WIOA State Plan Common Elements

Over the course of several months, CWDB facilitated nearly twenty separate coordination meetings with WIOA core, required, and strategic state partners. The meetings served as a working forum to discuss realistic, achievable, and concrete ways to jointly implement the vision, objectives, and strategies of the State Plan.

The meetings were also used to establish new and update existing partnership agreements that provide a roadmap for establishing and expanding partnership at the state, regional, and local levels. Each agreement is based off of the same foundational framework and includes goals associated with one or more of the State Plan’s seven strategies to ensure ongoing alignment of the various agencies.

The partnership agreements are living documents and the goals will continue to be fleshed out and refined over the next four years to ensure progress continues to be made towards our shared vision. Many of the goals outlined below will help to implement more than just one strategy, however, to avoid duplication, each goal was listed under the strategy with which it seemed to best align.

This strategy includes aligning workforce and education programs with leading and emergent industry sectors’ skills needs.

California will prioritize investments where overall economic returns for individuals with barriers to employment are likely to be highest, specifically in those sectors that generate significant gains in terms of jobs and income. It will also actively pursue ways to build capacity at the state level for coordination, outreach, convening, organizing, and support of industry sector partnerships.

Title I

The CWDB will continue to issue Local and Regional Planning guidance that requires Local Workforce Development Boards (Local Boards), organized into Regional Planning Units (RPUs), to work with industry and service providers in each region, to build industry sector partnerships and career pathways aligned with the partnerships.

Title IV

The Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) will support employers with adherence to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which requires federal contractors to take affirmative action to recruit, hire, promote, and retain individuals with disabilities. DOR will establish and maintain a single point of contact for the America’s Job Center of California (AJCC) business services staff and employers requesting assistance with Section 503 compliance to find and develop qualified talent, including individuals with disabilities.

The DOR will invite business partners and career education and training entities, as appropriate, to participate in Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE) Local Partnership Agreements (LPA) between Local Education Agencies (LEAs), DOR districts, and regional centers to create engagement with local and regional business partners to increase utilization of job-driven training and other pathways to CIE for youth and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) in both the public and private sectors.

CalFresh and CalWORKS

The California Department of Social Services (DSS), which administers the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (CalWORKS) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training (CalFresh E&T) programs at the state level, will work with CWDB to facilitate ongoing discussions around high-priority industry sectors, with an emphasis on early learning and care positions and attempt to align efforts with recommendations from the Governor's Early Childhood Policy Council and Team. 

Corrections Workforce Partnership

The Corrections Workforce Partnership, comprised of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and California Prison Industry Authority (CALPIA), and CWDB, will use its existing interagency workgroups to identify relevant training and workforce education programs operated under the purview of CDCR and evaluate their alignment with existing labor market needs in each of the fourteen RPUs.

This strategy includes enabling of progressive skills development through education and training programs using multiple entry and exit points, so that each level of skills development corresponds with labor market gains for those being trained or educated.

California will utilize career pathways to facilitate incremental and progressive skills attainment over time, in clearly segmented blocks, such that those who move through the pathway obtain education or training services built on the foundation of prior learning efforts.

Title I

The CWDB will provide technical assistance to Local Boards on partnering with industry and training providers to utilize career pathways that provide participants a packaged set of skills with labor market value at each stage of the learning process.

Title IV

The DOR will establish or modify formal partnerships with Title I and Title II at the state and local level that are geared towards supporting career pathways for all individuals with disabilities, including those with behavioral health disabilities, students with disabilities, transition age foster youth with disabilities, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and justice involved individuals with disabilities.

Corrections Workforce Partnership

CDCR and CALPIA will work with CWDB to provide Local Boards and community based organizations (CBO) information on the educational and training background of individuals being served so that Local Board and CBO staff can utilize this information for job placement efforts and any efforts to build on the education and training that individuals received pre-release.

This strategy includes building partnerships between industry leaders, including organized labor, workforce professionals, education and training providers, and economic development leaders to develop workforce and education policies that support regional economic growth.

California will develop value-added partnerships that not only help achieve the policy goals of the partnership but also help partners achieve their organizational goals. A value-added partnership is one in which all partners gain from the relationships built through the organizing process.

Title I

The CWDB will continue to use WIOA statewide funds to support Local Board implementation of relevant regional sector initiatives and the WIOA Regional Plans.

Title II

The California Department of Education (CDE) will work with CWDB to identify forums such as conferences, meetings, and other opportunities to share joint information for the purpose of advising workforce providers, education practitioners, and policy-makers of services available to shared populations.

Title IV

The DOR will ensure that representatives from local district offices maintain regular participation on their Local Boards and within each of the 14 RPU for the purposes of developing workforce and education policies that support regional economic growth.

The DOR will work with CWDB to ensure resources for cross-training of frontline staff across the 14 RPUs, including the dissemination of CIE resources and information to Local Boards and participation in technical assistance calls with LPA partners.

CalFresh and CalWORKS

As part of a Regional Workforce and Equity Partnership, representatives from CalFresh, CalWORKS, and CWDB will meet quarterly to provide a forum for ongoing discussion, information sharing, and collaboration on implementation of State Plan. The group will establish several task oriented sub workgroups to accomplish the following goals.

• Create a logic model that outlines service delivery overlap between CalWORKS, CalFresh, and WIOA Title I programs.
• Jointly develop guidance and resources for actionable and collaborative partnership activities, including models and best practices for establishing a “gold standard” for partnership.
• Develop an action plan to mitigate adverse impacts to underserved populations resulting from changes to federal policy.

Career Technical Education

As joint administrators of the Perkin V program, CDE, State Board of Education (SBE), and California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCO) will form a cross-agency workgroup of staff of relevant agencies that will convene as needed to coordinate workforce development, and address evolving state and federal program requirements that jointly impact workforce and education. The workgroup may present outcomes of its discussion on these topics to the California Workforce Pathways Joint Advisory Committee and/or CWDB, or to subcommittees of these respective bodies.

Corrections Workforce Partnership

CDCR and CALPIA will work with CWDB to create a closed-loop referral or communication process between Local Boards, RPUs, and CDCR to ensure the provision of employment services and supportive services to meet all of the individual’s needs.

Child Support Services

The Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) and CWDB will meet on a quarterly basis to identify best practices and create technical assistance tools to help facilitate partnership between Local Boards and local child support agencies. These tools may include, but are not limited to, the issuance of a policy brief, creation of a best practices guide, and the development of an instructional webinar for the field.

This strategy includes using training and education best practices that combine applied learning opportunities with material compensation while facilitating skills development in the context of actual labor market participation.

California will prioritize earn and learn policies that facilitate skills attainment while also providing those participating in these programs with some form of compensated work experience, allowing them to “earn” income while they “learn” to do a job. Specifically, earn-and-learn opportunities will be prioritized for individuals who have barriers to employment and cannot afford to attend an education or training program full time, both because of costs associated with training and education fees and tuition and because time spent in the classroom reduces time that can be spent earning income.

In alignment with the Governor’s goal to significantly increase apprenticeships, the CWDB and state partners commit to expanding access to apprenticeships and other paid work experiences for shared populations in the following ways:

• CWDB will continue to invest federal and state funds in the development of High Road Training Partnerships (HRTPs), High Road Construction Careers (HRCCs), and other initiatives that lead to the placement of participants in state approved pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships.
• DOR will support consumers, including students with disabilities, in accessing apprenticeship opportunities in array of high priority industries.
• DOR, CDE and Department of Development Services (DDS) will continue to leverage funding to facilitate access to work experience opportunities for youth and adults with disabilities, including paid internship programs and state internship programs. 
• CDCR, CALPIA, and CWDB will work with the construction trades to facilitate direct placement into construction apprenticeship of previously trained justice involved individuals upon release.
• CalFresh and CalWORKS will explore training and potential apprenticeship opportunities for in demand Early Learning and Care positions.

This strategy includes providing ancillary services like childcare, transportation, and counseling to facilitate program completion by those enrolled in training and education courses.

California will continue to expand access to funding for supportive services that enable an individual to participate in workforce-funded programs and activities to secure and retain employment. The type of supportive services provided will be dependent on each particular client’s needs and background to the supports are person-centered.

Title II

CDE will work with CWDB to share information to local counterparts about available resources for school and program alternatives that provide students with the environment, curriculum, and support systems needed to ensure that they achieve their full academic potential.

Title IV

DOR will work with CWDB to ensure greater coordination in the provision of the support services for individuals with disabilities in order to increase the likelihood of successful outcomes. DOR will also work with CDE and DDS to provide technical assistance to LPA partners on provision of supportive services for individuals with ID/DD.

CalFresh and CalWORKS

As new training tools and systems become available, CDSS will work with CWDB to train and educate Local Boards of the functionality and use of these resources and how they can better assist with providing supportive services.

This strategy includes using diagnostic labor market data to assess where to invest, and also, the use performance data to assess the value of those investments.

California will use diagnostic data to help steer investment to help ensure that programs align with labor market trends and needs by looking at patterns of job growth as well as aggregate education and training program output with respect to the number of degrees and certificates received and industry recognized credentials awarded. Performance data is intended to measure typical program outcomes for individuals receiving services while helping quantify skills attainment and degree and credential production.

The CWDB will continue to build upon the Cross-Systems Analytics and Assessment for Learning and Skills Attainment (CAAL-Skills) program in an effort to unite workforce system partners in a program that enables a holistic yet statistically rigorous assessment of California’s workforce system. This will enable the evaluation of workforce programs individually and collectively at the regional level through the assessment of outcomes. Current data sharing partners include:

• Department of Industrial Relations-Division of Apprenticeship Standards;
• Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office;
• Employment Training Panel;
• Department of Social Services;
• Employment Development Department;
• Department of Education;
• Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation;
• Department of Rehabilitation

This strategy includesbraiding resources and coordinating services at the local level to meet client needs.

California will build upon existing and identify new methods for integrating service delivery and braiding resources in order to improve an individual’s ability to access the broad array of services funded across the state’s workforce and education programs. The expansion and creation of “value-added” partnerships at the state, regional, and local levels will serve as mechanisms to ensure that services are integrated and aligned across systems.

California is in the initial phase of piloting a statewide effort to electronically share common data elements and trigger referrals between CalJOBS^SM, a data exchange, and other program partners. The intent of this effort is to assist job seekers by reducing the burden of providing the same common items to multiple agencies (if receiving services from multiple programs), streamline data collection for staff, and assist programs with identifying potentially eligible individuals. Current participants of this pilot include:

• California Workforce Development Board
• Employment Development Department
• Department of Education
• Department of Rehabilitation
• Department of Social Services

Title III

The EDD will work with CWDB to conduct a business process improvement (BPI) analysis of the following programs and services: Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification, WIOA Rapid Response, WIOA Additional Assistance, WIOA Layoff Aversion, National Dislocated Worker Grants, Re-Employment Services and Eligibility Assessment, Trade Adjustment Assistance, California Training Benefits, and WorkShare.  As part of the analysis, staff from the respective programs will be identifying ways to incorporate elements the vision, objectives, and strategies of the State Plan into the operational practices of the programs. 

Title IV

DOR will establish a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CWDB, CDCR, and CALPIA centered on supporting the successful transition from prison to employment for individuals with disabilities.

The DOR, CDE, and DDS will work with CWDB to achieve the performance measures outlined California’s CIE Blueprint for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. This includes inviting Local Boards to local CIE partnership agreement collaborations and identifying a CIE point of contact for Local Boards in each DOR district.

CalWORKS

The CalWORKS program will work with CWDB to identify ways to enhance case management activities for pregnant and parenting teens and youth by partnering with state agencies that specialize in serving those populations.

Career Technical Education

The CDE, CCCO, and SBE will work with CWDB to utilize the Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment criteria under Perkins V to encourage greater alignment of a local eligible agency or institution with their local and regional workforce system, which is defined to include all required state and federal programs.

Corrections Workforce Partnership

The CDCR, CALPIA, and CWDB will work to increase Local Board participation in Parole Offices and CDCR events as well as coordinate cross-training opportunities between CDCR, CALPIA, and Local Board staff. 

Department of Child Support Services

The DCSS and CWDB will work with EDD to establish a data sharing agreement between DCSS and the Employment Development Department (EDD), which will allow DCSS to access CalJOBS^SM data in order to facilitate referral tracking of parents’ paying support who are enrolled in workforce programs.

Upon further engagement with WIOA core partners, the following information has been added: 

Title II

The California Department of Education (CDE) will work with CWDB to identify forums such as conferences, meetings, and other opportunities to share joint information for the purpose of advising workforce providers, education practitioners, and policy-makers of services available to shared populations. Adult education programs at the local level work with employers at the local level to ensue they are developing programs that will meet the local need. Additionally, many programs in California meet the local workforce need by offering programs as the work location. An example of this is ESL classes being offered at a factory to help the employees improve English skills which could then improve their opportunities for advancement.

Title IV

The California Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) works with employers to identify competitive integrated employment and career opportunities to facilitate the provision of VR services for DOR consumers. Some ways DOR works with businesses include:

• Engaging the workforce development system and the business community via effective outreach, relationship and partnership building.
• Maintaining regular DOR participation at each of the 14 Regional Planning Units and on each local workforce development board.
• Exploring and informing DOR counselors and consumers of local opportunities to obtain non-degree credentials, including certificates, industry certifications, apprenticeship certificates, and occupational licenses with CTE, workforce, and businesses to build an inclusive and skilled future workforce.

• Emphasizing and supporting increased earn-and-learn opportunities for consumers including on-the-job training, paid work experiences, internships, and apprenticeships with businesses. 
• Identifying and providing early interventions to address potential employment barriers, such as providing work incentive planning support, workplace readiness training, self-advocacy training and work-based learning opportunities.
• Ensuring local level DOR leadership meets with local business leaders from identified in-demand sectors, as determined by their local Regional Planning Unit, to develop working partnerships or establish initiatives that support hiring and/or recruitment of individuals with disabilities.
• Accessing and utilizing labor market information to inform plans that help businesses meet their recruitment and talent needs.
• Informing business partners on hiring incentives and resources (e.g. Work Opportunity Tax Credit, Talent Acquisition Portal, Disability Awareness training, the Assistive Technology network, and CDOR Business Based Services) to support businesses employing, supporting, retaining and promoting qualified talent with disabilities.
• Working with the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR) to assess the satisfaction of businesses with DOR’s services.