US Departments of Labor, Education announce joint proposal to define effectiveness of public workforce programs for employers

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Departments of Labor and Education today announced the departments will seek public comment on a proposed definition for the final performance indicator used to report outcomes for the six Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act core programs.

The proposed change would use “Retention with the Same Employer” as the criterion to measure the effectiveness in serving employers. The indicator would assess the percentage of WIOA program participants with wage records who are employed with the same employer in both the second and fourth quarters after exiting the program.

The proposed rulemaking is necessary to complete performance accountability requirements after a 2016-2020 pilot provided flexibility to states in assessing Labor’s WIOA core programs – Adult, Dislocated Worker, Youth and Employment Services – and Education’s WIOA core programs – Adult Education and Family Literacy program and the Vocational Rehabilitation program authorized under the Rehabilitation Act – on the effectiveness of their services to employers.

Under the proposed rule, the effectiveness in serving employers performance indicator:

• Would be assessed as an overall state indicator score.
• Would be excluded from the overall state program score and the individual indicator score.
• Will not be used to determine sanctions without at least two years of performance data for the indicator.
• Would be considered in the criteria for determining if a state has met its adjusted performance levels.

The proposed rule is published in the Federal Register. Submit public comments related to the publication of the notice announced today.