Narrative: IV.

Florida Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Core Leadership
A State Plan Implementation Team consists of professional team members from all core and combined programs and the Reimagining Education and Career Help (REACH) Office at the Executive Office of the Governor who meet monthly to discuss each core and combined program’s critical issues, challenges, and accomplishments including implementation of the state workforce development plan and performance goals. This includes discussion of program structures, purpose, customer base, and contributions that could improve the statewide system.

The State Plan Implementation Team uses the WIOA Combined Plan as an ongoing opportunity to review and update coordination with state plan programs. The objectives for the monthly team meetings include:

1. Ensure appropriate representation to include core and combined partner leadership and subject-matter experts. Personnel with specialized legal, financial, or information technology expertise may be selected to attend specific meetings. This participation structure is designed to ensure a thread of vertical coherence throughout the system so that key issues may be identified at each level and brought for discussion at the WIOA Core Program Leadership meetings.
2. Monitor progress toward relevant partner-specific and shared performance objectives, definitions, and targets presented in this plan.
3. Provide workgroup updates and relevant WIOA information that impacts the Florida workforce system. The Core Leader Team uses tracking and communication tools to ensure reliable progress reporting, resource identification, and recommendations for additional workgroups to implement key components of the state plan.
4. Discuss state-level initiatives and agreements on how to leverage and braid funding and services are established.
5. Explore collaborations with core and combined planning partners and stakeholders to develop new jointly funded initiatives and engage in coordinated projects designed to continue implementing and enhancing the workforce system within the WIOA framework.
6. Identify barriers to partnerships and discuss with the goal of finding efficient and effective solutions.

Policy Development Workgroup
Policy development begins with identifying an issue or need for new or revised policy consistent with the Policy Development Framework adopted by the CareerSource Florida Board of Directors in 2021. The CareerSource Florida Board, CareerSource Florida professional team, the Florida Department of Commerce (FloridaCommerce), WIOA core partners, the Governor, or Legislature may originate issues and needs for evaluation. Changes in federal or state law, regulations, or rules may require developing or updating strategic or administrative policies or workforce guidance.

FloridaCommerce program areas routinely assess activities, responsibilities, and the external environment to identify the need for administrative policies. The monitoring process may identify the need to update or develop policy. Administrative policies or workforce guidance may be developed in anticipation of a need or in response to a need.

Substantive revisions may affect the intent or objective of the policy and may require a new policy. This may occur as the result of significant changes in federal or state law. Minor revisions do not affect the intent or objective of the policy and are typically classified as policy updates. Revisions may include clarifying points of the initial policy; reorganizing information for a better flow, description, or explanation; making corrections to existing definitions, punctuation, spelling, or agency titles adding new definitions; or incorporating attachments to aid in policy statements or clarification.

Once the need for new or revised policy or workforce guidance is identified, the Policy Development Workgroup, comprised of CareerSource Florida Strategic Policy and Performance team members and the FloridaCommerce’s Bureau of One-Stop and Program Support, receives the policy assignment. The Policy Development Workgroup ensures policy alignment with the key characteristics of the CareerSource Florida Policy Development Framework and with the  Statewide Workforce Development Board Policymaking Authority and Delegation Policy.

Additional staff, board members, core or required partners, representatives from local workforce development boards (LWDBs), and other subject matter experts may assist the Policy Development Workgroup in various stages of policy development.

Members of the Policy Development Workgroup collaborate to present policies to the CareerSource Florida Strategic Policy and Performance Council and the CareerSource Florida Board of Directors for action. When policies are approved, CareerSource Florida and FloridaCommerce’s Bureau of One-Stop and Program Support collaborate to distribute policies, guidance, and other tools to LWDBs and partners.

Workforce Performance and Finance Team Meetings
CareerSource Florida and FloridaCommerce’s Bureau of One-Stop and Program Support and Bureau of Workforce Statistics and Economic Research continually collaborate to align performance and finance activities throughout Florida’s workforce system. Performance and finance team members from both organizations meet monthly to review the ongoing implementation of CareerSource Florida budget initiatives, statewide and local performance on federal and state metrics, LWDB monitoring activities, and technical assistance needs. These meetings complement the ongoing work of team members on several projects and initiatives required under the REACH Act, WIOA, and state statutes.

REACH Act Implementation Meetings
Since the REACH Act went into effect, a cross-agency leadership group meets weekly to focus on implementation of the legislation. This workgroup consists of agency leaders from the Governor’s REACH Office, Florida Department of Education’s (FDOE) Career and Adult Education and State University System divisions, Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), CareerSource Florida, and FloridaCommerce. This group identifies challenges and opportunities to eliminate barriers to collaboration, leverages resources across agencies, and reviews and reports on current implementation efforts.

Joint Planning and Coordination Among Core Programs and Required One-Stop Partner Programs
As described in 20 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Combined State Plans Under Title I of WIOA, §676.135, LWDBs must regularly revisit state plan strategies and recalibrate them to respond to the changing economic conditions and workforce needs of the state.

Regular interagency meetings of the WIOA Core and Combined Partner programs address aspects of plan implementation. These meetings include leadership and subject matter experts from the FDOE's Divisions of Career and Adult Education, Vocational Rehabilitation, and Blind Services; the Florida College System; FloridaCommerce; and CareerSource Florida. This group revisits state plan strategies and obtains data-driven information about program performance.

Every two years, a workgroup of subject matter experts from the core partners and the Florida College System is formed. This group addresses the federal Information Collection Request (ICR) requirements for the State Plan and creates instructions for local plans. These meetings typically occur before receiving the ICR, training, or guidance. This workgroup identifies opportunities to continuously improve the quality of the plan and the process for managing the plan.

The plan consists of strategic and operational planning elements that define each program’s statewide duties and roles relating to the workforce system, and it details a process to integrate all federally mandated and optional partners. The WIOA Combined Plan (2024-2028) is consistent with the requirements of federal and state law with an emphasis on modernizing and streamlining services, strengthening partnerships to leverage coordinated resources, delivering universal access through system integration, promoting increased accountability, and enabling local board and private sector leadership toward local flexibility and integration of programs.

Workgroup members collaborate to identify and submit information reflecting changes in the labor market and economic conditions, along with a narrative update on strategic and operational planning elements described in the original combined plan. The workgroup focuses on writing and submitting a plan that describes accomplishments since 2022 and aligns program elements with the state’s vision and goals. Plan partners meet regularly and collaborate to complete updates and submit the plan in the WIOA State Plan Portal.

Local and Regional Plans
As required by WIOA, LWDBs submit local plans to the state in partnership with the chief local elected official. CareerSource Florida and FloridaCommerce solicit input from FDOE’s Division of Career and Adult Education (DCAE), Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) and Division of Blind Services (FDBS) to develop requirements governing the submission of local plans. After this collaboration, FloridaCommerce distributes local planning instructions for local boards to submit their four-year plans and two-year modifications. These instructions provide direction for creating local plans, which serve as four-year action plans to develop, align, and integrate service delivery strategies and support the state’s vision and operational goals.

FloridaCommerce codified the state’s policy governing the submission of local plans through an administrative rule, as required by the REACH Act. This administrative rule and procedural guidelines outlined in federal regulations govern the local plan development process.

The rule ensures local plans align with the state’s combined plan and the state’s Comprehensive Education, Employment and Training Policy. Local plans set a strategy to utilize all allowable resources to:

• Assist Floridians in securing employment that leads to economic self-sufficiency and reduces the need for public assistance.
• Provide opportunities for Floridians to develop skills intended to meet the present and future needs of employers.
• Ensure that workforce-related programs are responsive to present and foreseeable future needs of business and industry.
• Prioritize evidence-based, results-driven solutions to improve outcomes for Florida’s residents and businesses.
• Identify barriers to coordinate and align workforce-related programs and develop solutions to remove such barriers.

Local elected officials, LWDB board members, core program partners, and mandatory one-stop partners are integral to the planning process. Each plan addresses how the LWDB coordinates service delivery with core programs of VR, FDBS, DCAE, and combined partners including DCF’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program E&T programs, adult and community education, Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), Unemployment Insurance (UI), Jobs for Veterans State Grant (JVSG), Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), and Community Services Block Grant (CSBG).

Under WIOA and consistent with the Uniform Guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL), LWDBs, with the agreement of the chief elected official(s), are required to develop and execute Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with required partners on the operation of the one-stop delivery system in the local service delivery area. Each LWDB must include an Infrastructure Funding Agreement (IFA) in the MOU with required partners. The IFA details how infrastructure costs for the one-stop delivery system will be funded and shared locally.

LWDBs and career centers are expected to act in good faith and transparently negotiate infrastructure costs and additional costs of operating a local one-stop delivery system. Funding provided by the one-stop partners to cover the operating costs, including infrastructure costs and additional costs, of the one-stop delivery system must be based on the partner program’s proportionate use of the system and relative benefit received. These agreements are designed to enhance access to other partners’ federal, state, and local resources and streamline service delivery. WIOA Combined planning is designed to assist with cultivation and coordination of this process.

In 2021, the state board began reporting the combined and other partners co-located within comprehensive one-stop centers throughout the state.

Regional Planning Area Plans
Beginning in PY 2024, designated Regional Planning Areas will be required to submit an addendum to their local plan outlining their regional strategies. The CareerSource Florida Board of Directors passed a Regional Planning Area Strategic Policy that requires all local workforce areas to be part of a Regional Planning Area to:

• Align workforce strategies to address the needs of shared industry sectors, employers, and significant populations of job seekers.
• Address common labor shortages and worker skills gaps with aligned service strategies.
• Realize system efficiencies through reducing resource costs (monetary, time, or other).

Regional Planning Area and local WIOA plans must align with Florida’s WIOA Statewide Plan.

Regional Planning Areas are required by policy to meet the following requirements:

• Each local workforce development area (LWDA) must be part of a Regional Planning Area.
• Regional Planning Areas must include, at a minimum, two contiguous LWDAs within Florida.
• Regional Planning Areas shall have relevant relationships as evidenced by population centers, commuting patterns, industrial composition, location quotients, labor force conditions, and geographic boundaries.
• Regional Planning Areas shall establish a shared regional service strategy with a defined goal.
• Regional Planning Areas shall establish administrative cost arrangements across LWDAs. Acceptable examples of administrative cost arrangements include but are not limited to shared staff, technology systems, or back-end administrative support tools.
• Chief Local Elected Officials in a new Regional Planning Area MUST participate in the regional planning process that results in the inclusion of the shared regional objectives and initiatives as an addendum to each LWDB’s WIOA plan.
• The regional plan must include a description of activities that result in the following items:
  • Establish regional service strategies using cooperative service delivery agreements that include but are not limited to:
    • Consistent eligibility standards and enrollment processes.
    • Common training and coordination of supportive service offerings.
    • Common technology tools and sharing of data within tools outside of Employ Florida.
  • Develop and implement sector strategies for in-demand sectors or occupations.
  • Collect and analyze regional labor market data.
  • Coordinate supportive services.
  • Coordinate services with regional economic development services and providers.
  • Establish agreement concerning how the Regional Planning Area will collectively negotiate performance for the LWDA or the planning region.

FloridaCommerce Monthly Local Board Calls
FloridaCommerce facilitates a monthly call of leadership and subject matter experts representing FloridaCommerce, CareerSource Florida, Executive Directors, and/or staff of LWDBs and other partners as determined appropriate. The call serves as a forum to facilitate the identification of areas of opportunity to improve transparency and accountability; obtain input to assist with decision-making; and to provide updates on federal and state initiatives, policy changes, performance/data reporting, and budget/finance concerns.

Improvements to Strategic Planning Business Relationships
Florida has a streamlined and efficient approach comprised of three key business relationships for coordinating WIOA programs. Each group and associated coordination activities are listed below:

The State Workforce Development Board (CareerSource Florida Board of Directors)

Membership
The Florida Governor, gubernatorial appointees and statutorily designated members, including majority representation from Florida businesses; labor organizations; community-based organizations; representatives of organizations that demonstrate experience and expertise in addressing the employment, training, or education needs of eligible youth, including representatives of organizations that serve out-of-school youth (OSY); the lead state officials primarily responsible for WIOA core programs; DCF; two or more chief elected officials collectively representing both cities and counties; members of the Florida Legislature; and other representatives and officials designated by the Governor. The collective goals of this board include:

• Approve state workforce system policies on the implementation and management of WIOA.
• Review state and local workforce system performance.
• Approve the budget for the State Workforce Development System and direct the investments of the WIOA set aside budget.
• Initiate and direct board-led initiatives to address the economic needs of the state.
• Direct the creation of the state WIOA plan.
• Provide support and assistance in delivering key policy messages and recommendations to the Governor, legislators, federal entities, and other key stakeholder groups as needed.

WIOA Core and Combined Program Leadership Team Membership
The WIOA Core and Combined Program Leadership Team is composed of WIOA Partner Program Directors and subject matter experts including staff who represent CareerSource Florida; FloridaCommerce’s Division of Workforce Services and the Bureau of One-Stop and Program Support; the REACH Office, FDOE’s Divisions of Career and Adult Education, VR, FDBS, and Florida Colleges and Universities and combined planning partners.

• Receive and consider recommendations from the WIOA State Plan Implementation Team and provide leadership for WIOA implementation.
• Discuss issues, challenges, and opportunities of mutual concern and seek solutions.
• Provide thorough vetting of complex issues prior to submitting key information and recommendations from the WIOA State Plan Implementation Team to the CareerSource Florida Board of Directors.
• Commission workgroups to research strategies and implement action as needed.
• Arrange for resource support as needed.
• Prepare and deliver key information and recommendations for implementation, strategy development, and performance management to the Governor, agency heads, legislators, the state workforce investment board, and federal Departments of Labor and Education.

WIOA State Plan Implementation Team Membership
The WIOA State Plan Implementation Team includes Planning Directors and Program Leadership for WIOA partner programs. The purpose of this team is to:

• Review and interpret legal and regulatory requirements of WIOA.
• Incorporate federal requirements into state planning and performance processes.
• Identify and communicate resource and information support across WIOA partner programs.
• Draft policies, guidelines, and tools for developing and tracking the state plan.
• Prepare and deliver state plans (and plan updates) and coordinate the development and delivery of local plans.
• Track approved state plan workgroups and activities established to achieve identified goals.
• Consider and approve recommendations for workgroups.
• Report plan progress to the WIOA Core Program Leadership Team.
• Make recommendations for additional workgroups or resources needed to maintain progress.
• Communicate key messages and issues to agency heads.

These activities allow workgroups to engage in coordinated projects designed to continue implementing and enhancing the workforce system within the WIOA framework. These workgroups include planning directors, program leadership, and subject matter experts for WIOA partner programs.

Topics covered by these workgroups include:

• Enhancing infrastructure and data-sharing processes, including development of state data-sharing agreements.
• Conducting studies to evaluate case management systems and make recommendations for features and functionalities of future Florida workforce network solutions (copy of reports available upon request).
• Implementing the Florida Workforce System Transformation Plan.
• Implementing a Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative that collects and tracks key performance indicators that complement the WIOA Primary Indicators of Performance https://careersourceflorida.com/performance/).
• Developing and communicating the value of Florida’s Master Credentials List.
• Reviewing LWDB Letter Grades.
• Implementing Florida’s CLIFF Suite of Tools.
• Continuing expansion of apprenticeships into key industry sectors.
• Coordinating membership of state and local workforce boards.
• Developing a network of qualified benefits planners to augment Social Security Administration contracts for Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) services.
• Completing a stakeholder engagement analysis to determine where to target outreach efforts, including business engagement activities.
• Reviewing services, programs, and partnerships of core WIOA programs to reduce duplication of efforts, identify gaps between programs, and identify and eliminate barriers to coordination among programs.
• Working collaboratively to ensure that staff in the state’s workforce development system are cross-trained on workforce-related programs, integrated case management, individual employment planning, and other activities to support a No Wrong Door strategy.
• Identifying opportunities to expand services/programs to meet ongoing needs of people with barriers to employment, including people with disabilities.
• Identifying opportunities and innovations in service delivery to ensure that business services are in line with the changing needs of Florida businesses.

Workgroups use project management and process-oriented approaches and tools. These include charter and mission statements, flowcharting, timelines for deliverables, requirements matrices, and other project and process management documents. Meetings are managed and documented using detailed agendas, and workgroup documents are accessible to all team members across agencies. Decision points, recommendations, and progress updates from the workgroups are vetted through the core program leadership and other key stakeholder groups prior to their presentation to the CareerSource Florida Board of Directors. This encourages and ensures transparency, the free flow of information, and open communication between all core and combined programs and their related services.