Narrative: III. a. 2. B.

In recent years, state agencies, business/industry and other partners in Louisiana have done a magnificent job aligning employment, training, education and human services to respond to the needs of employers and job–seekers. This plan will ensure that the alignment of activities between core programs and partners continues and expands to required partners and One–Stop partners to improve coordination of employment and training activities and avoid duplication of services to customers. Below are some examples of imaginative and coordinated efforts already in action:

I. Engaging Out–of–School Youth (OSY) through LWDA/High School Partnerships

LWC and its local workforce areas have instituted an innovative approach to engaging out–of–school youth throughout the state to enroll in WIOA Youth Programs. Nearly 50 percent of the state’s high school students either drop out of or are expelled from high school before graduation. Understanding the importance of keeping school–age youth engaged in constructive educational experiences, thereby reducing the risk of truancy, crime and violence, LWC’s Office of Workforce Development worked with several local areas to approach public schools and school boards about the possibility of partnering to offer assistance to youth at risk of exiting high school before graduation. The results are cooperative endeavor agreements signed by LWDB chairs and directors, high school principals and public school superintendents to ensure a “soft handoff” occurs the moment these students are removed from the school’s enrollment. Immediately, they are enrolled into WIOA once eligibility has been formally established. Once an ISS is completed, these OSY are provided one or more of the 14 elements available to OSY under WIOA. This method will be evaluated to determine the effectiveness of the approach and has already been shared with other states as a promising innovative strategy during the USDOL/NASWA WIOA Convening in Washington, D.C. in January 2016.

II. Louisiana Jump Start Initiative – Employer Engagement– Department of Education

The Louisiana Department of Education, (K–12), has launched an initiative that offers Career Technical Education (CTE) to high school students in grades 10 through 12. This initiative, known as Jump Start, provides classroom training and work experience in demand occupations in Louisiana through unpaid internships provided industry partners. Participating students are able to obtain high school credit hours, college course credits and industry certifications, all leading to high school diplomas. In some instances, students are able to graduate high school with associate degrees, beginning their professional careers in technical fields immediately after completing high school with a dual degree.

Essential to the program’s success is employer engagement. Employers within targeted industries must be willing to engage high school students through internship opportunities, providing students with on–the–job training and career mentors.

As a result, K–12 has engaged industry leaders to promote and support Jump Start. This effort has required many hours of face–to–face meetings, conference calls and engagement of business, local leaders, state legislators and the executive branch of government in order to resolve legal and bureaucratic obstacles preventing program success.

At the heart of the problem is the fact that this has created unnecessary duplication of efforts to engage business leaders through the formation of 10 regional Jump Start teams statewide. These teams are comprised of education (K–12, community and technical colleges), private business, economic development organizations, local One–Stop operators, public sector leaders and others. This is a clear duplication of effort in that local Workforce Development Boards are comprised of the same organizations, and, in many instances, the same people represent these organizations on both Jump Start teams and local boards. While government employees may be accustomed to conducting business in this manner, it has become increasingly frustrating to business owners, and the fear of losing their enthusiasm and commitment has become apparent. Precious time is wasted having the same discussion, in different forums, with the same people. The need to do something to resolve the issue, and do it quickly, is required.

The state’s K–12 leadership and LWC’s Office of Workforce Development have partnered to streamline the process of business engagement by promoting the alignment of regional Jump Start teams and Workforce Development Boards through the local boards and their standing committees on youth. It is through these standing committees that Jump Start programs will be supported, and issues requiring attention outside of K–12’s normal business and management structure will be addressed and resolved. Meetings with each local board have begun, with more to follow in the coming weeks. Those boards that have met on this issue have expressed support and understanding of the need to move forward with this approach. Many provocative questions regarding Jump Start have been raised by board members and captured by the Louisiana Department of Education consultant and OWD

leadership. The interest in making this career pathways initiative for in–school youth the best in the country has taken off, and LWDB members understand their roles in making it happen.

Local and regional workforce plans will be evaluated to ensure those plans align with the state’s plan to support this process. This process is just one solution to promote business engagement as it relates to opportunities for youth and adults in need of training and work experience, but will serve a model of how the public sector must work more closely, eliminate redundancy and work together to provide excellent, result–oriented customer service (e.g., business, job–seekers, future workforce) and improve the business climate.

III. Registered Apprenticeship–LWC

Akey strategy identified in the Louisiana Combined Plan goals and objectives is the expansion of the use of Registered Apprenticeship programs as viable talent development opportunities. Registered Apprenticeship programs have demonstrated that employers who invest in training experience lower employee turnover, increased employee productivity, better employee problem–solving skills and improved employee relations. The employer and employee are equally committed to the program’s success.

LWC Registered Apprenticeship Program supports connecting job seekers to high paying jobs. The building and construction trade programs have been and continue to be the backbone of registered apprenticeship in this state and across the country, LWC is working to develop new non–traditional programs in industries such as health care and advanced manufacturing. The LWC Apprenticeship Division continues to encourage new and currently existing programs to take advantage of partnership opportunities with our workforce system, and has played an active role in discussions regarding Eligible Training Provider List policies and procedures as it applies to registered apprenticeship under the new WIOA regulations.

Previously, many local workforce boards were reluctant to support registered apprenticeship with workforce funding for a multitude of reasons, including concerns regarding perceived performance implications. With the new provisions in WIOA, that clearly support the expansion and incorporation of registered apprenticeship as an evidence–based approach to workforce development, Louisiana sees this as an opportunity to create a new statewide vision that supports substantive partnerships between LWDBs and registered apprenticeship program sponsors. Aligning registered apprenticeship opportunities with WIOA service design and delivery in a holistic and comprehensive manner, however, will require focused effort and education, and policy support from LWC. In this regard, LWC Apprenticeship Division staff are working closely with the Office of Apprenticeship in the Dallas Regional Office.

IV. HUD/Public Housing

As with the aforementioned strategies to engage out–of–school youth through partnerships with high schools, efforts to work with public housing authorities funded with Department of Housing and Urban Development dollars have begun and will continue throughout the life of this state plan. The goal is to partner and share resources to provide education and employment services to out–of–school youth and adults living in public housing.

Public housing authorities received funding from HUD for the main purpose of providing safe, sanitary and decent housing to low–income families. As part of their mission, housing authorities are required to use portions of the funding, subject to its availability, to provide services to residents of public housing in an effort to move them from dependency on public assistance to self–sufficiency.

These limited HUD dollars can be leveraged with resources available through partners of this Combined State Plan to increase services to public housing residents who are eligible to receive services through one or more of the partners herein. This alignment will also decrease the likelihood of duplication of services, as well as other potential waste, fraud and abuse.

V. Re–Entry–Department of Corrections

LWC and its local workforce partners have aligned with the Louisiana Department of Corrections on several re–entry initiatives across the state. Participants are convicted of crimes in criminal court and sentenced to serve time in the re–entry program. This alternative sentencing structure is designed to work with men and women while they are incarcerated in an effort to provide job skills in demand occupations, reducing the chances of recidivism among participants and complying with the terms and conditions of sentencing. Minimally, engagement in the re–entry program ensures the following:

• Inmate receives workforce services prior to release.

• Inmate must secure employment prior to release.

• Peer mentors are assigned to each inmate.

• Peer mentor must verify the inmate’s readiness for release.

OWD is 100% dedicated to this initiative and has specifically assigned specialized staff toward this initiative, working with the Department of Corrections at to maximum–security state penitentiaries: Angola State Penitentiary and the Louisiana Corrections Institute for Women (LWIW)–St. Gabriel.

Additionally, OWD’s Veterans’ Unit received a grant to offer re–entry services to incarcerated veterans in four parishes: Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany and East Baton Rouge. Staff work with these four parishes, in which nearly 60 percent of the state’s incarcerated return to live upon release, to engage both parish and state inmates in the following penal institutions: St. Tammany Parish Prison, Rayburn State Institution, Jefferson Parish Prison, LCIW, Angola and Orleans Parish Prison. Because of the success of this initiative, LWC will seek additional grant funding to continue beyond the life of this grant, which expires December 31, 2016. Other sources of funding will also be sought by both state and parish officials, all of whom are committed to assisting with giving people a second chance to become productive, gainfully employed, taxpaying citizens.

VI. Community Service Block Grant

The Community Service Block Grant unit, as component of the LWC, Office of Workforce Development, will provide leadership and, technical assistance to the local Community Action Agencies (CAA) to support their collaboration and coordination of their employment and training activities, as well as their supportive services with their local and regional WDBs. CAAs in each region will be included in the Louisiana Career Pathways model development, and are well–positioned to serve as lead partners in the development of “supportive service pathways” or service flow charts for

vulnerable populations (low–skilled, low income, individuals with disabilities, re–entering citizens) focusing on reduction of the barriers to employment. The CSBG unit will achieve this commitment by providing best practices models, and supporting financially innovative strategies that aligns services to ensure that customers receive the best available employment and training services, as well as employment supports, to achieve their employment and self–sufficiency goals.

VII. Job Corps

LWC is supporting a strengthening of the relationship between the three Louisiana Job Corps programs and the local and regional WDBs. As referenced earlier in the plan, the Lafayette WDB is currently piloting an innovative pilot location partnership. The New Orleans Job Corps, is the only non– residential Job Corp site in the state, their students commute each day. Local One–Stop Centers are currently working to strengthen their partnerships with the three Job Corps programs to co–enroll Job Corps students in WIOA Youth Programs. Under WIOA, students attending Job Corps are considered out–of–school youth. In light of the 75 percent out–of–school youth expenditure requirement, this is a great partnership to engage and enroll out–of–school youth, develop an ISS on each youth, offer one or more of the 14 program elements available to them under WIOA that are necessary based on their documented needs, and not provided by Job Corps.

This partnership will also allow local WIOA youth programs the ability to refer youth to Job Corps, so the ability to develop, or improve, a cross–referral process is promising. Local areas will be expected to address their respective strategies in their local plans.