DATE: July 11, 2017
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Blake Konczal, Executive Director,
Fresno Regional Workforce Development Board
SUBJECT: Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Four-Year Local Plan for Program Years 2017-2020
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Four-Year Local and Regional Plans for Program Years 2017-2020.
REPORT
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
There is no alternative action. If this item is not approved, Fresno County will be out of compliance with Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) requirements and could lose funding for WIOA activities that benefit the residents of Fresno County.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The Fresno Regional Workforce Development Board (FRWDB) is 100% funded by non-County sources. These have their origin primarily with the United States Department of Labor, being supplemented by other federal and State of California grants.
DISCUSSION:
Final rules for WIOA were released jointly by the Department of Labor and Department of Education in late June 2016. Subsequently, on September 16, 2016, the state released the final directive on Regional and Local Planning Guidance for 2017-2020 (WSD 16-07). This directive provides guidance and establishes the procedures regarding the preparation of both regional and local plans required by the WIOA. WIOA Public Law Sections 106 and 107 and California Unemployment Insurance Code Sections 14221 - 14222 require that local boards submit a comprehensive four (4)-year regional and local plan (plan) to the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB).
The CWDB’s Strategic Workforce Development Plan for California has a broad vision and outlines ambitious goals for how the public workforce system can work with its partners to shape and support economic prosperity across the state and its regions. Under WIOA, the state has established 14 Regional Planning Units (RPUs) within the State of California that align workforce development activities and resources within the context of a larger regional economy and to develop and deploy available resources to provide coordinated and efficient services to job seekers and employers. Each RPU is required to develop a regional strategic plan. The FRWDB is one (1) of eight (8) Workforce Development Boards in the designated San Joaquin Valley and Associated Counties RPU. The other local boards include Kern-Inyo-Mono, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare.
The Function of the Regional Plans:
Regional plans and partnerships required by WIOA function under California’s State Plan as the primary mechanism for aligning educational and training provider services with regional industry sector needs in California’s 14 WIOA RPUs. California state law requires coordination between the K-12, Community Colleges, and WIOA systems and requires the use of sector strategies as the operational framework for the state’s workforce system. These two (2) state mandated requirements are met under the State Plan by making federally required WIOA regional plans and partnerships the primary mechanism for aligning educational and training programs with regional industry sector needs. As such, a focal point of regional plans is the identification, development, and utilization of “regional sector pathway” programs, aligned with regional industry sector needs.
The Function of the Local Plans:
Under the State Plan, the primary purpose of local workforce plans and partnerships is to facilitate access to workforce services at the local level. While WIOA Section 106 regional plans and partnerships are specifically focused on construction of a regional training and education architecture that aligns with regional labor markets, individuals will access and experience this regional workforce architecture primarily through local service delivery efforts, principally those of WIOA partners operating in the America’s Job Centers of California system, formally known as “One-Stop Centers”, but potentially through other partners of the workforce system as well. In this regard, it is typically at the local level where services will be integrated, resources braided, and supportive services provided to individuals being served by partners.
In order to complete all aspects of the requirements of the plans, the draft plans must include input from our community partners, employers, and community organizations. To meet this requirement, FRWDB staff held numerous meetings to obtain input on the development of the draft plans, and released the draft plans for a 30-day public comment period on January 27, 2017. During the public comment period, FRWDB staff held three (3) public comment meetings in Fresno, Reedley, and Mendota to solicit public input.
There were no comments in disagreement with the draft plans received during the public comment period, and there were no comments received that resulted in significant changes to the initial draft plan. In order to meet the submission deadline, the draft plans were sent to the CWDB pending final approvals from the FRWDB, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, and the City of Fresno.
On May 1, 2017, the FRWDB received conditional approval of its local plan from the CWDB.
As outlined in the Directive, the final plans, with all required signatures, must be submitted to the CWDB no later than August 1, 2017.
The plans will be presented to the FRWDB Executive Committee on July 19, 2017, for approval.
OTHER REVIEWING AGENCIES:
Fresno City Council
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Four Year Local Plan
On file with Clerk - Four Year Regional Plan
CAO ANALYST:
Ronald Alexander