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—
- 6. Program Data
- A. Data Alignment and Integration
Describe the plans of the lead State agencies with responsibility for the administration of the core programs, along with the State Board, to align and integrate available workforce and education data systems for the core programs, unemployment insurance programs, and education through postsecondary education, and to the extent possible, the Combined State Plan partner programs included in this plan. The description of the State’s plan for integrating data systems should include the State’s goals for achieving integration and any progress to date.
Describe data-collection and reporting processes used for all programs and activities, including the State’s process to collect and report data on co-enrollment, and for those present in the one-stop centers.
- A. Data Alignment and Integration
- 6. Program Data
- b. State Operating Systems and Policies
III. b. 6. A. ii. Describe the State’s plans to integrate data systems to facilitate streamlined intake and service delivery to track participation across all programs included in this plan
Current Narrative:
Louisiana has a robust system in HiRE that has comprehensive on-demand reporting capabilities from a statewide database. State and local staff are able to enter, view, update, print and upload participant data, and analyze various reports daily. These reports provide mechanisms to measure levels of service and outcomes by program or targeted groups which allows state and local staff to view outcome data at the state, regional, local, and case manager level for Wagner-Peyser, WIOA Title I-B, TAA, Veterans Employment and Training Services and individuals with disabilities while providing a better measure of the impact of outreach programs or specialized initiatives on performance supporting State’s strategies. Staff has the ability to run reports any time with the majority of data in real-time. Analysis of report data and case management information allows staff to identify errors and quickly correct and improve service delivery. Ongoing technical assistance and training is provided to local workforce areas to ensure understanding of performance measures and the impact of program strategies on performance outcomes. All performance reports have a breakout of how individual customers fit into each performance measure, whether positive, neutral or negative. This allows staff to better find errors and improves analysis by revealing the source of the data down to the individual level.
Louisiana recognizes the opportunities that exist to streamline and enhance intake and service delivery, reporting, and cost-sharing agreements through data sharing. This triggers a broad-based system allowing data to be shared across various data systems of required partners. For example, LWC currently has a data sharing agreement with the DCFS used to service and track TANF recipients participating in the STEP (Strategies to Employ People) program. A data sharing agreement like this helps individuals maintain benefits by participating in mandatory job search activities through an American Job Center in their local workforce area and have data entered and track by both agencies to ensure compliance. Partnerships like this will continue to be expanded over the life of this plan to increase data sharing for service provision and reporting of WIOA partner agencies. System updates and expansion of workforce and labor market information will continue to achieve high-quality, timely, integrated data that informs policy, employer and job seeker decision-making.
Statewide Workforce and Labor Market Information Development Strategies
- Warrant job seekers and workers the availability and accessibility of information and guidance required to make informed decisions about training and careers, as well as access to the education, training and support services they need to compete in current and future labor markets.
- Equip the State Board to execute the role of planning and coordinating the development of required information products by core, partner and other governmental entities, and the accessibility, reliability, dependability, scalability, interoperability and documentation of the workforce system's data collection and production, and to concert the system's Internet presence.
- Maintain an active participation in the Wage Record Interchange Systems (WRIS and WRIS2) and collaborate with federal workforce data producers to ensure Louisiana is accounted for in their data products in order to facilitate planning processes under WIOA and national comparability.
- Ensure seamless coordination to supply timely, reliable and accessible data to all the stakeholders of the workforce system.
- Implement and standardize high-level reporting to policymakers on education and employment outcomes across workforce programs.
The Louisiana Workforce Commission and the State’s Office of Technology Systems continue to work together to develop a data collection and management strategies that will meet the needs of data sharing between, amongst, and about core partners. These plans will develop as system requirement updates are realized and cybersecurity measures are enhanced to protect personally identifiable information (PII).
Louisiana continues to work to align and integrate participant and performance data across WIOA programs with the ultimate goal of providing effective and efficient services that lead to the participants’ employment as quickly as possible. Monthly meetings are held between state and local staff to ensure good communication on performance and other related issues. These meetings also serve as the point of discussion on enhancements to HiRE that will further support performance accountability. The programs use the same set of services whenever possible so a service should only need to be entered once for a participant who is enrolled in multiple programs. This also helps in establishing integrated service plans for participants served by more than one program. The WIOA required partners at the state and local levels engage in monthly and/or quarterly discussions regarding ways to streamline intake and service delivery and incorporate their agreements in their regional and local plans, as well as their MOUs and cost-sharing agreements. Collaboration among partners incorporates a broad-based approach to determine how data systems can be integrated or data can be shared across various data systems of all the required partners that participate in the workforce system.
The State provides ongoing technical assistance and training provided by LWC’s Technical Assistance and Training Unit (TAT) within the Office of Workforce Development to local workforce areas to ensure understanding of performance measures and the impact of program strategies on performance outcomes. Quarterly trainings are conducted through virtual and in-person sessions on identified integration strategies that include:
- Functional and technical assessment of external and internal systems in assess and improving common intake solutions;
- Referral to partner agencies;
- Generation and tracking of unique customer identification;
- Automated initial assessment based on real-time triage and intake questions;
- Common dashboard for participant information;
- Policies and procedures for intake, eligibility and enrollment in program services
OWD’s TAT Unit in coordination with the Business Services Team comprised of Industry Sector Specialists (ISS), Business Services Representatives (BSR), and Rehabilitation Employment Development Specialists (REDS), also includes assessments and analysis of business services. This assessment is a key step in developing the capacity for concentrated outreach and recruitment campaigns, access to customer and participant job search activities, identifying eligible job seekers with the HiRE system, improve job postings, and overall improved service delivery to meet the needs of businesses among workforce partners.
LWC will establish a Technical Assistance Working Group comprised of representatives from all WIOA core partners and required one-stop partners administered by State agencies, to develop and issue field guidance for regional and local planning, the one-stop memoranda of understanding and cost-sharing agreements, and provide a mechanism to resolve local WIOA implementation issues between partners.
These strategies include making the system easy to navigate and promoting multiple entry points to access data that will adopt, adapt, or create one or more models of streamlined intake and referral that one-stop centers throughout the state can utilize to improve service delivery.