Report 2011-111 Recommendations and Responses in 2014-041

Report 2011-111: Federal Workforce Investment Act: More Effective State Planning and Oversight Is Necessary to Better Help California's Job Seekers Find Employment

Department Number of Years Reported As Not Fully Implemented Total Recommendations to Department Not Implemented After One Year Not Implemented as of 2013-041 Response Not Implemented as of Most Recent Response
California Workforce Investment Board 2 2 2 2 1
Employment Development Department 2 4 2 1 1

Recommendation To: Employment Development Department

To assist the state board and other workforce investment partners in the development and implementation of state-specific performance measures, EDD should ensure that it works with the state board to develop procedures for approving the addition of data elements to its Web-based system and for the exchange of data between EDD and the state board.

Response

This recommendation has not been fully implemented. The EDD launched the upgraded California Job Opening Browse System (CalJOBSSM) which included the new Workforce Investment Act (WIA) module on May 5, 2014. CalJOBSSM is now capable of collecting all of the data elements identified in Training and Employment Guidance Letter 4-13 (Enclosure A) by the United States Department of Labor and the majority of the data needed for the previously approved State-specific measures. Regrettably, work on the State-specific performance measures noted in our last response, and the attendant data collection, were deferred in order to get the upgraded CalJOBSSM launched before the end of the fiscal year. On July 22, 2014, the WIA was superseded by enactment of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (Enclosure B). Among the many changes this legislation brings, it "aligns the performance indicators for core programs, and adds new ones related to services to employers and postsecondary credential attainment. Performance goals must reflect economic conditions and participant characteristics."

Fundamentally, this means that the State board and EDD will be working with the United States Department of Labor over the next 21 months to develop and plan for the implementation of these new performance indicators and goals by July 1, 2016, including making the necessary changes in CalJOBSSM. Unfortunately, this will further delay work on these "state-specific performance measures," as these new federally mandated performance measures have to remain the Department's priority.

Recommendation To: Workforce Investment Board, California

To assist the governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California's workforce investment system, the state board should collaborate with state and local workforce investment partners to promptly develop and implement a strategic workforce plan as state law requires. The strategic plan should include, at a minimum, the following elements: clear roles and responsibilities pertaining to the state board, EDD, and other state and local workforce partners; clear definitions for terminology used in the strategic plan, such as quality services; performance measures that are specific to California for evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of WIA-funded programs and activities; and procedures for approving the addition of data elements to EDD's Web-based system and for the exchange of data between EDD and the state board to facilitate the development and implementation of performance measures that are specific to California.

Response

Since the December 2013 response the CWIB has made significant progress in implementing its 5-year strategic workforce development plan which was approved by DOL ETA on 6/7/13. However, with the unexpected passage and enactment by President Obama on July 22, 2014 of long-delayed WIA replacement legislation - the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) - and the 2016 implementation of the new/expanded WIOA requirements, CWIB's full implementation of this recommendation will be delayed until July 2016 at the earliest.

The CWIB's full response explaining the reasons for this delay can be viewed at the following link:

http://www.cwib.ca.gov/res/docs/state_plans/BSA%20Revised%20response%20to%20Item%203%209-18-14.pdf

Recommendation To: Workforce Investment Board, California

To assist the governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California's workforce investment system, the state board should continue to exercise its legal authority to review the local boards' plans to, among other things, assure the coordination and nonduplication of services to program participants.

Response

As of April 3, 2014 all 49 local plans were approved and are all being implemented. CWIB has electronic versions of all 49 local plans that were reviewed and approved and the approval letters. However, these documents are not on the CWIB website and instead, the website contains links to each WIB's website where their local plan is located. The CWIB is following up with the WIBs to ensure they provide the correct link to their approved local plans on their website.

In July, President Obama signed into law the WIA replacement legislation - The Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act (WIOA). WIOA requires states to submit a 4 year state plan in March 2016, which will result in WIBs having to submit new local plans to the CWIB sometime in 2016. The CWIB will continue to exercise its legal authority under WIOA to review the local plans to, among other things, assure the coordination and nonduplication of services to program participants.

Current Status of Recommendations

All Recommendations in 2014-041