The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (Department), is the largest source of federally-funded employment and training services. The program services, provided by state and local WIA agencies, involve many statutory and regulatory requirements applied uniformly across the country. Due to state and local area differences, WIA allows states to apply for waivers of WIA regulations, providing greater flexibility in serving the specific needs of local populations. These waivers may affect how resources are allocated or the types of employment and training services available to various groups.
Between Program Years (PY) 2008 and 2010, the Department approved more than 750 state-requested waivers of statutory and regulatory requirements. To learn more about the implementation and possible effects of waiver implementation, ETA contracted with Mathematica Policy Research to conduct an evaluation of selected waivers approved in PY 2008 through 2010. This study includes two interim reports and one final report. The first interim report was published in August 2012 and is available on the ETA Research Publication Database Web site (http://wdr.doleta.gov/research/FullText_Documents/ETAOP_2012_14.pdf).

This second interim report provides findings primarily from the second phase of data collection for this study. The report focuses on profiles of the 12 local areas visited and provides descriptive information about waiver use in those local areas. The profiles combine data collected from state officials about the waiver application and implementation process with information collected on site during discussions with local area staff, employers, and training providers.