Located in:
- III. Operational Planning ElementsThe Unified or Combined State Plan must include an Operational Planning Elements section that support the State’s strategy and the system-wide vision described in Section II.(c) above. Unless otherwise noted, all Operational Planning Elements apply to Combined State Plan partner programs included in the plan as well as to core programs. This section must include—
- b. State Operating Systems and PoliciesThe Unified or Combined State Plan must include a description of the State operating systems and policies that will support the implementation of the State strategy described in Section II Strategic Elements . This includes—
- b. State Operating Systems and Policies
III. b. 2. the State Policies That Will Support the Implementation of the State’s Strategies (e.g., Co-enrollment Policies and Universal Intake Processes Where Appropriate). in Addition, Describe the State’s Process for Developing Guidelines for State-administered One-stop Partner Programs’ Contributions to a One-stop Delivery System, Including Benchmarks, and Its Guidance to Assist Local Boards, Chief Elected Officials, and Local One-stop Partners in Determining Equitable and Stable Methods of Funding Infrastructure in Accordance with Sec. 121(h)(1)(b). Beginning with the State Plan Modification in 2018 and for Subsequent State Plans and State Plan Modifications, the State Must Also Include Such Guidelines.
Current Narrative:
The State of West Virginia has been pursuing policies of coordinated and integrated workforce development system since the enactment of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The policies embedded in the WV State Code §5B-2B-9 for the implementation of WIA still remain valid in the implementation of WIOA.
To support the implementation of the State’s strategies and to ensure mandatory partners remain aligned and are actively involved in the progress of this plan, West Virginia has included the following statute in state code:
WV State Code: §5B–2B–9. Coordination between agencies providing workforce investment programs, local workforce Development Boards and the Executive Director of Workforce West Virginia
(a) To provide ongoing attention to addressing issues that will build and continually improve the overall workforce investment system, the Workforce Investment Interagency Collaborative Team is hereby created. The team shall be the single state interagency source for addressing issues or concerns related to building and maintaining the most effective and efficient implementation of the federal Workforce Investment Act and the overall workforce development system in West Virginia. The team shall focus on how best to collaborate between and among the state agencies directly involved in workforce investment activities and shall develop a strategic plan to that end. The team shall serve as a forum for the board to seek information or recommendations in furtherance of its responsibilities under this article. Workforce West Virginia is the entity which shall convene the team at least monthly and shall provide administrative and other services to the team as the team requires.
(b) The team shall consist of members from each agency subject to the reporting provisions of section five of this article. Each agency shall appoint two representatives to the team consisting of the chief official of the department or division and the official within that department or division who is directly responsible for overseeing the workforce investment program or activities at the state level. A designee may be selected to represent a member appointed to the team: Provided, that the designee has policy–making decision authority regarding workforce investment activities including program and fiscal issues. The team members have authority to make decisions on behalf of the agency at the level required for the team to address issues and advance system improvements.
(c) The team shall coordinate the development of a self–sufficiency standard study for the State of West Virginia. The self–sufficiency standard is to measure how much income is needed for a household of a given composition in a given place to adequately meet its basic needs without public or private assistance. Beginning on the first day of November, two thousand four, and every two years thereafter, this study is to be reported to the Speaker of the House of Delegates, the President of the Senate, the Workforce Development Board and the Legislative Oversight Commission on Workforce Investment for Economic Development.
(d) Beginning the first day of January, two thousand three, in order to lawfully continue any workforce investment activities, any agency subject to the reporting provisions of section five of this article shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Executive Director of Workforce West Virginia and any local workforce Development Board representing an area of this state in which the agency is engaged in workforce investment activities. To the extent permitted by federal law, the agreements are to maximize coordination of workforce investment activities and eliminate duplication of services on both state and local levels.
(e) No memorandum of understanding may be effective for more than one year without annual reaffirmation by the parties.
(f) Any state agency entering a memorandum of understanding shall deliver a copy thereof to both the West Virginia Workforce Development Board and the legislative oversight commission.
To solidify the commitment and collaborative efforts of the WIOA core and other participating state agencies at the state level, the WDS has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Interagency Collaborative Team (ICT). This MOU details the state-level WDS vision, goals, processes, and system-wide commitments from each agency of the ICT. In conjunction with the State Workforce Development Board, the ICT MOU delineates the State’s processes for developing guidelines for the WDS, including guidelines for contributions, benchmarks, and equitable methods of infrastructure funding. The WDS is in the process of updating the ICT MOU, to embody State policies that will support the implementation of the State’s strategies set forth in this WIOA Unified State Plan. The ICT MOU will serve to support the implementation of the State’s goals of: 1) Workforce Development System Integration; 2) Customer-Driven Approach; 3) Career Pathways Development; and 4) Increase Opportunities for Youth.
WorkForce West Virginia also provides guidance to assist local boards, chief elected officials, and local one-stop partner programs in determining equitable and stable methods of funding infrastructure. As reported in the Fiscal Year 2015 Workforce Development System Report:
One-Stop Career Center Resource Sharing Methodologies In 2003, the ICT identified a need to articulate common definitions for categorizing contributions by partners within One-Stop Career Centers in West Virginia. This was in response to the first draft of the “State of the One-Stop Report” released by the Governor’s Workforce Investment Division. This helps guide the development of the operating budgets provided by the WIBs. There are a number of methods that may be used to fund the shared costs of the One-Stop Center or system. These include:
-cash payments, -in-kind goods and services, -full-time equivalent staff positions, and -third party in-kind contributions.
Each of these methods is outlined below. The final payment or resource sharing methodologies agreed to by the partners in the One-Stop may include any, all or any combination of methodologies. The availability of resources and their use in funding One-Stop operations is a local decision that must be made by the partners and based on local program needs.
Cash Payments With cash payments, one entity is responsible for incurring and paying for all the shared costs. This same entity is also responsible for maintaining the documentation for the shared costs and notifying partners of their share of the costs as they are incurred. This may be done on a monthly or quarterly basis as determined by the partners. The entity incurring the costs would issue an invoice on this pre-determined basis to each participating partner. The partners would then pay the invoice as they would any cost. Documentation to support the cost would be the invoice and the supporting shared costs budget, cost allocation plan, and the actual costs as they are incurred. Using this methodology, the entity incurring the costs would be responsible for maintaining all supporting documentation and reconciling the actual costs to the budget. They would provide each partner with the reconciliation information.
In-Kind Goods and Services Payment of shared costs through the provision of goods and services by each of the partner programs will likely be the most common method of payment. Using this payment method, the partners prepare the shared costs budget; allocate the costs using agreed-upon allocation methodologies, with resulting total shared costs attributable to each partner. Within the budget, the partners agree on how those costs will be funded. One partner may pay all the facilities costs, including rent, utilities and maintenance while another partner provides the telephone system to be used by all the partners, and a third partner provides additional core services such as eligibility determination for all participating partner programs. This flexibility in payment allows the partners to determine which payment method works best for their particular agency and takes into consideration the available resources of each program.
Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) (staff positions) When the costs of staff functions for common services such as intake and eligibility determination, staffing the resource center, or core services such as case management or job development are included in the shared costs budget, it may be more equitable to pay for these costs through the use of FTE’s. Staff of One-Stop may include state or local governmental employees, employees of non-profit organizations, for-profit commercial entities, and educational institutions. Each of these entities will have different pay scales, pay levels, and fringe benefit costs. By using FTE’s as a payment method, partner organizations need not address these differing pay scales or any privacy concerns.
In order to use FTE’s as a payment method, all of the partner programs benefiting from the shared function must provide the necessary staff resources in the same proportion as their allocable share. Using this methodology, the partners would determine the total number of staff hours necessary to fully staff the function. The hours would be allocated using an agreed-upon allocation methodology, with a resulting number of hours attributable to each participating partner. The partners then provide the staff as needed in relation to their allocable share of the total hours.
Third Party In-Kind Contributions Under certain circumstances, partners may provide third-party in-kind contributions as resources to pay for their fair share of the costs. In-kind contributions are defined in the cost sharing or matching provision of the Uniform Administrative Requirements codified in CFR 97.24 and 95.25 as donations of goods, services, or volunteer time from a third party. They are not a cost to the receiving organization. They may only be used as resources to pay for the partner agency’s share of costs if their use is not prohibited by the agency’s governing statute or regulations. Some programs participating in the One-Stop, such as the TANF program, do not allow the use of in-kind. The partner agency proposing to use in-kind contributions must determine the allowability of in-kind use. If allowable, the in-kind is then valued in accordance with the requirements of 29 CFR 97.24. or 95.25. It is the determined value of the contribution that would serve as the resource for payment of shared costs.