Large, individual-level, administrative databases have increasingly been used to monitor the outcomes of employment/training, post-secondary education, and related social programs. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has been at the forefront of these efforts, most notably in building the capacity of states to use quarterly UI (unemployment insurance) wage records for tracking individual employment and earnings following participation in a variety of DOL programs. This report was written prior to the implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) which superseded several relevant statutory provisions of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) under which the study took place. The references in this report are to WIA; however, the findings are relevant for WIOA implementation.

In 2010, DOL launched the Workforce Data Quality Initiative (WDQI), and by the time of this study, DOL had awarded grants totaling over $30 million to 29 states over three rounds of competition.

Consumer Report Card Systems (CRCSs) are state systems for calculating program outcomes based on labor market data (e.g., employment, retention, and earnings) for those individuals participating in education/training programs. In combination with state Eligible Training Provider Lists (ETPLs), which identify programs that show sufficiently positive results that they are deemed eligible to receive federal training dollars, CRCSs offer the potential to improve the choices that prospective education/training participants make, resulting in improved employment and earnings outcomes for trainees. Further, CRCSs can provide policy makers with useful information with which to make workforce investment decisions.

ETA contracted with IMPAQ International, LLC (IMPAQ) to analyze and provide information on the relationship between the WDQI grants and state efforts to develop CRCSs, including describing WDQI states’ current systems for reporting outcomes for education/training programs, how the WDQI grants have been used to create or improve existing CRCSs, and the key factors related to successful CRCS implementation.

The report concluded overall that WDQI states with functioning CRCSs used WDQI grants to improve their CRCSs. Many WDQI grantee states did not yet have CRCSs, although some of these states were making progress towards developing CRCSs with the use of their WDQI grants. The authors indicated a need for continued funding and a significant amount of time, expertise, and resolve to complete that task.

Organization: IMPAQ International LLC

Authors: Stephen Wandner, Louis Jacobson, Scott Davis

Key Words: Workforce Data Quality Initiative, Consumer Report Card Systems, Eligible Training Provider Lists