WIOA State Plan Common Elements

Over the last 15 years, Florida has become a nationally recognized leader in the integration of workforce services programs. The state has successfully implemented the joint management of state Wagner-Peyser employees who operate at local one-stop centers under the supervision of local workforce board staff. It has successfully integrated the work components of both the federal TANF program and the federal SNAP program into the mix of workforce services available at local one-stop centers. It has pioneered the development of one-stop cost allocation plans that fairly distribute one-stop shared costs among benefiting programs and partners.

Florida’s workforce system was recently rebranded and is now known as the CareerSource Florida network. The network consists of CareerSource Florida, the statewide workforce policy and investment board, 24 local workforce development boards, and the nearly 100 one-stop career centers they direct to provide local services to job seekers, workers, and businesses. The network also includes the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), the state’s administrative and fiscal entity for workforce programs. The CareerSource Florida network is a key component of Florida’s Talent Supply System, which encompasses public and private education and training through a continuum from pre-kindergarten, primary/secondary and post-secondary to workforce development/lifelong learning.

Local career centers established by the state’s local workforce development boards are truly one-stop centers that offer a variety of business and job applicant services at one physical location. The local career centers use Wagner-Peyser and WIOA funding as the foundational grants that support the infrastructure costs of the centers. Shared costs paid by other workforce programs such as TANF and SNAP reduce the overall costs of the system to those two foundational grants. DEO has successfully worked with local boards in establishing cost allocation plans and now is one of the few states that has successfully implemented the indirect cost rate requirements of the recently enacted Uniform Guidance.

Customers have access to labor market information; have access to the state’s labor exchange job matching system (Employ Florida Marketplace); have access to resource rooms that have computers that are internet enabled; have access to training services; and, have access to assistance in meeting work requirements in the TANF and SNAP programs. Businesses have access to job applicants and assistance in upgrade training for existing employees who need training to either retain their jobs or move up a career ladder. The state has enacted staff credentialing requirements to ensure that new staff have a basic understanding of the workforce system and are taught basic skills such as good case management and good customer service. Local Boards also work with their local educational partners and community organizations to offer services under the WIOA Youth Program. Generally, these youth services are outside the local one-stop delivery system.

One-Stop Career Centers

Florida’s career center system was initially established to bring workforce and welfare transition programs together to simplify and improve access for employers seeking qualified workers and training for new or existing employees as well as for job seekers.

Over time, many of Florida’s career centers have expanded their services and programs and have invited other partners to co-locate both physically and through website linkages. Some local Areas have created “satellite” career centers that are strategically located within other community partners’ facilities such as at local chambers, libraries and community-based organizations. These partnerships and co-locations have become increasingly important in laying the foundation for implementing WIOA, which emphasizes local and community partnerships and close collaboration with core partners to improve employment outcomes. All of Florida’s career centers are affiliated with each other using the CareerSource Florida affiliate brand.

Several local workforce development boards (LWDBs) deploy mobile career centers to provide services to Florida businesses and workers in support of special events or in areas where access can be challenging. With major emphasis on providing on-site services at employer sites and direct service delivery in rural communities and other locations throughout the local areas, the use of mobile career centers continues to serve as a cost-effective and customer-friendly service solution. The mobile career centers also have played an integral role in the delivery of services and assistance during hurricanes and other disaster events.

WIOA emphasizes the importance of serving the business customer. The CareerSource Florida network is a key resource for businesses seeking qualified workers and grants for customized training for new or existing employees. All 24 LWDBs have established dedicated business services teams that are working to partner closely with Florida’s VR business relations teams. In several cases, designated career centers in business districts to help local employers recruit, train and retain workers.

Communications Tools

Increasingly, digital communication and social media are replacing traditional outreach tools and media as effective and efficient methods of educating and informing current and potential customers and partners. While still employing traditional outreach tactics such as print and radio advertising, CareerSource Florida is following the growing trend of using digital platforms to reach both employers and job seekers.

The CareerSource Florida website serves as an important communications tool for accessing information about statewide initiatives, the latest news, policy updates and board actions, state board meetings and workforce system successes. CareerSource Florida also employs integrated communications tactics including several social media accounts and paid and earned media to inform Florida’s job seekers, workers and businesses as well as board members, state and local partners and various stakeholders.

CareerSource Florida’s social media presence on platforms including Facebook and Twitter has been recognized by local area offices of the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) Employment & Training Administration as a best practice.

Additional CareerSource Florida communication tools include timely and relevant updates on workforce system issues and news, frequent electronic messages from the President/CEO of CareerSource Florida to the CareerSource Florida Board, Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) and LWDBs; The Chairman’s Corner quarterly e-newsletter written by the CareerSource Florida Board Chair; regularly scheduled and special legislative updates; and news releases and special alerts as warranted.

CareerSource Florida invests in statewide advertising and outreach to help businesses and job seekers locate and connect with the resources and services available through the state workforce development system. The 2014-2015 statewide advertising plan aimed to build upon the growing brand awareness of the CareerSource Florida network. Through strategic advertising placements, copy and design, and a strong call to action, workers and employers are encouraged to visit careersourceflorida.com to access the CareerSource Florida network’s services and resources. In particular, the plan emphasized informing employers of the resources, services and access to skilled talent available via the CareerSource Florida network. Digital placements via social media and “banner” ads on relevant websites are two of the means by which CareerSource Florida seeks to harness technology to support traditional advertising like print publications and radio programming.

Employ Florida Marketplace: Online Workforce Services and Virtual Career Center

In today’s technology-driven marketplace, job seekers and businesses need access to workforce services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Employ Florida Marketplace website at www.employflorida.com is Florida’s virtual job-matching tool, providing access at no charge to great employment opportunities, resume-building resources and many other services to help connect businesses, job seekers and Floridians looking to grow in their careers.

Since Employ Florida launched in 2005, 190,470 employers have registered on the site and nearly 2.5 million resumes have been posted. Employ Florida provides businesses valuable information on training grants as well as links to labor market information and talent tools available at both the state and local levels. Florida’s job seekers are able to search for employment opportunities from numerous job and corporate websites as well as those placed directly on Employ Florida by businesses or through LWDBs and/or career centers, making Employ Florida the most comprehensive source for current Florida job openings.

Both employers and job seekers can locate Florida’s workforce services and resources anywhere in the state via Employ Florida or by calling the toll-free Employ Florida Helpdesk, staffed by DEO.

The Florida Abilities Work portal at abilitieswork.employflorida.com is a tool for employers and job seekers with disabilities. The micro-portal is housed on the Employ Florida Marketplace (EFM) website with a logo button for ease of access. The portal was specifically designed to provide resources to persons with disabilities and to assist employers who are interested in hiring. The 2014 Florida Legislature appropriated funding for a help desk that is staffed by VR. The portal was developed in response to the Governor’s Commission on Jobs for Floridians with Disabilities. In its first report to the governor, one of the recommendations was for a single point of contact for employers seeking to hire persons with disabilities. EFM seemed like a natural fit and the Florida Abilities Work portal was conceived. This was a collaborative process with input from the APD, VR and Division of Blind Services (FDBS), and the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council to name a few. Focus groups convened around the state, allowing input from stakeholder groups such as employers, field staff, customers and family members, and a communications group, comprising representatives from partner agencies, also met during development to ensure a consistent message.

Employ Florida is consistently upgraded to maintain relevancy and incorporate improved technology. The use of micro-portals, powered by Employ Florida, that provide specialized and targeted job matching adds value for both employers and job seekers with specific interests and needs. To date, CareerSource Florida and DEO, in collaboration with LWDBs and other partners, maintain dedicated entry points with customized job-search information and resources for Florida veterans, job seekers age 50 and older, those interested in green jobs, and people with disabilities.

In addition to the broad range of activities above, Florida’s partners who serve specific population engage in activities critical to Florida’s workforce development network.

Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Workforce Development Activities

Activities for youth and students are designed to assist in developing a concept of work, navigating the community, and obtaining work experience during high school. Pre-Employment Transition Services include vocational evaluation, career guidance and counseling, work readiness training, and experiential activities such as community-based work experience and on-the-job training. Support services include assistive technology and services, transportation and uniforms. Intensive services are designed for those who need additional support with appropriate work behavior, require repetition to acquire skills, build endurance to work, and identify the right fit or environment for work. These services include Discovery, Project SEARCH, those provided under Third-party Cooperative Arrangements with school districts, and tuition, books and supplies for Post-Secondary Education programs.

VR offers services for adults (and youth, if needed to achieve job goals) that include vocational and other assessments to help a job seeker best define their job goal. If needed to meet their goal, medical and psychological services are obtained. VR helps job seekers obtain educational or job readiness training to prepare for their career. Job search, placement, coaching, supported employment and self-employment services are available, as well as interpretive, assistive and rehabilitation technology services. VR maintains a vast network of contracted employment service providers throughout the state, and has initiatives in place to increase the variety and quantity of services offered.

VR has formalized a Business Relations Program, with the vision to build and sustain partnerships with business and industry through effective services that are driven by the needs of employers. These partnerships will lead to competitive integrated employment and career exploration opportunities for VR customers. Efforts are underway in the Business Relations Program to define and customize services to employers, create strategic partnerships to support workforce needs, and establish an employment- focused culture within the rehabilitation process.

Florida Division of Blind Services (FDBS) Workforce Development Activities

FDBS has identified a number of activities that are anticipated to expand, integrate and improve services to individuals with visual disabilities within the workforce system while increasing collaboration among core partners. The activities include:

• Expanding opportunities for students to receive FDBS services and secure opportunities for students and youth with disabilities to practice and improve workplace skills.

• Ensuring that clients who participate in training and education programs benefit from engagement.

• Expanding utilization of online job systems such as DEO’s web portal, the state/federal Talent Acquisition Portal, and the Florida Jobs Connection as a means to expose employers to job-ready FDBS consumers.

• Encouraging and Tracking industry certifications, apprenticeships and post-secondary outcomes.

• Developing and implementing an Employment Skills Training Program at the FDBS Residential Rehabilitation Center to better prepare blind and visually impaired youth and adults for success in future employment.

• Increasing the provision of accessibility tools, awareness, and regular follow-up with consumers to ensure equality in educational experiences and vocational opportunities.

• Implementing a comprehensive communications and outreach plan.

• Increasing outreach services to under-served and un-served populations.

• Working with each client to ensure that Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) goals are consistent with and/or are amenable to transportation resources.

• Developing and strengthening employer relationships by providing employer training, support, education and resources related to employing individuals with visual impairments in accordance with Section 503 regulations.

• Strengthening statewide collaborative partnerships with core partners.

• Increasing opportunities for data sharing and improving data validity and integrity.

• Promoting integrated employment in the community as the first and preferred option for individuals with disabilities under the Employment First Initiative.

• Maintaining and strengthening contracts with private non-profit organizations to provide four core components: Vocational Rehabilitation, Transition, Supported Employment, and Rehabilitation Engineering.

• Increasing the provision of accessibility tools, awareness, and regular follow-up with consumers to ensure equality in educational experiences and vocational opportunities.

• Increasing the number of individuals with significant and most significant disabilities receiving services.

• Supporting FDBS clients in becoming self-supporting.

• Identifying an approach to expedite eligibility and service delivery to individuals who are at risk of losing employment.

• Increasing staff development and continuing education.

• Aligning FDBS policies and procedures to address new WIOA requirements.

• Providing ongoing Employment Outcomes Professional II Training to vocational rehabilitation staff and community providers.

• Providing training and education sponsorship to eligible vocational rehabilitation clients and staff.

• Supporting community rehabilitation provider training programs designed for individuals who are blind and visually impaired.

Education and Training Activities for Adult Education

Florida’s adult education system provides academic instruction and education services below the postsecondary level that increases an individual’s ability to read, write, and speak in English and perform mathematics or other activities necessary for the attainment of a secondary school diploma or its equivalent. Adult education programs served 205,355 adults in 2014-15. The State has aligned content standards for adult education with state-adopted academic standards.

Training activities are provided statewide through face-to-face workshops, webinars, podcasts, and conferences. Needs assessments are conducted to assist in determining state professional development priorities. Current initiatives also determine training topics such as college and career readiness standards, integrated education and training models, essential components of reading instruction, career pathways, mathematics instruction and GED® preparation.

Florida’s Integrated Career and Academic Preparation System (FICAPS) is Florida’s adult education approach to career pathways. Students will simultaneously enroll in an adult education course (GED® Integrated Preparation) and a career and technical certificate program. Adult education programs will collaborate with their LWDB to determine local high-wage high-demand careers when developing career pathways. The Division of Career and Adult Education (DCAE) also promotes implementation of non-credit bridge programs that promote the teaching of literacy skills in a career context.

One-stop career center partners and adult education programs work collaboratively within their local areas, and assessment and instructional services are often provided on-site at the centers. Local CareerSource Florida network center staff is provided the opportunity to participate in Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) and Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) trainings conducted by DCAE throughout the year. Many CareerSource Florida network career centers provide representatives directly to the adult education facility to provide counseling, advising, and other services related to awareness of workforce resources. The sharing of cross-referral outcomes will be a priority of DCAE to support the goals of WIOA and increase student access and achievement.

An analysis of Florida’s workforce development activities demonstrates a broad range of services offered to Florida residents. The state’s WIOA core partners of CareerSource Florida, Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), Florida Division of Blind Services (FDBS), Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), and Career and Adult Education (DCAE) provide services that assist the state in delivering workforce, education, and training activities in a cohesive manner.