Narrative: a. 1. B.

Background

In 1993, the Texas legislature passed Senate Bill 642, the Workforce and Economic Competitiveness Act (Act), transforming the state’s fragmented workforce development system into an integrated service delivery network and improving the quality and effectiveness of services. At the time of the Act, Texas had 35 Service Delivery Areas set forth under the federal Job Training Partnership Act of 1982.

The 1993 Act required TWIC to recommend designation of workforce areas in the state, the first step in establishing a system for delivering a slate of integrated services, from workforce training to the TANF and SNAP E&T programs, community services, and the basic labor exchange system.

In 1998, Congress passed WIA. Recognizing that Texas previously established the framework of an integrated workforce system, WIA provided for several grandfather provisions, which allowed Texas to continue certain provisions under prior consistent state law. One of these provisions was specific to the designation of workforce areas. This provision allowed Texas’ Boards to continue if they performed successfully and maintained sustained fiscal integrity.

The Act also required that the local elected officials reach agreement on the designation for a workforce area. After much analysis and deliberation, including significant public input, and the recognition that even contiguous areas often have very diverse needs, 28 workforce areas— governed by Boards—were identified and designated by the governor. The realignment from 35 to 28 workforce areas supported Texas’ vision of an integrated and streamlined workforce system, a precursor to the purposes of WIOA.

Local Area Designation

WIOA §189(i)(1) allows states that have enacted, not later than December 31, 1997, a state law providing for the designation of service delivery areas for the delivery of workforce investment activities, to use such areas as local areas under Title I of WIOA. Prior consistent state law at Texas Government Code §2308.252 provides for the designation of local workforce areas in Texas. Therefore, the provisions of WIOA §106 related to local area designation do not apply in Texas.

Compliant with WIOA §108, each Board develops and submits to the governor a comprehensive four-year local plan in partnership with the chief elected official (CEO). Texas Government Code §2308.304(b) also requires each Board to develop a local plan with goals and objectives that are consistent with statewide goals, objectives, and performance standards. State and federal law require TWIC to review local plans and modifications and make recommendations to the governor for approval.

Regions

WIOA requires states to identify regions in the state. WIOA’s intent regarding regional identification is for locals to engage in regional efforts that result in the analysis of the regional labor market, establishment of regional service strategies, development and implementation of sector initiatives for in-demand industry sectors or occupations for the region, and the coordination of services with regional economic development needs. TWC continues to comply with these WIOA requirements.

Long before a federal requirement existed, Boards across Texas had a demonstrated history of collaboration beyond the designated workforce areas. These regional collaborative efforts have resulted in workforce system leaders partnering to align workforce policies and services with regional economies and supporting service delivery strategies tailored to these needs. A few examples of regional collaboration include:

• The Cameron County, Coastal Bend, and South Texas Boards collaborate regionally on the Future of the Region South Texas group, the efforts of which extend beyond the workforce and include the region’s local governments, infrastructure, health care system, education, and economic development.
• Five Boards—Alamo, Coastal Bend, Golden Crescent, Middle Rio Grande, and South Texas—work collaboratively to support the needs of the oil and gas industry in the Eagle Ford Shale area.
• The Capital Area Board has participated in the Accelerating Connections to Employment (ACE) National Evaluation study, funded by DOL’s Workforce Innovation Fund. ACE is driven by a consortium of nine workforce investment boards, ten community colleges, and employer partners across four states, tasked with reducing poverty by linking education, training, and workforce services to create skill-building opportunities and career pathways for low-skilled, low-income individuals.
• The Capital Area, Alamo, Central Texas, Greater Dallas, Heart of Texas, North Central Texas, Rural Capital Area, and Tarrant County Boards are members of the I 35 Initiatives Consortium. The consortium was founded in 2010 to establish a multiregional coordinated strategy for meeting the recruitment and skill training needs of businesses in the life sciences cluster, with an emphasis on health care and bioscience. The consortium represents 46 percent of the Texas’ residents located in the 51 counties that span from San Antonio to Dallas-Fort Worth.
• Additionally, the Greater Dallas, North Central Texas, and Tarrant County Boards have created the Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Workforce Leadership Council (RWLC), the driving force for a cooperative approach to promoting the region’s strongest industries and supporting the region’s key clusters. RWLC works to meet industries’ needs through the collaboration of the Boards with chambers of commerce and business leaders.
• The Rural Workforce Network (RWN) Consortium Biotechnology/Life Sciences-Medical Targeted Industries Project was designed to further build capacity to meet the skills readiness and skills training needs of employers and job seekers in the RWN region, through an understanding of employers’ needs, assessments of job seekers’ skills, and the creation and credentialing of a work-ready workforce. Five Boards—Concho Valley, West Central Texas, Permian Basin, North Texas, and South Plains—four employers, and nine public colleges participated in this project.
• As many Texas Boards share labor sheds with adjacent states, these Boards find it beneficial to establish partnerships with out-of-state partners to create a regional response to workforce and economic challenges. The Texoma Board partners with the Southern Oklahoma Workforce Board, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, and several other key organizations in Oklahoma to form the Texoma Regional Consortium, which covers a 13-county region along the Texas and Oklahoma borders. The Texoma Regional Consortium addresses needs of local business and industry in both Texas and Oklahoma through participating in strategic planning to identify key regional strategic themes, develop regional labor market analysis, sponsor regional job fairs, and participate in other joint ventures to address workforce and economic challenges.
• Multiple Boards across the state have partnered with each other to respond to disasters, such as Hurricane Harvey, leveraging resources to help support those most in need.

Development and implementation of the above regional collaborations were based on analysis of labor markets, industry needs, and the needs of economic development entities. These efforts have enhanced and continue to enhance both the capacity and performance of the Texas workforce system. The Boards continue to meet WIOA expectations.

In Texas, local leadership—CEOs, Boards, and Board staff—have long championed regional planning, particularly in developing opportunities in in-demand industry sectors and occupations. The benefits from regionalism include collaborative planning, pooling and leveraging of resources, capacity building, and ensuring that services can be delivered in the best possible way—regionalism is essential to the Boards’ mission.

To ensure Boards are meeting the WIOA criteria for “performed successfully” and “sustained fiscal integrity” TWC requires Boards to submit data on designated performance measures. Performance measure data is reported monthly and maintained on TWC’s website maintained by Information Innovation & Insight (I|3), formerly known as the Division of Operational Insight (available at https://intra.twc.texas.gov/intranet/plan/html/index.html). Additionally, to ensure sound fiscal  management, TWC conducts routine monitoring visits that verify fiscal integrity and assist Boards in addressing any identified issues. Board grant and financial monitoring information is available at https://twc.texas.gov/agency/texas-workforce-commission-financial-grant- information.