Thursday, March 21, 2013

House Passes WIA Reauthorization Legislation

The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). Known as (H.R. 803) the Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills (SKILLS) Act, would overhaul and reauthorize the 1998 Workforce Investment Act (PL 105-220).

The legislation would consolidate 35 employment and training programs into a single Workforce Investment Fund totaling approximately $6 billion to serve as a single source of support for employers and job seekers. Funding for those programs would be merged into a block grant to the states.

H.R. 803 would do the following:
  • Create a workforce investment fund to serve as a single source of federal support for employers;
  • Ensure two thirds of state and local workforce investment boards members are employer representatives;
  • Eliminate 19 federal mandates regarding state and local workforce board representation;
  • Allow locally elected officials to determine the remaining board members;
  • Require local workforce boards to analyze regularly the area’s workforce needs;
  • Require state and local leaders to adhere to common performance measures for all workforce development services;
  • Require an independent evaluation of training programs every five years;
  • Strengthen the ability of governors to designate the location of workforce areas in their respective states;
  • Allow states to continue submitting a unified statewide workforce plan for all employment and training services;
  • Allow governors to consolidate additional programs into the workforce investment fund for the express purpose of providing greater administrative flexibility;
  • Allow states to determine the standards required for eligible training providers;
  • Allow local boards to contract with community colleges directly to provide training to large groups;
  • Require local boards to spend a portion of the resources directly on training; and
  • Require service providers to contribute a portion of their resources to support the One-Stop-Career Centers’ infrastructure.

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