The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and the One-Stop Delivery System

[Excerpt] The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA; P.L. 113-128), which succeeded the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220) as the primary federal workforce development legislation, was enacted in July 2014 to bring about increased coordination among federal workforce development and related programs. Most of WIOA’s provisions went into effect July 1, 2015. WIOA authorizes appropriations for each of FY2015 through FY2020 to carry out the programs and activities authorized in the legislation. Workforce development programs provide a combination of education and training services to prepare individuals for work and to help them improve their prospects in the labor market. They may include activities such as job search assistance, career counseling, occupational skill training, classroom training, or on-the-job training. The federal government provides workforce development activities through WIOA’s programs and other programs designed to increase the employment and earnings of workers. WIOA includes five titles: Workforce Development Activities (Title I), Adult Education and Literacy (Title II), Amendments to the Wagner-Peyser Act (Title III), Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Title IV), and General Provisions (Title V). Title I, whose programs are primarily administered through the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), includes three state formula grant programs, multiple national programs, and Job Corps. Title II, whose programs are administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), includes a state formula grant program and National Leadership activities. Title III amends the Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933, which authorizes the Employment Service (ES). Title IV amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which authorizes vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities. Title V includes provisions for the administration of WIOA. The WIOA system provides central points of service via its system of around 3,000 One-Stop centers nationwide, through which state and local WIOA employment and training activities are provided and certain partner programs must be coordinated. This system is supposed to provide employment and training services that are responsive to the demands of local area employers. Administration of the One-Stop system occurs through Workforce Development Boards (WDBs), a majority of whose members must be representatives of business and which are authorized to determine the mix of service provision, eligible providers, and types of training programs, among other decisions. WIOA provides universal access (i.e., an adult age 18 or older does not need to meet any qualifying characteristics) to its career services, including a priority of service for low- income adults. WIOA also requires Unified State Plans (USPs) that outline the workforce strategies for the six core WIOA programs—adult, dislocated worker, and youth programs (Title I of WIOA), the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA; Title II of WIOA), the Employment Service program (amended by Title III of WIOA), and the Vocational Rehabilitation State Grant Program (amended by Title IV of WIOA). Finally, WIOA adopts the same six “primary indicators of performance” across most of the programs authorized in the law. This report provides details of WIOA Title I state formula program structure, services, allotment formulas, and performance accountability. In addition, it provides a program overview for national grant programs. It also offers a brief overview of the Employment Service (ES), which is authorized by separate legislation but is an integral part of the One-Stop system created by WIOA

Policy Options for Assisting Child SSI Recipients in Transition

The transition process for a child Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient nearing the age of 18 can be quite complicated. From a programmatic standpoint, all child SSI recipients have their eligibility redetermined under the adult SSI disability requirements at age 18. Potentially more important, many child SSI recipients are also at the age when they must prepare for life beyond secondary school. The choices made during this important transition could have long-term implications for a child's future employment prospects, particularly given the typically long durations of participation and strong work disincentives associated with SSI participation. The purpose of our analysis is to examine concerns related to this transition process and suggest policy options for consideration by the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Ticket Advisory Panel. Our findings are based on an extensive literature review of programs that serve child SSI recipients and semi-structured interviews with experts familiar with the problems facing youth during this transition. In previous reports, the Ticket Advisory Panel has suggested expanding eligibility for the Ticket program to child SSI recipients age 17 to 18 as one possible mechanism for improving independent living options for this population (Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel 2001). We build off this initial suggestion by examining other possible mechanisms for improving independent living options for "transition age" (i.e., youth nearing age 18) child SSI recipients

Advancing the Campaign Against Child Labor – Volume II: Addressing the Worst Forms of Child Labor

“This report examines some action strategies related to efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, some issues in developing these strategies, and some examples of how strategies have been implemented in actual projects” [excerpt]

The Workforce Investment Act and the One-Stop Delivery System

[Excerpt] The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA; P.L. 105-220) is the primary federal program that supports workforce development. WIA includes five titles: • Title I—Workforce Investment Systems—provides job training and related services to unemployed or underemployed individuals; • Title II—Adult Education and Literacy—provides education services to assist adults in improving their literacy and completing secondary education; • Title III—Workforce Investment-Related Activities—amends the Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933 to integrate the U.S. Employment Service (ES) into the One-Stop system established by WIA; • Title IV—Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998—amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which provides vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities, to integrate vocational rehabilitation into the One-Stop system; and • Title V—General Provisions—specifies components of State Unified Plans and provisions for state incentive grants. Workforce development programs provide a combination of education and training services to prepare individuals for work and to help them improve their prospects in the labor market. In the broadest sense, workforce development includes secondary and postsecondary education, on-the- job and employer-provided training, and the publicly funded system of job training and employment services. Most workforce development occurs in the workplace during the course of doing business. The federal government provides workforce development activities through WIA’s programs and other programs designed to increase the employment and earnings of workers. Workforce development may include activities such as job search assistance, career counseling, occupational skill training, classroom training, or on-the-job training

Stabilizing Neighborhoods Impacted by Concentrated Foreclosures: Scattered-Site Rental Housing Challenges and Opportunities

The negative impacts of concentrated foreclosures have been destabilizing communities across the country. Community development corporations (CDCs) and other nonprofits that are active in these neighborhoods face falling property values, decreased lending activity and other consequences that are complicating their efforts at community revitalization through acquisition, rehabilitation and resale of vacant and foreclosed housing stock. Given the current crisis in the housing and credit markets, community development corporations aiming for neighborhood stabilization may wish to acquire foreclosed single-family properties and operate them as scattered-site rental units instead. This study presents the challenges that nonprofits pursuing such a plan are likely to face. It discusses the main management, financing and political issues associated with developing and operating scattered-site rental housing while providing a foundation upon which CDCs considering such activities can evaluate their capacity and willingness to meet the challenges. The paper explores how local market conditions, internal organizational capacity and the current policy environment affect nonprofit efforts to acquire, rehabilitate and rent foreclosed properties. The study includes operational and advocacy recommendations for improving the context in which scattered-site rental housing can be managed. The paper also considers the unique difficulties of the current situation and concludes that comprehensive revitalization efforts that emphasize cross-sectoral partnerships and enjoy strong local government support are most likely to exert a positive impact on a community

Indian River Lagoon surface water improvement and management (SWIM) plan, 2002 update.

In recognition of the need to place additional emphasis on the restoration, protection, and management of the surface water resources of the state, the Florida Legislature, through the Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Act of 1987, directed the state’s water management districts to “design and implement plans and programs for the improvement and management of surface water” (Section 373.451, Florida Statutes [FS]). The SWIM legislation requires the water management districts to protect the ecological, aesthetic, recreational, and economic value of the state’s surface water bodies, keeping in mind that water quality degradation is frequently caused by point and nonpoint source pollution and that degraded water quality can cause both direct and indirect losses of aquatic habitats. This 2002 update is the second update of the Indian River Lagoon SWIM Plan. This 2002 plan update includes a status report on the state of the Lagoon, a summary of progress on projects undertaken since the last update, and recommendations for future projects and other actions over the next 5 years. (262pp.

Advancing the Campaign Against Child Labor Volume II: Addressing the Worst Forms of Child Labor

International Child Labor Program - Bureau of International Labor Affairs(ILAB)ChildLaborAdvancingCampaign2.pdf: 1448 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

A Review of Recent Evaluation Efforts Associated with Programs and Policies Designed to Promote the Employment of Adults with Disabilities

The purpose of this report is to provide a review of the recent evaluation activities being conducted for a number of state and federal programs, policies, and initiatives designed to promote the employment of people with disabilities. The review is intended to provide a single source for information on the nature of the initiatives and the evaluation efforts that have been recently completed or are currently under way and the findings to date related to the effectiveness of these initiatives. This broad review is also intended to provide some evidence of the progress we are making. The report also suggests avenues where further efforts and progress might be warranted. We identified 27 initiatives or programs and their associated evaluations that represent a federally sponsored program, policy, or initiative designed specifically to improve employment of the working-age adult population with disabilities. Because of resource constraints, we did not review initiatives designed to improve the adult employment outcomes of youth with disabilities, such as the Social Security Administration (SSA) sponsored Youth Transition Demonstrations. We also did not review small-scale studies evaluating the effectiveness of specific clinical, supported employment, or vocational rehabilitation (VR) approaches. We only looked at information related to the major federal programs serving people with disabilities, general legislation and policies, and initiatives that were fairly large-scale in nature

Nonprofit Strategies for 1- to 4-Unit REO Properties: An Analytical Framework

Real estate owned (REO) housing resulting from the recent foreclosure crisis threatens to destabilize low- and moderate-income neighborhoods across the country. Nonprofit organiza-tions seeking to redevelop these properties into affordable housing face weak market condi-tions and operate with limited resources and capacity. This study presents a framework through which nonprofits can analyze REO redevelopment opportunities for 1- to 4-unit properties within their communities. The paper specifies the conditions necessary for REO redevelopment and discusses how local market conditions, the geographic distribution and the physical characteristics of REOs, their ownership and legal status, internal organizational capacity, and public policies each affect nonprofit efforts to acquire, rehabilitate, sell and rent REO properties. Finally, this paper considers the unique difficulties of the current situation relative to past vacant-housing scenarios and concludes that many nonprofits may wish to pursue alternative, non-redevelopment strategies

Serving People with Disabilities through the Workforce Investment Act's One-Stop Career Centers

This paper examines the extent to which people with disabilities are served through WIA's One-Stop system and discusses its capacity to serve people with disabilities who desire employment assistance, both in terms of common barriers to access as well as promising strategies to improve service delivery to people with disabilities