpg
(iii)
Education and Skill Levels of the Workforce
“It’s been
proven time and again that a more educated and trained workforce is our greatest
long-term economic generator.”
Governor
John Bel Edwards, January 11, 2016
Louisiana’s
Emerging Workforce
Addressing
the education and skills gaps of our emerging workforce is critical. Louisiana
is one of the richest states in cultural and natural resources, yet our
performance lags in almost every critical category. The following are some very
daunting demographics of the Louisiana emerging workforce:
o Only
32.1% of the approximate 366,981 working age Louisianans with disabilities are
employed.
o Over
23,100 youth ages 16-20 with disabilities and each year a quarter of them will
age out of school into an uncertain future.
What’s
more, Louisiana is also the world’s prison capital. The state imprisons more of
its people, per capita, than any of its U.S. counterparts. One in 86 adult
citizens of Louisiana is serving time in prison; nearly double the national
average. Inmates in local prisons are typically serving sentences of 10 years
or less on nonviolent charges such as drug possession, burglary or writing bad
checks. State prisons, on the other hand, are reserved for the worst of the
worst: those serving long-term prison sentences for violent crimes.
Ironically,
it is the long-termers who are offered training in the skills trades such as
welding, auto mechanics, air-conditioning repair and plumbing in the state
correctional facilities. Such opportunities are not available to the 53 %
serving their time in local prisons. The cruel reality is that those who could
benefit most are unable to better themselves, while men and women who will die
in prison proudly show off fistfuls of educational credentials and certificates
with an inability to put them to use.
For the
past decade, Louisiana has shifted toward a knowledge-based economy. Employers
increasingly require postsecondary credentials when hiring workers for good
jobs that provide family-supporting wages and career advancement opportunities.
The State projects, and is preparing for, a shift in the next five years that
will result in an estimated two-thirds of jobs requiring postsecondary
education of some kind.
Louisiana
recognizes that nearly half of children whose mothers have not completed high
school do not graduate on time themselves, compared to just less than five
percent of children whose mothers have a bachelor’s degree. The state and local
boards are responding to this connection between a parent’s level of education
and their children’s skills, academic outcomes and health through aggressive
outreach to identify at-risk families and by developing specific interventions
within its adult and youth programs.
Total
Nonfarm Employment, Not Seasonally Adjusted, LA (2012-2015)
|
Degree Level |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
Annual Projected Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Some postsecondary, no degree |
8,248 |
9,105 |
7,809 |
10,142 |
9,250 |
20,660 |
|
Associate degree |
5,410 |
5,944 |
5,459 |
5,836 |
5,788 |
5,500 |
|
Baccalaureate degree |
18,325 |
18,585 |
18,637 |
18,807 |
18,296 |
9,460 |
|
Graduate or professional degree |
6,289 |
6,725 |
6,883 |
6,655 |
6,707 |
2,410 |
The
preceding table shows the number of completers from Louisiana’s public
postsecondary education programs by degree level. Academic years 2010 through
2014 are included. The academic years are labeled by the year in which they begin,
so 2014 is the school year beginning in June 2014 and ending in May 2015. This
is compared to the number of annual openings from LWC’s long-term projections.
This comparison shows a gap in the “some postsecondary” category, which
includes short-duration training programs such as certificates or diplomas,
that provide less training than a full associate degree.
High
demand occupations span all education levels, from occupations requiring a high
school degree or less to those that require extensive post-secondary study.
Most of the occupations in Table 4 require a Bachelor’s Degree or higher, while
the occupations in Table 5 exhibit greater educational diversity, with all
levels of educational attainment represented. Table 5 occupations also exhibit
significantly more annual total openings than those in Table 4, suggesting that
job seekers for those occupations may have an easier time finding a job.
The
Unified or Combined State Plan must include an analysis of the workforce
development activities, including education and training in the State, to address
the education and skill needs of the workforce, as identified in Education
and Skill Levels of the Workforce above, and the employment needs of
employers, as identified in Employers' Employment Needs above. This must
include an analysis of –
Provide
an analysis of the State’s workforce development activities, including
education and training activities of the core programs, Combined State Plan
partner programs included in this plan, and required and optional one-stop
delivery system partners.*
__________
* Required one-stop partners: In addition to the core programs, the following
partner programs are required to provide access through the one-stops: Career
and Technical Education (Perkins), Community Services Block Grant, Indian and
Native American programs, HUD Employment and Training programs, Job Corps,
Local Veterans’ Employment Representatives and Disabled Veterans’ Outreach
Program, National Farmworker Jobs program, Senior Community Service Employment
program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) (unless the Governor
determines TANF will not be a required partner), Trade Adjustment Assistance
programs, Unemployment Compensation programs, and YouthBuild.
Two years
ago, the State launched an initiative to balance the emphasis on services
between employers (creating job opportunities in demand occupations) and job
seekers (recruiting and/or training a highly qualified workforce). This
initiative was strategic in nature and is operated out of the State’s Business
and Career Solutions Centers, with the purpose of increasing the “value” of
services that the State provides both to employers and job seekers. Integral to
this system is an understanding of and allowance for needed services to individuals
with “significant barriers to employment” and the requirement for “priority of
service” under the appropriate laws, regulations, and statutes.
Each
Business and Career Solutions Center that is also a Comprehensive One-Stop
Center (includes the presence of all partners) offers an extensive array of
services which include for job seekers:
For
employers, Comprehensive One-Stop Centers offer:
• LWDBs continue to develop and refine innovative and
effective models for obtaining industry-recognized credentials, including:
o o Integrated education and training approaches;
career pathways, industry or sector partnerships, including those pertaining to
Registered Apprenticeship programs and opportunities. o Cohort-based
approaches. o Evidence-based approaches that reflect best practices including
Registered Apprenticeship programs. o Development of interim credentials for
longer-term Registered Apprenticeship programs, which Louisiana can do as an
“SAA State” (State Apprenticeship Agency).
In addition, LWDBs may use a portion of local funds to
fund pay-for-performance contracts as a form of training delivery under Title
I, with continuous evaluation of how target populations are chosen, to fairly
serve individuals who face barriers to employment and economic success.
LWDBs may consider the full cost of participating in
training services, including expenses related to dependent care, transportation
and other essential needs for individuals who need additional assistance.
Louisiana uses a broad range of training programs as
part of its workforce development strategy. These programs involve
collaborating with local boards, companies and education/training providers to
improve training.
LWC requires:
• Local boards and/or One-Stop operators to
specifically report on expenditures for career and training services and on the
number of participants who received career and training services. This
requirement is specifically designed to make planning and funding decisions
more transparent, and to provide better opportunities for public oversight.
• Eligible training providers to report results for all
of their students for common measures for each program of study, not just
participants whose training costs were paid for through the use of WIOA funds,
in order to improve transparency of results for programs and for disadvantaged
persons.
Adult
The Louisiana Workforce Commission recognizes that for
many low-skilled and disadvantaged youth and adults, improved economic
opportunity depends on their ability to access education and training necessary
to prepare them for college and career success. Evaluation of job training
programs for adults finds that postsecondary education, in particular a degree
or industry-recognized credential related to in-demand jobs, is the primary
determinant of lifetime earnings. Education and training provides opportunities
for increasing a family’s financial resources, helps parents stay employed and
establishes a solid foundation for the next generation (youth). Incorporating
Registered Apprenticeship into service design and delivery is one way LWC
expects LWDBs to address the middle skill jobs that account for over half of
Louisiana’s labor market as noted in an earlier section, and it likewise
addresses the need to focus on in-demand occupations and recognized
credentials. One way to accomplish this is by having Center staff involved and
engaged in screening and assessment for current registered programs.
LWC operates its Adult Training Program to identify
workers who currently need or will need higher levels of education to fare
better in the labor market to reduce the incidence and duration of unemployment
while supporting higher earnings and job stability. Louisiana honors the Title
I Priority of Service requirement by leveraging all available funding streams
and partnerships, regardless of state or local funding availability, in
providing priority access to higher-intensity career services and training to:
• Public assistance recipients.
• Other low-income individuals.
• Individuals who are deficient in basic skills.
In contrast to WIA, where LWDBs policies on priority of
service varied widely, LWC in its implementation of WIOA requires LWDBs to:
• Report the number of individuals with barriers to
employment served by each core program, with specific breakdowns by
subpopulation.
• Report on the number of individuals with barriers to
employment that are served by the Adult and Dislocated Worker program, with
specific breakdowns by subpopulation, race, ethnicity, gender, and age.
Dislocated Worker
Layoffs are always challenging for workers and
employers. LWC provides Rapid Response Services designed to help employers
proceed in an orderly and legal way by guiding them through the process. LWC
works with LWDBs and other partners (training and supportive-service providers)
to help both.
Direct services to workers facing a plant shutdown or
large-scale lay-off, are focused on preparing them to find suitable new
employment, and get them back to work as quickly as possible by helping them
overcome such difficult barriers to employment as:
• Transferring specialized skills to other occupations
or industries.
• A decline in the market demand for certain skills.
• Age or length of work experience.
• Need for formal training or education.
• Lack of jobs with earnings at a level comparable to
their previous positions.
Dislocated worker services are custom-tailored to meet
an individual worker’s specific needs. Working one-on-one with a case manager,
workers are guided through the process of developing an Individualized
Employment Plan that includes as a minimum:
• Career planning and counseling.
• Job search and placement.
• Approved training, which include Registered
Apprenticeship programs.
• Other needed support services.
Youth
Louisiana does not have a defined service delivery
model for WIOA Youth Services. Each LWDB has the autonomy to develop their
local youth service model. However, these models must support the
implementation of Career Pathways that support postsecondary education, and
address the needs of low-income in school youth as well as out of school youth,
and support pre-apprenticeship to Registered Apprenticeship opportunities. LWC
requires each LWDB to competitively procure and provide all fourteen of the
program service elements. LWC has committed to assisting the LWDB’s through the
One Stop partners, to develop and provide age and developmentally appropriate
models for out of school youth.
LWC will work with local areas to ensure they:
• Will not require out-of-school youth in high-risk
categories to prove low-income status to receive services.
• Will provide services to individuals who have dropped
out of high school, have not attended school for at least one calendar quarter
of the most recent school year, or are subject to the juvenile or adult justice
systems under the out-of-school youth program.
• Will target and provide services to homeless
individuals, runaways, current or former foster care youth and individuals who
or are pregnant or parenting.
• Will provide services to youth who are not attending
school, hold a secondary credential, and are either basic-skills deficient or
an English language learner.
• Will consider youth living in a high-poverty area to
meet the low-income criterion for youth activities funding and services.
The state will monitor and guide local boards such that
at least 75 percent of available statewide funds and 75 percent of funds
available to local areas are spent on workforce investment services for
out-of-school youth.
Adult Education
In 2010, The Louisiana Legislature finalized the
transference of responsibility of Louisiana’s adult education delivery system
from DOE to Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS). This
effort was not simply about moving a program’s administration from one agency
to another. It was about reconsidering completely the goals, outcomes, and
direction of adult basic education in LA. LCTCS developed a new policy
framework whose primary focus is putting LA adults to work by providing high
quality basic skills instruction, in addition to wrap- around student services
that lead to a seamless transition to postsecondary enrollment, technical skill
training, credentialing and sustainable employment.
The LCTCS, Moving Adult Education Forward: A Pro Forma
Business Plan was a milestone in re-defining the vision for adult education,
focusing on new performance goals—including high school equivalency diplomas,
postsecondary enrollments, postsecondary completers, and placement in
sustainable employment at family-supporting wages. As a symbol of the new
vision the Louisiana Adult Education Program was renamed, “WorkReady U.” Since
the 2010 renewed set of expectations and vastly different philosophy in LA with
regards to adult education, adult education programs have progressively
adjusted educational service and delivery and are well-positioned to
provide/deliver/coordinate the required activities under Title II-WIOA.
Adult Education connects into the One Stop system
through the intake and assessment process to identify adults with limited basic
skills, and then to use innovative instructional models as necessary to prepare
adult learners for postsecondary education within the context of serving
learners at the lowest skill levels. The LCTCS Adult Education and Family
Literacy Program (WorkReady U), administers and provides program performance
oversight to eligible local entities that provide of adult education services.
These services include academic instruction and education services that increase
the individual’s ability to:
Wagner-Peyser
Louisiana already meets a major requirement of WIOA -
the co-location of Wagner-Peyser Employment Services in Louisiana’s Business
and Career Solutions Centers. The intent is to ensure that unemployment
insurance claimants receive the same services as all other job-seekers,
including job training, labor exchange, career counseling and labor market
intelligence. The UI claimant/job- seeker will also receive eligibility
assessments and referrals to an array of education resources and training
through the Wagner-Peyser Employment Service program.
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
Louisiana Rehabilitation Services (LRS) is present in
all Comprehensive One-Stop centers and in affiliate locations as necessary to
assure effective service to individuals with disabilities through participant’s
skills training which enhances participant ability to obtain employment in
their desired field, in particular “high demand jobs”. LRS consistently exceeds
70% successful placement in high demand jobs.
The LRS Program Coordinator for rehabilitation
technology provides consultation to Comprehensive One-Stop Center staff and
affiliate locations to improve knowledge regarding assistive technology and
address other accessibility issues,. In addition, the agency’s Rehabilitation
Employment Development Specialists (REDS) serve as LRS liaisons for all
Comprehensive One-Stop centers and affiliate locations within their region,
providing public awareness and services to consumers such as building
job-seeking skills and employment development. The State is committed to the
success of individuals with disabilities and leads the collaboration effort
across all Partner Programs.
LRS continues to renew and revise existing local
cooperative agreements, as applicable, with the 70 school districts and 104
charter schools in Louisiana. The Department of Education (DOE) and LRS
continue to work together to establish regional core teams throughout the
state. LRS collaborates with Department of Education (DOE), the Office for
Citizens with Developmental Disabilities (OCDD), Work Incentive Planning
Program, the Office of Community Services, and the Office of Youth Development
in an effort to network, share information and utilize comparable benefits to
enhance VR services to transitioning students. The primary focus of LRS’
collaboration is to identify and address barriers (e.g. policies, eligibility
process, resource allocation), assure effective service provision through
support of local interagency core teams, provide cross-agency training,
outreach, engage in capacity building of young adults and family outreach
efforts, provide continued support of innovative models and practices related
to transition and provide information and technical assistance.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
TheLouisiana Department of Children and Family Services
(DCFS) is committed to providing cash assistance and supportive services to
needy families meeting specific financial criteria and to provide services
necessary to accomplish the goals and purposes of Section 401 of the Social
Security Act (42 USC 601) in order to:
• Provide assistance to needy families so that children
may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives.
• End dependence of needy parents on government
benefits by promoting job preparation, work and marriage.
• Prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock
pregnancy.
• Encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent
families.
In January 2014, the Department of Children and Family
Services partnered with the LWC to help Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) recipients develop high demand job skills and move toward self-
sufficiency. This partnership builds and expands on the previous partnership
between DCFS and LWC, and LWDBs and One -Stop operators to deliver workforce
services to TANF families engaged in the Strategies to Empower People (STEP)
program and the SNAP Louisiana Job Employment Training (LaJET) program. The
LaJet program previously only targeted SNAP recipients classified as mandatory
work registrants living in five metropolitan statistical areas. The expanded
partnership supports the registration of all working- age SNAP recipients to
enroll with LWC and providing access to job postings, job trainings and all
other services of LWC.
To this end the Department of Children and Family
Services has committed to entering into agreements with public agencies,
non-profit organizations or for-profit organizations to provide intervention
services including crisis intervention, counseling, mentoring, support services
and pre-natal care information, in addition to information and referrals
regarding healthy childbirth, adoption and parenting to help ensure healthy and
full-term pregnancies as an alternative to abortion. Local boards and One-Stop
operators shall facilitate and operate as appropriate under the specifics of
these agreements.
The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)
The state continues to administer the Trade Adjustment
Assistance (TAA) program, which is available to workers who lose their jobs or
experience reduced hours or income as a result of increased foreign trade
activity. Local boards in areas where TAA petitions exist will actively reach
out to affected workers to provide TAA-funded training with the same goals as
provided under the dislocated worker program.
Trade services are considered an integral part of the
One-Stop Center’s service delivery and may involve any and all partners based
on the particular needs of individual clients. As such, trade-affected workers
may be eligible for:
• Training services.
• Job-search allowances.
• Relocation allowances.
• Re-employment services.
• Funded training.
• On-the-job training,
Like the dislocated worker program, TAA-funded training
helps trade-impacted workers obtain the skills necessary to gain suitable
employment. TAA will pay tuition, course fees, books and required supplies and
equipment, transportation and other items or services deemed necessary for
completion of an approved occupational skills training program, including
Registered Apprenticeship programs.
Jobs for Veterans State Grant (JVSG)
Louisiana provides employment, training and placement
services to all veterans through a network of strategically located One-Stop
Career Centers, and supported by HiRE. JVSG provides services to veterans and
eligible persons according to need, and significant barriers to employment. LWC
Jobs for Veterans State Grant-funded activities are co-located within the
state’s One-Stop Centers. JVSG staff referred to as Local veteran Employment
Representative (LVER) and Disabled Veteran Outreach Program (DVOP) Specialist
are essential parts of and fully integrated into the workforce development
network. Further, the veterans program is operating a fully functional re-entry
program for returning citizens that is acting as a pilot program for
non-veteran returning citizens.
Unemployment Insurance Programs- Louisiana Incumbent
Worker Training Programs (IWTP)
The Louisiana Employment Security Administration Fund,
known as the Incumbent Worker Training Account. Amounts from this account are
pledged and dedicated exclusively to fund training for businesses operating in
Louisiana that incur a state unemployment insurance tax liability. The purpose
of this program is to upgrade job skills through training. Additional emphasis
is placed on preventing job loss caused by obsolete skills, technological
change, or national or global competition; retaining jobs; and creating jobs in
labor demand occupations. The IWTP is a partnership between the LWC, business
and industry, and training providers. The IWTP is designed to benefit business
and industry by assisting in the skill development of existing employees and
thereby increasing employee productivity and the growth of the company. These
improvements are expected to result in the creation of new jobs, the retention
of jobs that otherwise may have been eliminated, and an increase in wages for
trained workers.
The Louisiana Incumbent Worker Training Account funds
are dedicated to support the following types of training:
Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)
Currently the Louisiana Senior Community Service
Employment Program is operated by both the state and national non-profit
organizations. The program serves low-income persons who are 55 years of age
and older who have poor employment prospects by placing them in part-time
community service positions and by assisting them to transition to unsubsidized
employment. Collectively these programs serve 700 program participants annually.
This does not include individuals who are seeking employment and are not
eligible for program services. The organizations operating in Louisiana are:
AARP Foundation, New Orleans; Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge
Inc., Baton Rouge; Experience Works Inc., Cottonport; Governor’s Office of
Elderly Affairs, Baton Rouge; Jefferson Council on Aging Inc., Metairie;
National Association of Hispanic Elderly, Shreveport; National Council on Aging
Inc., Monroe.
Louisiana is committed to bringing together diverse
stakeholders (including local boards and One-Stop operators) to develop and
expand employment and training opportunities for the state’s senior citizens.
The goal of the planning process is to design a long-term strategic view of the
senior citizen employment opportunities, inclusive of SCSEP and to measurable
strategies to achieve the defined goals.
Job Corps
Job Corps has three sites in Louisiana: a training
center in Carville, a technical school in Shreveport and a learning center in
New Orleans. Under WIOA, Job Corps is linked to the Adult Education and Family
Literacy Act (Title II), the State Vocational and Rehabilitation Programs.
The state is committed to partnering with Job Corps to
assist eligible youth to connect to the labor force by providing them with:
• Intensive social, academic, career and technical
education and service-learning opportunities.• Implementing new performance
indicators and requiring their use in decision-making.
Community Services Block Grant (CSBG)
Louisiana is committed to providing resources and
fostering partnerships in low-income communities that enable low-income
individuals to achieve self-sufficiency enhance family stability and revitalize
their community. This commitment is the charge of CSBG unit of the Office of
Workforce Development, within the LWC. As partner in the Louisiana Combined
Plan, the CSBG unit and Louisiana’s forty-two (42) Community Action Agencies
(CAAs) carry out locally designed programs providing a range of services and activities
that have measurable impacts on the causes and effects of poverty, and support
self-sufficiency. The CSBG Community Action programs assists low income
populations with transportation, clothing, health services, food, shelter, job
preparedness, education and housing assistance. As partners in the Louisiana
workforce system continuum of services, CAA services target vulnerable
populations and other least job-ready customers by focusing on reduction of the
barriers to employment.
Provide an analysis of the strengths and
weaknesses of the workforce development activities identified in (A) above.
|
Title I (Adult, Dislocated Worker
and Youth) Title III (Wagner-Peyser) |
|
|---|---|
|
STRENGTHS |
WEAKNESSES/OPPORTUNTIES |
|
LWC has developed policy, vision,
certification criteria and contracts to assist LWDBs in complying with WIOA’s
expectations. LWC requires development of a regional plan by respective LWDBs
including performance targets. |
LWDA leadership across the state has
experienced, in many instances, challenges developing viable regional
workforce partnerships with economic development and educational entities.
Vast improvement has been seen in this area over the 18 months, which should
allow the development of regional plans that align with the Governor’s vision
on workforce and the sharing of resources and ideas for regional
implementation, as scarcity of resources, and the true need to partner are
becoming drivers. |
|
In the past two years, LWC has created a
strong foundation on which to build true partnerships through implementation
of the new basic service delivery model and the Continuous Improvement
Process as support strategies to LWDA operations. |
Budgetary realities and restrictions,
combined with the refocus and expansion of services under WIOA, require the
Office of Workforce Development (OWD) in particular (and LWC in a broader
sense) to take a comprehensive look at how it provides support to service
partners. |
|
This plan will ensure the existence of at
least one comprehensive One Stop Center in each LWDA, and will encourage
LWDBs to operate “additional affiliate One-Stop Centers with any subset of
partners, or specialized centers”, as allowed under WIOA. |
While the state’s local one stop centers
effectively became “integrated”, with local WIA and State Wagner-Peyser staff
as early as 2005, there are currently One-Stop Centers in certain local areas
with limited presence of both local and state-funded staff providing staff assisted
services to employers and job-seekers. Failing here will crash the system
financially if continued with respect to affiliate sites. |
|
The plan drives the realignment of
funding streams to improve accountability across core programs, support
career pathways and sector strategies, and create continuous opportunities to
measure performance and identify areas for improvement, resulting in an
effective and efficient operation. |
This will only work if the LWDAs “buy in”
and become more strategic and effective in managing formula-fund dollars.
This is an opportunity to guide LWDBs toward a more proactive, strategic, and
engaged approach. |
|
Title II (Adult Education) |
|
|
STRENGTHS |
WEAKNESSES/OPPORTUNTIES |
|
Adult Education has adopted and
implemented the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) for Adult
Education. Standard alignment with K-12 partners provides rigorous standards
that specify what learners should know at each level. |
Streamline assessment mandates and
reporting results for students. Adult Education has the capability to provide
assessment services throughout the workforce training system for One-Stop
Centers, including services to OSY under WIOA, as well as post-secondary
educational institutions, TANF and SNAP programs, |
|
Provide professional development
activities/training that aligns CCRS with evidenced-based practices. |
Employer engagement and involvement on
program design and curriculum to ensure valid education/training meet
regional labor market demands. |
|
Developed and mandated teacher certification
course to improve teacher quality and understanding of WIOA requirements. |
Develop procedure to evaluate programs
and activities to ensure continuous improvement and expansion |
|
Data driven teacher quality evaluation
process |
Must ensure ABE teachers evaluations
include analysis of education services provided to WIOA OSY to ensure WIOA
Common Measures are understood and met, or exceeded. |
|
Title IV (Vocational Rehabilitation
Services) |
|
|
STRENGTHS |
WEAKNESSES/OPPORTUNTIES |
|
As a result of LRS, and the Vocational
Rehabilitation Program being within LWC’s organizational structure in
Louisiana, integration of vocational rehabilitation into the local One-Stop
infrastructure has already begun, with some local areas having counselors
working within the One-Stops. |
Expand the integration of vocational
rehabilitation services within One Stop Centers. Proactively address physical
and programmatic accessibility; space and logistics, including funding/cost
allocation agreements. |
|
An array of services is provided by each
component of the One-Stop, including LRS/VR. |
Integrate VR into the one-stop service
delivery model. Eliminate duplication of effort/services where possible.
Cross-train staff, and clarify services available. This includes those
responsible for providing said services. |
|
LRS has Employment Development
Specialists available in each region. These individuals are specialized in
working with individuals with disabilities, including job placement. |
To enhance employer outreach and collaboration
with one-stop efforts in employer engagement. |
|
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
(TANF) |
|
|
STRENGTHS |
OPPORTUNITIES |
|
Department of Children and Family
Services currently has partnership to provide Employment and Training
Services to TANF recipients state wide through its Strategies to Empower
People (STEP) Initiative |
State needs to consider increasing the
amount of TANF funding dedicated to work-related activities in an effort to
increase overall capacity of STEP and other E&T programs and services to
eligible participants |
|
TANF recipients (STEP) are connected to
local Business and Career Solutions Centers (AJCs), statewide, and are often
co-enrolled under WIOA Youth and/or Adult Programs |
Referral opportunities through improved
partnership with Adult Education and other programs that will be housed in
comprehensive one-stop centers in each local area |
|
Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Program |
|
|
STRENGTHS |
WEAKNESSES/OPPORTINITIES |
|
The Trade unit has redesigned and
implemented new forms to capture data specific to federal requirements, which
has improved the quality of the initial interview and intake process. |
The trade unit has the opportunity to
become a best practice state over a period of time with the implementation of
the new forms, which will yield better results from state and federal
monitoring reviews. |
|
The Trade unit has restructured its
filing system according to the outline of the federal requirements which has
streamlined the case management function; improved the organization and flow
of the quarterly monitoring review, and minimized the opportunity for
findings and disallowed costs. |
Retention and quarterly training for TAA
staff is essential to ensure continuous improvement and expansion of the
Trade program. |
|
The Trade unit has changed its manual
Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA) claim filing process to a new automated
system, which has tremendously improved customer service and decreased the
changes for human error and has increased timely processing. |
The Trade Unit must continue to work with
the Geosol as issues arrive with new automated claims process in order to
ensure that the system is efficient and effective in servicing its adversely
trade affected customers. |
|
Jobs For Veterans State Grant (JVSG) |
|
|
STRENGTHS |
OPPORTUNITIES |
|
Disabled Veterans Outreach Program (DVOP)
specialist are providing individualized career services to 99% of the
Veterans they provide services to. Despite serving only veterans with
Significant Barriers, DVOPs have achieved an Entered Employment Rate (EER) of
66%. |
Incorporate the service delivery strategy
utilized by DVOPs in to the One-Stop Centers statewide. Currently the EER for
all Veterans receiving services statewide is 51%. Large opportunity for
improvement. |
|
Local Veterans Employment Representatives
(LVER) are integrated in to the Business Services Teams within their assigned
workforce regions. LVERs conduct employer outreach with and as a part of
regional business services teams. |
LVERs could be more involved in employer
engagement centered around assisting employers to develop and start
registered apprenticeship programs and On-the-job training programs. These
efforts could provide more opportunities for Veterans to learn while they work. |
|
Senior Community Service Employment
Program |
|
|
STRENGTHS |
OPPORTUNITIES |
|
Several reputable NPOs within the state
currently providing employment and training programs for seniors 55 and older |
Developing partnerships with LWDAs in
local areas where NPOs exist to create a referral system; Opportunity to
increase the number of NPOs in the state to provide elderly employment and
training services in local workforce development areas and workforce regions |
|
Governor’s Office has an existing Office
of Elderly Affairs that supports services to elderly citizens |
Leveraging WIOA and other federal and
non-federal funding to expand services supports by Governor’s Office of
Elderly Services |
|
Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) |
|
|
STRENGTHS |
OPPORTUNTIES |
|
Local CAAs have the autonomy to develop
strategies and activities that support the needs of low income individuals to
secure, and retain employment. |
A large percentage of Louisiana CAAs are
not engaged partners in their local or regional workforce planning
activities, often causing duplication of services. |
|
CAAs administer LIHEAP and often other
local, state and federal resources that may assist job- seekers or workforce
training participants to remain self-sufficient. |
CAAs must take this opportunity to
increase their involvement with LWDBs in developing One-Stop Center
partnerships, in particular the development of effective cross referrals, and
co-enrollment. The ensuing expansion of services under WIOA will require the
LWDB and CAA to take a more comprehensive look at how partner resources are
aligned and utilized in providing supportive services to job-seekers. |
Provide an analysis of the capacity of
State entities to provide the workforce development activities identified in
(A) above.
The Louisiana Combined State Plan Partners have defined
“capacity” in three categories of service: efficiency, connectivity, and
funding. LWC has a solid foundation in efficiently providing employer and
job–seeker services. The implementation and operation of a continuous process
improvement strategy shows promise in continuing to create efficiencies in
these processes.
There is opportunity for stronger coordination and
consistency between Partner Programs, through the use of a Common Intake
Process and Co–enrollment strategy that will improve efficiencies across the
board for all partners. This “any door” approach will enable any job seeker to
enter the system with a consistent approach, which will result in seamless
transition among Partner Programs and Supportive Services providers. LWC is
also engaged in developing a “data warehouse” that will make data sharing more
instantaneous and homogenous to all partners.
The situation that has evolved is one of One–Stop
Centers being supported primarily by Wagner–Peyser and WIOA Adult, where ever
the dwindling resources are forcing service choices to be made based on cost,
and not on job–seeker need, or employer demand. LWC will guide LWDAs in
leveraging additional Partner Program funding in order to overcome this
shortfall.
The capacity of the State’s education and training
services varies from region to region and is based on the needs of individuals
and funding availability by the LWDA. The State has adopted a Career Pathway
approach to address efficiency issues related to how timely and responsive it
is in developing plans and entering job–seekers into training. This will allow
employers and job–seekers to focus on a stepped approach to earning education
and training.
The State is determined to meet the need of “market
connection” by identifying and providing "working learners", with
greater flexibility and broader opportunities in education and training in
order to overcome limited funding. The State’s goal is to develop capacity to
assist job–seekers, who find training and education at odds with making a
“family sustaining wage.” This can be accomplished through closely managed and
leveraged resources.
LWC is quickly building capacity in Business Services
through the use of a combination of “Industry Sector Coordinators” and
“Business Consultants” One of which focuses on specific industries (chemical,
medical, etc.) while the other focuses on providing service to specific
employers within an industry. Together they connect with Program Partners who
are enrolling, assessing, and providing career and individualized services to
job–seekers in order to meet anticipate and meet labor market demands in a
timely manner.
LWC’s Apprenticeship Division is working statewide to
improve the capacity of the workforce system relative to incorporating
Registered Apprenticeship in service design and delivery, as well as to support
the emphasis on career pathways. The engagement of State apprenticeship staff
with the Office of Apprenticeship in Dallas has also been robust, and we expect
that partnership to continue. As noted earlier in this plan, LWC believes
Registered Apprenticeship is a model that strikes “…the critical balance
between serving individuals and employers in a manner that will produce
strategies that in the long run are good for both.”
LWC’s service platform is proven, and is a solid
foundation on which to broaden its use. However, there are still challenges
with the state’s larger communities and metropolitan areas. These are difficult
to serve consistently, due to the varying size of firms and industry
concentrations.
Because of the complexity of adopting new laws, in the
context of waning budgets and moving industry targets, the State and its LWDAs
face a series of strategic challenges to the workforce system both in services
to job seekers and employers. Together, these challenges are high, but the
opportunities to address these challenges are even greater. The State is
building a coalition of Partner Programs, researching and designing support
structures, and shall effective address the next stage of The State’s workforce
development system through strategic realignment, simplified navigation and an
integrated approach to serving all its customers.
LWC’s Office of Workforce Development has realigned
staffing and its operational strategy to provide effective guidance and support
to Local Workforce Areas identified in the plan, and in support of regional
business engagement strategies. One partner, Vocational Rehabilitation
Services, has identified human resources as its greatest challenge in meeting
the requirements of WIOA. This is due, largely, to current vacancies and
attrition. However, the greatest challenge Louisiana faces is the state’s
budget deficit. Currently, Louisiana is facing a reported $70 million deficit
thru June 30, 2016, and an estimated $700m–1 billion dollars deficit next
fiscal year (July 1, 2016–June 30, 2017, Of greatest concern is that the
inevitable cuts in services and belt tightening will negatively impact those
individuals in which WIOA targets; out of school youth, individuals receiving
public assistance, the unemployed, basic skills deficient, and those with
significant barriers to employment. The State’s service delivery models are a
solid foundation for striking the critical balance between serving individuals
and employers in a manner that will produce strategies that in the long run are
good for both.
The Unified or Combined State Plan must
include the State’s strategic vision and goals for developing its workforce and
meeting employer needs in order to support economic growth and economic self-sufficiency.
This must include—
Describe the State’s strategic vision for
its workforce development system.
On January 11, 2016, Gov. John Bel Edwards assumed
leadership of the state of Louisiana. In his inaugural speech, he highlighted
the numerous challenges the state faces, beginning with a $1.9 billion budget
shortfall. He spoke to citizens of his vision, inspired by General of the Army
Douglas MacArthur, of how we will meet the mounting challenges ahead, “to build
courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be
little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn.”
Gov. Edwards further stated that every challenging task
will be examined in a three–step process: (1) gathering all the information
about the job at hand (intelligence); (2) choosing a strategy –seeking out all
viable options to successfully address the challenge, and selecting those that
best fit our mission and goals; and (3) deciding on the tactics and determining
how we are going to get done.
In summation, Gov. Edwards charged the people of
Louisiana to achieve our shared mission of “Putting Louisiana First” and to
make it possible for all Louisiana citizens to be healthy and prosperous.
The Louisiana WIOA Combined State Plan is being developed
with the governor’s strategic leadership and is being submitted in compliance
with WIOA requirements as a work in progress.
The Louisiana Workforce Investment Council (WIC), the
state’s workforce board, supports development of an employer–led, demand–driven
workforce development system based on occupational forecasts in which training,
education and services for job–seekers prepare Louisiana residents for
high–wage, high–demand career opportunities in Louisiana.
We, the people of Louisiana, envision a workforce
system that will provide pathways for all Louisianans, including individuals
who are receiving public assistance, the unemployed or underemployed, those who
are deficient in basic skills, as well as persons with disabilities, including
disabled veterans, and others who have significant barriers to employment. All
will have access to education, training and the supportive services needed to
prepare for and secure high–demand occupations that pay family–sustaining
wages.
Describe the goals for achieving this
vision based on the above analysis of the State’s economic conditions,
workforce, and workforce development activities. This must include—
__________
* Individuals with barriers to employment include displaced homemakers;
low-income individuals; Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians;
individuals with disabilities, including youth who are individuals with
disabilities; older individuals; ex-offenders; homeless individuals, or
homeless children and youths; youth who are in or have aged out of the foster
care system; individuals who are English language learners, individuals who
have low levels of literacy, and individuals facing substantial cultural
barriers; eligible migrant and seasonal farmworkers (as defined at section
167(i) of WIOA and Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 35-14);
individuals within 2 years of exhausting lifetime eligibility under the
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program; single parents (including
single pregnant women); and long-term unemployed individuals.
** Veterans, unemployed workers, and youth and any other populations identified
by the State.
STRATEGIC GOALS
Goal 1: Establish Career Pathways as a model for skill,
credential and degree attainment for Louisiana citizens to secure jobs that
provide opportunities for economic independence and family stability. This goal
will be accomplished by executing the following objectives:
1. Workforce development system partners will develop a
shared vision and strategy for industry sector-based career pathways for youth
and adults. Career pathways must be diverse, with multiple entry and exit
points allowing individuals of varying abilities, including low-skilled adults
and youth with multiple barriers to employment, to have realistic access to
pathways.
2. Engage employers and integrate sector strategy
principles to ensure multiple employers, business associations and organized
labor are partners in creating demand-driven career pathways.
3. Increase the identification, prioritization and
leverage of workforce system partner resources to provide supportive services
and reduce barriers for low-skilled youth and adults.
4. Strengthen the alignment of Jump Start, WorkReady U
and other viable initiatives as entry and exit points in the career pathways
model for in- and out-of-school youth.
5. Expand utilization of registered apprenticeship by
industry sector employers to train workers and meet occupational demands.
6. Support and grow learning opportunities for
job-seekers and workers by improving processes for transfer credits through
postsecondary, apprenticeships and college coursework.
Goal 2: Expand career services and opportunities for
populations facing multiple barriers to close the gap in educational attainment
and economic advancement through career pathways and improved career services
and the expansion of bridge programs.
1.Expand and incentivize the utilization of
evidenced-based workforce strategies that support targeted populations (e.g.,
the long-term unemployed, individuals with disabilities, veterans,
out-of-school youth) into sector-based career pathway initiatives to achieve
similar outcomes relative to other populations.
2. Create new pathways for success by preparing very
low-skill adults to take advantage of sector-based bridge programs that link
foundation skills and adult basic education.
3. Enhance and expand the delivery of integrated
re-entry and employment strategies to reduce recidivism among Louisiana’s
returning citizens and meet the skill and workforce needs of business and
industry.
4. Promote the efficient alignment and utilization of
supportive resources for populations facing multiple barriers to employment at
the regional and local service delivery levels.
1. Foster the improvement and expansion of
employer-driven regional sector partnerships to meet occupational demands as
supported by regional labor market information.
2. Increase the use of labor market and educational
data and technology, in coordination with local data, to inform and guide
strategic workforce development decisions.
3. Develop focused, regional workforce initiatives that
blend partner resources (co-. investment) to educate and train workers for jobs
within the workforce region.
4. Increase the alignment and efficacy of formula,
discretionary and competitive workforce funding in efforts to support regional
and local workforce initiatives.
5. Promote meaningful, portable industry credentials
supported throughout the workforce delivery system that align to workforce
demand.
6. Institute a system of accountability for the
workforce development system that supports and promotes the evaluation of the
effectiveness of state and local workforce development boards in meeting the workforce
demands of business and workforce.
Using the table provided in Appendix 1,
include the State's expected levels of performance relating to the performance
accountability measures based on primary indicators of performance described in
section 116(b)(2)(A) of WIOA. (This Strategic Planning element only applies to
core programs.)
Proposed performance levels are in Appendix 1 and are
subject to modification pending final published regulations on WIOA Performance
Management and Reporting System requirements.
In addition to the common performance measures
described in Section 116(b)(2)(A), LWDAs will use business–focused metrics to
assess outcomes .
Overall Business Market Penetration
The denominator is the number of unique businesses
employing 20 or more people in the parishes contained within a given Local
Workforce Development Area (LWDA).
The numerator includes the number of unique businesses
with 10 or more employees, registered in HiRE, which independently, or with
BCSC staff assistance, are engaged with the HiRE system by:
PRIMARY DATA SOURCE
The primary source of information for this measure is
data recorded in the MIS system of the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC),
HiRE. Services to employers are automatically recorded by HiRE and manually
entered into HiRE by Business and Career Solutions Center (BCSC) staff. The
HiRE system has the capability to have service codes added to indicate business
market penetration activity.
Targeted Business Market Penetration
The denominator for this measure is 200 businesses in
each LWDA – the top 50 businesses in each of the top four industries in the
corresponding workforce region
The numerator for this measure include the number of
unique businesses in the targeted industries, registered in HiRE that
independently or with BCSC staff assistance, have :
PRIMARY DATA SOURCE
The primary source of information for this measure is
data recorded in the MIS system of the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC),
HiRE. Services to employers are automatically recorded by HiRE and manually
entered into HiRE by Business and Career Solutions Center (BCSC) staff. The
HiRE system has the capability to have service codes added to indicate business
market penetration activity.
Employer Based Training
This is a count–based measure. Measured training
service contracts to employers and training services delivered to individuals
include:
PRIMARY DATA SOURCE
The primary source of information for this measure is
data recorded in the MIS system of the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC),
HiRE. Training services provided by employers are recorded in HiRE by Business
and Career Solutions Center (BCSC) staff.
Demand Occupation Job Vacancies with Staff Referrals
This is a percentage measure. The numerator for this
measure is the number of job vacancies for demand occupations in HiRE, by LWDA,
receiving at least one staff referral of a job–seeker to fill the position.
The denominator for this measure is the number of job
listings for demand occupation in HiRE, by LWDA.
PRIMARY DATA SOURCE
The primary source of information for this measure is
data recorded in the MIS system of the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC),
HiRE. Job listings are recorded in HiRE by Business and Career Solutions Center
(BCSC) staff and employers. Specifications for demand occupations are
accessible by LWDA, with occupational codes (two digit plus four digit
extension) and corresponding star ratings from the Occupations in Demand List
in Labor Market Information. LWDAs may add selected demand occupations based on
local economic drivers and market conditions.
Repeat Customers
The numerator of this measure is a count of unique
employers who received at least one BCSC/HiRE service in the baseline year.
The denominator is a count of the unique employers who
received at least one BCSC/HiRE service in the prior year, such as:
PRIMARY DATA SOURCE
The primary source of information for this measure is
data recorded in the MIS system of the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC),
HiRE. Staff records employer services in the HiRE system. The HiRE system
automatically indicates the activities performed by employers without staff
assistance.
Describe how the State will assess the
overall effectiveness of the workforce development system in the State in
relation to the strategic vision and goals stated above in sections (b)(1),
(2), and (3) and how it will use the results of this assessment and other
feedback to make continuous or quality improvements.
The State operates a standard format “Metrics Review
Process” this includes a Monthly Review of Metrics (MRM) and a Quarterly Review
of Metrics (QRM). The MRM focuses primarily on what is considered “real time”
or managerial metrics which are designed to identify and address deficiencies
that may be emerging, or may become anticipated at a time when the Continuous
Improvement Process can make “real time correction” and begin the development
of a “corrective action plan” when that development is called for.
In addition to a more immediate assessment of
operations, the MRM focuses on identification and sharing of emerging best
practices and contains a component of objective review for programs in
development or new programs that have not stabilized. The QRM is less
“tactical” and more “strategic” in both time and scope. In particular the QRM
focuses more on evolving Partner Program relationship, cross program
activities, and achieved outcomes against set performance measures. Like the
MRM, the QRM results become drivers in the Continuous Improvement Process.
Note the following samples of drivers from both the QRM
and MRM. These include, but are not limited to:
o Number of New Employers Engaged
o Number of Employers Returning as a Result of Outreach
o Business Market Penetration Rate, in Particular
Business Sectors
o Total Number of Placements in Demand Occupations
o Total Number of Placements in On the Job Training
(and Demand Occupations)
o Time Reduction to Refer Candidates Who are Hired
o Referral to Hire Ratio for Job Seekers who receive
Core/Individualized Services
o Number of Demand Occupation Jobs Recruited and Staff
Referred
o Number of Weeks Dislocated Workers Receive Benefits.
o Qualitative Review of Case Management Processes in
Particular Comprehensive Assessments and Individualized Employment Plans
o Success Rate of Gained Employment for Participants
from all Partner Programs, in Particular those with Significant Barriers to
Employment as indicated in WIOA Priority Populations.
o Metric Points Along this Process Include Percentage
of Number Referred, Number Entered, Number of Completions, and Number Employed,
of those Eligible for Training or Education Services.
These Samples and all drivers apply across all programs
that touch an Employer or Job Seeker (Participant). The QRM and MRM ultimately
produce the foundation (through graphical study and depiction) to support the
statistical methods used for analyzing and controlling the variations in our
processes and thus continuously improving these processes.
The Unified or Combined State Plan must
include the State's strategies to achieve its strategic vision and goals. These
strategies must take into account the State’s economic, workforce, and
workforce development, education and training activities and analysis provided
in Section (a) above. Include discussion of specific strategies to address the
needs of populations provided in Section (a).
The state of Louisiana must put in place an effective
strategy to prepare for the impending job market expansion, in terms of both
skills demand, and accelerated job growth. WIOA provides a framework in its
requirement for agency and program partnerships that will streamline processes,
and create a pipeline for recruiting, training, educating, and otherwise
preparing citizens to acquire a living wage. To be successful, this must be a
collaborative effort and shared responsibility among all partners. An
additional benefit of this course of action will come in the form of a stronger
economy. The continuous expansion of the collaborative partnerships will allow
Louisiana to fulfill the requirements of WIOA. It will also maximize benefits
to the state’s workforce, employers and overall economy.
The mission of the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC)
is to put people to work by continuously improving our demand-driven system
that responds quickly to the immediate and long-term needs of employers. The core
focus is to fill job vacancies by connecting skilled and credentialed job
seekers to employers in demand occupations. This section describes the
strategies that Louisiana will implement to achieve the governor’s vision and
goals of improving employer engagement, cultivating regional labor market
intelligence to drive services, targeting workforce recruitment to meet
employer demand, integrating all workforce development services, improving
training and technical assistance to Workforce Development Boards and Business
and Career Solutions (BCSC) staff, while reducing administrative costs.
To achieve these goals, LWC will capitalize on the
shared vision of state and local workforce development boards’ leadership for
transformational change by implementing a growing body of promising structural,
service delivery and accountability innovations that build on existing
strengths, challenge assumptions and create a systemic approach to transform
the workforce system into a demand-driven system. A core element of this
transformational approach is the commitment of the combined partners to the
comprehensive implementation of career pathways.
Louisiana Career Pathways
Through the WIOA planning process, the state’s
education and workforce partners developed a vision and framework for Louisiana
Career Pathways. The following describes their approach in creating a vision
and framework for the implementation of a Career Pathway strategy that aligns
with in demand occupations.
Vision: Louisiana Career Pathways are designed to
improve lives and the economy. Through integrated career pathways, all
Louisianans will have the opportunity to access progressive levels of education
and training leading to high-value, high-demand careers. The career pathways
approach meets learners where they are, by spanning high school, adult
education, post-secondary and beyond, leading to sustainable employment. This
includes pre-apprenticeship and registered apprenticeship.
Louisiana Career Pathways connect education and
training programs and support services that enable individuals to secure
employment within a specific industry or occupational sector, and to advance,
over time, to successively higher levels of education and employment in that
sector. Each step on the Career Pathway is designed explicitly to prepare
workers and students for the next level of employment and education.
The Louisiana Career Pathways Framework
Minimally, all Louisiana Career Pathways must: • Be
designed in partnership with business and industry as well as regional economic
development entities (in order to meet both current and future sector needs). •
Have multiple entry points, including for those with limited basic skills and
those with prior educational and work experiences • Incorporate multiple exit
points (off-ramps, stop-out points) connected to the attainment of
industry-recognized stackable credentials and/or academic credentials. o First
stop-out point must be aligned with a viable career opportunity. o Exit points
must be embedded in a longer pathway that ultimately leads to high-wage,
high-demand careers. • Pathways include opportunities, where appropriate, for
acceleration, contextualization, work-based learning and co- or dual-enrollment.
• Pathways include Registered Apprenticeship programs and opportunities to
obtain a recognized post-secondary credential in the form of a Completion
Certificate or an Associate’s Degree for those pursuing further opportunity and
credentialing through a community college member of the Registered
Apprenticeship College Consortium (RACC). • Include a logical
progression/sequence of courses that are applicable to the target credential. o
Could define this as blocks of courses tied to defined entry/exit points. o
Course sequence provides a clear plan for what students take and when. •
Integrate student (participant) supports, including academic supports,
non-academic/general support, transitional support, up-front career exploration
and ongoing career development as well as job-placement assistance. • Provide
the opportunity to earn college credit. o Can include noncredit programs
leading to industry-based credentials, but need consistent state policy on how
to award college credit for industry-based credentials. o Noncredit pathways
are aligned with credit pathways so that students can continue into
credit-bearing pathways with transcript credit and without repeating
coursework. o Explore the Registered Apprenticeship College Consortium and
support community college membership throughout Louisiana to enable journey
workers to get on a fast-track for an Associate’s Degree by incorporating their
Registered Apprenticeship program participation.
The Louisiana Workforce Investment Council, the
Workforce Cabinet, and members of the WIOA Planning Team recognize the need for
an education and training system that addresses the state’s economic and
workforce challenges. The Planning Team will continue to provide leadership in
developing Career Pathway initiatives with a focus on targeted populations with
significant barriers to employment (e.g., individuals receiving public
assistance, long term unemployed, basic skills deficient adults and youth).
Business Engagement
The Business Engagement Initiative is focused on garnering
and utilizing input from businesses to build a package of services and
strategies to meet business needs today and into the future. There will be
special effort to foster relationships with small businesses and targeted
industry sectors in order to develop a custom package of services for these
customers. Business Engagement will increase overall business utilization and
value received from the workforce system, reduce employer costs to recruit and
hire qualified workers and decrease the time required to fill vacancies.
Regional Business Service Structure
Regional business service strategies will transform
Louisiana’s workforce development service delivery, creating a positive
long-term economic impact. This regional approach is appropriate for the following
reasons:
To create sector strategies, local Workforce Investment
Boards and chief elected officials in each region will collaborate in a
regional planning process, establish a regional service strategy and develop sector
initiatives for in-demand sectors or occupations in the region. Along with a
sector strategy, the LWDBs in the regions, with representatives from secondary
and post-secondary education programs, shall lead efforts in the regional/local
area to develop career pathways by aligning employment, training, education,
and supportive services. Engaging industry will lead to the development of
career pathways, growing the pipeline of qualified job candidates to fill
existing skill gaps in targeted industries. Two existing within the education
system are Workaday and Jump Start.
WorkReady U, supports the mission of educating
Louisiana’s adult population and moving them beyond a high school equivalency
diploma through credit-earning coursework for postsecondary certificates,
degrees and family-supporting jobs. Louisiana colleges and WorkReady U
providers have implemented career pathways in the following industries:
Jump Start is a new paradigm for career and technical
education (CTE), allowing high school students to attain an
industry-promulgated, industry-valued credential in order to graduate high
school.Louisiana’s Jump Start program aligns Louisiana’s K-12th grade CTE
strategies with the state’s economic development strategies. Jump Start
regional teams, consisting of school districts, colleges, businesses and
workforce/economic development experts; collaborate to provide career courses
and workplace experiences to high school students. Students have the
opportunity to earn industry-valued, industry-promulgated credentials in career
fields most likely to lead to high-wage jobs, while preparing them to continue
their post-secondary education (in 2- and 4- year colleges) and career
development.
LWC will provide additional guidance to LWDBs regarding
Career Pathways development as part of its ongoing technical assistance and
guidance.
Successful regional sector strategies will share the
following common principles:
The implementation of a regional sector strategy does
not follow a cookie-cutter approach, but does reflect the common principles
outlined above. Regions create and implement the best overall approach for
their local economy with the following core steps in mind:
The ultimate goal is for sector partnerships to
successfully identify workers with skills that employers need to compete and
expand, as well as for workers to receive relevant training that leads to
increased job stability and advancement opportunities. Business needs change
rapidly, therefore it is critical that this effort be driven by regional
business and is based on continuous, sustained engagement with regional
businesses.
Development of the Louisiana WIOA Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU)is fundament to alignment of Louisiana Combined State Plan
partner programs, required and optional partners programs, and other resources.
The MOU will (1) articulate the coordinated vision, goals and objectives for
the Louisiana Workforce system and the combined State Plan; (2) establish
agreement at the state level for service delivery systems, co–enrollment and
define framework of key strategies and other key function of WIOA core
partners; (3) provide guidance for partnerships at the regional and local
areas. The WIOA Lead Team has begun to development the MOU framework, and
recognizes that the fidelity of the state leadership to the collaborative
process will have significant impact on regional and local implementation.
LWC shall create and provide opportunities and
leadership to encourage and facilitate regional collaborative efforts by
workforce system leaders LWDBs and WIOA required partner programs to align
workforce policies and services with regional economies and supportive service
delivery strategies. LWC shall lead in the analysis of regional labor markets,
establishment of regional service strategies, development and implementation of
sector initiatives for in–demand industry sectors or occupations for the region
and coordination of services. These efforts are expected to enhance capacity
and performance of the integrated workforce system.
LWC has developed policy, vision, certification
criteria and contracts to assist LWDBs in complying with WIOA’s expectations.
LWC requires development of a regional plan by respective local boards which
must include performance targets.
It is the intent of LWC to provide guidance, and
support to local leadership, while allowing local and regional leadership, the
flexibility to develop and implement innovative workforce strategies and
solutions necessary to meet the needs of employers, job seekers and the
emerging workforce.
LWC shall monitor and support LWDBs efforts in the
strategic integration of workforce programs, services and initiatives in order
to operate in the most efficient and cost–effective manner possible, while
remaining flexible, adaptable, market–based and customer–focused. LWC has
adopted, and is committed to, a Continuous Improvement Process approach in
refining the structure and alignment of programs under WIOA with additional
resources to support achievement of state vision and goals.
The Unified or Combined State Plan must
include an Operational Planning Elements section that support the State’s
strategy and the system-wide vision described in Section II.(c) above. Unless
otherwise noted, all Operational Planning Elements apply to Combined State Plan
partner programs included in the plan as well as to core programs. This
section must include—
The Unified or Combined State Plan must
include—
Describe how the State board will implement
its functions under section 101(d) of WIOA (i.e. provide a description of Board
operational structures and decision making processes to ensure such functions
are carried out).
The Louisiana Workforce Investment Council (WIC) is
established in accordance with Section 101 of the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act, and under Louisiana Law, LSA–R.S. 23:2042–2056. The mission of
the WIC is to support the development of an employer–led, demand–driven
workforce development system based on occupational forecasts in which training,
education and services for job–seekers prepare Louisiana residents for
high–wage, high–demand career opportunities in Louisiana.
The WIC achieves this mission by:
The responsibilities of the WIC include:
The powers of the WIC shall include:
The WIC meets no less than four times each calendar year,
and all meetings comply with the Louisiana Open Meetings Law. Decisions are
made by a vote of a majority of the total membership of the WIC.
Decision–making votes shall be conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order.
Educational and information portions of meetings shall be conducted according
to the preference of the Chair. The Executive Committee of the WIC is comprised
of the Chair, Vice Chair, heads or designees of state agencies represented on
the WIC, at least one legislator, and at least two organized labor
representatives.
The Executive is composed of a majority of business
members. Duties include, but are not limited to overseeing the implementation
of the strategic plan, tracking workgroup plans and progress; leading the
alignment of the workgroups; and driving provisions of critical workforce data.
Describe how the lead State agency with
responsibility for the administration of each core program or a Combined Plan
partner program included in this plan will implement the State’s Strategies
identified in Section II(c). above. This must include a description of—
Describe the activities the entities
carrying out the respective core programs will fund to implement the State’s
strategies. Also describe how such activities will be aligned across the core
programs and Combined State Plan partner programs included in this plan and
among the entities administering the programs, including using co-enrollment
and other strategies.
During the past several years, the U.S. Department of
Labor has reduced both administrative and programmatic funds available to state
workforce agencies in both WP and WIA (now WIOA).At the same time funding
availability has been diminishing, the coast and complexity of providing
service delivery, programmatic management and support, and fiscal and
performance reporting have increased. This makes it essential that LWC and
local boards work together to reduce overhead costs and streamline (economize)
services.
The state integrated One-Stop Center operations under
the Workforce Investment Act several years ago. However, there continues to be
One-Stop Centers within the state, where local board and/or One-Stop operators
(contractors) have very limited or no presence in providing services to
employers and job-seekers. These One-Stop Centers are therefore operating (in
effect) as stand-alone Wagner-Peyser Employment Service offices.
This plan supports the State’s commitment to supporting
at least one “Comprehensive One-Stop Center” in each local area (defined as the
presence of all WIOA required Partner Programs). Smaller offices operated by
local boards and/or One-Stop operators (contractors) where all Program Partners
are not present, shall be designated and operated as “Affiliate” One-Stop
centers and may have any subset of partners, but shall not be operated as Wagner
Peyser stand-alone Employment Services offices.
Under the plan, local boards will have the flexibility
to include additional partners in One-Stop Centers, in particular and
specifically identified by the law:
Although support for One-Stop Center operations will
change, this plan does not call for any “rebranding” of centers regarding their
status as “comprehensive” or “affiliate.” This plan is designed to support a
refined focus on employment, training, adult education and vocational
rehabilitation programs designed to provide workers and their families an
opportunity for economic prosperity.
The new infrastructure combined with the recently
redesigned service delivery model will strengthen existing workforce
development and adult education programs in four ways that can benefit adults
and youth with barriers to economic success by:
This plan creates an opportunity for chief elected
officials (CEOs), boards and local communities to rethink reshape and expand
workforce systems, policies and practices in a way that conforms to local needs
while maintaining fiscal prudence and viability.
The plan also drives the realignment of funding streams
to improve accountability across core programs, support career pathways and
sector strategies and create continuous opportunities to measure performance
and to identify areas for improvement. Operating in the most effective and
efficient way by:
Identifying inefficiencies and targeting improvements
that will bring costs in line with reasonable standards.
This plan establishes the state’s commitment to
supporting the WIOA requirement that “Each local area must have one
comprehensive One-Stop Center that provides access to physical services of the
core programs and other required partners.”
The required partner programs, in addition to the core
programs, (and if they are present) for a comprehensive One-Stop Center under
WIOA are:
For the purposes of operations under this plan regarding
services provided in a Comprehensive One- Stop Center, each member of the
partnership shall agree to core hours, core services, individualized services,
supportive services, data sharing and the sharing of costs for business
operations.
This plan commits the state to providing support for
one Comprehensive One-Stop Center in each local area. Regionally, boards may
choose how they use the resources provided under this plan and other support
agreements. However, use of these resources shall not becontrary to the
provisions and requirements of the U.S. Department of Labor or state laws,
regulations and statutes.
The relationship established under this plan between
the local boards, required partners and all optional partners shall be operated
as a Service Level Agreement (SLA). That is, all resources shall be allocated
by formula as defined or specifically detailed in the plan. SLAs find their
origin in the private sector where they are streamlined contracts between a
provider of a service or product and a customer or subsidiary that could
require provision or management of service delivery, and as such are the most
cost-effective and simplest to operate fiscal and managerial processes for this
activity.
Key elements of the service relationship covered in this
plan include implementation, performance, finances and operations. All of these
characteristic key elements and expectations can be directly related to
service-delivery at a One-Stop Center regarding negotiated performance outcomes
and managerial metrics.
o Who will be physically present in the center - full
or part time.
o When not physically present will center staff be
required to supply support, i.e. provide customer guidance when using an online
tool, etc.?
o What services will be offered, and how do those
services support a Career Pathway?
o Defined interface with partner programs to provide
seamless services.
o Method of supervision and guidance provided to staff.
o Defined administrative or other supports required to
be successful.
o Facility costs.
o Operational delivery, how services are delivered, by
whom and when.
The state shall allocate Wagner-Peyser-funded staff by
formula based on the level of effort necessary to support labor exchange
services in an LWDA or region. There are both local areas that are currently
overstaffed and that need additional staffing. These mismatches are the result
of long-term localized planning for staff support rather than regional and
statewide planning. The state intends to change staffing levels through
attrition and replacement, supplement with short-term career specialists funded
by limited fund sources where appropriate to the source requirement, and
relocation and reassignment.
Elements of the Local Delivery Structure
Boards shall develop new local plans under WIOA to
align local goals and objectives set forth in the state’s Combined State Plan
and also describe collaboration strategies with system partners.
To address limited financial resources yet still meet
the needs of Louisiana’ employers, boards must:
Events and projects provide the opportunity for boards
and system stakeholders to collaborate, innovate and streamline services to
improve workforce service delivery. Continuous improvement efforts by the
boards are facilitated and encouraged through activities such as:
o Integrated workforce processes.
o Performance measures.
o Program-specific monitoring toolkits, through the
ongoing work of OWD monitoring effort.
Describe how the activities identified in
(A) will be aligned with programs and activities provided by required one-stop
partners and other optional one-stop partners and activities provided under
employment, training (including Registered Apprenticeships), education
(including career and technical education), human services and other programs
not covered by the plan, as appropriate, assuring coordination of, and avoiding
duplication among these activities.
In recent years, state agencies, business/industry and
other partners in Louisiana have done a magnificent job aligning employment, training,
education and human services to respond to the needs of employers and
job–seekers. This plan will ensure that the alignment of activities between
core programs and partners continues and expands to required partners and
One–Stop partners to improve coordination of employment and training activities
and avoid duplication of services to customers. Below are some examples of
imaginative and coordinated efforts already in action:
I. Engaging Out–of–School Youth (OSY) through LWDA/High
School Partnerships
LWC and its local workforce areas have instituted an
innovative approach to engaging out–of–school youth throughout the state to
enroll in WIOA Youth Programs. Nearly 50 percent of the state’s high school
students either drop out of or are expelled from high school before graduation.
Understanding the importance of keeping school–age youth engaged in
constructive educational experiences, thereby reducing the risk of truancy,
crime and violence, LWC’s Office of Workforce Development worked with several
local areas to approach public schools and school boards about the possibility
of partnering to offer assistance to youth at risk of exiting high school
before graduation. The results are cooperative endeavor agreements signed by
LWDB chairs and directors, high school principals and public school
superintendents to ensure a “soft handoff” occurs the moment these students are
removed from the school’s enrollment. Immediately, they are enrolled into WIOA
once eligibility has been formally established. Once an ISS is completed, these
OSY are provided one or more of the 14 elements available to OSY under WIOA.
This method will be evaluated to determine the effectiveness of the approach
and has already been shared with other states as a promising innovative strategy
during the USDOL/NASWA WIOA Convening in Washington, D.C. in January 2016.
II. Louisiana Jump Start Initiative – Employer
Engagement– Department of Education
The Louisiana Department of Education, (K–12), has
launched an initiative that offers Career Technical Education (CTE) to high
school students in grades 10 through 12. This initiative, known as Jump Start,
provides classroom training and work experience in demand occupations in
Louisiana through unpaid internships provided industry partners. Participating
students are able to obtain high school credit hours, college course credits
and industry certifications, all leading to high school diplomas. In some
instances, students are able to graduate high school with associate degrees,
beginning their professional careers in technical fields immediately after
completing high school with a dual degree.
Essential to the program’s success is employer
engagement. Employers within targeted industries must be willing to engage high
school students through internship opportunities, providing students with
on–the–job training and career mentors.
As a result, K–12 has engaged industry leaders to
promote and support Jump Start. This effort has required many hours of
face–to–face meetings, conference calls and engagement of business, local
leaders, state legislators and the executive branch of government in order to
resolve legal and bureaucratic obstacles preventing program success.
At the heart of the problem is the fact that this has
created unnecessary duplication of efforts to engage business leaders through
the formation of 10 regional Jump Start teams statewide. These teams are
comprised of education (K–12, community and technical colleges), private
business, economic development organizations, local One–Stop operators, public
sector leaders and others. This is a clear duplication of effort in that local
Workforce Development Boards are comprised of the same organizations, and, in
many instances, the same people represent these organizations on both Jump
Start teams and local boards. While government employees may be accustomed to
conducting business in this manner, it has become increasingly frustrating to
business owners, and the fear of losing their enthusiasm and commitment has
become apparent. Precious time is wasted having the same discussion, in
different forums, with the same people. The need to do something to resolve the
issue, and do it quickly, is required.
The state’s K–12 leadership and LWC’s Office of
Workforce Development have partnered to streamline the process of business
engagement by promoting the alignment of regional Jump Start teams and Workforce
Development Boards through the local boards and their standing committees on
youth. It is through these standing committees that Jump Start programs will be
supported, and issues requiring attention outside of K–12’s normal business and
management structure will be addressed and resolved. Meetings with each local
board have begun, with more to follow in the coming weeks. Those boards that
have met on this issue have expressed support and understanding of the need to
move forward with this approach. Many provocative questions regarding Jump
Start have been raised by board members and captured by the Louisiana
Department of Education consultant and OWD
leadership. The interest in making this career pathways
initiative for in–school youth the best in the country has taken off, and LWDB
members understand their roles in making it happen.
Local and regional workforce plans will be evaluated to
ensure those plans align with the state’s plan to support this process. This
process is just one solution to promote business engagement as it relates to
opportunities for youth and adults in need of training and work experience, but
will serve a model of how the public sector must work more closely, eliminate
redundancy and work together to provide excellent, result–oriented customer
service (e.g., business, job–seekers, future workforce) and improve the
business climate.
III. Registered Apprenticeship–LWC
Akey strategy identified in the Louisiana Combined Plan
goals and objectives is the expansion of the use of Registered Apprenticeship
programs as viable talent development opportunities. Registered Apprenticeship
programs have demonstrated that employers who invest in training experience
lower employee turnover, increased employee productivity, better employee problem–solving
skills and improved employee relations. The employer and employee are equally
committed to the program’s success.
LWC Registered Apprenticeship Program supports
connecting job seekers to high paying jobs. The building and construction trade
programs have been and continue to be the backbone of registered apprenticeship
in this state and across the country, LWC is working to develop new
non–traditional programs in industries such as health care and advanced
manufacturing. The LWC Apprenticeship Division continues to encourage new and
currently existing programs to take advantage of partnership opportunities with
our workforce system, and has played an active role in discussions regarding
Eligible Training Provider List policies and procedures as it applies to
registered apprenticeship under the new WIOA regulations.
Previously, many local workforce boards were reluctant
to support registered apprenticeship with workforce funding for a multitude of
reasons, including concerns regarding perceived performance implications. With
the new provisions in WIOA, that clearly support the expansion and
incorporation of registered apprenticeship as an evidence–based approach to
workforce development, Louisiana sees this as an opportunity to create a new statewide
vision that supports substantive partnerships between LWDBs and registered
apprenticeship program sponsors. Aligning registered apprenticeship
opportunities with WIOA service design and delivery in a holistic and
comprehensive manner, however, will require focused effort and education, and
policy support from LWC. In this regard, LWC Apprenticeship Division staff are
working closely with the Office of Apprenticeship in the Dallas Regional
Office.
IV. HUD/Public Housing
As with the aforementioned strategies to engage
out–of–school youth through partnerships with high schools, efforts to work
with public housing authorities funded with Department of Housing and Urban
Development dollars have begun and will continue throughout the life of this
state plan. The goal is to partner and share resources to provide education and
employment services to out–of–school youth and adults living in public housing.
Public housing authorities received funding from HUD
for the main purpose of providing safe, sanitary and decent housing to
low–income families. As part of their mission, housing authorities are required
to use portions of the funding, subject to its availability, to provide
services to residents of public housing in an effort to move them from
dependency on public assistance to self–sufficiency.
These limited HUD dollars can be leveraged with
resources available through partners of this Combined State Plan to increase
services to public housing residents who are eligible to receive services
through one or more of the partners herein. This alignment will also decrease
the likelihood of duplication of services, as well as other potential waste,
fraud and abuse.
V. Re–Entry–Department of Corrections
LWC and its local workforce partners have aligned with
the Louisiana Department of Corrections on several re–entry initiatives across
the state. Participants are convicted of crimes in criminal court and sentenced
to serve time in the re–entry program. This alternative sentencing structure is
designed to work with men and women while they are incarcerated in an effort to
provide job skills in demand occupations, reducing the chances of recidivism
among participants and complying with the terms and conditions of sentencing.
Minimally, engagement in the re–entry program ensures the following:
• Inmate receives workforce services prior to release.
• Inmate must secure employment prior to release.
• Peer mentors are assigned to each inmate.
• Peer mentor must verify the inmate’s readiness for
release.
OWD is 100% dedicated to this initiative and has
specifically assigned specialized staff toward this initiative, working with
the Department of Corrections at to maximum–security state penitentiaries:
Angola State Penitentiary and the Louisiana Corrections Institute for Women
(LWIW)–St. Gabriel.
Additionally, OWD’s Veterans’ Unit received a grant to
offer re–entry services to incarcerated veterans in four parishes: Orleans,
Jefferson, St. Tammany and East Baton Rouge. Staff work with these four
parishes, in which nearly 60 percent of the state’s incarcerated return to live
upon release, to engage both parish and state inmates in the following penal
institutions: St. Tammany Parish Prison, Rayburn State Institution, Jefferson
Parish Prison, LCIW, Angola and Orleans Parish Prison. Because of the success
of this initiative, LWC will seek additional grant funding to continue beyond
the life of this grant, which expires December 31, 2016. Other sources of
funding will also be sought by both state and parish officials, all of whom are
committed to assisting with giving people a second chance to become productive,
gainfully employed, taxpaying citizens.
VI. Community Service Block Grant
The Community Service Block Grant unit, as component of
the LWC, Office of Workforce Development, will provide leadership and,
technical assistance to the local Community Action Agencies (CAA) to support
their collaboration and coordination of their employment and training
activities, as well as their supportive services with their local and regional
WDBs. CAAs in each region will be included in the Louisiana Career Pathways
model development, and are well–positioned to serve as lead partners in the
development of “supportive service pathways” or service flow charts for
vulnerable populations (low–skilled, low income,
individuals with disabilities, re–entering citizens) focusing on reduction of
the barriers to employment. The CSBG unit will achieve this commitment by
providing best practices models, and supporting financially innovative
strategies that aligns services to ensure that customers receive the best
available employment and training services, as well as employment supports, to
achieve their employment and self–sufficiency goals.
VII. Job Corps
LWC is supporting a strengthening of the relationship
between the three Louisiana Job Corps programs and the local and regional WDBs.
As referenced earlier in the plan, the Lafayette WDB is currently piloting an
innovative pilot location partnership. The New Orleans Job Corps, is the only
non– residential Job Corp site in the state, their students commute each day.
Local One–Stop Centers are currently working to strengthen their partnerships
with the three Job Corps programs to co–enroll Job Corps students in WIOA Youth
Programs. Under WIOA, students attending Job Corps are considered out–of–school
youth. In light of the 75 percent out–of–school youth expenditure requirement,
this is a great partnership to engage and enroll out–of–school youth, develop
an ISS on each youth, offer one or more of the 14 program elements available to
them under WIOA that are necessary based on their documented needs, and not
provided by Job Corps.
This partnership will also allow local WIOA youth
programs the ability to refer youth to Job Corps, so the ability to develop, or
improve, a cross–referral process is promising. Local areas will be expected to
address their respective strategies in their local plans.
Describe how the entities carrying out the
respective core programs, Combined State Plan partner programs included in this
plan, and required and optional one-stop partner programs will coordinate
activities and resources to provide comprehensive, high-quality,
customer-centered services, including supportive services to individuals
including those populations identified in section II(a)(1)(B). The activities
described shall conform to the statutory requirements of each program.
WIOA reaffirms the role of the customer–focused
one–stop delivery system, a cornerstone of the public workforce investment
system, and enhances and increases coordination among several key employment,
education and training programs. WIOA presents an extraordinary opportunity for
the workforce system to accelerate its transformational efforts and demonstrate
its ability to improve job and career options for our citizens through an
integrated, job–driven public workforce system that links diverse talent to our
nation’s businesses. It supports the development of strong, vibrant regional
economies where businesses thrive and people want to live and work.
Through policy, LWC has refined the state’s response to
the U.S. Labor Department mandate that the workforce development system become a
seamless, integrated system. Prior to implementation, One–Stop Center
operations used a rigid customer flow and team model. This new policy
establishes a revision and refocusing effort to drive clients to the “right
door” because of the state’s need to respond to a decrease in funding and
environmental as well as socio–economic changes.
Goals are as follows:
The policy also recognized and responded to the need
for training dislocated workers in a way that enhances subsequent job retention
and links this effort to meeting the emerging needs of employers for
specifically skilled workers.
The Combined State Plan partners have agreed to develop
a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that define the parameters and principles
of roles and responsibilities of partners in support of the comprehensive One
stop Center, and service delivery model in each Local Workforce Development
service Area (LWDSA). The MOU will, minimally define the roles and
responsibilities of each partner, how resources will be shared, and establish
how the integrated service delivery conforms to statutory requirements of each
partner.
Through the WIOA Combined planning process the partners
have developed a redefined model for the Louisiana Business and Career
Solutions Centers, hereinafter referred to as One –Stop center. This model
provides the foundation for establishing operations that support the key
principles found in the new WIOA law and support expanding partnerships and
services. The redesign and refinement provides an unprecedented opportunity to
modernize Louisiana’s workforce system and achieve key hallmarks of a customer
centered workforce system, where the needs of employers and job–seekers drive
workforce solutions, where One–Stop Career Centers and partners provide
excellent customer service to job–seekers and employers, where the workforce
system pursues continuous improvement through evaluation and data–driven policy
and where the workforce system supports strong regional economies.
The foundation for success is efficient and effective
coordination of programs, services and governance, based on common assessment
process, career service methodology, case management and job development
systems. Leadership at all levels must think expansively, moving forward to
produce the best customer–focused comprehensive delivery system.
For this process to realize its potential, it will be
necessary to move beyond some current categorical configurations and institutional
interest in order to truly unify training, education and employment programs
into a single, customer–friendly system tailored to the community it serves.
Although each local board is responsible for its own service delivery, the
state has established minimum standards for a demand–driven integrated service
delivery process in order to establish consistency across the state.
This revision of the service delivery process was
undertaken as a result of social and economic pressures driving the need for a
more effective “demand–driven” operation. However, the revision does not
restrict local leadership in developing processes, procedures and techniques
based on local needs. Rather, it encourages this development and provides a
standardized foundation to support individual development.
The original service delivery model was intended to be
focused on the customer in the context of being demand–driven. As was written:
“To ensure that job–seekers get to ‘the right service the first time,’ OWD’s
service redesign model provides a standardized framework for how customers
enter the system, how they are assessed for service need, how they access
services, including job placement and how offices are designed and staffed to
meet the needs of job–seekers and employers.”
Unfortunately, over time, the system has evolved to
focus on the process rather than the customer. Further, the balance of customer
focus has become far too heavy on the job–seeker and too light on the employer.
This “process evolution” combined with a reduction in resources (personnel and
financial) is inhibiting state and LWDA leadership ability to quickly and
effectively respond to compliance and performance demands and be flexible in
operating a true outcome–based demand delivery system.
This revision is based on continuous process
improvement (CPI). This moves the partnership away from the
“compartmentalization” process of the original design and allows for the
following in a real–time context: benchmarking (metric driven change),
anticipating and meeting changing customer needs, local control of the process
to reduce cycle time and idle resources and incorporate lessons learned through
marrying quality assurance (monitoring) directly to training.
The new design removes the requirement for the lock
step “team approach” of membership, career development and recruitment and
placement. While this concept was effective from a process–focused approach,
forcing every customer through these steps whether needed or not, is not
customer demand driven and is very inefficient. So, while it is important that
all offices will “standardize job–seeker basic career services and enrollment
processes,” the way in which these are delivered must be flexible. The
inefficiencies of this process steal time from the partnership’s ability to
serve its other customer, the employer and often frustrate the job–seeker.
The new process for all job–seekers regardless of their
reason for entering our services is a roadmap (Diagram __ A) designed for speed
and flexibility. It provides for continuous assessment, career services and
follow–up. This supports the original design concept of “efficiently
determining customer needs, routing customers to the appropriate service,
tracking customer activity through the process and targeting and recording
outcomes.” Each step in this process has an associated metric draw for
continuous improvement.
Continued Guidelines and Required Actions:All
job–seeking customers visiting a physical One–Stop Center location who receive
staff–assisted services are included in the common measures performance
calculations.
Because all One–Stop Center services, staff, facility
and activities are funded in–part by both WP and WIOA, sequence of services and
assessments shall determine the timing for co–enrollment of job– seekers who
receive staff–assisted service in a One–Stop Center, or affiliate, into both
WIOA Title I and the WP program for reporting and performance measures.
Any job–seeker served in any One–Stop (or affiliate)
shall be counted as a participant in WIOA, regardless of the presence of
WIOA–funded staff onsite. Conversely, all WIOA participants shall be counted as
WP participants, regardless of the presence of WP funded staff at the enrolling
service location.
Determining eligibility under dislocated worker, adult
and youth status are separate issues from this guidance and are addressed in a
separate policy.
Staff shall select and provide services to employers
and job–seekers with the intent of developing a high–quality outcome. For this
reason, the performance accountability system is based on the quality of
services and not the number of services provided.
Service Delivery Process: Assessment, Career Services,
and Follow–up for Job–Seekers:
Rather than being divided into three distinct
workspaces, local leadership must design space usage to most efficiently and
effectively move customers through the process. This may involve some team
areas for specific tasks, but should not “silo” staff such that a “lack of
work” can exist.
The old term and concept of “intake process” shall be
replaced with “assessment process.” While further discussion of assessment in
this policy and in its operation will be divided into “initial assessment” and
“comprehensive assessment,” always think of assessment as an ongoing process in
the context of service delivery.
Assessment may include the use of tools and processes
that shall be modified by local leadership to be most effective based on the
demographic of their specific location, customer base, staffing levels, program
availability and access to supportive services.
One–Stop staff shall provide services without regard
for their status as state or LWDB employees. Minimally, job–seeker services
must include initial registration, WP and (when applicable) WIOA enrollment,
with the appropriate staff–assisted first service.
Career services shall include both basic career and
individualized career services as appropriate based on job–seeker and employer
need, and the most recently directed criteria associated with compliance and
performance under any applicable U.S. Department of Labor grant. These services
may include, but are not limited to, assisted job search activities, evaluation
of skills, interests, preferences, career counseling training options, matching
skills to current job openings, individualized career services, case management
and follow–up.
The Three Tracks for a Job–Seeker
In the revised service delivery process, there are
three tracks that any job–seeker may take. These are defined as workforce–ready
in a demand occupation, workforce ready not in a demand occupation and case
management.
It is important to note that one of these tracks will
apply to all job–seekers regardless of their reason for entering our
staff–assisted service, and that during the course of service assessments and
re–evaluation the job–seeker may move from one track to another.
Entry may begin as a self–service electronic
registration (in or out of a One–Stop Center), an outreach contact (regardless
of reason for outreach), an automatic registration created by an application
for UI benefits and the subsequent required service points requiring a visit to
a One–Stop Center, a staff–assisted registration and enrollment for a job–seeker
who is a “walk in” to a One–Stop Center or an individual who is registered by
any means while receiving Rapid Response services.
Job–seekers who are also UI claimants
Required service entry for UI beneficiaries takes one
of two forms based on worker profiling. They are profiled as “least likely” to
exhaust their benefits (workforce ready) or “most likely” to exhaust their
benefits (not workforce ready).
These job–seekers must report to the One–Stop Center at
specified service points as a requirement of continued eligibility to receive
UI benefits (following the most current U.S. Department of Labor and state
guidance for grant specific requirements).
Any job–seeker who is also a UI recipient entering a
One–Stop Center for service shall receive an orientation (e.g. provision of
labor market information and career information, information on assessment
tools and orientation to services available through the One–Stop Center and
partner organizations). Orientation is optional but is encouraged for all non–UI
recipient job–seekers as well.
Workforce Ready, in a Demand Occupation:
Job–seekers who are not UI recipients may arrive at the
One–Stop Center for a variety of other reasons (they may be unemployed by
choice or seeking a career change, for example). If the initial assessment
indicates they have no significant barriers to employment and are workforce
ready in a demand occupation, (as defined above), they will be places on the
workforce ready in a demand occupation track.
Those job–seekers who are UI recipients and are
determined to be least likely to exhaust their UI benefits shall be placed in
either of the workforce ready in a demand occupation track or the workforce
ready not in a demand occupation track.
When an initial assessment indicates no significant
barriers to employment, and that the job–seeker has skills, credentials,
certification, education, soft skills, previous experience or a combination of
these factors that qualifies them in a demand occupation, they shall be sent to
career specialists performing business services or other career specialists
designated by local management for job referral.
Career specialists performing business services (or
other designee) shall review the job–seeker’s skills comparing them to specific
demand occupation job vacancies, match those skills to job vacancies and make a
staff referral. The career specialist who made the referral, or who is
case–managing the job– seeker, should plan for a formalized follow–up process,
such as a 30–, 60–, 90–day cycle, developed locally with documented
reassessment.
Follow–up does not necessarily require a contact call.
Alerts and electronic messaging available in HiRE may be utilized.
Workforce Ready, Not in a Demand Occupation:
When the initial assessment indicates a job–seeker is
workforce ready (using the criteria above), but not in a demand occupation
(including UI recipients determined to be least likely to exhaust their UI
benefits), that job–seeker shall be referred to self–service and offered
assistance as needed with informational services. As defined in Informational
Services, these services will include guiding the job–seeker to labor market
information including jobs in demand, wage rates, education requirements, work
search tools, skills and interest–matching assessments.
Career specialists should plan for robust and effective
follow–up, reassessing as necessary. This is critical because continued failure
to achieve employment may indicate the existence of a barrier to employment
that was not identified earlier in the assessment process.
Should follow–up for any job–seeker on the workforce
ready track show continued unemployment, more individualized career services
may be indicated. These job seekers shall be moved to the Case Management
Track.
Case Management Track:
Job–seekers who have poor or large gaps in their work
history, limited, obsolete or unknown skills, limited education, lack
credentials, lack soft skills, have significant barriers to employment or a
combination of any of these factors as well as any job–seeker determined most
likely to exhaust all their UI benefits shall be considered not workforce
ready.
Job–seekers who are not workforce ready shall be
provided individualized career services, consisting of a minimum of a
comprehensive assessment and development of an individualized employment plan
(IEP) in the context of case management.
Comprehensive assessment is vital to collecting
information on job–seeker barriers to employment, employment goals, knowledge
skills and abilities, and proficiency in occupational knowledge. This
assessment shall be done as a client–centered approach to evaluating the needs
of a participant without regard to services or training program availability.
The purpose is not to match the job– seeker to what is available, rather to
determine job–seeker needs.
This assessment is best defined operatively as an
intensive interviewing process, which includes behavioral observations and may
also require the use of structured assessment tools. Other information gathered
may include detailed work history, family support available, social services
affiliations, offender status and a detailed education history.
Comprehensive assessment must be documented via case
note(s), with regard for privacy and Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) rules. It is the responsibility of local
management to ensure staff is cognizant of HIPAA rules.
The comprehensive assessment is the foundation for
development of an IEP, and no IEP shall be created without completing a
comprehensive assessment. In many cases the comprehensive
assessment will then be an ongoing process that may
result in changes to the goals and objectives of the IEP.
The IEP is developed with a job–seeker to identify or
create employment goals, appropriate achievement objectives and the right
combination of services to assist in achieving goals and objectives. In short –
“Where am I now?” “Where do I want to go?” “How will I get there?”
The IEP must include goals and objectives that are
SMART (specific, measureable, attainable, realistic and time bound). A case
note must accompany the IEP and must justify the plan based on the identified
barrier(s) to employment.
Case management requires a regular follow–up and review
or revision of the IEP until such time as the job–seeker becomes workforce
ready or enters a training program. In either case, follow–up is critical,
using a 30–day cycle until the job–seeker attains employment or completes
training.
All IEP’s must be recorded in HiRE. The preferred
method is by using the HiRE Wizard. In order to comply with this requirement
when IEPs are created as hard copy only, those IEPs must be scanned into the
HiRE system not later than close of business the following business day.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Successful implementation of the revised service
delivery process depends on development of true partnerships and honest
collaboration at all levels and among all stakeholders. This means developing
effective partnerships within local communities, including but not limited to
business and industry associations, businesses, organized labor,
community–based organizations, educational institutions and other partners.
Establishment and effective operation of an ongoing and aggressive training
program for both state merit and Local Workforce Development Board
(LWDB)–funded staff is also critical to success.
Point of Service Leadership: Local Workforce
Development Boards through their leadership and supervisory structure, (e.g.
WDB directors, local area coordinators, site managers, except as defined in
this policy), shall have full functional supervision over all state merit staff
operating as a career specialist in a One–Stop Center.
Describe how the entities carrying out the
respective core programs, any Combined State Plan partner program included in
this plan, required and optional one-stop partner programs will coordinate
activities and resources to provide comprehensive, high-quality services to
employers to meet their current and projected workforce needs. The activities
described shall conform to the statutory requirements of each program.
Louisiana‘s core program partners along with One–Stop
partner programs in each of the 8 regions coordinate activities and resources
through local Workforce Development Boards (LWDBs), focusing on delivering
regional business services and creating a positive long–term economic impact in
the regions. The coordinated activities and resources are designed to provide
comprehensive, high–quality services to employers to meet their current and
projected workforce needs. This regional approach is appropriate for the
following reasons:
The Regional Business Service Team is a partnership
between core program partners and mandatory/optional One–Stop partner programs
with local Workforce Development Boards that convene and provide guidance to
the team. The Regional Business Service Team within each region consists of the
following programs:
The RBST meets on a regular basis, at least once a
month, in order to collaborate and coordinate their focus on employers’ needs
in the region. The RBST supports and aligns Business and Career Solutions
Center (B&CSC) business services within each region. Below is a list of
business services in the region the team provides to the employer community:
Describe how the State’s Strategies will
engage the State’s community colleges and area career and technical education
schools, as partners in the workforce development system to create a job-driven
education and training system. WIOA section 102(b)(2)(B)(iv).
Higher education is not a mandated partner in WIOA,
however, the Louisiana Workforce Investment Council membership consists of the
state leadership of all of the state’s educational institutions, including the
Louisiana Community and Technical College System, the Board of Regents of
Higher Education and the superintendent of education (K-12). Additionally,
these cabinet members along with the executive directors of the Louisiana
Workforce Commission and Louisiana Economic Development comprise the Governor’s
Workforce Cabinet. The Workforce Cabinet provides policy leadership, guidance
and support for the innovation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(WIOA) Working Group. The Louisiana Career Pathways working group, comprised of
representatives of each of the Workforce Cabinet partners, has led the
Louisiana Career Pathways planning process.
As stated in Section II (C), Louisiana has developed a
shared definition and framework for Career Pathways as the model for the
alignment of education, training and work-based learning (apprenticeships,
internships) and support services that enable individuals and students to be
better prepared to achieve economic independence and family stability. The WIOA
partners are embarking on a new concept to organize resources (staff, supports,
etc.) around target job-seeker populations and business development using a
“pathway” model that will encourage separate agencies to wrap resources, staff
and supports around the customer base.
As referenced in Section II (C) Regional Business and
Sector Strategies, the educational partners, particularly the Louisiana
Community and Technical College System institutions, are key partners in the
regional and sector strategies, providing workforce skill training and
integrated work-based training to meet regional employer and economic
development needs. State partners will work with local and regional workforce
development boards and partners to define and build pathways appropriate to the
region.
Championed by the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet, with
the support of LMI and Occupational Forecasting Conference, the Louisiana
Workforce Commission’s Star Jobs ratings system was developed. The Star Jobs
ratings system provides a ranking of the highest-demand, highest-wage jobs in
Louisiana, based on factors such as forecasted employment growth (long-term and
short-term), jobs available in the previous year, and wages. Star Jobs ratings
are developed and dynamically updated in collaboration with leading Louisiana
academic, economic development, workforce development and industry experts.
Since the inception and implementation of Star Jobs ratings, this ranking
system has been utilized by educators across Louisiana at all levels. Below are
a few examples:
• The Louisiana Board of Regents incorporates the Star
Jobs ratings as part of its cost formula, upon which the funding formula
distribution is based.
• The Louisiana Community and Technical College System
uses Star Jobs ratings to guide decisions about program eliminations,
modifications and additions, to direct its federal Carl D. Perkins Vocational
and Technical Education funds to grant applications that will increase the
supply of high-wage jobs that meet projected state workforce needs and to
direct the Workforce Training Rapid Response Grant Program.
• The Department of Education indicates the Star Job
rankings related to all Jump Start industry credentials, enabling school
counselors to guide students to careers that promise both interesting work and
well-compensated career opportunities aligned with their interests and
capabilities.
Describe how the State’s Strategies will
engage the State’s other education and training providers, including providers
on the state’s eligible training provider list, as partners in the workforce
development system to create a job-driven education and training system.
LWC provides the policy and structure for the state’s
eligible training providers (ETPL), and the LWDBs are charged with aligning
education and training resources in their local areas and regions to provide
maximum opportunities for job-seekers to attain skills and experiences needed
to obtain employment. As the LWOIA working group and LWC refine and develop
career pathway models, local areas will be encouraged to engage education and
training partners in local model design and implementation.
Describe how the State’s strategies will
enable the State to leverage other Federal, State, and local investments that
have enhanced access to workforce development programs at the above
institutions, described in section (E).
The LWIC has been a catalyst for the leveraging of
federal, state and local investments to expand access to workforce development
programs in education and training institutions. Several workforce development
regions have leveraged local and state resources to attract philanthropic
investments to implement innovative targeted strategies targeting low-skill
unemployed and underemployed individuals. LWC will continue to work closely
with post-secondary education partners, including all Perkins postsecondary
recipients, to leverage federal, state and local resources. This includes
including financial aid programs and veterans (e.g. GI Bill) benefits to
enhance access to educational opportunities.
It should be noted that Louisiana Community and
Technical College System, as well as other public and private organizations in
the state, have received millions of dollars in discretionary grants and will
continue to apply to receive future discretionary grants to support workforce
training services and strategies to impact the lives of targeted populations
(e.g., dislocated workers, veterans, re-entry, out-of-school youth). The
governor’s vision is to improve coordination and collaboration in delivering services
to eligible participants in an effort to improve upon the efficacy and
effectiveness of service delivery, thereby increasing participation of the
state’s those most vulnerable populations in need of workforce training and
supportive services, as well as overall program outcomes.
Under the vision and leadership of Gov. John Bel
Edwards, the LWC executive director has initiated conversations with federal
and state leaders relative to maximization of current federal and state
resources to enhance and expand access of low skill citizens to workforce
development programs that support career pathways. LWDBs are also being
challenged to convene their local partners to develop resource maps of existing
resources and transformational opportunities.
Describe how the State’s strategies will
improve access to activities leading to recognized postsecondary credentials,
including Registered Apprenticeship certificates. This includes credentials
that are industry-recognized certificates, licenses or certifications, and that
are portable and stackable.
The Governor’s Workforce Cabinet and LWIC have
prioritized the development of articulation agreements and the reduction of
duplicative processes that challenge and impede the success of Louisiana Career
Pathways. Core to the implementation of Louisiana Career Pathways is the
identification and development of stackable credentials that meet the needs of
high-demand industries and support individual mobility from one post-secondary
program to another. This includes Registered Apprenticeships and occupational
training programs, and from basic education into post-secondary programs.
The foundation for Louisiana’s approach to
post-secondary credentials is the development of Career Clusters at the
secondary school level, these are:
• Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources
• Architecture & Construction
• Arts, A/V Technology & Communications
• Business, Management & Administration
• Education & Training
• Finance
• Government & Public Administration
• Health Science
• Hospitality & Tourism
• Human Services
• Information Technology
• Manufacturing
• Marketing, Sales & Services
• Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
• Transportation, Distributing & Logistics
This Career Pathway approach is designed to prepare
students to meet the demands of postsecondary education and the expectations of
employers, in particular those representing “in demand” occupations.
These Career Clusters are designed to support a coherent
and focused sequence of rigorous academic and career/technical course work,
that commences in the ninth grade and will create a “pathway that leads to
either a postsecondary education or credential (or series of credentials) then
work. Currently, the state has 25 courses articulated for secondary to
post-secondary through a program called “Statewide Secondary to Postsecondary
Articulation agreement (STArt).
Integral to this process is the opportunity for a
participant to acquire a “portable” and “recognized” credential that they have
successfully demonstrated skill competencies on a core set of content that is
complete with performance standards that are based on a specific set of
work-related tasks in either a single occupational area, or a cluster of related
occupational areas. Louisiana currently has 85 certifications that are
“Industry Based” and “Locally Designed” around the unique employment needs of
specific regions.
Describe how the activities identified in
(A) will be coordinated with economic development entities, strategies and
activities in the State.
Sector strategy initiatives will be developed in each
of the 8 Workforce Regions of the state. LWC has industry coordinators and
business consultants currently on staff and assigned to each region. Their
primary roles are to engage business and industry to identify short- and
long-term workforce needs, and assist local workforce boards (business
consultants) and One-Stop Centers (industry coordinators) with developing
goals, objectives and strategies to address these needs.
Each Workforce Region has identified at least 3 of the
top industries within the region, industries that have the need to fill
vacancies in high-demand occupations. Star Jobs (3-5 star jobs) are the
targets. These industries are identified through the use of LMI and engagement
with local and regional economic development associations.
Business metrics have been created to provide a
mechanism in which to measure the effectiveness of services provided to
businesses in each local area and region. These metrics include overall market
penetration, targeted (top industries) market penetration, employer-based
training, staff referral to vacancies in demand occupations (based on 3-5 Star
Jobs) and repeat business customers.
Three regions (Alexandria, Shreveport and Monroe) are
currently engaged in developing regional sector strategies through a Sector
Partnership National Emergency Grant (SP-NEG) the state has received to develop
sector strategies and provide employer-based training such as Registered
Apprenticeships, on-the-job training and customized training to eligible
dislocated workers. Consultants have been engaged to assist with the
development of these strategies, which include engaging business and industry,
economic development organizations, business associations and others. This is a
business-led approach to respond to the needs of employers within specific
industries driving the economy of a workforce and/or economic development
region of the state. Successful strategies resulting from this effort will be
shared and replicated in other workforce and economic regions in Louisiana.
LWC and local areas will also work with Louisiana
Economic Development’s Fast Start Program. LED-Fast Start provides quick
workforce solutions to businesses in LED’s effort to attract new businesses to
the state, or retain existing businesses. Solutions include recruitment and
workforce training, working with the state’s community and technical college
system to develop curriculum approved by the employer(s) to produce short-term
training to job candidates and helping trainees attain the skills necessary to
fill jobs quickly. Local One-Stop Centers partner with Fast Start to refer job
candidates for short term training, conduct targeted job fairs to connect
specific job candidates to specific employers with specific job openings that
need to be filled over a specified period of time.
The Unified or Combined State Plan must
include a description of the State operating systems and policies that will
support the implementation of the State strategy described in Section II
Strategic Elements . This includes—
Customer service and a focus on consumer needs for
user–friendly resources in the areas of skill assessment, career planning,
post–secondary training opportunities and workforce information are the highest
priority. Louisiana Occupational Information System (LOIS) integration with
HiRE provides a seamless delivery point for occupational and career data.
Through HiRE (Helping Individuals Reach Employment),
LWC has maximized customer choice, providing the ability to directly enter the
labor exchange process by either self–identification or through staff
assistance. The system provides job–seekers with direct access to employer
listings through the self–service component, as well as the ability complete
skill–based resumes.
Enhancements launched in November 2015 provided
job–seekers with the ability to do business with the LWC more efficiently with
online access to file appeals to unemployment insurance decisions, access
real–time claim updates and the ability to correspond online rather than
through postal mail.
Louisiana’s labor market information system, case management
system, job bank, and internal (customer and staff) communications systems are
all integrated into one system – HiRE. HiRE is administered by Geographic
Solutions, Inc. (GSI). GSI is responsible for administration, development, and
data management of the HiRE system. Each aforementioned functional area within
HiRE has its own module for the intake and management of information (customer,
labor market, job listings, etc.). This seamless coordination between these
functional areas enables rapid and efficient access to different categories of
information needed to assist job seekers and employers.
LWC was one of the first states to develop the
Workforce Longitudinal Database System (WLDS) under the WDQI grant. As part of
its long-term sustainability, since its full implementation, the LWC’s WLDS
system has continued to update all underlying data and enhance its
documentation efforts to better use it for program monitoring and
effectiveness. The LWC plans to utilize the systems capabilities to continue measure
training program effectiveness, develop new measures that can satisfy
additional requirements under WIOA as well as help develop the LWC’s data
warehouse efforts through incorporating and expanding on business rules, data
management and security protocols designed in the WLDS system. As the state
continues to fully implement enhanced wage record collection, the LWC plans to
use the data to develop new labor market information tools for planning
(including skill gap analysis and career pathways), measuring (effectiveness of
programs with enhancements on occupational measures) creating data
visualization tools for end users.
The WIOA interagency workgroup will continue to
identify opportunities to link electronic delivery of services and resources.
Featured Job–Seeker Tools
Star Jobs
Louisiana’s Star Jobs rating system was developed in
response to the need to broaden our assessment of “top” occupations to be
prioritized by training and education policymakers. The previous system
effectively identified jobs with the best long–term (10–year) hiring outlook,
but incorporated no additional job characteristics. The Star Jobs rating system
has been augmented to also consider immediate opportunities and wages
associated with that job, as well as short–term (3–year) hiring outlook.
The ultimate advantage of the Star Jobs rating system
is the simple, direct way that all rankings are combined into a single measure.
Jobs that fare well across several dimensions stand out.
The Louisiana Workforce Commission’s Star Jobs tratings
system allows job seekers to explore occupations based on their interests. The
Star Jobs system enables users to understand the nature of work, identify
education and training requirements, connect with education and training
providers and apply for jobs online. My life. My way.
In December 2014, the Louisiana Workforce Commission
launched an online mobile tool called My life. My way. for students, young
adults and anyone interested in finding high–demand careers that interest them
while supporting the standard of living they want to maintain. It seamlessly
flows users into Louisiana Star Jobs, the job search and career exploration
tool, automatically showing users jobs that pay the salary they need.
Louisiana Workforce Commission’s HiRE system (Helping
Individuals Reach Employment) is the principal repository for collected data.
LWC’s Management of Information Systems (MIS) unit is responsible for ensuring
that the data collected is accurate and timely, analyzed and presented for
performance reporting.
Collected data is managed by Geographic Solutions Inc.
(GSI). GSI houses the data and aggregates the data for the different USDOL
program performance reporting processes for which LWC is responsible. Reporting
data is delivered through a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site to the
appropriate LWC personnel in the necessary formats for submission to USDOL. LWC
personnel executes any further data processing (if necessary) and submission.
LWC’s Technical Support unit of its Information Technology personnel
facilitates the distribution of files to and from GSI through the FTP site.
The MIS unit provides technical assistance to boards
and Business and Career Solutions Center staff as it relates to data collection
and reporting. Such technical assistance comprises common and program–specific
requirements such as eligibility, data entry, case management, individual fund
tracking and the management of providers.
As a supplement to HiRE, LWC and boards utilize a
third–party vendor (Future Works) which further processes WIASRD data to enable
greater detail of information for analysis. This allows LWC and Boards to
optimize decision making related to policy and process. In addition to
producing performance data each quarter, LWC (specifically Office of Workforce
Development) presents quarterly performance reports during the agency’s
Quarterly Review Meetings. During this meeting, the agency’s executive staff is
made aware of successes and areas needing improvement, as well as proposed
plans for improvement.
* For the PY 2016 state plan, descriptions
of data collection and reporting processes need only include currently known
indicators.
LWC, as the lead agency for the implementation of the
WIOA Combined State Plan, has developed a foundational set of policies that
provide guidance for LWDBs to implement WIOA Core Programs and other associated
services. The chart below presents an overview of the state’s policies designed
support effective implementation of WIOA and the One-Stop delivery system:
|
Policy Number |
Policy Name |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
OWD 4-10 |
WIOA Initial Designation |
Guidance initial designation WIOA -LWDA |
|
OWD 4-11 |
WIOA Board Composition and Certification |
Guidance on composition and certification
criteria for LWDBs |
|
OWD 2.13.1 |
WIOA Certification Process for ETP L |
Guidance to LWDA, training providers and
other stakeholders on the certification process and procedures. |
|
OWD 2.3.3 |
WIOA FY 15 Program Allocations |
Provide LWDA allocations for Title I
Adult, Dislocated and Youth activities |
|
OWD 2-21 |
Youth Program Operation |
Codifies TEGL WIOA 23-14 guidance for the
operation implementation WIOA Youth formula funds. |
|
OWD 2-22 |
Transition of WIA Carryover |
Codifies TEGL 23-14 transition of WIA
funds |
|
OWD 2-23 |
Integrated Service Delivery |
Redefines the role and responsibilities
for state staff in the Louisiana Business and career Solutions Centers; and
key definitions |
|
OWD 2-24 |
WIOA Adult Dislocated Worker Eligibility
Policy |
|
|
OWD 2-27 |
IEP & LMI Policy |
Codifies TEGL 22-08 , LMI is a tool that
provides information for IEP |
|
OWD 2-28 |
NEG & SP |
Guidance to LWDA on Sector Partnership
and the National Emergency Grant |
LWC leadership and WIOA Combined State plan partners
(Implementation Team) are currently working on the WIOA Combined State Plan MOU
and the development of Common Intake, Co-enrollment and other policies that
will support the efficacy of plan implementation.
Describe the organization and delivery
systems at the State and local levels for the programs covered in the plan,
including the organizational structure. Include an organizational chart.
The Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) interrelates
with its partner agencies as illustrated in the organizational chart above.
Among the Executive Branch agencies, the lines of
authority are very clear. Each agency is run by a Cabinet–level appointee, and
these appointees all report to the governor. All of the cabinet members in the
agencies listed above are members of the Workforce Investment Council (WIC).
All post–secondary education is governed by a state
Board of Regents, some of whose members are appointed by the governor. The
Regents’ chief executive, the state commissioner of higher education, is a
member of the WIC. Under the Regents’ umbrella is the Board of Supervisors for
the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS), whose chief
executive is also a member of the WIC.
Elementary and secondary education is governed by the
state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE). Eight members are
elected from the eight BESE districts, and the remaining three members are appointed
by the governor. BESE’s chief executive is the superintendent of education, who
also is a member of the WIC.
Title 1 (Adult Youth and Dislocated Worker), Title III
Wagner–Peyser, Community Service Block Grants (CSBG) and Title IV Vocational
Rehabilitation are administered by LWC. Title II (Adult Education) is
administered by LCTCS.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are administered by the
Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
Organizational Chart: Note- on Org chart DCFS displayed
as Department of Social Services.
http://www.laworks.net/Images/WIOA/LaOrgChart.jpg
Provide a description of the State Board,
including—
Provide a membership roster for the State
Board, including members’ organizational affiliations.
|
Name |
Agency/Business |
Category |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Governor John Bel Edwards |
Governor’s Office |
Governor |
|
|
Executive Director Ava Dejoie |
Louisiana Workforce Commission |
WIOA Titles I, III, IV |
|
|
Secretary Don Pierson |
Louisiana Economic Development |
Economic Development |
|
|
Secretary Marketa Garner Walters |
Department of Children and Family
Services |
One-Stop Partner TANF/SNAP |
|
|
Mr. John White |
Department of Education |
Secondary Education |
|
|
Dr. Monty Sullivan |
Louisiana Community and Technical College
System |
WIOA Title II |
|
|
Dr. Joseph Rallo |
Board of Regents |
Higher Education |
|
|
Secretary James "Jimmy" LeBlanc |
Department of Public Safety and
Corrections |
One-Stop Partner Ex-Offender |
|
|
Ms. Thelma French |
Total Community Action |
Community-Based Organization |
|
|
Mr. Michael "Mike" Mitternight |
President, Factory Service Agency, Inc. |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Mr. Brent Golleher |
LMOGA |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Ms. Kathy Bobbs |
President & CEO, Regional Health
System of Acadiana |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Mr. Michael Boudreaux |
Part Owner, Juban’s; Beau Soleil |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Mr. John F. Jones |
Century Link |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Mr. Charles Moniotte, Chairman |
Moniotte Investments |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Mr. Jorge Luis Tarajano |
PALA Group |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Mr. C.A. "Buck" Vandersteen |
Exec. Dir. Louisiana Forestry Association |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Ms. Jennifer Boggs |
President, Louisiana Bankers Education
Council |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Mr. Thomas Mitchiner O’Neal |
President, Hercules Transport and
O’Nealgas |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Mr. Thomas Yura |
BASF |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Mr. James Kirkham |
Plant Manager, Conagra Lamb Weston |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Mr. Art Favre |
President, Performance Contractors |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Mr. Robert "Bob" Lobos |
Owner, Wolf Creek Business Growth
Institute |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Mr. Mike Palamone |
CEO, Urban Systems Associates |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Ms. Sonia Perez |
President, AT&T Louisiana |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Mr. Edward "Eddie" L. Rispone |
Chairman, Management Board, ISC
Constructors |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Mr. James Ray Barker |
Bollinger Shipyards |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Mr. John "Patrick" Mulhearn |
Executive Director, Celtic Studios |
Business and Industry |
|
Mr. Jonald Walker, III |
J. Walker & Company, Managing
Principal |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Mr. Todd McDonald |
Liberty Bank |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Ms. Peggy Parker |
Allen’s Electric Motors |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Ms. Missy Rogers |
Noble Plastics |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Mr. Jim Odom |
Presonus |
Business and Industry |
|
|
Mr. Joe Bonita |
AAR |
||
|
Ms. Natalie Robottom |
President, St. John the Baptist Parish |
Chief Elected Official |
|
|
Mr. John F. Young, Jr. |
President, Jefferson Parish |
Chief Elected Official |
|
|
Mr. Keith Brand |
BR Electrical Apprenticeship &
Training Committee; Instructor for LTC |
Organized Labor |
|
|
Mr. Jason Dedon |
AFL-CIO |
Organized Labor |
|
|
Mr. Louis Reine |
President, AFL-CIO |
Organized Labor |
|
|
Mr. John Hopkins |
Organized Labor |
||
|
Ms. Susan Nelson |
Organized Labor |
||
|
Mr. Joseph Ardoin |
Treasurer, Local Union 1098-Baton Rouge |
Organized Labor |
|
|
Mr. Gerry Mims |
Organized Labor |
||
|
Mr. Charlie Habig |
Plumber and Pipe Fitters Local 198 |
Organized Labor |
|
|
Senator Conrad Appel |
Louisiana Senate |
State Legislature |
|
|
Senator A.G. Crowe |
Louisiana Senate |
State Legislature |
|
|
Representative Ed Price |
Louisiana House of Representatives |
State Legislature |
|
|
Representative Patricia Hayes Smith |
Louisiana House of Representatives |
State Legislature |
Provide a description of the activities
that will assist State Board members and staff in carrying out State Board
functions effectively.
Workforce Investment Council (WIC) members are
Louisiana’s workforce champions. They represent a crosssection of stakeholders
in the development of a comprehensive, integrated workforce development and
delivery system that begins with understanding the workforce needs of industry,
connects Louisiana citizens to training, and links trained workers to high-wage,
high-demand careers.
The Workforce Investment Council: • Develops
Louisiana’s strategic plan for a comprehensive, integrated workforce
development and delivery system. • Advocates for efficiency and cooperation
among stakeholders. • Promotes the development of a well-educated, highly
skilled workforce. • Develops strategies to educate Louisianans about career
opportunities and businesses about services and resources available to help
them meet their workforce needs. • Ensures the equitable distribution of
workforce development resources across the state. • Makes recommendations to
the governor of geographic designations for workforce development areas. •
Directs the activities of the Occupational Forecasting Conference, responsible
for overseeing state wide and regional job-growth projections, which underpin
the planning and budgeting of state and local resources. • Oversees the
Industry-Based Credential (IBC) Council, responsible for evaluating the
alignment of credentials with state workforce demand for inclusion on the IBC
State-Focus List, which guides training programs and other stakeholders to
important occupations in the state and the industry recognized credentials
leading to those occupations. • Oversees, jointly with the Board of Regents,
the evaluation of two-year and shorter-term programs for TOPS Tech eligibility
in alignment with state workforce demand, guided by state industry and
occupational forecasts. • Contributes to the evaluation of TOPS Tech Early
Start training providers to ensure alignment with state and regional workforce
needs.
Louisiana Workforce Investment Council Strategic Plan
(adopted December 15, 2015)
Building a nimble, responsive workforce development
system capable of quickly aligning education and training opportunities and
employer needs will ensure continued economic growth and establish Louisiana as
the best place to find the next great employee.
Vison
Louisiana will be the best place to get a job or grow a
business.
Mission
The Workforce Investment Council (WIC) supports
development of an employer-led, demand-driven workforce development system
based on occupational forecasts in which training, education and services for
job-seekers prepare Louisiana residents for high-wage, high-demand career
opportunities in Louisiana.
STRATEGIC GOAL 1: FORECASTING
Provide and continue to develop robust, credible
industry and occupational forecasts and labor supply analyses that identify
current and future workforce demand and drive policy and resource decisions.
1. Maintain comprehensive and accurate industry and
occupational short- and long-term forecasts that are refreshed annually to
reflect dynamic workforce needs.
2. Position the industry and occupational forecasts as
The Louisiana Occupational Forecast as the guide for resource allocation.
3. Support collaboration among state agency partners to
continue the annual development of a workforce supply and demand analysis to
identify workforce gaps.
4. Support the continued development of user-friendly
tools (i.e., Star Jobs; My Life, My Way; and HiRE) that appropriately
communicate the forecast and gap analysis to each customer type (i.e. business
and industry, job-seekers, state agencies and policymakers, educational
institutions, workforce development boards and community-based organizations),
enabling more informed decision-making and planning.
5. Coordinate the development and launch of a statewide
outreach campaign, including communications and marketing, with the goal of
educating students, parents, influencers, educators, job-seekers and workforce
development stakeholders about career opportunities available in Louisiana, the
pathways to those opportunities and available support services.
STRATEGIC GOAL 2: GROWTH AND ALIGNMENT
Meet current and future workforce demand by better
aligning Louisiana’s education and training enterprises to produce more people
with the skills, abilities and credentials that meet the needs of Louisiana
business and industry.
1. Develop a Louisiana-specific tool that links
instructional programs with employment outcomes, helping residents identify
education and training pathways that lead to high-wage, high-demand careers.
2. Support growth in the Louisiana labor force pipeline
by promoting:
a. An increased high school graduation rate. Goal:
Reach an 80 percent graduation rate by 2020, which is the rate in top states as
defined by the National Center for Educational Statistics.
b. Education, training and job opportunities for
individuals with barriers to employment, as defined by the Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act. Goal: Pending performance metric release from United
States Department of Labor.
c. The preparation and connection of unemployed and
underemployed individuals with skills training for high-demand occupations.
Goal: Pending performance metric release from U.S Department of Labor.
3. Ensure compliance with requirements to maximize
federal workforce development funding for Louisiana.
4. Adopt policies likely to lead to high-wage
employment outcomes that reflect state diversity demographics
5. Increase the percentage of high school graduates who
are ready for work or post-secondary education and training that aligns with
workforce demand and career opportunities.
6. Ensure that The Louisiana Occupational Forecast and
gap analysis are used by stakeholders to prioritize resource investments.
7. Support increased production of post-secondary
credentials that lead to high-wage, high-demand career pathways.
8. Promote meaningful, portable industry credentials
supported throughout the workforce delivery system that align to workforce
demand.
9. Brand Louisiana Star Jobs and HiRE as the best tools
to identify high-wage, high-demand jobs in Louisiana, and the education and
training necessary to attain those jobs.
STRATEGIC GOAL 3: ACCOUNTABILITY
Institute a system of accountability for the workforce
development system. Ensure WIC accountability to the Governor of Louisiana,
other WIC members and the Louisiana Workforce Commission, and promote accountability
of the Workforce Development Boards as defined by WIOA to the WIC.
Workforce Investment Council
• Conduct a formal stakeholder analysis by the June
2016 WIC meeting, which will be incorporated into the WIC strategic plan to
better understand roles, responsibilities, interactions of all workforce
development partners.
• Submit a strategic plan in alignment with WIOA to the
governor and annually report plan progress as required by statute.
• Hold stakeholders accountable for achieving
agreed-upon strategic goals that align workforce supply and demand.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of Workforce Development
Boards in meeting workforce demand. LWC will provide a draft evaluation process
within three months of receiving federal performance guidelines.
• Direct the activities of the Occupational Forecasting
Conference.
• Drive state and local policy to support the alignment
of education and training with workforce demand.
• Oversee the Industry-Based Certification Council,
responsible for evaluating the alignment of credentials with state workforce
demand for inclusion on the IBC State Focus List.
• Oversee, jointly with the Board of Regents, the
evaluation of two-year and shorter-term programs for Taylor Opportunity Program
for Students (TOPS) Tech eligibility in alignment with state workforce demand.
• Contribute to the evaluation of TOPS Tech Early Start
training providers to ensure alignment with state and regional workforce needs.
• Support the alignment of Jump Start Pathways with
statewide
STRATEGIC GOAL 3: ACCOUNTABILITY
Institute a system of accountability for the workforce
development system. Ensure WIC accountability to the Governor of Louisiana,
other WIC members and the Louisiana Workforce Commission, and promote
accountability of the Workforce Development Boards as defined by WIOA to the
WIC.
Workforce Investment Council
• Conduct a formal stakeholder analysis by the June
2016 WIC meeting, which will be incorporated into the WIC strategic plan to
better understand roles, responsibilities, interactions of all workforce
development partners.
• Submit a strategic plan in alignment with WIOA to the
governor and annually report plan progress as required by statute.
• Hold stakeholders accountable for achieving
agreed-upon strategic goals that align workforce supply and demand.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of Workforce Development Boards
in meeting workforce demand. LWC will provide a draft evaluation process within
three months of receiving federal performance guidelines.
• Direct the activities of the Occupational Forecasting
Conference.
• Drive state and local policy to support the alignment
of education and training with workforce demand.
• Oversee the Industry-Based Certification Council,
responsible for evaluating the alignment of credentials with state workforce
demand for inclusion on the IBC State Focus List.
• Oversee, jointly with the Board of Regents, the
evaluation of two-year and shorter-term programs for Taylor Opportunity Program
for Students (TOPS) Tech eligibility in alignment with state workforce demand.
• Contribute to the evaluation of TOPS Tech Early Start
training providers to ensure alignment with state and regional workforce needs.
• Support the alignment of Jump Start Pathways with
statewide
STRATEGIC GOAL 3: ACCOUNTABILITY
Institute a system of accountability for the workforce
development system. Ensure WIC accountability to the Governor of Louisiana,
other WIC members and the Louisiana Workforce Commission, and promote
accountability of the Workforce Development Boards as defined by WIOA to the
WIC.
Workforce Investment Council
• Conduct a formal stakeholder analysis by the June
2016 WIC meeting, which will be incorporated into the WIC strategic plan to
better understand roles, responsibilities, interactions of all workforce
development partners.
• Submit a strategic plan in alignment with WIOA to the
governor and annually report plan progress as required by statute.
• Hold stakeholders accountable for achieving
agreed-upon strategic goals that align workforce supply and demand.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of Workforce Development
Boards in meeting workforce demand. LWC will provide a draft evaluation process
within three months of receiving federal performance guidelines.
• Direct the activities of the Occupational Forecasting
Conference.
• Drive state and local policy to support the alignment
of education and training with workforce demand.
• Oversee the Industry-Based Certification Council,
responsible for evaluating the alignment of credentials with state workforce
demand for inclusion on the IBC State Focus List.
• Oversee, jointly with the Board of Regents, the
evaluation of two-year and shorter-term programs for Taylor Opportunity Program
for Students (TOPS) Tech eligibility in alignment with state workforce demand.
• Contribute to the evaluation of TOPS Tech Early Start
training providers to ensure alignment with state and regional workforce needs.
• Support the alignment of Jump Start Pathways with
statewide
Describe how the core programs will be
assessed each year based on State performance accountability measures described
in section 116(b) of WIOA. This State assessment must include the
quality, effectiveness, and improvement of programs broken down by local area
or provider. Such state assessments should take into account local and
regional planning goals.
WIOA’s primary measures of performance measure each
core program’s effectiveness at producing desired outcomes. Proposed §677.190(a)
directs that state and local final adjusted levels of performance each year
will take into consideration characteristics of the participants as well as
state and local economic conditions through the application of a federal
statistical adjustment model. Therefore, the state and local areas will be
assessed based on a comparison of the actual performance level with the
adjusted level of performance each quarter and annually.
The State’s review of Regional/Local Plans will contain
a component regarding to how these plans support and relate to the State’s
Vision, Strategies and Goals, and how they relate to realistic achievement of
performance measures. More specifically, how they relate to the State’s
Continuous Improvement Process. In general, this assessment contains the
following components:
· Management Commitment, do they indicate an explicit
commitment from all Partner Programs Leadership at the Level of “Decision
Maker”?
These components mirror the State’s approach to
continuous improvement and are applied to all individual and group goals and
objectives.
The state will use the following criteria to evaluate
local workforce development area common performance indicators:
1. Exceed: Outcome for each measure must be greater
than 100 percent of the performance level.
2. Meet: Outcome for each measure must not fall below
80 percent of the performance level.
3. Fail: Outcome for any one of the measure is less
than 80 percent
of the performance level.
Action: In instances when the state or a local area
fails a performance measure, immediate technical assistance will be provided by
the appropriate office to improve the proficiency of staff members in providing
WIOA services and provide an opportunity to develop strategies to improve the
program’s ability to meet performance measures.
Note: Performance evaluation thresholds listed above
are subject to revision pending final approval of the WIOA regulations
governing performance measures.
Adult, Dislocated Worker and Youth:
Core Programs will be assessed, in coordination with
LWDBs, One-stop Operators and Core partners/providers, through financial and
administrative monitoring of all sub-recipients of funds expended under the
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 for Title I (Adult, Dislocated
Worker and Youth programs), Adult Education and Literacy Act, Rehabilitation
Act Title I, and Wagner-Peyser Act. Other programs and activities will include,
but not limited to discretionary grants such as the National Dislocated Worker
Grants (NDWG) and the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program under the Trade
Act of 1974, and the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2015.
The State will provide policy guidance to each entity responsible for the
administration of Core Programs.
The assessment and evaluation process will include
completing annual on-site monitoring reviews of each Core Program to ensure
compliance with the Uniform Administrative Requirements of WIOA Section
184(a)(4). These reviews include the appropriate administrative requirements
for sub-recipients and applicable cost principles.
The assessment will ensure established policies achieve
program quality and outcomes, and meet the objectives of the governing federal
laws and regulations. This includes the provision of services by One-Stop
Operators, eligible providers of training services, and eligible providers of
youth activities; and makes certain that sub-recipients and contractors have
demonstrated substantial compliance with federal requirements.
The State will ensure compliance with provisions in
WIOA for all Core Programs as well as implement a more robust monitoring and
oversight process across all levels. Comprehensive and effective monitoring is
key to providing opportunities for technical assistance, training, and sharing
of proven strategies and practices, which will lead to improved quality of
service to job seeker and a stronger workforce.
Adult Education:
Programmatic/Fiscal Onsite Monitoring: Programs are
identified for onsite monitoring through a comprehensive risk analysis based on
the following factors: (1) desk monitoring; (2) need to verify data quality and
program expenditures; (3) consistent low performance on NRS indicators in
several categories; (4) prospective noncompliance with grant requirements
identified through review of programmatic and fiscal reports, or ongoing
communications with the program; (4) unresolved audit findings; (5) ongoing
lack of progress in resolving required actions from prior monitoring visit; (6)
significant staff turnover in the program; and (7) recent or newly established
programs.
The goal for State onsite monitoring visits are to:
Vocational Rehabilitation:
Louisiana Rehabilitation Services (LRS) will monitor
the services provided within the guidelines of the existing corporative
agreements and evaluate if modifications will be needed when they are
renegotiated.
To ensure the quality of supported employment services
provided to eligible consumers by monitoring the vendors. The monitoring will
utilize site reviews and include quality indicators to evaluate the assessment
of employment outcomes and an evaluation of the provision of services. The
monitoring will be carried out by the state and field office staff.
Describe how other one-stop delivery system
partner program services and Combined State Plan partner programs included in
the plan will be assessed each year. Such state assessments should take into
account local and regional planning goals.
Partner agencies and Partner Programs not covered under
the monitoring umbrella of the Core Programs shall be monitored in accordance
with their individual governing authority and under the general rules of
federal and state fiscal compliance. The LWDB will determine the impact of any
of these programs on the Common Intake and Co-enrollment process.
Also refer to III b.4.A
Beginning with the state plan modification
in 2018 and for subsequent state plans and state plan modifications, provide
the results of an assessment of the effectiveness of the core programs and
other one-stop partner programs and Combined State Plan partner programs
included in the Unified or Combined State plan during the preceding 2-year
period (i.e. the 2-year period of the plan modification cycle). Describe how
the State is adapting its strategies based on these assessments.
All core programs met or exceeded performance goals, at
the State level, for the prior two program years (PY 13 and PY 14). Adult Education
performed at and above the National average at the same time transforming
program service delivery to English Language Learners and establishing Career
Pathways.
The State is determined to continue focusing on
increasing and enhancing quality of employment outcomes for participants. The
forthcoming integrated data warehouse will be an instrumental tool in
identifying areas of weakness at the all levels (state, regional, local level)
and will identify promising practices.
Describe how the state will conduct
evaluations and research projects on activities under WIOA core programs; how
such projects will be coordinated with, and designed in conjunction with, State
and local boards and with State agencies responsible for the administration of
all respective core programs; and, further, how the projects will be
coordinated with the evaluations provided for by the Secretary of Labor and the
Secretary of Education under WIOA.
The Louisiana Workforce Investment Council has the
responsibility for ensuring public accountability by evaluating the
effectiveness of the overall workforce development system. Additionally, the
WIC is responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of LWDBs in meeting
workforce demand. To that end, the WIC has charged the Louisiana Workforce
Cabinet to develop and submit a comprehensive evaluation plan for the
implementation and outcomes of the Combined State Plan effectiveness of the
LWDBs in implementation of the core strategies of the plan for their review and
approval. This component of the plan, is a work in progress, intended to
provide both core program administrators, WIOA Implementation Team, and the
LWDBs the opportunity to provide input to the evaluation matrix.
Describe the methods and factors the State
will use in distributing funds under the core programs in accordance with the
provisions authorizing such distributions.
For Title I programs, provide a description
of the written policies that establish the State's methods and factors used to
distribute funds to local areas for—
• 33 1/3 percent on the basis of the relative number of
unemployed individuals in areas of substantial unemployment in the local
workforce investment area, compared to the total number of unemployed
individuals in areas of substantial unemployment in the state.
• 33 1/3 percent on the basis of the relative excess
number of unemployed individuals in the local workforce investment area,
compared to the total excess number of unemployed individuals in the state.
• 33 1/3 percent on the basis of the relative number of
disadvantaged youth in the local workforce investment area, compared to the
total number of disadvantaged youth in the state.
33 1/3 percent on the basis of the relative number of
unemployed individuals in areas of substantial unemployment in the local
workforce investment area, compared to the total number of unemployed
individuals in areas of substantial unemployment in all local workforce
investment areas in the state.
33 1/3 percent on the basis of the relative excess
number of unemployed individuals in the local workforce investment area,
compared to the total excess number of unemployed individuals in all local workforce
areas in the state.
33 1/3 percent on the basis of the relative number of
disadvantaged adults in the local workforce investment area, compared to the
total number of disadvantaged adults in all local workforce investment areas in
the state.
Unemployment concentration: 25 percent The 12-month
average for the most recently completed October-September fiscal year will be
used showing the unrounded number of persons unemployed by parish within each
LWDA.
Insured unemployed without earnings: 20 percent The
12-month average for the most recently completed October-September fiscal year
showing the number of continued claims filed without earnings for the reference
week that includes the last day of each month. Data is also by parish within
the LWDA. Exhaustees (long-term unemployed): 25 percent This is long-term
unemployment data that refers to claimants who received a final payment in
unemployment benefits. Data is by parish and is an annual average for the most
recently completed fiscal year.
Permanent mass layoffs and plant closings (PMLPC): 10
percent Data used was taken from the total number of separated workers for all
recordable layoffs by parish for the most recently completed October-September
fiscal year. A mass layoff is defined as one in which 50 or more unemployment
insurance claimants filed for benefits against a certain company within a
3-week period and remained unemployed for 30 days or more. If there were no
separations or PMLPC firms in a parish, zero was shown for that parish.
Declining industries: 15 percent Since data on all
parishes from the suggested CES Program do not exist, covered employment from
the ES-202 Program was used to identify industries that showed a decline in
employment for the four-year period ending in March of the prior fiscal year.
Decreases in employment for all industries within a parish were totaled and
that figure was used toward the allocation of funds for that parish and LWDA.
Farmer/rancher economic hardship: 5 percent Numerical
difference between the last two Census of Agriculture to determine decline in
hiring farm workers.
LWC will evaluate alternative formulas for future allocations
in alignment with WIOA sec 133 (b)(2)(B) to ensure that the most appropriate
information that is available is incorporated.
Describe how the eligible agency will award
multi-year grants or contracts on a competitive basis to eligible providers in
the State, including how eligible agencies will establish that eligible
providers are organizations of demonstrated effectiveness.
Title II Adult Education and Family Literacy funding
allocations will be established based on data from the American Community
Survey in addition to a review of the number of citizens needing literacy
services within each of the eight LA Workforce regions. WorkReady U will ensure
that funding allocations will be used to provide comprehensive literacy
programs in all eight geographical workforce regions and that local providers
are sufficiently equipped to meet the needs identified for each area. Further,
eligible providers will be expected to identify, and coordinate with, all available
organizations and programs in their workforce areas to expand and leverage
deliverable services beyond those provided solely through WRU state/federal
funding.
Louisiana is focused on performance to ensure that
funds are used effectively to serve customers and produce positive results. WRU
will implement a funding formula for state/federal adult education funds. The
formula will be designed to consider the scope of services provided in the
local program and performance as compared to established benchmarks as a basis
for an increase or decrease in funds. Performance benchmarks and performance
standards will be established with the expectation that grantees will maintain
or exceed performance standards through effective service delivery and innovation.
LCTCS will award multi-year grants to eligible local providers through a
competitive RFP process for the purpose of developing, implementing, and
improving adult education within the State. The grants will be for a three-year
cycle that applies to all programs. After implementation of services, providers
will apply on an annual basis for continuation funding under Title II. (See
Title II - Adult Education and Literacy Programs (b) Local Activities, Eligible
Provider) During grant year 2016-17, LCTCS will implement a new competitive
application process for all federal AEFLA funding to determine eligible
providers that will be awarded funds starting July 1, 2017. The review of
proposals will include rating responses to the 13 considerations in Title II of
WIOA. Below is the schedule for the release of the competitive application: •
January/February 2017: LCTCS publishes the federal AEFLA Request for Proposals
(RFP) aligned with the priorities in the approved Combined State Plan. •
February/March 2017: LCTCS provides technical assistance to inquiries from
potential eligible providers. • February/March 2017: LCTCS recruits candidates
to review and score AEFLA grant applications. • March 2017: Due date for AEFLA
grant applications. • March/April 2017: Reviewers review and score AEFLA grant
applications. • April 2017: LCTCS conducts review of budgets and other grant
requirements and develops a rank-ordered slate based on applicant scores. •
April/May 2017: LCTCS announces AEFLA grant applicants that will receive funding.
• July 1, 2017: AEFLA grant providers begin grant cycle, programming, and
funding.
The Louisiana Community and Technical College System
will ensure that all applicants provide data demonstrating their ability to
improve the skills of eligible individuals, particularly eligible individuals
who have low levels of literacy, in the content domains of reading, writing,
mathematics, English language acquisition, and other subject areas relevant to
the services contained in the RFP application for funds. The Adult Education
student data management system will provide the data needed to show how prior
recipients met State-negotiated performance measures for all student levels
including performance measure for English language learners. Forms will be
provided for new eligible applicants (See Title II - Adult Education and
Literacy Programs (b) Local Activities, Eligible Provider) to provide
performance data for student learning gains, including performance outcomes for
low-literacy level and English language learners. All applicants will be
required to report effectiveness in improving the knowledge and skills of
adults to successfully transition to postsecondary education, skills training,
or employment. Each application will be reviewed to determine whether it meets
the standard of demonstrated effectiveness.
LCTCS will use a performance-based funding formula to
determine funding amounts and will consider the literacy rate within each
workforce region and the core indicators of performance as outlined in Title II
of WIOA. The formula will be designed to consider the levels of performance in
the local programs as compared with established benchmarks as a basis for an
increase or decrease in funds. Programs that do not meet established minimum
standards in the first year will be expected to demonstrate and document
substantial improvement toward meeting those standards. Using the approved
statewide data management system, monitoring results, and other documentation,
WRU will determine and apply requirements for program improvement in the
subsequent grant cycles. Minimum standards will be determined initially based
on data collected during the first year and will be raised with each new grant
cycle. Programs that do not demonstrate and document substantial improvements
during each year of the multi-year grant cycle may not be eligible to receive
funding in subsequent years of the cycle.
Describe how the eligible agency will
ensure direct and equitable access to all eligible providers to apply and
compete for funds and how the eligible agency will ensure that it is using the
same grant or contract announcement and application procedure for all eligible
providers.
LCTCS requires all eligible providers for sections 225,
231, and/or 243 to use the same application process. This ensures that all
applications are evaluated using the same rubric and scoring criteria. LCTCS
ensures that all eligible providers have direct and equitable access to apply
for grants or contracts.
LCTCS will hold a full and open competition consistent
with the standards of Subpart C, CFR 200.319. All eligible providers will be
allowed direct and equitable access to apply and compete for grants or
contracts. LCTCS will adhere to all State and Louisiana WIOA Combined Plan laws
in regards to awarding grant funds and the expenditure of public funds. The
following steps will be utilized to ensure direct and equitable access: • An
announcement of the availability of federal funds, under the support of Title
II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, will be
disseminated in various methods including but not limited to a minimum of two
newspaper outlets that provide state, local and regional news coverage, the
LCTCS website, and social media outlets in order to provide the widest possible
state coverage. • An announcement of the availability of funds will be sent to
all existing adult education providers. • The same grant and application
process will be used for all eligible providers in the state. • Standard
criteria for evaluation of local proposals will be used for all eligible
providers. • Technical assistance will be provided to assist with dissemination
of information to all eligible providers interested in applying. Technical
assistance opportunities will be included in announcements and the Request for
Proposal. • The announcement will contain information such as: o Type of grants
available. o Contact person to obtain RFP guidelines. o Timeline with grant
application due date. o Other pertinent items. o Any information required by
state law in regard to the awarding of contracts and the expenditure of public
funds.
LCTCS will use the following process to distribute
funds to approved applicants: 1) Not less than 82.5 percent of the grant funds
to award grants and contracts under section 231 and to carry out section 225,
Programs for Corrections Education and Other Institutionalized Individuals, of
which not more than 20 percent of such amount shall be available to carry out
section 225; 2) Shall not use more than 12.5 percent of the grant funds to
carry out state leadership activities under section 223; and 3) Shall not use
more than 5 percent of the grant funds for administrative expenses of the
eligible agency. Federal funds may be used to increase the level of nonfederal
funds that would be available in the absence of federal funds, and, in no case,
replace those nonfederal funds. Federal funds must not be used for the purpose
of supplanting, only for supplementing. See Title II - Adult Education and Literacy
Programs (b) Local Activities for additional details regarding the processes
for the request for application process.
In the case of a State that, under section
101(a)(2)(A)(i)of the Rehabilitation Act designates a State agency to
administer the part of the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services portion of
the Unified or Combined State Plan under which VR services are provided for
individuals who are blind, describe the process and the factors used by the
State to determine the distribution of funds among the two VR agencies in the
State.
This is not applicable in Louisiana since blind
services are operated within the same agency.
Describe the plans of the lead State
agencies with responsibility for the administration of the core programs, along
with the State Board, to align and integrate available workforce and education
data systems for the core programs, unemployment insurance programs, and
education through postsecondary education, and to the extent possible, the
Combined State Plan partner programs included in this plan. The description of
the State’s plan for integrating data systems should include the State’s goals
for achieving integration and any progress to date.
Effective November 9, 2015, the Louisiana Workforce
Commission’s HiRE system became a comprehensive system that fully integrates
workforce development with unemployment insurance. Not only does this aid the
job-seeker/claimant in managing their unemployment insurance benefits,
job-search functions, and case management, it also enhances services provided
to employers by allowing them to manage unemployment claims as well as utilize
recruiting features within the system.
In 2010, Title IV’s Vocational Rehabilitation services
moved to LWC’s oversight, specifically under the Office of Workforce
Development. Since the transition, Louisiana Rehabilitation Services continues
to use the AWARE system (Accessible Web-based Activity and Reporting
Environment).
As the lead state agency, LWC hosts regularly scheduled
meetings with the administrators of the core partner programs. Louisiana’s
Office of Technology Systems (OTS) is a key player in the development of a data
warehouse. This data warehouse will be used to collect common data points as it
relates to performance ,and will allow each partner agency to extract data for
reporting requirements. At the time of this writing, each core partner program
has illustrated its process of data collection and reporting structure as well
as evaluating the common data points to include in the new data warehouse
structure. Data sharing agreements are being reviewed and/or written to ensure
a seamless delivery of information.
Having a fully integrated data warehouse offering a
full case management system is a long term goal. However, the construction of
such a system will be a phased approach. Phase 1 will introduce all common data
points, common intake and meet minimum reporting requirements. In Phase 2, the
data warehouse will begin to incorporate non-required partner data and feature
enhancements such as management of training providers. With this phase
individuals will be exposed to all partner services and referred to appropriate
services based on intake information.
Louisiana currently produces reports as required by the
Workforce Investment Act by aggregating data through multiple sources. HiRE
houses participant case management data. Unemployment Insurance wage data is
housed in a state-managed mainframe system. Louisiana is also a WRIS member and
imports out-of-state wage data for its participants from other WRIS member
states and territories.
Unemployment insurance is integrated within our
workforce development system via HiRE for ETA programs. HiRE’s system
administrator, Geographic Solutions Inc., aggregates data from the
aforementioned sources in the required WIASRD format for WIA reporting.
Geographic Solutions will continue to assist LWC in the aggregation and
preparation of data for WIOA reporting.
Louisiana’s Implementation Team established a workgroup
specifically tasked with data alignment, data sharing and the integration of
such data as it relates to WIOA. The group is in the process of evaluating each
core partner’s current collection method of the required data elements.
Specifically, the group is examining what is collected, how it is collected and
how and where data is stored. Collection process changes will be an outcome of
the evaluation and will be incorporated into a data warehouse among partner
agencies.
The Louisiana Workforce Commission and the state’s
Office of Technology Systems are working together to develop a data warehouse
where data systems from core partners, minimally, will be integrated to track
participation across programs. At the time of this writing, the architecture is
being designed and business rules are under development in a phased approach.
Phase I will concentrate on the development of the data warehouse with core
partners, determine what to collect and how to collect it, as well as the
frequency of the collection in a secure exchange environment. Business rules
will be established, and data-sharing agreements put into place. Phase II will
include the evaluation of common intake and service delivery across all
programs. As a result of the two-phase process, reduced duplication of services
and improved efficiency is anticipated.
Louisiana’s Implementation Team established a workgroup
specifically tasked with data alignment, data sharing and the integration of
such data as it relates to WIOA. The group is in the process of evaluating each
core partner’s current collection method of the required data elements.
Specifically, the group is examining what is collected, how it is collected and
how and where data is stored. Collection process changes will be an outcome of
the evaluation and will be incorporated into a data warehouse among partner
agencies.
The Louisiana Workforce Commission and the state’s
Office of Technology Systems are working together to develop a data warehouse
where data systems from core partners, minimally, will be integrated to track
participation across programs. At the time of this writing, the architecture is
being designed and business rules are under development
in a phased approach. Phase I will concentrate on the development of the data
warehouse with core partners, determine what to collect and how to collect it,
as well as the frequency of the collection in a secure exchange environment.
Business rules will be established, and data-sharing agreements put into place.
Phase II will include the evaluation of common intake and service delivery
across all programs. As a result of the two-phase process, reduced duplication
of services and improved efficiency is anticipated.
Planning Note: States should be aware that Section
116(i)(1) requires the core programs, local boards and chief elected officials
to establish and operate a fiscal and management accountability information
system based on guidelines established by the secretaries of Labor and
Education. Separately, the Departments of Labor and Education anticipate
working with states to inform future guidance and possible information
collection(s) on these accountability systems. States should begin laying the
groundwork for these fiscal and management accountability requirements,
recognizing that adjustments to meet the elements above may provide opportunity
or have impact on such a fiscal and management accountability system.
The State is negotiating data sharing agreements (DSA)
between partnering agencies to govern terms and conditions under which program
data may be shared. Upon the successful execution of the DSA’s, the State shall
collect program data from each partnering agency through secured data
transmission protocols and deposit this data into a data warehouse.
The WIOA implementation team will establish business
rules for data warehousing. These business rules will provide:
Additional business rules will provide periodic updates
to the data warehouse from partnering agency interfaces, through a combination
of web based interfaces. Protocol will ensure privacy of personally
identifiable information. Partnering agencies will update information to ensure
real time data.
The data warehouse will become the source for all
subsequent program activities:
Planning Note: States should be aware that
Section 116(i)(1) requires the core programs, local boards, and chief elected
officials to establish and operate a fiscal and management accountability
information system based on guidelines established by the Secretaries of Labor
and Education. Separately, the Departments of Labor and Education anticipate
working with States to inform future guidance and possible information
collection(s) on these accountability systems. States should begin laying the
groundwork for these fiscal and management accountability requirements,
recognizing that adjustments to meet the elements above may provide opportunity
or have impact on such a fiscal and management accountability system.
Describe how lead State agencies will use
the workforce development system to assess the progress of participants who are
exiting from core programs in entering, persisting in, and completing
postsecondary education, or entering or remaining in employment. States may
choose to set additional indicators of performance.
The State is committed to understanding and improving
the six primary performance indicators for the core programs. Case management
and follow up processes will continue using benchmarking as a strategy to
assess and evaluate results, adjusting strategies as necessary to effectively
serve participants.
The State requires employers to report Descriptive Job
Title / SOC and Nominal Hourly rate of pay. This will allow a better assessment
of participant program success for: Participants entering occupations related
to the program from which they exit. • Participants completing longer-term
training / services programs relative to those who enter shorter programs and
self-service (Return on Investment) • Career progression / Career Pathways
typically taken by participants. • Skills acquired at each level of career and
skills gap analysis.
Explain how the State will meet the
requirements to utilize quarterly UI wage records for performance
accountability, evaluations, and as a source for workforce and labor market
information, consistent with Federal and State law. (This Operational Planning
element applies to core programs.)
The use of UI wage record data will continue. Data
Sharing Agreements are being reviewed and expanded to accommodate performance
related goals.
The Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) is currently
importing out-of-state wages from the Wage Record Interchange System (WRIS)
into its participant wage records. There are a significant number of
participants who previously had and/or seek out of state employment before and
after participation in workforce programs. LWC will continue to use WRIS wages
to produce a more complete and accurate record of participant earnings.
LWC is also a participant in WRIS2, which permits the
use of aggregated data for appropriate Third Party Entities (TPEs). Louisiana
may utilize WRIS2 data, as permitted, as its relationships evolve with the
administrators of WIOA partner programs. Specific plans for the sharing of
WRIS2 data with TPEs has not been finalized.
Describe the privacy safeguards
incorporated in the State’s workforce development system, including safeguards
required by section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C.
1232g) and other applicable Federal laws.
Agency legal counsel and Division of Administration
Office of Technology Services reviews and approves language in any applicable
data–sharing agreement (DSA)and service contract to ensure that privacy
safeguards are properly in place.
The Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) employs
multiple safeguards to customer data. Internally, staff members are held
accountable for the use of customer data. All employees accessing LWC’s
customer management system, HiRE, are required to sign confidentiality
agreements governing the use of information in the HiRE system. Rules,
policies, and practices employed by LWC staff are focused on guarding customer
data being used strictly for LWC program purposes. Staff use of the HiRE system
is monitored by supervisors and state administrators for appropriate use.
Information in HiRE is kept on file in a secure
database and will only be used by our staff to better provide assistance to
LWC’s customers in determining eligibility for federal assistance in obtaining
employment and/or training for employment. Customer information will not be
transmitted to other companies, solicitors or organizations not associated with
the performance of the responsibilities delineated in the federal Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014.
For security purposes and to ensure that this service
remains available to all users, HiRE also employs software programs to monitor
network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change
information, or otherwise cause damage.
Describe how the State will implement and
monitor the priority of service provisions for veterans in accordance with the
requirements of the Jobs for Veterans Act, codified at section 4215 of 38
U.S.C., which applies to all employment and training programs funded in whole
or in part by the Department of Labor. States should also describe the referral
process for veterans determined to have a significant barrier to employment to
receive services from the Jobs for Veterans State Grants (JVSG) program’s
Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program (DVOP) specialist.
The state shall provide priority of service for
veterans in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 4215(b). The term "priority of
service" means, with respect to any qualified job training program, that a
covered person shall be given priority over nonveterans for the receipt of
employment, training, and placement services provided under that program,
notwithstanding any other provision of law. Such priority includes giving
access services to a covered person before a non-covered person, or, if
resources are limited, giving access to such services to a covered person
instead of a non-covered person.
Priority starts with the first One-Stop Career Center
(OSCC) member that comes in contact with the veteran or eligible person. During
the reception process, a series of questions identifies veteran or eligibility
status. Qualified veterans and/or qualified spouses are provided services prior
to other customers and an initial assessment is completed by the first
available OSCC staff member. If during the initial assessment it is determined
that the veteran has an SBE or is a member of another special category, the
veteran is immediately referred to a DVOP specialist.
The state provides priority of service in accordance
with TEGL 05-03. When a veteran is identified as having barriers to employment,
they are fast tracked on a priority basis to ensure that those barriers are
resolved as expeditiously as possible. The state has memorandums of
understanding (MOUs) with U.S. Department of Labor-funded programs covered by
Section 4215 on veterans’ priority and refers veterans to training and
supportive services within that network on a priority basis. The state has
partnered with educational entities within the state and the
vocational/technical institutions, which also provide priority service for
veterans and assists them with their educational and literacy needs.
Veterans receive priority for employment and job
training opportunities available through WIOA funding, on-the-job training,
skills development training and youth training contracts. Veterans can locate
training opportunities through use of the HiRE database and receive training at
private facilities, which have been approved through the State Established
Training Provider List (ETPL). Should veterans meet the eligibility criteria,
their training costs are paid by the WIOA program or through individual
training accounts. Veterans take priority in instances of training fund
shortages. LVER staff and other OSCC staff identify jobs and training
opportunities specifically tailored for veterans, as they promote veterans as
potential employees. These priority services are made available and provided to
veterans, transitioning service members, Chapter 31 veterans, Native American
veterans and other groups targeted for special consideration, including
difficult-to-serve veterans and veterans with barriers to employment.
The state will closely monitor the provision of
priority of service. Both JVSG management and local area coordinators shall
periodically conduct site checks to ensure all required priority of service
signs are present and properly displayed, and that OSCC staff understand both
the requirement of priority of service and its proper implementation. During
these site visits, monitors pay particular attention to the implementation of
priority of service beyond core services, particularly in the allocation of
training funds. The state shall consider an indicated referral rate in any one
of these areas being lower for veterans and other eligible persons than for
nonveterans to be evidence of a potential priority-of-implementation problem.
The state shall immediately place the affected region under examination and
take corrective action measures to include, but not be limited, to additional
training.
Describe how the one-stop delivery system
(including one-stop center operators and the one-stop delivery system
partners), will comply with section 188 of WIOA (if applicable) and applicable
provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et
seq.) with regard to the physical and programmatic accessibility of facilities,
programs, services, technology, and materials for individuals with
disabilities. This also must include a description of compliance through
providing staff training and support for addressing the needs of individuals
with disabilities. Describe the State’s one-stop center certification policy,
particularly the accessibility criteria.
Recognizing the high unemployment rate among
individuals with disabilities and the qualified– employee shortage businesses
are facing, the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) is committed to providing
reasonable accommodations and access to all programs, services and facilities.
Each One–Stop Career Center utilizes the one–stop disability access checklist
to self–evaluate its current level of accessibility.
With support of the Disability Employment Initiative
(DEI) grant (2012 –2015), LWC worked to ensure the physical, communication and
programmatic accessibility of all One–Stop Career Centers by conducting
specialized training for all center staff on topics including accessibility for
all, disability etiquette and awareness, and identifying and assisting
job–seekers with hidden disabilities. LWC will continue to maintain these
investments in staff training and technology to make certain One– Stop Career
Center staff serve adult job–seekers with disabilities effectively.
LWC will incorporate accessibility criteria as part of
the One–Stop certification criteria in collaboration with its disability
partners and advocacy groups. Additionally, all One–Stop Centers will be
monitored onsite annually to ensure compliance with this requirement.
Describe how the one-stop delivery system
(including one-stop center operators and the one-stop delivery system partners)
will ensure that each one-stop center is able to meet the needs of English language
learners, such as through established procedures, staff training, resources,
and other materials.
The State encourages local workforce development areas
to work with partners --including non-traditional partners such as faith based
and community based organizations to identify resources for bilingual
assistance in providing services. In addition, future staff recruitment efforts
should considered inclusion of second language skills in job descriptions.
Basic informational collateral materials describing basic program services
should be made available in languages that reflect the make-up of the citizens
in the community.
Currently the HiRE case management system is available
in Spanish. Future enhancements will incorporate “Google Translate” additional
languages based on community need.
Describe the methods used for joint
planning and coordination among the core programs, and with the required
one-stop partner programs and other programs and activities included in the
Unified or Combined State Plan.
At an Oct. 27, 2014 meeting, the leadership of LWC,
DCFS and LCTCS agreed that an inter-agency team should lead the development of
the combined state plan. This team operates according to the protocols of LWC’s
Agency Initiative Management (AIM) office. The AIM team will be tasked with the
development of the combined state plan and with the following objectives:
• Develop an inter-agency workforce strategy and
high-level implementation plan for the state.
• Divide the state into common regions.
• Create a plan to reach high-risk populations and
locations.
• Perform asset mapping throughout the state to
coordinate and optimize resources.
• Refine the list of eligible training providers.
• Define the flow of job-seekers from entry points in
any of these agencies through:
The deliverables developed by the inter-agency AIM team
will be the road map for state and local areas to implement WIOA service
delivery, including all core programs and any other activities and programs the
agencies deem necessary.
The team formed by LWC, DCFS and LCTCS will develop a
process to identify, assess, train and place job-seekers quickly and
efficiently by aligning their federal funding and programs. The goal of this
partnership is an efficient and effective service delivery model.
Factors that should be kept in mind while developing
this process are:
• Which agencies or programs should/must co-locate? How
will the infrastructure and technology costs be spread among the collaborating
agencies?
• How will WIOA affect the current field office format
for DCFS and LWC?
• How will the state support access to services as
outlined in WIOA, making Temporary Assistance for Needy Families mandatory
partners? Must these partners be co-located?
• Forecasting data for Louisiana will be used to aid in
local and regional coordination. Should forecasting data drive the regional and
local plans and if so, how?
• How will the state benefit from the addition of other
non-core program partners in this collaboration? (e.g. Department of
Corrections, Department of Veterans Affairs, universities, Louisiana Department
of Education (K-12), Louisiana Department of Revenue, Louisiana Economic
Development).
State Leadership, Governance and Compliance
(Strategic)
• Develop a “Combined State Plan” which includes the
six core programs, plus one or more optional programs which promote a shared
understanding of the workforce needs of the state and a comprehensive strategy
for addressing those needs.
• Align core and other programs in a manner that
supports a comprehensive in-demand, job-driven workforce system.
• Guide the implementation and continuous improvement
of the workforce development system (addressing alignment, career pathways,
sector partnerships, and coordination between partners and local areas). •
Identify and disseminate best practices in priority populations.
• Develop strategies for technological improvements.
• Streamline statewide workforce and labor market
information systems.
State Leadership, Governance and Compliance
(Operational)
• Develop a plan to integrate intake, case management
and reporting systems across key programs.
• Develop policies to promote partnerships,
collaboration, integration, and alignment of WIOA programs and activities at
the state and local levels.
• Develop policy establishing local board
certification, to the extent the local board has ensured that workforce
investment activities carried out in the local area have enabled the local area
to meet the corresponding performance accountability measures and achieve
sustained fiscal integrity.
• Develop policy criteria for certification of One-Stop
Centers.
• Develop strategies to support staff training and
awareness across the workforce development system and its programs.
State Leadership, Governance and Compliance
(Compliance)
• Develop comprehensive state performance and
accountability measures to assess core program effectiveness. • Establish
guidelines for determining partners’ contributions to infrastructure funds for
the One-Stop system in the event that a local area fails to reach agreement.
Local Leadership and Governance (Strategic)
• Develop strategies to continuously improve and
strengthen the workforce development system through innovation in, and
alignment and improvement of, employment, training and education programs to
promote economic growth.
• Develop regional plans that align with the state’s
strategic and operational vision and goals outlined in the Combined State Plan.
• Develop effective regional industry and sector
partnerships that support employer utilization of the local workforce
development system.
• Align workforce investment, education and economic
development systems (addressing career pathways, sector partnerships and
coordination between partners and local areas).
• Identify and promote best practices for meeting the
needs and serving employers, workers and job-seekers/priority populations.
Local Leadership and Governance
(Operational)
• Increase access and opportunities (particularly for
those identified as priority populations).
• Provide workers with skills and credentials to secure
and advance in employment with family-sustaining wages and to provide America’s
employers with skilled workers.
• Improve the structure and delivery of services to
better address the employment and skills needs and improve the prosperity of
workers and employers.
• Develop strategies for using technology to maximize
the accessibility and effectiveness of the local workforce development system.
Local Leadership and Governance (Compliance)
• Align local board membership with members that
possess optimum policy-making authority in the organizations they represent and
have the skills and practical knowledge to contribute fully to the strategic
vision of the local area’s workforce system. • Establish bylaws, consistent
with state policy, that help improve operations of the local board.
Communications/Stakeholders
• Develop a communications/marketing plan that
encompasses all working groups. • Initiate a stakeholder analysis.
• Identify communication needs and stakeholder needs. •
Identify partners to collaboratively develop and effectively communicate clear
guidance and direction that aligns state economic development, education and
workforce system policies.
• Develop strategies that improve public awareness and
recognition of the One-Stop system to help job-seekers and employers readily
access services. Eligible Service/Training Providers
• Establish eligibility procedures to ensure the
accountability, quality and labor-market relevance of programs or training
services that receive funds through WIOA Title I-B.
• Ensure that qualified providers offering a wide
variety of demand job-driven training programs are available to participants,
including eligible providers with expertise in assisting individuals with
disabilities and eligible providers with expertise in assisting adults in need
of adult education and literacy activities.
• Establish a mechanism to share eligible training
providers under Title II and IV across core program and partners.
Performance and Data Management
• Develop strategies and policies that align technology
and data systems across One-Stop partner programs to enhance service delivery
and improve efficiencies in reporting and performance accountability measures.
• Develop effective on-going training and dissemination
of information practices across core programs that promote quality and accuracy
of data.
• Develop methods of reporting performance of the
workforce system that promote transparency and accountability to all
stakeholders. Service Delivery and Infrastructure
• Enhance and streamline operations through the
integration of customer intake, case management, reporting and fiscal and
management accountability systems of One-Stop partners. • Increase access and
opportunities to the workforce system, particularly for those with barriers to
employment, both physical and virtual.
• Develop innovative workforce services and strategies
for area employers that include career pathways, skills upgrading,
apprenticeship and other effective initiatives for meeting the needs of area
employers and workers.
• Ensure equitable funding of services and
infrastructure costs of the One-Stop delivery system.
• Strengthen professional development of providers and
workforce professionals.
Other Collaborative Activities A Louisiana Workforce
Symposium was held on December 15-16, 2015 in Baton Rouge. The two-day event
spotlighted tools to help workforce, education, labor and other organizations
sharpen their effectiveness under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
The two-day event coincided with the Workforce Investment Council meeting which
provided the opportunity to network, share best practices and hear inspiring
stories of success in building an outstanding workforce across Louisiana.
Throughout 2015. many partner statewide events have included presentations on WIOA.
These opportunities to coordinate in statewide events will continue and grow in
order to maximize collaboration.
The Unified or Combined State Plan must
include assurances that—
1. The
State has established a policy identifying circumstances that may present a
conflict of interest for a State Board or local board member, or the entity or
class of officials that the member represents, and procedures to resolve such
conflicts; Yes
2. The
State has established a policy to provide to the public (including individuals
with disabilities) access to meetings of State Boards and local boards, and
information regarding activities of State boards and local boards, such as data
on board membership and minutes; Yes
3. The
lead State agencies with optimal policy-making authority and responsibility for
the administration of core programs reviewed and commented on the appropriate
operational planning elements of the Unified or Combined State Plan, and
approved the elements as serving the needs of the populations served by such
programs; Yes
4. (a)
The State obtained input into the development of the Unified or Combined State
Plan and provided an opportunity for comment on the
plan by representatives of local boards and chief elected
officials, businesses, labor organizations, institutions of higher education,
the entities responsible for planning or administrating the core programs,
required one-stop partners and the other Combined Plan programs (if included in
the State Plan), other primary stakeholders, including other
organizations that provide services to individuals with barriers to
employment, and the general public, and that the
Unified or Combined State Plan is available and accessible to the general
public; (b) The State provided an opportunity for review and comment on the
plan by the State Board, including State agency official(s) for the
Unemployment Insurance Agency if such official(s) is a member of the State
Board; Yes
5. The
State has established, in accordance with WIOA section 116(i), fiscal control
and fund accounting procedures that may be necessary to ensure the proper
disbursement of, and accounting for, funds paid to the State
through allotments made for the core programs to carry out workforce
development activities; Yes
6. The
State has taken appropriate action to secure compliance with uniform
administrative requirements in this Act, including that the State will annually
monitor local areas to ensure compliance and otherwise take appropriate action
to secure compliance with the uniform administrative requirements under WIOA
section 184(a)(3); Yes
7. The
State has taken the appropriate action to be in compliance with WIOA
section 188, Nondiscrimination, as applicable; Yes
8. The
Federal funds received to carry out a core program will not be expended for any
purpose other than for activities authorized with respect to such funds under
that core program; Yes
9. The
State will pay an appropriate share (as defined by the State board) of the
costs of carrying out section 116, from funds made available through each of
the core programs; Yes
10. The
State has a One-Stop certification policy that ensures the physical and
programmatic accessibility of all One-Stop centers with the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA); Yes
11.
Service providers have a referral process in place for directing Veterans with
Significant Barriers to Employment (SBE) to DVOP services, when appropriate; and Yes
12.
Priority of service for veterans and eligible spouses is provided in accordance
with 38 USC 4215 in all workforce preparation, development or delivery of
programs or services funded directly, in whole or in part, by the Department of
Labor. Yes
The State must address all program-specific
requirements in this section for the WIOA core programs regardless of whether
the State submits either a Unified or Combined State Plan.
The Unified or Combined State Plan must
include the following with respect to activities carried out under subtitle B--
With respect to youth workforce investment
activities authorized in section 129 of WIOA,—
* Sec. 102(b)(2)(D)(i)(V)
* Sec. 102(b)(2)(D)(i)(I)
In States where there is only one local
workforce investment area, the governor serves as both the State and local
chief elected official. In such cases, the State must submit any information
required in the local plan (WIOA section 106(d)(2)). States with a single
workforce area must also include:
States wanting to request waivers as part
of their Title I-B Operational Plan must include a waiver plan that includes
the following information for each waiver requested:
The Secretary may require that States
provide the most recent data available about the outcomes of the existing
waiver in cases where the State seeks renewal of a previously approved waiver;
The State Plan must include assurances
that:
1. The
State has implemented a policy to ensure Adult program funds provide a priority
in the delivery of training services and individualized career services to
individuals who are low income, public assistance recipients and basic
skills deficient; No
2. The
state has implemented a policy to ensure local areas have a process in place
for referring veterans with significant barriers to employment to career
services provided by the JVSG program’s Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program
(DVOP) specialist; No
3. The
state established a written policy and procedure that set forth criteria to be
used by chief elected officials for the appointment of local workforce
investment board members. No
4. The
state established written policy and procedures to ensure local workforce
investment boards are certified by the governor every two years in accordance
with WIOA section 107(c)(2). No
5. Where
an alternative entity takes the place of a State Board, the State has written
policy and procedures to ensure the alternative entity meets the definition
under WIOA section 101(e) and the legal requirements for
membership. No
6. The
State established a written policy and procedure for how the individuals and
entities represented on the State Workforce Development Board help to determine
the methods and factors of distribution, and how the state consults with chief
elected officials in local areas throughout the state in determining the
distributions. No
7. The
State will not use funds received under WIOA Title I to assist, promote, or
deter union organizing in accordance with WIOA section
181(b)(7). No
8. The
State distributes adult and youth funds received under WIOA equitably
throughout the State, and no local area suffers significant shifts in funding
from year-to-year during the period covered by this
plan. No
9. If a
State Workforce Development Board, department, or agency administers state laws
for vocational rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, that board,
department, or agency cooperates with the agency that administers Wagner-Peyser
services, Adult and Dislocated Worker programs and Youth Programs under Title
I. No
10.
The State agrees to report on the impact and outcomes of its approved waivers
in its WIOA Annual Report. No
11. The
State has taken appropriate action to secure compliance with the Uniform
Guidance at 2 CFR 200 and 2 CFR 2900, including that the State will annually
monitor local areas to ensure compliance and otherwise take appropriate action
to secure compliance with the Uniform Guidance under section WIOA
184(a)(3); No
All program-specific requirements provided
for the WIOA core programs in this section must be addressed for either a
Unified or Combined State Plan.
Provide an assessment of the unique needs
of farmworkers in the area based on past and projected agricultural and
farmworker activity in the State. Such needs may include but are not limited
to: employment, training, and housing.
The local offices outreach activities must
be designed to meet the needs of MSFWs in the State and to locate and contact
MSFWs who are not being reached through normal intake activities. Describe the
State agency's proposed strategies for:
Describe the State agency's proposed
strategies for:
Describe any collaborative agreements the
state workforce agency (SWA) has with other MSFW service providers including
NFJP grantees and other service providers. Describe how the SWA intends to
build upon/increase collaboration with existing partners and in establishing
new partners over the next four years (including any approximate timelines for
establishing agreements or building upon existing agreements).
In developing the AOP, the SWA must solicit
information and suggestions from NFJP grantees, other appropriate MSFW groups,
public agencies, agricultural employer organizations, and other interested
organizations. In addition, at least 45 calendar days before submitting its
final AOP, the SWA must provide a proposed plan to NFJP grantees, public
agencies, agricultural employer organizations, and other organizations
expressing an interest and allow at least 30 days for review and comment. The
SWA must: 1) Consider any comments received in formulating its final proposed
AOP; 2) Inform all commenting parties in writing whether their comments have
been incorporated and, if not, the reasons therefore; and 3) Transmit the
comments and recommendations received and its responses with the submission of
the AOP. The AOP must include a statement confirming NFJP grantees, other
appropriate MSFW groups, public agencies, agricultural employer organizations
and other interested employer organizations have been given an opportunity to
comment on the AOP. Include the list of organizations from which information
and suggestions were solicited, any comments received, and responses to those
comments.
Review the previous four years
Wagner-Peyser data reports on performance. Note whether the State has been
meeting its goals to provide MSFWs quantitatively proportionate services as
compared to non-MSFWs. If it has not met these goals, explain why the State
believes such goals were not met and how the State intends to improve its
provision of services in order to meet such goals.
The plan must include an explanation of
what was achieved based on the previous AOP, what was not achieved and an
explanation as to why the State believes the goals were not achieved, and how the
State intends to remedy the gaps of achievement in the coming year.
The plan must contain a statement
confirming the State Monitor Advocate has reviewed and approved the AOP.
The State Plan must include assurances
that:
1. The
Wagner-Peyser Employment Service is co-located with one-stop centers or a plan
and timeline has been developed to comply with this requirement within a
reasonable amount of time. (sec 121(e)(3)); No
2. The
State agency is complying with the requirements under 20 CFR 653.111 (State
agency staffing requirements) if the State has significant MSFW one-stop
centers; No
3. If a
State Workforce Development Board, department, or agency administers State laws
for vocational rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, that board,
department, or agency cooperates with the agency that administers Wagner-Peyser
services, Adult and Dislocated Worker programs and Youth Programs under Title
I; and No
4. State
agency merit-based public employees provide Wagner-Peyser Act-funded labor
exchange activities in accordance with Department of Labor
regulations. No
The State Plan must include a description
of the following as it pertains to Adult Education and Literacy programs under
Title II, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA).
Describe how the eligible agency will, by
July 1, 2016, align its content standards for adult education with
State-adopted challenging academic content standards, as adopted under section
1111(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended
(20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(1)).
Describe how the State will, using the
considerations specified in section 231(e) of WIOA, fund each eligible provider
to establish or operate programs that provide the adult education and literacy
activities, including programs that provide such activities concurrently. The
Unified or Combined State Plan must include at a minimum the scope, content,
and organization of local activities.
Each eligible agency awarding a grant or
contract under this section shall not use any funds made available under this
title for adult education and literacy activities for the purpose of supporting
or providing programs, services, or activities for individuals who are under
the age of 16 and are enrolled or required to be enrolled in secondary school
under State law, except that such agency may use such funds for such purpose if
such programs, services, or activities are related to family literacy
activities. In providing family literacy activities under this title, an
eligible provider shall attempt to coordinate with programs and services that
are not assisted under this title prior to using funds for adult education and
literacy activities under this title for activities other than activities for
eligible individuals.
Describe how the State will establish and
operate programs under section 225 of WIOA for corrections education and
education of other institutionalized individuals, including how it will fund,
in accordance with the requirements of Title II, subtitle C, any of the
following academic programs for:
Each eligible agency using funds provided under Programs for Corrections
Education and Other Institutionalized Individuals to carry out a program for
criminal offenders within a correctional institution must give priority to
serving individuals who are likely to leave the correctional institution within
5 years of participation in the program.
Describe how the eligible agency will
assess the quality of providers of adult education and literacy activities
under title II and take actions to improve such quality, including providing
the activities described in section 223(a)(1)(B) of WIOA.
States must provide written and signed
certifications that
1. The
plan is submitted by the State agency that is eligible to submit the
plan. No
2. The
State agency has authority under State law to perform the functions of the
State under the program. No
3. The
State legally may carry out each provision of the
plan. No
4. All
provisions of the plan are consistent with State
law. No
5. A
State officer, specified by title in the certification, has authority under
State law to receive, hold, and disburse Federal funds made available under the
plan. No
6. The
State officer who is submitting the plan, specified by the title in the certification,
has authority to submit the plan. No
7. The
agency that is submitting the plan has adopted or otherwise formally approved
the plan. No
8. The
plan is the basis for State operation and administration of the
program. No
Certification for Contracts, Grants, Loans,
and Cooperative Agreements
The undersigned certifies, to the best of his or her knowledge and belief,
that:
(1) No Federal appropriated funds have been
paid or will be paid, by or on behalf of the undersigned, to any person for
influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of an agency, a
Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a
Member of Congress in connection with the awarding of any Federal contract, the
making of any Federal grant, the making of any Federal loan, the entering into
of any cooperative agreement, and the extension, continuation, renewal,
amendment, or modification of any Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative
agreement.
(2) If any funds other than Federal
appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing
or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of
Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of
Congress in connection with this Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative
agreement, the undersigned shall complete and submit Standard Form-LLL,
''Disclosure of Lobbying Activities,'' in accordance with its instructions.
(3) The undersigned shall require that the
language of this certification be included in the award documents for all
subawards at all tiers (including subcontracts, subgrants, and contracts under
grants, loans, and cooperative agreements) and that all subrecipients shall
certify and disclose accordingly. This certification is a material
representation of fact upon which reliance was placed when this transaction was
made or entered into. Submission of this certification is a prerequisite for
making or entering into this transaction imposed by section 1352, title 31,
U.S. Code. Any person who fails to file the required certification shall be
subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000
for each such failure.
The
undersigned states, to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, that:
If any funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or
attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of
Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of
Congress in connection with this commitment providing for the United States to
insure or guarantee a loan, the undersigned shall complete and submit Standard
Form-LLL, ''Disclosure of Lobbying Activities,'' in accordance with its
instructions. Submission of this statement is a prerequisite for making or
entering into this transaction imposed by section 1352, title 31, U.S. Code.
Any person who fails to file the required statement shall be subject to a civil
penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 for each such
failure.
Applicant’s
Organization
Full Name of Authorized
Representative:
Title of Authorized
Representative:
SF LLL Form – Disclosure of Lobbying
Activities (only if applicable)
(http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html). If applicable,
please print, sign, and email to [email protected]
The State Plan must include assurances
that:
1. The
eligible agency will expend funds appropriated to carry out title II of the
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) only in a manner consistent
with fiscal requirements under section 241(a) of WIOA (regarding supplement and
not supplant provisions). No
2. The
eligible agency will ensure that there is at least one eligible provider
serving each local area, as defined in section 3(32) of
WIOA. No
3. The
eligible agency will not use any funds made available under title II of WIOA
for the purpose of supporting or providing programs, services, or activities
for individuals who are not “eligible individuals” within the meaning of
section 203(4) of WIOA, unless it is providing programs, services or activities
related to family literacy activities, as defined in section 203(9) of WIOA. No
4. The
Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education program under section 243(a)
of WIOA will be delivered in combination with integrated education and training
activities; No
5. The
Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education program under section 243(a)
of WIOA will be designed to (1) prepare adults who are English language
learners for, and place such adults in, unsubsidized employment in in-demand
industries and occupations that lead to economic self-sufficiency and (2)
integrate with the local workforce development system and its functions to
carry out the activities of the program; and No
6. Using
funds made available under title II of WIOA to carry out a program for criminal
offenders within a correctional institution, the eligible agency will give
priority to serving individuals who are likely to leave the correctional
institution within five years of participation in the
program. No
The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services
Portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan* must include the following
descriptions and estimates, as required by section 101(a) of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, as amended by WIOA:
__________
* Sec. 102(b)(D)(iii) of WIOA
All agencies, except for those that are
independent consumer-controlled commissions, must describe the following:
When requesting a waiver of the
statewideness requirement, the designated State unit must identify the types of
services to be provided by the program on a non-statewide basis. The waiver
request must also include written assurances that:
requirements of the VR services portion of
the Unified or Combined State Plan will apply to the services approved under
the waiver.
Describe interagency cooperation with and
utilization of the servivces and facilities of agencies and programs that are
not carrying out activities through the statewide workforce development system
with respect to:
Describe:
The designated State unit's plans,
policies, and procedures for coordination with education officials to
facilitate the transition of students with disabilities from school to the
receipt of VR services, including pre-employment transition services, as well
as procedures for the timely development and approval of individualized plans
for employment for the students.
(Formerly known as Attachment 4.8(b)(3)).
Describe the manner in which the designated State agency establishes
cooperative agreements with private non-profit VR service providers.
(Formerly known as Attachment 4.8(b)(4)).
Describe the designated State agency’s efforts to identify and make arrangements,
including entering into cooperative agreements, with other State agencies and
other appropriate entities in order to provide supported employment services
and extended employment services, as applicable, to individuals with the most
significant disabilities, including youth with the most significant
disabilities.
(Formerly known as Attachment 4.8(b)(5)).
Describe how the designated State unit will work with employers to identify
competitive integrated employment and career exploration opportunities in order
to facilitate the provision of:
Describe how the designated State unit will
collaborate with the State agency responsible for administering each of the
following programs to develop opportunities for competitive integrated
employment, to the greatest extent practicable:
(Formerly known as Attachment 4.10)).
Describe the designated State agency's procedures and activities to establish
and maintain a comprehensive system of personnel development designed to ensure
an adequate supply of qualified State rehabilitation professional and
paraprofessional personnel for the designated State unit, including the
following:
Describe the development and maintenance of
a system for collecting and analyzing on an annual basis data on qualified
personnel needs with respect to:
Describe the development and maintenance of
a system for collecting and analyzing on an annual basis data on personnel
development with respect to:
Describe the development and implementation
of a plan to address the current and projected needs for qualified personnel
including, the coordination and facilitation of efforts between the designated
State unit and institutions of higher education and professional associations
to recruit, prepare, and retain personnel who are qualified, including
personnel from minority backgrounds and personnel who are individuals with
disabilities.
Describe the State agency's policies and
procedures for the establishment and maintenance of personnel standards
consistent with section 101(a)(7)(B) and 34 CFR 361.18(c) to ensure that
designated State unit professional and paraprofessional personnel are
adequately trained and prepared, including:
Describe the State agency's policies,
procedures, and activities to ensure that, consistent with section101(a)(7)(C)
of the Rehabilitation Act, all personnel employed by the designated State unit
receive appropriate and adequate training in terms of:
a system of staff development for
professionals and paraprofessionals within the designated State unit,
particularly with respect to assessment, vocational counseling, job placement,
and rehabilitation technology, including training implemented in coordination
with entities carrying out State programs under section 4 of the Assistive
Technology Act of 1998; and
procedures for the acquisition and
dissemination of significant knowledge from research and other sources to
designated State unit professionals and paraprofessionals.
Describe how the designated State unit has
personnel or obtains the services of other individuals who are able to
communicate in appropriate modes of communication with or in the native
language of applicants or eligible individuals who have limited English
speaking ability.
As appropriate, describe the procedures and
activities to coordinate the designated State unit's comprehensive system of
personnel development with personnel development under the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act.
(Formerly known as Attachment 4.11(a)).
(Formerly known as Attachment 4.11(b)).
Describe:
The designated State unit must:
Identify if the goals and priorities were
jointly developed and agreed to by the State VR agency and the State
Rehabilitation Council, if the State has a Council, and jointly agreed to any
revisions.
Describe:
Describe the required strategies and how
the agency will use these strategies to achieve its goals and priorities,
support innovation and expansion activities, and overcome any barriers to
accessing the VR and the Supported Employment programs (See sections
101(a)(15)(D) and (18)(B) of the Rehabilitation Act and section 427 of the
General Education Provisions Act (GEPA)):
Describe:
Include the following:
Name of designated State agency or
designated State unit, as appropriate
Name of designated State
agency
Full Name of Authorized
Representative:
Title of Authorized
Representative:
States must provide written and signed certifications that:
1. The
designated State agency or designated State unit (as appropriate) listed above
is authorized to submit the VR services portion of the Unified or Combined
State Plan under title 1 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehabilitation
Act), as amended by WIOA*, and its supplement under title VI of the
Rehabilitation Act.** No
2. As a
condition for the receipt of Federal funds under title I of the Rehabilitation
Act for the provision of VR services, the designated State agency listed above
agrees to operate and administer the State VR Services Program in accordance
with the VR services portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan , the
Rehabilitation Act, and all applicable regulations , policies, and procedures
established by the Secretary of Education. Funds made available under section
111 of the Rehabilitation Act are used solely for the provision of VR services
and the administration of the VR services portion of the Unified or Combined
State Plan; No
3. As a
condition for the receipt of Federal funds under title VI of the Rehabilitation
Act for supported employment services, the designated State agency agrees to
operate and administer the State Supported Employment Services Program in
accordance with the supplement to the VR services portion of the Unified or
Combined State Plan* , the Rehabilitation Act, and all applicable regulations ,
policies, and procedures established by the Secretary of Education. Funds made
available under title VI are used solely for the provision of supported employment
services and the administration of the supplement to the VR services portion of
the Unified or Combined State Plan;** No
4. The
designated State agency and/or the designated State unit has the authority
under State law to perform the functions of the State regarding the VR services
portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan and its
supplement; No
5. The
State legally may carry out each provision of the VR services portion of the
Unified or Combined State Plan and its
supplement. No
6. All
provisions of the VR services portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan and
its supplement are consistent with State law. No
7. The
Authorized Representative listed above has the authority under State law to
receive, hold, and disburse Federal funds made available under the VR services
portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan and its
supplement; No
8. The
Authorized Representative listed above has the authority to submit the VR
services portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan and the supplement for
Supported Employment services; No
9. The
agency that submits the VR services portion of the Unified or Combined State
Plan and its supplement has adopted or otherwise formally approved the plan and
its supplement. No
__________
Certification 1
Footnotes
* Public Law 113-128.
** Unless otherwise stated, "Rehabilitation Act" means the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by WIOA, signed into law on July 22,
2014.
Certification 2
Footnotes
* All references in this plan to "designated State agency" or to
"the State agency" relate to the agency identified in this paragraph.
** No funds under title 1 of the Rehabilitation Act may be awarded without an
approved VR services portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan in
accordance with section 101(a) of the Rehabilitation Act.
*** Applicable regulations, in part, include the Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 76,77,79,81, and 82; 2 CFR
part 200 as adopted by 2 CFR part 3485; and the State VR Services Program
regulations.
Certification 3
Footnotes
* No funds under title VI of the Rehabilitation Act may be awarded without an approved
supplement to the VR services portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan in
accordance with section 606(a) of the Rehabilitation Act.
** Applicable regulations, in part, include the citations in *** under
Certification 2 footnotes
Certification for Contracts, Grants, Loans,
and Cooperative Agreements The undersigned certifies, to the best of his or her
knowledge and belief, that:
(1) No Federal appropriated funds have been
paid or will be paid, by or on behalf of the undersigned, to any person for
influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of an agency, a
Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a
Member of Congress in connection with the awarding of any Federal contract, the
making of any Federal grant, the making of any Federal loan, the entering into
of any cooperative agreement, and the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment,
or modification of any Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement.
(2) If any funds other than Federal
appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing
or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of
Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of
Congress in connection with this Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative
agreement, the undersigned shall complete and submit Standard Form-LLL, ''Disclosure
of Lobbying Activities,'' in accordance with its instructions.
(3) The undersigned shall require that the
language of this certification be included in the award documents for all
subawards at all tiers (including subcontracts, subgrants, and contracts under
grants, loans, and cooperative agreements) and that all subrecipients shall
certify and disclose accordingly. This certification is a material
representation of fact upon which reliance was placed when this transaction was
made or entered into. Submission of this certification is a prerequisite for
making or entering into this transaction imposed by section 1352, title 31,
U.S. Code. Any person who fails to file the required certification shall be
subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000
for each such failure.
The
undersigned states, to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, that:
If any funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or
attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of
Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of
Congress in connection with this commitment providing for the United States to
insure or guarantee a loan, the undersigned shall complete and submit Standard
Form-LLL, ''Disclosure of Lobbying Activities,'' in accordance with its
instructions. Submission of this statement is a prerequisite for making or
entering into this transaction imposed by section 1352, title 31, U.S. Code.
Any person who fails to file the required statement shall be subject to a civil
penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 for each such
failure.
Applicant’s
Organization
Full Name of Authorized Representative:
Title of Authorized
Representative:
SF LLL Form – Disclosure of Lobbying
Activities (only if applicable)
(http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html). If applicable,
please print, sign, and email to [email protected]
Certification for Contracts, Grants, Loans,
and Cooperative Agreements The undersigned certifies, to the best of his or her
knowledge and belief, that:
(1) No Federal appropriated funds have been
paid or will be paid, by or on behalf of the undersigned, to any person for
influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of an agency, a
Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a
Member of Congress in connection with the awarding of any Federal contract, the
making of any Federal grant, the making of any Federal loan, the entering into
of any cooperative agreement, and the extension, continuation, renewal,
amendment, or modification of any Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative
agreement.
(2) If any funds other than Federal
appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing
or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of
Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of
Congress in connection with this Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative
agreement, the undersigned shall complete and submit Standard Form-LLL,
''Disclosure of Lobbying Activities,'' in accordance with its instructions.
(3) The undersigned shall require that the
language of this certification be included in the award documents for all
subawards at all tiers (including subcontracts, subgrants, and contracts under
grants, loans, and cooperative agreements) and that all subrecipients shall
certify and disclose accordingly. This certification is a material
representation of fact upon which reliance was placed when this transaction was
made or entered into. Submission of this certification is a prerequisite for
making or entering into this transaction imposed by section 1352, title 31,
U.S. Code. Any person who fails to file the required certification shall be
subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000
for each such failure.
The
undersigned states, to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, that:
If any funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or
attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of
Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of
Congress in connection with this commitment providing for the United States to
insure or guarantee a loan, the undersigned shall complete and submit Standard
Form-LLL, ''Disclosure of Lobbying Activities,'' in accordance with its
instructions. Submission of this statement is a prerequisite for making or
entering into this transaction imposed by section 1352, title 31, U.S. Code.
Any person who fails to file the required statement shall be subject to a civil
penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 for each such
failure.
Applicant’s
Organization
Full Name of Authorized
Representative:
Title of Authorized
Representative:
SF LLL Form – Disclosure of Lobbying
Activities (only if applicable)
(http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html).
The designated State agency or designated
State unit, as appropriate and identified in the State certifications included
with this VR services portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan and its
supplement, through signature of the authorized individual, assures the
Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), that it will
comply with all of the requirements of the VR services portion of the Unified
or Combined State Plan and its supplement, as set forth in sections 101(a) and
606 of the Rehabilitation Act. The individual authorized to submit the VR
services portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan and its supplement makes
the following assurances:The State Plan must provide assurances that:
The designated State agency assures it will
comply with all statutory and regulatory requirements for public participation
in the VR Services Portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan, as required
by section 101(a)(16)(A) of the Rehabilitation Act.
The designated State unit assures it will
comply with all requirements pertaining to the submission and revisions of the
VR services portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan and its supplement
for the State Supported Employment Services program, as required by sections
101(a)(1), (22), (23), and 606(a) of the Rehabilitation Act; section 102 of
WIOA in the case of the submission of a unified plan; section 103 of WIOA in
the case of a submission of a Combined State Plan; 34 CFR 76.140.
The designated State agency or designated
State unit, as appropriate, assures it will comply with the requirements
related to:
The designated State agency or designated
State unit, as applicable
The designated State agency allows for the
local administration of VR funds
The designated State agency allows for the
shared funding and administration of joint programs:
Is the designated State agency requesting
or maintaining a waiver of statewideness for one or more services provided
under the VR services portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan? See
Section 2 of this VR services portion of the Unified or Combined State
Plan.
The designated State agency, or designated
State unit, as appropriate, assures that it will:
Agency will provide the full range of services
described above
States choosing to submit a Combined State
Plan must provide information concerning the six core programs—the Adult
Program, Dislocated Worker Program, Youth Program, Wagner-Peyser Act Program,
Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Program, and the Vocational
Rehabilitation Program— and also submit relevant information for any of the
eleven partner programs it includes in its Combined State Plan. When a State
includes a Combined State Plan partner program in its Combined State Plan, it
need not submit a separate plan or application for that particular program.*
If included, Combined State Plan partner programs are subject to the “common
planning elements” in Sections II and III of that document, where specified, as
well as the program-specific requirements for that program (available on www.regulations.gov
for public comment). The requirements that a State must address for any of the
partner programs it includes in its Combined State Plan are provided in this
separate supplemental document. The Departments are not seeking comments on
these program-specific requirements, which exist under separate OMB control
numbers and do not represent requirements under WIOA. For further details on
this overall collection, access the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
http://www.regulations.gov by selecting Docket ID number ETA-2015-0006.
__________
* States that elect to include employment and training activities carried out
under the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Act (42 U.S.C. 9901 et seq.)
under a Combined State Plan would submit all other required elements of a
complete CSBG State Plan directly to the Federal agency that administers the
program. Similarly, States that elect to include employment and training
activities carried by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and
programs authorized under section 6(d)(4) and 6(o) of the Food and Nutrition
Act of 2008 that are included would submit all other required elements of a
complete State Plan for those programs directly to the Federal agency that
administers the program.
States that include TANF in the Combined
State Plan must outline how the State will meet the requirements of section 402
of the Social Security Act including how it will:
States that include TANF in the Combined
State Plan must provide a certification by the chief executive officer of that
State, that during the fiscal year, the State will:
Operate a
child support enforcement program under the State Plan approved under part D.
(section 402(a)(2) of the Social Security Act) No
Operate a
foster care and adoption assistance program under the State Plan approved under
part E, and that the State will take such actions as are necessary to ensure
that children receiving assistance under such part are eligible for medical
assistance under The Unified or Combined State Plan under title XIX. (section
402(a)(3) of the Social Security Act) No
Specify
which State agency or agencies will administer and supervise the program
referred to in paragraph (1) for the fiscal year, which shall include
assurances that local governments and private sector organizations (section
402(a)(4) of the Social Security Act)—have been consulted regarding the plan
and design of welfare services in the State so that services are provided in a
manner appropriate to local populations; No
Specify
which State agency or agencies will administer and supervise the program
referred to in paragraph (1) for the fiscal year, which shall include
assurances that local governments and private sector organizations (section
402(a)(4) of the Social Security Act)—have had at least 45 days to submit
comments on the plan and the design of such services
No
Provide
each member of an Indian tribe, who is domiciled in the State and is not
eligible for assistance under a tribal family assistance plan approved under
section 412, with equitable access to assistance under the State program funded
under this part attributable to funds provided by the Federal Government.
(section 402(a)(5) of the Social Security Act) No
Establish
and enforce standards and procedures to ensure against program fraud and abuse,
including standards and procedures concerning nepotism, conflicts of interest
among individuals responsible for the administration and supervision of the
State program, kickbacks, and the use of political patronage. (section
402(a)(6) of the Social Security Act) No
(optional)
Establish and Enforcing standards and procedures to (section 402(a)(7) of the
Social Security Act).— screen and identify individuals receiving assistance
under this part with a history of domestic violence while maintaining the
confidentiality of such individuals; No
(optional)
Establish and Enforcing standards and procedures to (section 402(a)(7) of the
Social Security Act).— refer such individuals to counseling and supportive
services; No
(optional)
Establish and Enforcing standards and procedures to (section 402(a)(7) of the
Social Security Act).—waive, pursuant to a determination of good cause, other
program requirements such as time limits (for so long as necessary) for
individuals receiving assistance, residency requirements, child support
cooperation requirements, and family cap provisions, in cases where compliance
with such requirements would make it more difficult for individuals receiving
assistance under this part to escape domestic violence or unfairly penalize
such individuals who are or have been victimized by such violence, or
individuals who are at risk of further domestic violence
No
The State agency must prepare and submit an
Employment and Training (E&T) Plan to its appropriate Food and Nutrition
Service (FNS) Regional Office. The E&T Plan must be available for public
inspection at the State agency headquarters. A State agency may include its
plan for the SNAP E&T program in a Combined Plan under WIOA but will
require FNS approval prior to implementation and must continue to make a copy
of the plan available for public inspection. If a State includes SNAP E&T
in a Combined Plan under WIOA, the State agency will detail the following for
each year covered by the Combined Plan:
A State agency interested in receiving
additional funding for serving able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs)*
subject to the 3-month time limit, in accordance with 7 C.F.R. §273.7(d)(3),
must include the following for each Federal fiscal year covered by the Combined
Plan under WIOA: *7 CFR § 273.7(c)(7)
Its pledge to offer a qualifying activity
to all at-risk ABAWD applicants and recipients;
If FNS determines that the performance of a
State agency with respect to employment and training outcomes is inadequate,
FNS may require the State agency to make modifications to the State E&T
plan to improve the outcomes.*
_____
*7 U.S.C. 2025(h)(5)(E) as amended by Agricultural Act of 2014 .
Funds may not be available when SNAP E&T portions of a Combined State Plan
under WIOA are approved. FNS’s obligation after approving a SNAP E&T plan
submitted as part of a Combined State Plan is contingent upon the availability
of an appropriation from which payment can be made. Any FNS funding resulting
from an approval of a SNAP E&T plan submitted as part of a Combined State
Plan is subject to FNS receiving sufficient funds (in the Program Financial
Control System for FNS) to fund this and all prior approved SNAP E&T plans
submitted as part of a Combined State Plan in their entirety in the time and
date order received. Federal reimbursement to States for 50 percent of State
administrative expenditures and for participant reimbursements is subject to
the above conditions.
There are no program-specific state
planning requirements for TAA. If the state includes TAA in a Combined
State Plan, the state must incorporate TAA in its responses to the common
planning elements in sections II, III, IV, and V of the WIOA State Plan
requirements instrument.
Has the
state incorporated TAA into the sections indicated
above? No
The Jobs for Veterans’ State Grants (JVSG)
are mandatory, formula-based staffing grants to (including DC, PR, VI and
Guam). The JVSG is funded annually in accordance with a funding formula defined
in the statute (38 U.S.C. 4102A (c) (2) (B) and regulation and operates on a
fiscal year (not program year) basis, however, performance metrics are
collected and reported (VETS-200 Series Reports) quarterly (using four “rolling
quarters”) on a Program Year basis (as with the ETA-9002 Series). Currently,
VETS JVSG operates on a five-year (FY 2015-2019), multi-year grant approval
cycle modified and funded annually.
In accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 4102A(b)(5) and § 4102A(c), the Assistant
Secretary for Veterans' Employment and Training (ASVET) makes grant funds available
for use in each State to support Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program (DVOP)
specialists and Local Veterans' Employment Representatives (LVER) staff. As a
condition to receive funding, 38 U.S.C. § 4102A(c)(2) requires States to submit
an application for a grant that contains a State Plan narrative, which
includes:
Note: Below is information about the
employment and training activities carried out under the Community Services
Block Grant (CSBG) (42 U.S.C. 9901 et seq.) that is included in the WIOA
Combined State Plan. The complete CSBG State Plan is submitted directly to the
Federal agency that administers that program and is collected under OMB Control
Number: 0970-0382.
Where CSBG is included in the Combined State Plan, the State CSBG Lead Agency
(as designated by the chief executive of the State under the requirements of
section 676(a) of the CSBG Act (42 U.S.C. 9908(a)) will coordinate plans for
employment and training activities under CSBG as part of a larger antipoverty
and workforce development strategy.
As part of the Combined State Plan,the State CSBG Lead Agency must:
(a) Describe how the State and the eligible entities will coordinate the
provision of employment and training activities through Statewide and local
WIOA workforce development systems; and may
(b) Provide examples of innovative employment and training programs and
activities conducted by eligible entities or other neighborhood-based
organizations as part of a community antipoverty strategy.
Include the State's expected levels of
performance relating to the performance accountability indicators based on
primary indicators of performance described in section 116(b)(2)(A) of WIOA.
Instructions:Performance Goals for the Core Programs
Each State submitting a Unified or Combined Plan is
required to identify expected levels of performance for each of the primary
indicators of performance for the first two years covered by the plan. The
State is required to reach agreement with the Secretary of Labor, in
conjunction with the Secretary of Education on state adjusted levels of
performance for the indicators for each of the first two years of the plan.
|
Program |
PY 2016 Proposed/ Expected Level |
PY 2016 Negotiated/ Adjusted Level |
PY 2017 Proposed/ Expected Level |
PY 2017 Negotiated/ Adjusted Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Adults |
60.00 |
Baseline |
62.00 |
Baseline |
|
Dislocated Workers |
65.00 |
Baseline |
67.00 |
Baseline |
|
Youth |
65.00 |
Baseline |
67.00 |
Baseline |
|
Adult Education |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
|
Wagner-Peyser |
50.00 |
Baseline |
52.00 |
Baseline |
|
Vocational Rehabilitation</ |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
User remarks on Table 1
|
Program |
PY 2016 Proposed/ Expected Level |
PY 2016 Negotiated/ Adjusted Level |
PY 2017 Proposed/ Expected Level |
PY 2017 Negotiated/ Adjusted Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Adults |
50.00 |
Baseline |
52.00 |
Baseline |
|
Dislocated Workers |
55.00 |
Baseline |
57.00 |
Baseline |
|
Youth |
55.00 |
Baseline |
57.00 |
Baseline |
|
Adult Education |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
|
Wagner-Peyser |
45.00 |
Baseline |
46.00 |
Baseline |
|
Vocational Rehabilitation |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
User remarks on Table 2
|
Program |
PY 2016 Proposed/ Expected Level |
PY 2016 Negotiated/ Adjusted Level |
PY 2017 Proposed/ Expected Level |
PY 2017 Negotiated/ Adjusted Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Adults |
6,000.00 |
Baseline |
6,200.00 |
Baseline |
|
Dislocated Workers |
7,000.00 |
Baseline |
7,200.00 |
Baseline |
|
Youth |
2,000.00 |
Baseline |
2,100.00 |
Baseline |
|
Adult Education |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
|
Wagner-Peyser |
5,000.00 |
Baseline |
5,200.00 |
Baseline |
|
Vocational Rehabilitation |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
User remarks on Table 3
|
Program |
PY 2016 Proposed/ Expected Level |
PY 2016 Negotiated/ Adjusted Level |
PY 2017 Proposed/ Expected Level |
PY 2017 Negotiated/ Adjusted Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Adults |
65.00 |
Baseline |
67.00 |
Baseline |
|
Dislocated Workers |
70.00 |
Baseline |
72.00 |
Baseline |
|
Youth |
65.00 |
Baseline |
67.00 |
Baseline |
|
Adult Education |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
|
Wagner-Peyser |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
|
Vocational Rehabilitation |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
User remarks on Table 4
|
Program |
PY 2016 Proposed/ Expected Level |
PY 2016 Negotiated/ Adjusted Level |
PY 2017 Proposed/ Expected Level |
PY 2017 Negotiated/ Adjusted Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Adults |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
|
Dislocated Workers |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
|
Youth |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
|
Adult Education |
46.00 |
Baseline |
47.00 |
Baseline |
|
Wagner-Peyser |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
|
Vocational Rehabilitation |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
User remarks on Table 5
|
Program |
PY 2016 Proposed/ Expected Level |
PY 2016 Negotiated/ Adjusted Level |
PY 2017 Proposed/ Expected Level |
PY 2017 Negotiated/ Adjusted Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Adults |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
|
Dislocated Workers |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
|
Youth |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
|
Adult Education |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
|
Wagner-Peyser |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
|
Vocational Rehabilitation |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
Baseline |
User remarks on Table 6
|
Measure |
PY 2016 Proposed/ Expected Level |
PY 2016 Negotiated/ Adjusted Level |
PY 2017 Proposed/ Expected Level |
PY 2017 Negotiated/ Adjusted Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
||||
|
N/A |
||||
|
N/A |
||||
|
N/A |
||||
|
N/A |
||||
|
N/A |
||||
|
N/A |
||||
|
N/A |
||||
|
N/A |
||||
|
N/A |
||||
|
N/A |
||||
|
N/A |
||||
|
N/A |
||||
|
N/A |
||||
|
N/A |
User remarks on Table 7
N/A