Chapter 4: The California Workforce Development Board, Its Role, and Functions (corresponding to the Operational Planning Elements of the State Plan related to the State Board’s Functions, WIOA Secs. 101(d), 102b(2)(A)), and 102 b(2)(C)(i)).

The State Board: Role, Functions, and Operational Structure

Under AB 1270 (E. Garcia, Chapter 94, Statutes of 2015) the California Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, “The California Workforce Development Board is the body responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California’s workforce investment system and the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century economy and workforce.”

One primary responsibility of the State Board is to develop and implement, in close consultation with the Governor, a comprehensive and strategic workforce development plan for California. This mandate is both in federal and state law. Under AB 1270 (E. Garcia, Chapter 94, Statutes of 2015) the California Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act brings together state and federal planning requirements and requires that:

The California Workforce Development Board, in collaboration with state and local partners, including the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the State Department of Education, other appropriate state agencies, and local workforce development boards, shall develop the State Plan to serve as a framework for the development of public policy, employment services, fiscal investment, and operation of all state labor exchange, workforce education, and training programs to address the state’s economic, demographic, and workforce needs. The strategic workforce plan shall be prepared in a manner consistent with the requirements of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014.

Part of the requirements for the unified state plan required under federal law is to specify how the state board will implement its federally required functions pertaining to the following:

• State plan development.
• Policy and program review to develop recommendations to build a comprehensive system.
• Fostering continuous improvement pertaining to:

o system alignment,

o access,

o sector engagement,

o career pathways,

o regionalism,

o One–Stop services, and

o staff development.

• Development and updating of the performance accountability system
• The identification and dissemination of information on best practices related to:

o One–Stop access for those with barriers to employment

o building local board capacity

o the use of effective training programs responsive to labor market needs

• The development and review of statewide policies pertaining to coordination of services through One–Stops, including:

o objective criteria and procedures for assessing effectiveness and improvement;

o guidance for allocation of infrastructure funds; and

o policies relating to roles and equitable distribution of resources

• Developing innovative technological practices to improve One–Stops with regard to:

o enhancing digital literacy skills

o accelerating skills and credential attainment

o professional development of One–Stop front line staff

o ensuring technological accessibility for persons with disabilities

• The development of allocation formulas for the distribution of funds
• The preparation of annual reports
• The development of the statewide labor market information system

The sections in this chapter discuss how the State Board will carry out it functions with respect to the development and implementation of the unified plan.

The State Board and Its Composition

The members of the State Board are appointed by the Governor in conformity with WIOA Section 101(b) and California UI Code Section 14012. As required by federal and state statutes, the State Board has a business majority (27 of 53 members), and 20 percent workforce representation, including 15 percent representation for organized labor. State Board membership also includes representation for the state’s core programs, as well as K–12 and community college representation to ensure coordination between the state’s education and workforce systems. Two legislative members are appointed by the Senate President Pro–Tem and two by the Speaker of the Assembly. A complete listing of State Board members and the category they represent is provided in chapter seven.

The State Board reports to the Governor through the chair of the State Board (appointed by the Governor) and the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development who both provide oversight of the board and its staff to ensure that policy recommendations are consistent with the Governor’s vision for the state. The chair has the responsibility to call and preside at all State Board meetings and perform other duties as required. The vice–chair acts as chair in the chair’s absence and performs other duties as required.

State Board Committees

Because the State Board meets four times a year, members accomplish their work through active participation in a committee structure comprised of a standing executive committee, special committees, and ad hoc committees. Special committees are appointed by the State Board chair to carry out specified tasks; ad hoc committees are informal workgroups. With the current exception of the Green Collar Jobs Council, special committees and ad hoc committees may include members from stakeholder groups outside the State Board. The committees are:

• Executive Committee: The Executive Committee is a standing committee. It consists of a small number of State Board members evenly divided among business, labor, and government. It acts as a high–level strategic planning and jobs advisor to the Secretary of the LWDA and to the Governor. The Executive Committee provides the additional flexibility needed to meet more frequently, respond in a timely way to important issues, coordinate the work of special and ad hoc committees, and develop agendas and recommendations for State Board meetings.
• WIOA Implementation Workgroup: The State Board approved the creation of the WIOA Implementation Work Group in September 2014. Over the course of twenty–four months, this work group will ensure that California’s implementation of the new law reflects state strategies and aligns resources accordingly. The group’s work includes developing WIOA performance measures and multi–agency metrics, developing policy, catalyzing systems alignment and regional collaboration, and determining any needed governance changes.
• Increasing Skills and Credential Attainment Work Group:The State Board approved the creation of the Increasing Skills and Credential Attainment Work Group in September 2014. This work group will develop a framework for the identification and prioritization of industry–valued credentials that benchmark skills and competencies for job–seekers and employers, supporting improved skill delivery and the regional calibration of labor market supply and demand. The Increasing Skills and Credential Attainment Work Group will support and catalyze experimentation, statewide workforce goals and large scale change.
• Health Workforce Development Council (HWDC): The HWDC special committee was established in response to the federal Affordable Care Act to understand and respond to changing healthcare workforce requirements. The HWDC consists of a broad partnership of industry representatives, education, economic development, elected officials, the public workforce system, labor, philanthropic organizations, community–based organizations, health professional and advocacy organizations.
• Green Collar Jobs Council:The Green Collar Jobs Council (GCJC) is a permanent special committee enacted by the Green Collar Jobs Act of 2008 (UI Code Section 15002). Under the purview of the State Board, the GCJC is charged with developing and updating a "strategic initiative" framework to address emerging skills demands due to expanded use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency to meet state policy goals.
• Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Development Council:The State Board established a special committee on advanced manufacturing to identify statewide education and training issues and opportunities in manufacturing; support regions in providing a skilled manufacturing labor force; identify national skills standards; and encourage regional industry sector partnerships.

State Board and State Plan Development (102(b)(2)(A); 101(d)(1))

Under the guidance of the Labor Secretary and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the State Board has played the role of convener, broker, matchmaker, and facilitator, pulling together state plan partners, including both core and noncore program partners, to develop the policy content of the plan in a manner that meets federal and state plan requirements.

Beginning in December of 2014, the State Board convened state partner agencies and stakeholders representing local workforce development boards, business, and labor, and began to meet publically on a bimonthly basis as the WIOA Implementation Committee Workgroup of the State Board. This group worked to guide the development of the vision, programmatic strategy, and shared goals for the State Plan.

Between bi–monthly WIOA Workgroup meetings, staff workgroups comprised of high level policy staff assigned by state partner agencies met together and with stakeholders to help develop the content of the plan. Participants included staff from the State Board, CDE, CCCCO, the EDD, DOR, CDSS, ETP, CWA, and designated representatives of Local Boards.

Following this series of meetings between staff workgroups, a series of high level “bilateral” meetings were initiated by the State Board to develop more specific input into the State Plan from the leadership of the various state planning partners, (the State Board, CDE, CCCCO, EDD, DOR, CDSS, ETP), and other stakeholders (CWDA and CWA).

During bilateral meetings, baseline information developed by staff workgroups was used to frame conversations, and identify what partners could and could not do at the state, regional, and local levels, to align and coordinate services across the programs participating in the planning process.

Following these bilateral conversations, multiple issue, operations, and program specific workgroups continued to develop content for the State Plan. These workgroups included the following:

• a Labor and Workforce Development Title I and Title III coordinating workgroup comprised of LWDA, ETP, EDD, and the State Board
• CDE–CCCCO–State Board workgroup on Adult Education, Basic Skills, and Carl Perkins programs;
• a DOR–State Board workgroup on Vocational Rehabilitation services;
• a CDSS–CWDA–CWDB–CCCCO workgroup on TANF programs;
• a multiagency and multi–departmental workgroup on Youth Services;
• a State Board lead workgroup on AJCC service delivery (“The One–Stop Design Workgroup”);
• a EDD–State Board workgroup on labor market information; and
• the Data–Sharing and Performance Accountability workgroup.

These workgroups shared information about best practices and reviewed model partnerships utilized in other states and in various California local areas and regions to come to agreement on the policy content of the State Plan and how partners would work jointly to implement these policies at the state, regional, and local levels.

Over the course of this process the State Board worked to brief planning partners on the policy and operational requirements called for under both state and federal law as well as the federal regulatory requirements for implementation.

Staff Structure and Active Ongoing Policy Direction, Technical Assistance, and Capacity Building 102(b)(2)(A); 101(d)(2); 101(d)(3)(A–B)(F); 101(d)(3); 101(d)(5)(A–C); 101(d)(3); 101(d)(10)

As the Governor’s agent for “the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California’s workforce investment system and the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems,” the State Board and its staff provide active ongoing policy analysis, technical assistance, and program evaluation to inform and shape state policy on workforce and educational program design and implementation.

The State Board reports to the Governor through the chair of the State Board and the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development who both provide oversight of the board and its staff to ensure that policy recommendations are consistent with the Governor’s vision for the state.

The board’s operational structure has recently been reorganized to facilitate WIOA implementation and to build a comprehensive workforce and education system, aligning core and non–core program services across the various employment, training, workforce, educational, and human service programs whose mission it is to get Californians hired into good jobs. The State Board’s new operational structure is shown in the relevant chart in Chapter 7 .

Under the new structure, the State Board will operate as a “think and do” tank, reviewing programs and policies, and helping develop implementation strategies that foster the plan’s policy objectives.

Executive Director

Strategy, operations, planning, and policy development are guided by the Executive Director who reports to both the chair of the State Board and the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development. The Executive Director is also the face of and chief liaison for the organization in the board’s dealings with other state department heads and workforce system stakeholders, such as CWA, the Community College Taskforce on Workforce Development, SBE, the State Labor Federation, Industry Associations, and community–based associations.

Chief Deputy Director

The Chief Deputy Director is the State Board chief of staff and oversees the daily operations of State Board staff operating in three branches: the Policy, Legislation, and Research Branch; the Strategy, Innovation, and Regional Initiatives Branch, and the Administrative Branch. The deputy directors responsible for the operations in these three branches supervise the work of the staff in these units, and each reports to the Chief Deputy Director.

The Administrative Branch

The Administration Branch is responsible for all of the administrative operations of the State Board, ensuring compliance on all federal WIOA reporting and state reporting and fiscal requirements, State Board budget development and oversight, administrative matters pertaining to hiring and termination, procurement of goods and services, grant administrative matters, and program logistics. Specific responsibilities include the following:

• fiscal operations and budget:

o preparation of October and April budget revision

o maintenance of the State Board’s “above the line” WIOA and Proposition 39 budget authority and total dollars allocated

o tracking of all State Board grant and initiative funds

o provides a detailed monthly encumbrance and expenditure report to accurately project expenditures

• contracts and procurement
• human resources
• State Board staff development
• State Board committee member support
• solicitation of federal and state funding opportunities
• drafting of annual reports, publications and audit responses
• maintenance of the State Board’s IT hardware and software equipment, email systems, telecommunications equipment, network printers and copiers and website
• handling the logistical needs of the State Board and all of its committees and workgroups

The Policy, Legislation, and Research Branch

The Policy, Legislation, and Research Branch is responsible for doing policy and program review for the State Board in order to build a comprehensive state system and foster its continuous improvement. This function is achieved primarily through the development of policy recommendations and the identification and dissemination of information concerning best practices pertaining, but not limited to, the following areas:

• General policy development to further system alignment of workforce, job services, training, and education programs.
• Research and policy development toward the delivery of effective One–Stop services, including policies facilitating One–Stop access for those with barriers to employment.
• Research on policies concerning effective sector engagement.
• Research on the building of career pathways tailored to client population needs, including research on how successful partnerships braid funds to facilitate movement through a career pathway that straddles multiple programs or service delivery structures.
• Examination of effective regional organizing efforts so as to identify the key elements of successful regional partnerships.
• Providing policy information to system partners to aid staff development.
• Providing policy information on successful practices to facilitate the building of local board capacity.
• Evidence–based research and policy development on the use of effective training programs responsive to labor market needs.

The Policy, Legislation, and Research Branch unit played a lead role in convening state plan partners, informing these partners on the legislative requirements of WIOA, sharing policy research on evidence–based practices, and facilitating agreement on the policy content of the State Plan by staffing the multiple workgroups engaged in the planning process.

As the State Plan moves into implementation, this unit will continue to work with state plan partners and stakeholders to design and issue regional and local planning guidance as well as joint policy directives to ensure that core and non–core programs are operating in a manner that carries forward the objectives of the plan.

Planning guidance and policy directives will serve as written technical assistance and will provide the policy rationale and supporting data and evidence for the best practices and model partnerships needed to implement the seven strategies discussed in the previous chapter.

Planning guidance and technical assistance will also contribute to the professional development of staff throughout the comprehensive workforce system and will help build the capacity of Local Boards by providing information on how implementation helps achieve the objectives of the State Plan.

The Strategy, Innovation, and Regional Initiatives Branch

The State Board’s Strategy, Innovation, and Regional Initiatives Branch is charged with developing the strategic vision underlying regional economic and workforce development and guiding innovation in related policy and practice to advance the State’s broad labor market goals of shared prosperity and income mobility. In providing technical assistance to key partners in the state’s various regions, this branch works to foster the continuous improvement and implementation of best practices for those elements of the system pertaining, but not limited to, the following:

• System alignment through regional partnership.
• Sector engagement in regional labor markets
• Using regional coalitions and partnerships (including sector partnerships) to inform and advance the development of career pathways so as to ensure the use of effective training programs responsive to labor market needs.
• Accelerating skills and credential attainment aligned with regional labor markets.
• Facilitating access to job training, education and workforce services for populations with barriers to employment.

The Strategy, Innovation, and Regional Initiatives Branch oversees high profile sector initiatives and workforce grant programs funded either by WIOA or through alternative sources of funding such as federal grants or relevant state grants. The key work of this branch is to align the broad objectives of its various grant–making initiatives with the State Plan’s policy agenda while encouraging innovation and experimentation in the field. This unit also staffs the State Board’s committee on credential attainment and will be working to help ensure that workforce programs operated around the state are making use of industry–recognized degree and credential programs. Strategy, Innovation, and Regional Initiatives Branch operates two particularly important WIOA–funded grant programs: Project Slingshot, and the Workforce Accelerator Fund.

Project SlingShot

The SlingShot grant program seeks to seed collaborative efforts by employers and industry, government, workforce and economic development, and education stakeholders within a region to identify and then work to solve employment challenges that slow California’s economic engine. Grants are designed to foster the development of regional solutions to regionally–defined workforce and employment problems. The guiding premises of the SlingShot program are as follows:

• Policy impacts on major jobs and employment issues will be greatest if solutions are formulated at the regional level. California is a collection of distinct regional economies; aligning work at the regional level will be more effective than will city, county, district, or state level efforts.
• Income mobility in California is a major policy issue in the state. Policies must accelerate education, employment, and economic development for those Californians in danger of being left out of the state’s prosperity.
• Policy and programming should aim at addressing big issues. California’s regions face no shortage of vexing workforce challenges. Slingshot grants offer opportunities to take on tough issues that if solved, would meaningfully move the needle on employment.
• Policy should be evidence–based and data–driven. All strategies need to be grounded in effective use of data and metrics.
• Big problems require risk–taking. In an era of perpetual economic volatility, traditional programs don’t solve tough workforce challenges. Slingshot encourages regional partnerships to prototype new ideas, based on strong research and development, without fear of “failure” if the effort falls short of expectations. For every impactful practice that emerges, there will be others that are tried and then dropped for lack of sufficient impact.

Workforce Accelerator Fund Grants

California’s State Plan prioritizes regional coordination among key partners, sector–based employment strategies, skill attainment through “earn and learn” and other effective training models, and development of career pathways to provide for opportunities for individuals with barriers to employment to successfully participate in the labor force. Consistent with these state plan priorities, the State Board developed, and the Governor approved, the Workforce Accelerator Fund (Accelerator Fund) grant program to build workforce system infrastructure and capacity in the following ways:

• Collaboration among partners in the development of service delivery strategies and alignment of resources to connect disadvantaged and disconnected job seekers to employment.
• Innovation that creates new or adapts existing approaches or accelerates application of promising practices in workforce development and skill attainment.
• System change that uses these sub–grants to incentivize adoption of proven strategies and innovations that are sustained beyond the grant period.

The Accelerator Fund represents a new model of funding innovation and alignment in the workforce system, with the goal of funding “ground up” solutions to some of the most vexing challenges that are keeping Californians with barriers to employment from achieving success in jobs and careers. The solutions achieved through this Accelerator Fund can be used by regions grappling with similar challenges, and will be shared with the regional coalitions and other stakeholders to create lasting change and improvements in the workforce system.

The target populations being served by the Accelerator Fund are:

• Long–Term Unemployed – An unprecedented number of California workers have been out of work for more than six months and are struggling to find new jobs.
• Returning Veterans – Too many veterans, after performing essential services with great skill, are challenged in finding civilian jobs that capitalize on the skills they’ve built.
• Persons with Disabilities – The labor force participation rate for Californians with disabilities is only 19 percent – lower than it was before passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• Low–Income Workers – Thousands of Californians are trapped in poverty, often cycling through low wage, dead–end jobs and lacking the education, skills, and supports, needed to move into sustained, higher wage jobs.
• Disconnected Youth – Many young people 16–24 are disconnected, neither in school nor work, and are in danger of being left behind.
• Ex–Offenders – Realignment has increased the visibility of the need for robust job services for the parole and ex–offender population in California.
• Non–Custodial Parents – Parents participating in family reunification programs are faced with the challenge of participating in parenting programs while seeking education and training resulting in jobs that pay self–sufficiency wages.

Work currently being done under the SlingShot and Accelerator Fund grants provides for regional organizing and policy innovation efforts that the State Board envisions continuing under WIOA regional planning efforts.

Regional Plans and “Regional Sector Pathways”

Regional plans and partnerships required by WIOA will function under this State Plan as the primary mechanism for aligning educational and training provider services with regional industry sector needs. The Policy, Research, and Legislation Branch of the State Board will work with state plan partners and Local Boards to develop regional planning guidance consistent with the policy objectives and strategies of the State Plan. The Strategy, Innovation, and Regional Initiatives Branch will provide technical assistance to ensure that regional planning efforts and related programs complement the State’s broader regional economic and workforce development strategy.

The Role of the State Board and Performance Accountability (101)(d)(4)

Working with core partners, and strategic plan partners when applicable, the State Board plans to use a statistical adjustment model semi–annually to develop performance accountability measures that effectively serve Californians, especially Californians with barriers to employment.

Through the use of baseline data and the semi–annual statistic adjustment model, the state plans to update performance accountability measures to assess the effectiveness of serving those with barriers to employment, as well as WIOA and state level policy objectives and the level of services coordinated and identified in the strategic plan.

The State Board will convene core program partners and those strategic partners with whom performance outcomes are aligned to discuss, where appropriate, how the state will negotiate goals with federal agencies and local areas.

In consultation with strategic partners and local areas, the State Board will emphasize the skills attainment measure across programs because greater skill attainment leads to higher median earnings, greater percentages of employed participants, and helps the state reach the goal of one million middle–skill industry recognized credentials over the next ten years.

To help facilitate reliable and valid data for the assessment of programs and ability to serve individuals with barriers, the State Board will work with core program partners to identify strategies for robust data collection in all federally mandated reports, as well as additional measures identified by the state.

The Role of the State Board in One–Stop Design 101(d)(6)(A–C); 101(d)(5)(A); 101(d)(7)(A–D);101(d)(8)

Under the State Plan, the purpose of local workforce plans and partnerships is to facilitate access to workforce services at the local level.

Local workforce development plans will ensure a baseline level of WIOA core program alignment compliant with federal regulations at the local level, in and through the AJCCs, so that program services are coordinated, and when appropriate, integrated to make accessible a menu of customizable services available to clients on the basis of client needs. In this respect, AJCC services will be customer–centered.

Under this State Plan and all relevant policies issued by the state concerning One–Stop design, operations, and partnerships, locals will be directed to operate AJCCs as an access point for programs that provide for “demand–driven skills attainment.” From this perspective, One–Stops will be an “on ramp” or “gateway” to the “regional sector pathways” programs either built–out or identified through the regional planning process described earlier, allowing those service recipients who want to “upskill” an opportunity to do so.

AJCCs will continue to provide the full menu of One–Stop services, known under WIOA as “career services,” they have historically provided, and AJCCs will continue to function as labor exchanges, matching job seekers with employers, but there will be much greater emphasis on One–Stops as an access point for education and training services for those who want and need it, especially for those with barriers to employment.

Consistent with this vision, in June of 2015, the State Board and EDD partnered to create and staff the One–Stop Design workgroup, which brought together state plan partners and other stakeholders to develop a blueprint for service delivery in the state’s AJCCs. Participants in this workgroup included the following:

• Local Workforce Development Boards
• AJCC operators
• California Employment Development Department
• Employment Training Panel
• California Welfare Directors Association
• County Welfare Departments
• California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office
• Local Community Colleges
• California Workforce Association
• La Cooperativa (representing Migrant/Seasonal Farm Worker programs).
• California Department of Rehabilitation

To organize the work and ensure compliance with WIOA the workgroup divided itself into the following subcommittees:

1. Bricks/Comprehensive Services Sub–committee: The priorities of this subcommittee included the following:

• defining comprehensive and affiliate AJCCs
• identifying career and training services that will be provided on–site, through cross–training of partner staff, or through direct technology,
• identifying the characteristics of a high quality One–Stop Center
• supporting efforts for program alignment across core programs and with all mandatory partners
• developing MOUs, cost–sharing agreements and premise/infrastructure arrangements,
• ensuring access to individuals with barriers to employment, including individuals with disabilities
• developing recommendations on criteria and procedures for use by Local Boards in assessing the effectiveness and continuous improvement of One–Stop centers

2. Clicks/Virtual Services Subcommittee: The priorities of this subcommittee included the following:

• Identifying virtual basic career service software and applications that replace the need to go to a physical AJCC.
• Defining “direct technological access” to partner services in a comprehensive center.
• Identifying and beta–testing on–line digital literacy and skill development systems and recommending preferred models for statewide use to accelerate the. acquisition of skills and attainment of recognized postsecondary credentials
• Ensuring that technology is accessible to individuals with barriers to employment, individuals with disabilities, and individuals living in remote areas.

3. Skills Subcommittee: The priorities of this subcommittee included the following:

• Enhanced partnerships with education and training partners, especially community colleges.
• Increased access to career pathways through AJCCs for high demand sectors with the goal of increased attainment of industry recognized credentials/degrees.
• Strengthened professional development of workforce professionals employed in One–Stops.
• Increased capacity for Local Boards, including cross–training, credentials, and apprenticeship for frontline workforce professionals.
• Training staff on approaches to “customer–centered design.”
• Collecting and disseminating information on promising partnerships with training and education partners, including all core partner programs.
• Collecting and disseminating information on promising work–based “earn and learn” partnerships, including apprenticeship, OJT, and subsidized employment

4. Communication Subcommittee: The priorities of this subcommittee included the following:

• Creating a marketing/communication team of WIOA core partners at the State level: (EDD, DOR, CDSS, CCCCO, Adult Ed, the State Board, CWA, DOA, HCD, National programs).
• Identifying a single point of contact for each Local Board to facilitate regular interaction/communication between the state partner programs, including all core programs, and local stakeholders.
• Establishing a protocol and communication policy for all core partners and committing to talking regularly as a system.
• Utilizing social media and virtual communication tools.
• Developing a branding policy for the AJCC.

Through the efforts of the One–Stop Design Workgroup and the WIOA Implementation Committee Workgroups, the State Board has entered into agreements with mandated and voluntary partners and stakeholders to ensure implementation of an integrated, job driven service delivery system that provides job seekers (specifically individuals with barriers to employment) with the skills and credentials necessary to secure and advance in career pathways, and enable employers to identify and hire skilled workers and grow their businesses.

In addition, the State Board and EDD have issued guidance on negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Successful implementation of California’s statewide strategies will, in large part, be determined by the quality of the partnerships that are developed at the local level and articulated in the MOUs. The state–issued Workforce Services Directive (WSD) 15–12, which outlines the fact that local MOUs should serve as both functional tools as well as visionary plans for how the Local Boards and AJCC partners will work together to create a unified service delivery system that meets the needs of their shared customers.

The MOU development process described in WSD15–12 takes place in two phases. Phase I addresses service coordination and collaboration amongst the partners. Phase II addresses how to functionally and fiscally sustain the unified system described in Phase I through the use of resource sharing and joint infrastructure costs. After each phase of a MOU has been completed, it must be signed by authorized representatives of the Local Board, Chief Elected Official, and AJCC partner(s).

Phase I: Service Coordination

For Phase I, Local Boards are expected to work with all of the required and optional partners in their Local Area to develop an agreement regarding the operations of the local one–stop system as it relates to shared services and customers. Phase I of each MOU must be completed no later than June 30, 2016.

Phase II: Shared Resources and Costs

For Phase II, Local Boards will build upon the agreements established in Phase I and determine how to best support their established service delivery model through the sharing of resources and costs. Phase II of each MOU must be completed no later than December 31, 2017.

The two–part schedule was provided by the State in order to allow time for other key WIOA milestones (e.g., Local Workforce Development Area subsequent designation, AJCC operator procurement, establishment of a state infrastructure fund) to be completed before Phase II is due.

Additional information on Phase II of the MOU process will be issued by the State upon the release of further guidance from DOL. In the interim, state level core partners are actively working together on how to best determine the value of infrastructure contributions and establish a state–level infrastructure fund.

The Role of the State Board and Labor Market Information 101(d)(11)

The State Board works in partnership with EDD’s LMID in the development of labor market data products that are useful for Local Boards and their partners as they engage in regional planning efforts.

The State Board regularly attends LMID advisory committee meetings to stay informed of economic and labor market trends and discuss how those trends may affect the workforce and education system’s policy objectives.

For the purposes of local and regional strategic planning in WIOA, the State Board will work with LMID to provide guidance to Local Boards on the importance of using reliable data sources and effectively utilizing LMID’s products and services. The State Board recognizes Local Board’s need to access multiple sources of information, especially information pertaining to targeting investments in emerging industry sectors within their regional labor markets. While the State Board will continue to support the use of various information sources for strategic planning, emphasis is placed on data–driven, actionable labor market information that is timely, reliable, objective, accurate, and is developed using sound methodologies, such as those developed by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Role of the State Board and Formula Allocation (101)(d)(9)

The State Board depends on its partner, EDD’s LMID, to develop allocation formulas for the distribution of funds for employment and training activities to local areas. Detail on these formula allocations is provided in the chapter on State Operating Systems and Policies.