Located in:
- III. Operational Planning Elements
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include an Operational Planning Elements section that supports 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 Policies
The 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. 4. D. Evaluation
Describe how the State will conduct evaluations and research projects on activities under WIOA core programs; how such projects will be coordinated with, and designed in conjunction with, State and local boards and with State agencies responsible for the administration of all respective core programs; and, further, how the projects will be coordinated with the evaluations provided for by the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Education under WIOA.
Current Narrative:
Through the evaluation of the assessments discussed in Section (4)(a) and (b), performance accountability oversight described in Section 6(a)(iv), and implementation of this Plan’s strategies, Arizona will continue to identify appropriate evaluation and research projects. So far, research and evaluation has focused on (a) observing and analyzing workforce performance through the tracking of workforce performance outcomes and (b) improving the state’s understanding of the accessibility and effectiveness of training. This analysis includes the following:
- Performance review at the state and local level for tracked performance metrics:
- Participant characteristics analysis
- Analysis of training impact by program and by local area (in testing phase)
- Analysis of availability of training in In-Demand Occupations by LWDA
- Not currently available online
Arizona was also able to utilize a grant from the National Governors Association to conduct gap analysis for the ARIZONA@WORK system and its partners. This one time evaluation will help us better understand where to improve as a united workforce system.
As teams continue to implement the Unified Workforce Plan’s strategies, additional and/or more targeted pilots and research projects will be identified. Projects will be conducted in coordination with the Council, its committees, ADE, ADES, and LWDBs, as appropriate, to leverage expertise and best practices. Coordinating across entities for evaluation and research projects may also assist to shape the Council’s statewide policies and inform best practice. Arizona will coordinate its projects with those of the Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Education as that information becomes available.
To evaluate activities of the core programs, the Council has endorsed the use of a results-driven performance management system, a continuous improvement model to improve processes, measure progress or slippage, and check and adjust implementation to achieve the goals and strategies identified in this Plan. The Council assesses the statewide system for accountability through the federal and state required performance measures. Further, in accordance with Council policy: (i) LWDBs are evaluated and certified every two years by the Council to meet WIOA requirements, and (ii) LWDB’s ARIZONA@WORK Job Centers are evaluated and certified every three years by the LWDBs to meet WIOA requirements. LWDBs also oversee continuous improvement activities through the ARIZONA@WORK Job Center certification process. LWDBs evaluate the ARZIONA@WORK system across partner programs, to include its selected service providers to meet performance and service expectations for the individuals and businesses served in the LWDA.
In addition, for an impact study, the State is developing the education and training evaluation project which will determine how effectively WIOA training services impact the employment outcomes of participants. The evaluation project is a quasi-experimental study that will compare employment outcomes of WIOA participants who received training services and participants who did not receive training services. This evaluation project is a progression of the State’s outcomes analysis from program year 2019 which showed that :
- Participants who completed training were 20% more likely to be employed and made an average $2301 more in wages per quarter than those who did not complete training. -
- Some training types have substantially better outcomes than others when it comes to employment success & wage outcomes.