Located in:
- Program-specific Requirements for Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth Activities under Title I-B
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include the following with respect to activities carried out under subtitle B—
- c. Youth Program Requirements.
With respect to youth workforce investment activities authorized in section 129 of WIOA, States should describe their strategies that will support the implementation of youth activities under WIOA. State’s must-
- c. Youth Program Requirements.
c. 1. Identify the State-developed criteria to be used by local boards in awarding grants or contracts for youth workforce investment activities and describe how the local boards will take into consideration the ability of the providers to meet performance accountability measures based on primary indicators of performance for the youth program as described in section 116(b)(2)(A)(ii) of WIOA.¹¹ Further, include a description of how the State assists local areas in determining whether to contract for services or to provide some or all of the program elements directly.
¹¹ Sec. 102(b)(2)(D)(i)(V)
Current Narrative:
Local Boards may directly provide some or all of the youth workforce service activities. If a Local Board serves as the youth service provider and performs other roles such as fiscal agent or AJC Operator, the Local Board must have appropriate firewalls in place between the staff providing services, the staff responsible for oversight and monitoring of services, and the Local Board. The firewalls must conform to Title 20 CFR Section 679.430 for demonstrating internal controls and preventing conflicts of interest.
Local Workforce Development Areas may follow their local procurement rules provided those rules are not less stringent than the Louisiana State Contract and Procurement Policies, otherwise local areas must adhere to State procurement policies. (Louisiana Title 34 Government Contracts, Procurement, and Property Control)
Local Boards must also identify youth service providers based on criteria in the State Plan (Title 20 CFR Section 681.400). The State Plan establishes that Local Boards should select service providers that do the following:
- Employ proven recruitment strategies of effective outreach, engagement, enrollment, and retention of OSY.
- Demonstrate meaningful partnerships with eligible training providers, institutions of higher education, and employers from in-demand industries.
- Offer a continuum of services that allow participants to obtain a GED/High School diploma, enroll into postsecondary education, and obtain employment within their chosen career path.
- Utilize career pathways and sector strategy models with a structured sequence of activities, as well as multiple entry and exit points that provide adequate supportive services.
- Use structured work-based learning, such as paid and unpaid work experiences and career exploration that leads to gainful employment.
- Provide intensive case management and support services to help youth overcome complex barriers, successfully complete the program, and retain employment.
- Competitive Basis
If a Local Board chooses to award, grant or contract youth service providers for some or all activities, the Local Board must award such grants or contracts through a competitive process that does the following:
- Takes into consideration the ability of the youth service provider to meet performance accountability measures.
- Meets the procurement standards specified in Uniform Guidance and the DOL Exceptions.
- Follows state and local procurement laws.
- Sole Source Exception
The local board may award, grant, or contract on a sole-source basis if such board determines there are an insufficient number of eligible providers of youth workforce investment activities in the local area.
When the Local Board awards a grant or contract to a youth service provider who also fulfills another role in the Local Area, a written agreement with Local Board and the Chief Elected Official must provide clarity on the expectation for those roles and clear methods of tracking execution and accountability for the distinct roles.
Local areas are encouraged to refocus traditional performance—based contracts to place an emphasis on the contractor achieving outcomes, like participants obtaining and retaining good jobs, rather than outputs like the number of people served. No more than 10 percent of the local youth allotment can be expended on the implementation of WIOA pay—for—performance contract strategies for youth training services and other activities.