Narrative: a. 2. B.

Economic Security for All (EcSA): EcSA is a poverty reduction and equity program that directly addresses the need for economic recovery, especially for those who have been kept furthest from opportunity. EcSA prioritizes services for people experiencing homelessness, people of color and rural communities. EcSA was launched in 2019 in four pilot areas across the state with the support of the Governor’s Poverty Reduction Work Group (PRWG), multiple state agencies, and LWDBs. In 2021, Governor Inslee expanded EcSA to seven additional regions, covering most of the state. And in 2022, state general funds were dedicated to the program giving additional local flexibility and making EcSA a statewide program.

EcSA brings multiple programs together at the local level to help people move out of poverty. EcSA partners with Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and focuses on serving participants that qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and individuals at risk of experiencing poverty. It began by listening to our living experts – those individuals who have lived experience or are currently experiencing poverty in Washington. Local programs are continually improved from direct participant feedback captured through surveys, listening sessions and conversations happening with career specialists.

Promising Development Since July 2021

• Addressing homelessness – LWDBs increased partnerships with local housing providers throughout the state to fill the gap that has existed in many areas for customers transitioning from homelessness to stabilization with housing and a career that supports sustainable full self-sufficiency.
• Investment in equity – LWDBs are building relationships with organizations and community groups that serve homeless and Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities. In Seattle-King County, they include requirements for their service providers to contract directly with organizations that have long-standing relationships in highly impoverished and/or BIPOC neighborhoods.
• University of Washington Self-Sufficiency calculator – ESD changed the program outcomes to fully utilize the calculator to set an accurate customized self-sufficiency wage goal for each participant that takes into consideration where they live and their total cost of living. The core accountability measure for local providers is the number of people who move from poverty to a career with earnings that exceeds their self-sufficiency goal. Most EcSA completers enter careers that earn $40,000 to $50,000 annually.
• Breaking down silos – We are observing momentum with engagement among state and local partners: local relationships with housing, education, and BIPOC communities have strengthened, the state Department of Commerce recently invested over $24 million additional funding into EcSA, and the state agency that provides student financial aid – the Washington Student Achievement Council – has made EcSA participants automatically eligible for state-funded financial aid to cover the full cost of college, apprenticeship, and some shorter-term training programs.

Significant performance milestones

1. EcSA exceeded all statewide enrollment, training, and self-sufficiency goals.
2. Helped 606 people reach self-sufficiency, with a median annualized income of $42,390.
3. Significantly increased recruitment and participation of historically marginalized populations and unhoused individuals. Washington’s population is 22% BIPOC and EcSA’s participants are 52% BIPOC.
4. EcSA is currently serving 1,171 people across the state to help them achieve and maintain self-sufficiency. 85% of those participants had annual incomes below $9,860 when they enrolled.
5. Total cost for the most recent single year was $8,878,113, including federal and state funding.
6. EcSA has been highlighted as a best practice by the U.S. Department of Labor and featured at the annual convening of the Governor’s Office of Equity and the National Association of Workforce Boards.

The Governor has dedicated additional WIOA Statewide Activity Funds to continue expanding EcSA, and the state legislature has dedicated over $10 million per year to expand it with State General Funds. EcSA is on track to serve more than 3,839 households to help them meet or exceed their self-sufficiency goals by March 2025.

Career Connect Washington (CCW): As a continuation of Governor Inslee’s 2017 investment of discretionary set-aside funds, Career Connect Washington’s work to reach all students providing learning opportunities for youth and adults in regions across Washington, including apprenticeships, is ongoing.

To date, CCW has invested successfully in expanding apprenticeship and has grown more than 30 programs across Washington, creating more pathways to middle class jobs through apprenticeship. To continue this work, CCW, ESD, L&I, and other partners worked together to apply for the Apprenticeship Building Americagrant (ABA) from US Labor to expand registered apprenticeship and recognized pre-apprenticeship programsin high-growth and high-demand industry sectors. This grant was awarded in 2022 and ESD issued an RFP to award$3,751,236.00 to Program Builders ready to build and expand programs statewide.

The ABA grant program aims to increase equity and accessibility in program delivery to apprentices, and to bring the Registered Apprenticeship model to more industries. WA ESD looks to use their ABA funds to bolster the already established Career Connect Washington (CCW) network and the established Sector Intermediary partnerships in the following sectors: clean energy, healthcare, advanced manufacturing and aerospace, technology and cybersecurity, maritime, and construction.

In 2023, in partnership with The Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC), CCW received $23 million in support from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration’s Good Jobs Challenge grant to create the Washington Jobs Initiative (WJI). WJI is helping Washington residents connect to good jobs through registered apprenticeships and other technical training programs. The initiative leverages CCW’s existing system to coordinate efforts across the state and ensure a focus on equity and diversity. Eight sectoral partnerships were awarded funds totaling nearly $17 million to train and place nearly 3,000 Washingtonians into good jobs with a family-sustaining wage in five key industries: Construction; Healthcare; Advanced Manufacturing & Aerospace; Clean Technology & Energy; and Information Technology and Cybersecurity. 

Program Builders work with Regional Networks, Career Connected Learning Coordinators at the Educational Service Districts, and industry and education partners to expand the use of current curricula and develop or build new curricula for Career Launch, Career Prep, and Career Explore programs.

To date, CCW has invested $10,096,360 for program development in high- priority industries prioritizing funds for women and BIPOC led serving organizations. 110 program builders have won grants to expand or develop 147 career connected learning programs across the continuum that enable students who participate in Career Explore, Career Prep, and Career Launch to complete programs, attain sustaining-wage entry-level jobs, and reach family-sustaining wage careers (across industries and occupations) at equitable rates across population demographics.

The increase in development of programs across the state has led to increased Career Launch enrollments by 30% (from 14,748 to 19,114), bringing the growth total to 58% since our inception three and a half years ago and providing thousands more young people in Washington with high quality pathways to career, self-sufficiency, and fulfillment.

We have established a shared program language of the career connected learning continuum that promotes knowledge, co-ownership, and investment in new and existing Career Launch, Career Prep, and Career Explore programs in Washington’s secondary and post-secondary education systems this has accumulated to one of our largest ever Career Connected Washington Funding rounds conducted in August 2023. More than $12 million was requested to build, expand, or enhance 74 career connected learning programs. Over the past four years, we’ve conducted 11 RFPs and we’ve never seen this level of demand. For the first time, we awarded all $4 million of WIOA Statewide Activities funds in just one RFP round.

Evaluations of Title I Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth Activities
The Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board is Washington’s workforce system performance accountability agent, working on behalf of the state’s citizens and employers. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) require states to set performance targets for the Title I-B Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth programs. The Workforce Board develops the process leading to these targets as well as coordinates and administers the state’s policy of performance sanctions. The Workforce Board is also tasked with evaluating the 3 programs WIOA Adult, WIOA Dislocated Worker, and WIOA Youth. In addition to these we have also included Wagner-Peyser.

There are 5 indicators: Employment 2 quarters after exit, Employment 4 quarters after exit, Median Earnings (for the 2nd quarter after exit), Credential Attainment (participation through 4 quarters after exit), and Measurable Skills Gains

A model is used to assess expected performance prior to the program year. After the program year, the same model is used again, but now with the known participant demographics and economic conditions. The difference between pre- and post-program year prediction is the source of the adjustment in targets. The model used for statewide target adjustment originates with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and is referred to as the Federal or the National SAM. The model used for local area targets comes from by the Workforce Board and is referred to as the Local SAM.

Participant level data provided by the states’ management information systems and reported quarterly to DOL. Every quarter, DOL tabulates data from the PIRL and presents the results to the states as Quarterly Performance Results (QPR). In Washington these are made available by the Employment Security Department. Get the latest results here.

Initial targets are set before participant characteristics and economic conditions facing participants are known. Adjusted targets incorporate participant characteristics and economic conditions not known at the time of initial targets. State level targets are adjusted by using the National SAM, while local targets are adjusted by the Local SAM.

Assessment of performance is done by considering an indicator  (actual) performance as a percentage of the adjusted target. This ratio, referred to as score or indicator score, will have DOL’s QPR in its numerator and the adjusted target in the denominator. Overall scores across measures and across programs are arithmetic averages of individual indicator scores.

6/10 Sections in Correction Updates Follow:

In addition to core standard performance accountability activities, the state conducts evaluations of each of the programs funded through the Governor's Discretionary Fund. We anticipate continuing to complete annual evaluations and making these reports to the Governor's Office, the Legislature, partners, and the public. In the coming two years we will be conducting new evaluations of these activities to determine their effectiveness, any limitations, and also to solicit innovative programs and strategies for future endeavors from stakeholders. Specific to the state EcSA program, while evaluations are ongoing and data is collected, the program is so new that we do not yet have data to demonstrate long-term self-sufficiency is being maintained by participants.