1

What Can Be Learned from Implementing the Workforce

Investment Act (WIA)

Presentation on Structure of WIA Special APPAM Session

November 7, 2009

Dianne BlankAssistant Director

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

2

Key Themes in Progression of Employment and Training Policy in the U.S.

• Less focus on-- • Income eligibility as gateway to services• Job training as primary means for getting a job

• More focus on—• Personal responsibility• Reducing duplication of effort, but through service

coordination • State and local flexibility in decisionmaking• Involving the private sector

3

WIA made several important changes to the system, but two are key:

1. Consolidated services for most federally-funded employment and training programs into a single service delivery

2. Redesigned the largest employment and training programs—• Abolishing the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA)

programs and creating three new funding streams—WIA Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth;

• Changing the nature of services for these three funding streams;

• Mandating changes in the way the programs measure success.

Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA)Key Changes

4

What Can Be Learned From Implementing WIA

Consolidating Services Through the One-Stop System

5

The Programs Required to Participate in One-Stop Centers Involve Four Federal Agencies

Department of Labor

Department of Education

Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Housing and Urban Development

WIA Adult, WIA Dislocated Worker, WIA YouthEmployment Service (Wagner-Peyser)Trade Adjustment Assistance ProgramVeterans’ employment and training programsUnemployment InsuranceJob CorpsSenior Community Service Employment ProgramEmployment and training for migrant and seasonal farm workersEmployment and training for Native Americans

Vocational Rehabilitation ProgramAdult Education and LiteracyVocational Education (Perkins Act)

Community Services Block Grant

HUD-administered employment and training

Consolidated Services

6

Consolidating Services through the One-Stop Has Brought Challenges

• Lack of infrastructure funding• Most states rely on one or two programs to support one-stop • By 2007, the number of one-stops nationwide declined by 7 percent,

officials often attributed decline to decreased funding • Some one-stop centers supplemented funding thru fee-based services,

grants, or state/local government funding • Developing linkages between programs

• Services increasingly available thru one-stop, but some are depending more on electronic linkages or referral

• In some states linkages between key programs never developed—the case of stand-alone Employment Service offices

• Creating effective governance structure• Engaging the private sector proved challenging• Workforce boards are large and unwieldy• Federal agencies other than Labor have been slow to engage

Consolidated Services

7

How Successfully Has the System Been Able to Serve Employers as Customers?

Source: GAO 2004 survey of private sector business establishments in the United States.

Consolidated Services

Employers are aware of and use the one-stop system…

8

What Can Be Learned From Implementing WIA

Redesigning Services for the WIA-funded Programs

9

WIA-Funded Services Are Dramatically Different from Those of Previous Programs

• JTPA focused almost exclusively on training, WIA is much more about getting a job.

• WIA provides for three tiers of service for adults and dislocated workers:

• Core services—basic and self-help services, such as job search assistance.

• Intensive services—services requiring more staff assistance, such as comprehensive assessment.

• Training—Occupational skills and on-the-job training. • Services are “technically” to be provided sequentially with

core services available to anyone. JTPA had income eligibility requirements for all services.

The WIA-Funded Programs

10

Availability of Training Has Been an Issue

• Individuals eligible for training receive vouchers—called Individual Training Accounts

• Vouchers may only be used for training from a provider that appears on Eligible Training Provider List, thereby indicating a track record of positive outcomes

• Training providers began limiting available courses because of burdensome reporting requirements

• In response, Labor issued waivers of the ETPL requirement

• Early focus on work also caused concern that few job seekers were able to enroll in training. In 2005, we found substantial WIA funds were being used for training.

The WIA-Funded Programs

11

States Have Been Hampered by Funding Issues

• Funding formulas do not reflect current program design

• Formula factors are not aligned with target populations

• Allocations do not reflect current labor market conditions

• Dislocated Worker formula suffers from excessive and unwarranted volatility

The WIA-Funded Programs

12

WIA Sought to Strengthen Performance Accountability

WIA established a new system to promote greater accountability than previous training programs by:

• Establishing new performance measures—including job placement, earnings, and employment retention;

• Requiring states to use Unemployment Insurance (UI) data to track and report on job-related outcomes;

• Requiring Labor to conduct an impact evaluation to assess the achievements of the programs.

The WIA-Funded Programs

13

Some Thoughts on Reauthorization…

• WIA was due to be reauthorized in 2003, efforts thus far have stalled.

• The WIA system is experiencing its greatest demands and it is stretched thin.

• Maintaining national competitiveness and increasing labor force participation will require…• More emphasis on incumbent worker training• Improving basic skill levels • Better linkages between education and employment• Greater involvement of employers and others in

designing education and training opportunities.

14

Some Key Questions Must be Answered

• How can we ensure policymakers have the information they need to make decisions about where to invest scarce resources?

• How might the key players at all levels be brought to the table to participate as stakeholders and investors?

• How can we balance flexibility and accountability to achieve the goals of WIA?

• What can be done to make the system more nimble and able to adapt to changing economic and budgetary conditions?

15

For More Information

ContactsAndrew Sherrill, Director,Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues202-512-7252sherrilla@gao.gov

Dianne Blank, Assistant DirectorEducation, Workforce, and Income Security Issues202-512-5654blankd@gao.gov

Laura Heald, Senior AnalystEducation, Workforce, and Income Security Issues202-512-5654healdl@gao.gov

GAO reports are available at: www.gao.gov. A complete listing of reports is in our paper.