About the Report

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To understand the connections between Workforce Data Quality Initiative (WDQI) grants and state efforts to develop Consumer Report Card Systems (CRCSs), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) contracted with IMPAQ International, LLC (IMPAQ) to conduct the Feasibility of Using WDQI and Eligible Training Provider Lists (ETPLs) Data for Consumer Reports project. The report has three main objectives:

• To understand the relationship between the WDQI 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.
• To assess the degree to which states without existing CRCSs are prepared to implement them, focusing in particular on their existing data infrastructure.
• To identify how DOL can support the implementation of CRCSs beyond the states with existing systems and improve the quality of CRCSs in states that already have them.

To address these research objectives, researchers analyzed information from a variety of sources, including:

• Internet searches of state websites;
• One-on-one telephone interviews with state staff knowledgeable about state processes and/or systems used to track education and training participation and post-program outcomes;
• One-on-one telephone interviews with researchers affiliated with state WDQI grants;
• One-on-one telephone interviews with Federal Project Officers who oversee the WDQI grants;
• Publicly available material on the WDQI grants, including DOL press releases, WDQI grant abstracts, and reports;
• WDQI materials provided to the researchers by DOL, including WDQI grant applications and Quarterly Progress Reports; and
• Survey data provided by the Data Quality Campaign (DQC).

This information facilitated the analysis of the connections between the WDQI grants and state efforts to develop CRCSs, as well as the potential for more widespread CRCS implementation throughout the country. Though this report is a useful overview of the progress made in creating consumer reports among WDQI states, it is only a first step in understanding the capability for states to implement a CRCS.

Research Questions

• To what extent do states without existing CRCSs have the data infrastructure necessary to implement them, with or without WDQI grants and
• How can DOL support the development of CRCSs in other states?

Key Takeaways

• A relatively small number of WDQI grantees currently have CRCSs.
• The states with developed CRCSs are states that have improved WDQI-DBs and have invested the time and expertise and shown the resolve it takes to develop CRCSs.
• States have used WDQI grants to make strides in developing the data infrastructure necessary to support future CRCSs.
• Many states have websites that allow users to search for education and training programs, but only five states have effective CRCSs in place at this time—meaning that potential trainees in most states must choose programs based on whatever other information is available to them.
• The five WDQI states with operational CRCSs—Florida, New Jersey, Minnesota, Virginia and Washington—have demonstrated that effective CRCSs can be created and improved with WDQI funding.
• It appears that only a limited number of WDQI states currently have the infrastructure necessary to make quick CRCS implementation a feasible goal; most are still working to create that data infrastructure.

Citation

Davis, S., Jacobson, L., Wandner, S. (2014). IMPAQ International. U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration: Using Workforce Data Quality Initiative Databases to Develop and Improve Consumer Report Card Systems. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.