Narrative: II. b.

1. Vision

Tennessee's Workforce Development system is a highly interdependent and disparate network of state agencies and state organizations [Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR), Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development (TNECD), Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC), Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS), Tennessee Department of Education (DOE), Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development (TLWD), and others]. And while the system boasts individual sources of workforce excellence, the multiple agencies and organizations charged with executing workforce development struggle to manage and innovate in a comprehensive and cohesive manner.

Examples include:

1. trouble in executing a timely one-state approach in response to economic development opportunities;
2. the lack of an apprenticeship/pre-apprenticeship effort (behind in the southeast); and
3. failure to fully leverage the State's rich data set

Execution of a comprehensive and cohesive workforce development strategy has to account for the inherent interdependency through a formalized strategy of shared projects, shared processes, and shared metrics under centralized leadership and/or consolidation of functions. As a result, the Tennessee Workforce Development System (TNWDS) Steering Team has been formed. The team consists of members from TBR, THEC, TNECD, TDOC, DHS, & DOE and is led by TLWD. The team is charged with:

1. Aligning Strategy
2. Implementing Initiatives, and
3. Monitoring Progress for Tennessee's workforce development system.
    
   The team will receive support and guidance from a broad-based Advisory Committee (TBD).
    
   The Workforce Development strategy in this document is a product of this collaborative execution model.
    
   The Tennessee Workforce Development System
   On the whole, the four major strategic goals for The Tennessee WorkforceDevelopment Systemare:

• Clear Connection to Current Industry/Employers
• Clear Pipeline Development Infrastructure
• Clear Integration with Economic Development
• Outcome Visibility - Clear Data/Reporting and Predictive Analytics

Components of Clear Connection to Current Industry/Employers (demand side} include:

• Scalable Public/Private Partnerships
• Responsive Incumbent Training Programs
• Responsive Talent Acquisition Programs
   
  Components of Clear Pipeline Development Infrastructure (supply side) include:

• Pathway Processes (training/education to work)
  • K-12
  • Adult Education
  • Re-Entry
  • Dislocated Worker/Re-Employment (Unemployment Insurance/Workers Comp)
  • Military Transition
  • Post-Secondary

Components of Clear Integration with Economic Development (investment) include:

• Cross Agency Incentive Process
• Cross Agency Project Management Process
   

Components of Outcome Visibility (research and metrics) include:

• Cross Agency Metrics
• Increased Leveraging of P20 Data Set for Metric Set and Analytics, specifically:
  • Correlations/Comparisons for success variable sets relative to workforce development initiatives and interventions.
                   

Under this strategic framework, and accounting for its operational components, the TNWDS Steering Team will execute the following workforce development strategy as part of a collective 4-year plan. For reference, an overview of the strategic plan is included in figure 1 and the execution framework in figure 2.

The Workforce System Vision is to increase the competitive position of Tennessee business through the development of a highly skilled workforce.

2. Goals

Under the guidance of the State Workforce Board, clarified in their recommendation to Governor Bill Lee, the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development has been charged with developing a plan that seamlessly integrates the service delivery of all programs, in order to improve the success outcomes for the Tennesseans that utilize our programs. This primary goal centers on (1) maximizing the co-enrollment opportunity, (2) developing new intake and referral processes across programs, and (3) designing a reporting system to better analyze performance and outcomes.

Connected to the strategy of tighter integration between programs, the State launched a Key Performance Indicator initiative that provides performance and planning resources to the Local Workforce Development Areas (LWDA), across all major programs. The progress thus far has allowed the LWDAs to clearly visualize how all programs can improve performance, as well as conceptualize opportunities to maximize co-enrollment strategies.

Within the framework established for the Tennessee Workforce Development System (TNWDS), the underlying goal centers on activating the various programs in more intentional and integrated ways to support the state's vision to bring forward a multi-agency strategy to better serve Tennesseans. In turn, the opportunity to integrate all workforce programs into the TNWDS supports the vision of the State Workforce Board to increase participation and performance in a more integrated manner.

The progress thus far has highlighted how a multi-agency strategy, combined with a value for streamlined program integration, can produce new levels of effectiveness and efficiency. The Re-Employment strategy for TNWDS has provided a space for Title I, Title II, Title, III, and Title IV programs to begin crafting new procedures, that also incorporate resources from higher education and other public programs.

The ultimate vision is to increase performance for each program individually by adding service capacity collectively through an integrated approach.

The Tennessee Department Human Services (TDHS) - Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Program is embarking on a 4-year strategic plan to transform the Vocational Rehabilitation Program and revolutionize the customer experience.  Focusing on the customer and the customer experience, the goal of the transformation is to create an environment where individuals and businesses served, along with VR staff and partners feel welcome, informed, and encouraged.

At the end of the transformation, VR will embody the following:

• VR is responsive, welcoming, informative, and encouraging showing individuals and businesses what is possible.
• Businesses seek out VR services to transform their operations and meet their workforce needs and ultimately improve their bottom line.
• Community Tennessee Rehabilitation Centers (CTRCs) are transformed into community-based resource centers offering community-based employment training and connecting VR and non-VR customers to education, training and employment resources.
• Pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS) are coordinated, collaborative, connected services that prepare students with disabilities for a seamless transition to life after high school.
   
  In order to achieve this transformation, the division has identified five strategic priorities as outlined below:
  Communication – Foster trust and credibility with internal and external stakeholders through reliable, accurate, transparent, and timely two-way communication.
  Talent Management - Support a professional workforce that is organized and structured to deliver high quality vocational rehabilitation services through effective teams.
  Modernization of Systems and Processes - Implement integrated systems and business processes that promote operational efficiency and programmatic effectiveness focused on the customer experience.
  Revolutionize Service Delivery - Build innovative and effective service delivery models to better support businesses and individuals with disabilities in driving the achievement of their employment goals.
  Data Driven Services and Outcomes - Achieve improved employment outcomes for people with disabilities through data driven rehabilitation services and employment initiatives.
   

The VR strategic plan, combined with recommendations from the comprehensive statewide needs assessment that VR conducted in 2019, align well and complement the Tennessee Workforce Development System Strategic Goals 2020-2024.

Goals for preparing an educated and skilled workforce

The Tennessee Department Human Services (TDHS) - Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Program agrees with, supports, and will work with WIOA partners to achieve the Tennessee Workforce Development System Strategic Goals 2020-2024. In particular, the VR Services Program has identified division-specific goals that will directly help to support these Strategic Goals.

Goal #1 – I. Apprenticeship: The Tennessee Department Human Services (TDHS) - Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Program is aligning career pathway services with other partners to help individuals with disabilities enter or advance within a specific occupation or occupational cluster through registered apprenticeships. The VR Services Program’s Business Services Unit will work closely with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development and other partner subject matter experts to assess and identify apprenticeship programs across the state in order to identify potential VR customers who can participate in apprenticeship training that will lead to economic self-sufficiency.

Goal #2 – I. Work-Based Learning (K-12): The Tennessee Department Human Services (TDHS) - Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Program conducted a comprehensive statewide needs assessment that revealed that pre-employment transition service (Pre-ETS) providers, educators, and parents all felt that youth with disabilities do and could greatly benefit from Pre-ETS services. The disconnect revealed in the Pre-ETS Needs Assessment is ensuring that those who need the services know about the services. Communicating and informing the public, schools, youth, parents, and stakeholders about Pre-ETS services is something that the division has been and will continue to address.

Goal #2 – II. Adult Education Post-Secondary Credential: The Tennessee Department Human Services (TDHS) - Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Program operates TRC Smyrna, a CTE center that offers 9 Areas of Study that provide opportunities to obtain national certifications and licenses that are industry-recognized, portable, and/or stackable.  These areas of study include: Automotive Detailing Technician, Automotive Maintenance & Lubrication Technician, Business Education Technology, Certified Logistics Associate/Technician, Certified Production Technician, Customer Care, Food Service, Power Equipment, and Pharmacy Technician.

Goals for meeting the skilled workforce needs of employers

The Workforce System goals were developed based on the economic and workforce analysis, comprehensive statewide needs assessment, and Governor Lee’s State Government 2020 Priority Initiatives.  To support the achievement of Governor Lee’s priorities and the Workforce System Goals identified in this plan, the Tennessee Department Human Services (TDHS) - Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Program collaborated with DHS sister agencies to develop a Customer-Focused Government Plan which includes key customer-focused operational goals and strategic initiatives that directly align with the Governor’s 2020 Priorities.

Governor’s Priority: Education & Workforce Development

• • Goal: To be the fastest improving state in the country.
     
    Governor’s Priority: Transparent & Efficient Government
  • Goal: To be the best-managed state, providing high quality services at the lowest possible price to taxpayers.
    • DHS Operational Goal: By June 2020, enhance the customer experience relative to timeliness.
    • Purpose: To improve the Vocational Rehabilitation customer service statewide by reducing the average number of days to develop an individual plan for employment (IPE).
  • DHS Strategic Initiative: By June 2020, develop a plan for stronger engagement of customer voice across all divisions of DHS.
    • Purpose: Greater opportunities to engage customer perspective and develop customer-centered solutions for all programs and services in DHS.
  • DHS Strategic Initiative: By June 30 2020, strengthen the department's procedural management of DHS data assets by implementing a data governance policy.
    • Purpose:  Ensure trusted data is only used for business purposes, decision making, and in accordance with laws, rules and regulations.
       
      Governor’s Priority: Healthier Tennessee Priority
  • Goal: To promote healthy behavior and provide high quality services to our most vulnerable populations.
     
    Governor’s Priority:  Jobs & Rural Economic Development
  • Goal: To be the #1 state in the Southeast for high quality jobs.
    • DHS Operational Goal: By June 2020 increase the number of customers from the 15 distressed counties engaged in vocational rehabilitation, independent living and pre-employment transition services.
      • Purpose: To build stronger rural communities by connecting Tennesseans from the 15 distressed counties to employment, education and support services.
    • DHS Strategic Initiative: By June 2020, enhance the customer experience by increasing access to services statewide largely targeting the 15 distressed counties.
      • Purpose: Improves customer service through expansion of service delivery to customers.
         
        Governor’s Priority:  Public Safety & Criminal Justice Reform
  • Goal: To promote the safety and security of Tennesseans.

Adult Education

To help the Tennessee Workforce Development System achieve its vision of a more cohesive, integrated system, the Adult Education program, as overseen by the TN Department of Labor and Workforce Development, has established the following goals:

GOAL 1:Develop a strategy and structure for Adult Education to implement a post-secondary pathway that shows measurable progress by September 30, 2021. Re-evaluation will occur at this time for program adjustments.

To establish statewide post-secondary pathways, Adult Education will create a framework that includes:

1. Basic skills education that concurrently prepares students for post-secondary by aligning classroom instruction to the College and Career Readiness standards for Adult Education and when applicable make referrals to the Out of School Youth (OSY) program. 
2. Instruction to improve student outcomes in targeted industry sectors such as healthcare, IT, and advanced manufacturing by working with subject matter experts in those fields creating a single set of objectives for participants
3. Standard performance and evaluation metrics to determine successful program outcomes based on the federal negotiated targets.
4. In partnership with WIRED, establishing baseline data for enrollment and performance of Adult Education participants in higher education and employment focusing on individuals with barriers to employment and out of school youth.

GOAL 2:Complete monitoring audits of all service providers to ensure compliance related to allowable costs and that activities are conducted according to federal regulations.

Adult Education will establish a culture of continuous and sustained improvement of Adult Education services. The program will:

1. Ensure all programs and activities comply with applicable laws and policies
2. Mitigate risks associated with suboptimal workforce performance or outcomes and correcting all documented findings from OCTAE
3. Provide resources for innovation in the delivery of workforce programs and services
4. Review monthly enrollment and outcomes data and conduct needed technical assistance through virtual and onsite visits
5. Convene providers quarterly for in-person training and development
6. Develop monthly and quarterly budget reports to track expenditure rates of program funds
7. Draft and release RFP and onboard new service providers by July 1, 2020

GOAL 3: Develop a strategy and structure to support a statewide apprenticeship program that shows measurable progress by September 30, 2021. Re-evaluation will occur at this time for program adjustments.

As part of TDLWD’s rollout of “Apprenticeship TN”, The Adult Education program will create and modify programming to support enrollment and expansion of apprenticeships for students that are basic skills deficient, English language learners, and those with barriers to employment. The program will:

1. Develop pre-apprenticeship opportunities for students in high-growth and high-need sectors
2. Participate in all meetings, convenings, and trainings related to apprenticeship
3. Review RAPIDS data to track AE student entry and completion
4. Establish baseline metrics for AE students gaining industry-recognized credentials
5. Expand workforce preparation activities (e.g. IET, pre-apprenticeship) offerings within 3 jail facilities by PY2022
6. Develop pre-apprenticeship models in coordination with postsecondary, trade associations, or employers having four (4) programs by PY2021, and eight (8) programs by PY2022.

GOAL 4: Support the public workforce development system and provide data throughout the year. Provide a clear connection to current industry and employers (demand), a clear pipeline development infrastructure (supply), a clear integration with economic development (investment), and clear outcome visibility (metrics, data, reports, predictive analytics, and research).

As a core WIOA partner, the Adult Education program is expected to support the overall growth and expansion of the TN workforce system. The program will:

1. Increase workforce pipeline by increasing AE enrollment by 10% each year.
2. Expand program and service offerings with jails to include workforce preparation, pre-apprenticeship ,remediation, and access to Re-Entry services
3. Increase co-enrollment of AE participants with core programs in the American Job Center network through strengthening our referral process with partners
4. Create pay-for-performance demonstration project in urban market
5. Expand integrated education and training with five employers in diverse sectors and develop a plan to scale by September 30, 2020

3. Performance Goals 

Table 16: TN Core Program:  Title I – Adult Program 

Table 17: TN Core Program:  Title I – Dislocated Worker Program 

Table 18: TN Core Program:  Title I – Youth Program 

Table 19: TN Core Program:  Title II – Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Program

Table 20: TN Core Program:  Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Service Program

Table 21: TN Core Program:  Vocational Rehabilitation Program  

4. Assessment

Since 2018 State Plan Modifications, the State conducted an assessment in 2019 on the overall effectiveness of the workforce development system by utilizing a third-party contractor. This entity completed the statewide evaluation of the workforce system organizational structure, and also the operating model’s ability to support efficient processes and internal controls.  The assessment encompassed 1) highlighted strengths and weaknesses of the current organization structure; 2) review of roles and responsibilities for proper role alignment; 3) provided recommendations regarding operational policies and procedures; 4) assessment of current risk/control/performance monitoring capabilities with areas of improvement identified; 5) review of internal control design and assessment of operating effectiveness of key controls; and 6) review of current data entry and reporting process to identify opportunities to implement automation.  Observations and recommendations were made regarding the above referenced processes and internal controls for all nine Local Workforce Development Areas (LWDAs), as well for the state.  As a result of this evaluation, follow up discussions have identified crucial improvements and strategies needed in the existing workforce structure to effectively and efficiently support the Governor’s workforce initiatives for Tennessee.

To further evaluate and improve the system; the State will be utilizing the same third-party contractor to follow-up on the previous assessment and focus on the following key six areas.

1. Organizational structure analysis - Contractor will assist State in implementing recommendations related to governance and process, including (a) performing a detailed quantitative analysis of the various Local Workforce Development Area (LWDA) organizational structures, which also includes analyzing the benefits and drawbacks associated with each structure, (b) developing key metrics to analyze administrative and provider costs, and (c) reviewing board staff makeup and provider costs; Contractor will analyze the benefits of structuring all LWDAs in the same manner;
2. Strategic plan process review - Contractor will work with one LWDA (as chosen by the State) to assist the local area with implementing recommendations related to the area’s strategic plan; Contractor will assist the LWDAs in documenting their processes, including stakeholder involvement and ongoing monitoring, and the development of key metrics to measure outcomes; Contractor will work with the LWDA to create a roadmap to achieve desired strategic outcomes;
3. Board development - Contractor will design a leadership development program to offer to Local Workforce Development Boards; Contractor will conduct two learning sessions;
4. Process design and deployment - Contractor will document 4-6 future state processes; Deploy processes at 1-2 local areas;
5. Customer experience pilot - Contractor will work with all LWDAs to perform a customer experience journey map at local AJCs - Contractor will develop persona matrices for LWDAs; Contractor will work with State to develop Customer Journey Rollout plan;

6. Technology improvements - Contractor will work with State to identify and document leading practices for the VOS system; Contractor will review use of Grants4TN and develop design requirements for replacement system.

Additional assessment of the workforce system will continue to take place through Quarterly and Annual monitoring of the LWDAs to include feedback from leadership from each of the 9 LWDAs. Those monitoring reviews will allow the State to determine the capacity of each LWDA and provide opportunities to determine their current service level and areas that will need improvement. Evaluation of specific programs will also take place such as an official evaluation of the Re-Employment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program per UIPL 07-19. The State will be utilizing a third-party contractor to evaluate the effectiveness of the RESEA program to include considering new ideas such as the utilization of self-scheduling, the mobile American Job Center (AJC), and video technology (i.e. Skype).

Assessment of The Tennessee Workforce Development System

The assessment framework for the overall effectiveness for the Tennessee Workforce Development System centers on a series of project charters. These project charters focus on the various aspects of workforce development that symbolize the necessary elements of a high-performing workforce system, such as work-based learning strategies, transition supports for exiting Veterans, and re-employment programming. The milestones and outcomes for the different project charters were due on March 19, 2020. Upon submission, state leadership will review and schedule formal presentations to approval all plans. The interruptions caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic have delayed the review process for all the project charters designated for the TNWDS. Thus, progress has been delayed until further notice.

The Tennessee Department Human Services (TDHS) - Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Program has identified Data Driven Services and Outcomes as one of the priorities in their division’s 2019-2023 Strategic Plan. The goal of this priority is to achieve improved employment outcomes for people with disabilities through data driven rehabilitation services and employment initiatives.  The Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) is working to enhance the capacity of staff to use and analyze data to inform and improve practices and outcomes, advance the integration of data systems with other resources as appropriate to facilitate innovative service delivery and collaboration, and to share program data and outcomes with stakeholders to create an environment that promotes continuous quality improvement.

Adult Education

TDLWD will conduct monitoring and evaluation activities of local adult education providers as outlined in later sections. The monitoring and evaluation activities will analyze the adult basic education, ESL/IELCE activities, corrections education, pre-apprenticeship activities, and integrated education and training activities. A crucial part of this plan is the regular analyses of performance data that will be conducted in order to evaluate the quality of the program. To ensure departmental capacity to handle this responsibility, TDLWD has recently created and filled a new staff position within the Adult Education Division: a systems & analytics specialist. The specialist works to create real-time dashboards and various monthly reports that show program performance data, at the local level, by LWDA, and the cumulative statewide level. These analyses will focus on student enrollment, measurable skill gains, post-exit outcomes, expenditures, and other areas of interest that indicate program quality. The results of these analyses will aid in conducting targeted technical assistance, design professional development, or issue guidance according to the areas of need in order to improve adult education program quality. The analyses will also seek to determine if the goals of the program are being met, including the extent to which implementation of postsecondary pathways and pre-apprenticeships has been successful. We will also evaluate the extent to which expanding service offerings in jails, with pay-performance models, and with integrated education and training programs has been effective—these are other major Adult Education program goals.