Report 2013-102 Recommendation 6 Responses

Report 2013-102: Employment Development Department: It Needs to Address Data Issues to Better Evaluate and Improve the Performance of Its Employment Programs for Veterans (Release Date: October 2013)

Recommendation #6 To: Employment Development Department

To ensure that it is using its limited resources effectively, the department and its information division should develop and implement, by July 2014, a means to receive and analyze feedback from workforce branch staff and from local workforce agencies to determine whether they have ideas for improving the employment outcomes for veterans. Specifically, the feedback method should include a means of identifying whether the staff in the field are accomplishing the department's veteran-specific objectives and whether the tools being used—such as labor information reports and the Vocations for Vets publications—can be made more useful and effective.

1-Year Agency Response

A communications tool was approved by the VPGC and released on May 1, 2014. The tool provides a feedback mechanism to the VPGC for staff and managers who serve veterans.

Feedback will be gathered and assessed by the EDD Veterans' Program Unit each quarter. Ideas and effective practices will be presented to the VPGC for consideration and action/implementation. The EDD requests that this recommendation be closed.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

In a quarterly update from its Veterans Program Governance Council, EDD announced a special email address and encouraged EDD staff and supervisors working with veterans to submit feedback and ideas to the council. Additionally, the quarterly update itself reports on activities of the council and its workgroups.

6-Month Agency Response

The Communications Tool format has been approved by the Veterans Program Governance Council. The first release is anticipated in April 2014. The tool includes a feedback mechanism so that staff and managers who serve veterans are given the opportunity to express ideas and concerns to the Veterans Program Governance Council. Additionally, its worth pointing out again that EDD has over 20 local labor market consultants stationed throughout the State that continually collect customer feedback on the labor market products it produces, which is used to make them more useful and effective.

Feedback will be gathered and assessed by the EDD Veterans Program Unit each quarter. Ideas and effective practices will be presented to the VPGC for consideration and action/implementation.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

The Veterans Program Governance Council has begun work on several fronts to receive and analyze feedback on its veteran services. The Council is completing development of a communications tool which will be used to submit, receive, and evaluate feedback on veterans' services. The new tool will inform the EDD Veteran services staff of upcoming training, tools, new forms, and new policy and procedures. The tool will also allow for input back to the Veterans Program Governance Council via a real time email system. The Council has also formed three new workgroups that will focus on the roles, responsibilities, and performance expectations of the Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program, Local Veterans' Employment Representative and Wagner-Peyser veteran services staff. The three workgroups will review the availability and usefulness of tools being used by EDD.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2013-102

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.