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  • II. Strategic Elements

    The Unified or Combined State Plan must include a Strategic Planning Elements section that analyzes the State’s current economic environment and identifies the State’s overall vision for its workforce development system.  The required elements in this section allow the State to develop data-driven goals for preparing an educated and skilled workforce and to identify successful strategies for aligning workforce development programs to support economic growth.  Unless otherwise noted, all Strategic Planning Elements apply to Combined State Plan partner programs included in the plan as well as to core programs. 

II. a. 2. Workforce Development, Education and Training Activities Analysis

The Unified or Combined State Plan must include an analysis of the workforce development activities, including education and training in the State, to address the education and skill needs of the workforce, as identified in (a)(1)(B)(iii) above, and the employment needs of employers, as identified in (a)(1)(A)(iii) above.  This must include an analysis of—

  • A. The State’s Workforce Development Activities

    Provide an analysis of the State’s workforce development activities, including education and training activities of the core programs, Combined State Plan partner programs included in this plan, and required 6 and optional one-stop delivery system partners.7


    [6] Required one-stop partners:  In addition to the core programs, the following partner programs are required to provide access through the one-stops: Career and Technical Education (Perkins), Community Services Block Grant, Indian and Native American programs, HUD Employment and Training programs, Job Corps, Local Veterans' Employment Representatives and Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program, National Farmworker Jobs program, Senior Community Service Employment program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) (unless the Governor determines TANF will not be a required partner), Trade Adjustment Assistance programs, Unemployment Compensation programs, and YouthBuild.

    [7] Workforce development activities may include a wide variety of programs and partners, including educational institutions, faith- and community-based organizations, and human services.

  • B. The Strengths and Weaknesses of Workforce Development Activities

    Provide an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the workforce development activities identified in (A), directly above.

  • C. State Workforce Development Capacity

    Provide an analysis of the capacity of State entities to provide the workforce development activities identified in (A), above.

Current Narrative:

Below is an overview of key workforce and education activities, the client populations served, and an assessment of the strengths and opportunities of the programs, including information on administrative and service delivery capacity. 

California Workforce Development Board

The California Workforce Development Board (CWDB) is the Governor’s agent for the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California’s workforce investment system. The members of the CWDB, which consist primarily of representatives from businesses, labor organizations, educational institutions, and community organizations, assist the Governor in designing a statewide plan and establishing appropriate program policy. The CWDB reports to the Governor through the Chair of the CWDB, Secretary for the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, and Executive Director who provide oversight of the CWDB members and staff to ensure that policy recommendations are consistent with the Governor’s vision for the state.

Clients/Service Population: The CWDB does not directly deliver services to a client population. The CWDB’s primary responsibility is to set policy for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I programs and to work with WIOA core program and other state plan partners to align programs and services to build a comprehensive system. 

Strengths: Over the last several years CWDB has improved policy coordination and program alignment with WIOA core programs and other state plan partners at the state and local level.

Opportunities: The CWDB can increase internal capacity for industry engagement at the state, regional, and local level in order to drive demand driven career pathways. 

Local Workforce Development Boards

The state workforce development system is comprised of 45 Local Workforce Development Areas (Local Area), each with its own business-led Local Workforce Development Board (Local Board). Local Boards focus on strategy and, in partnership with the Governor and chief local elected officials, facilitate public-private partnerships that support sector strategies and career pathways.  They work to advance opportunities for all workers, create access to available skilled labor for business, foster innovation and ensure streamlined operations and service delivery excellence. Critical to their charge is their oversight of the local America’s Job Centers of CaliforniaSM (AJCC) which are the hub of the statewide service delivery vehicle for workforce, education, and business services. Workforce funds allocated to Local Boards support the job training, placement, and business services delivered though the AJCCs. These AJCCs, through partnerships with other local, state and federal agencies, education and economic development organizations provide services vital to the social and economic well-being of their communities.

Clients/Service Population: Local Boards provide services annually to millions of adult, dislocated worker, youth, and universal access clients through the AJCCs and California Job Openings Browse System (CalJOBSSM) labor exchange system. Local Boards assist an estimated 65,000 businesses annually in the hiring and retention of skilled workers.

Strengths: Local Boards have experience braiding resources and integrating service delivery through the AJCC system. Local Boards also have connections to their local communities, and have experience with administering state and local led regional initiatives, including sector and career pathway strategies

Opportunities: Local Boards can increase client access to training and education programs that align with regional labor market dynamics, including apprenticeship programs and career pathway programs that grant “stackable” credentials. 

Employment Development Department

The Employment Development Department (EDD) administers WIOA Title I, Wagner Peyser, Labor Market Information Division, Disability Insurance, Paid Family Leave, Unemployment Insurance (UI), Trade Adjustment Assistance, and the Jobs for Veterans State Grant, among other programs. EDD is also California’s major tax collection agency, administering the audit and collection of payroll taxes and maintaining the employment records for more than 17 million California workers. One of the largest departments in state government, handling over $90 billion annually, EDD has nearly 7,300 employees providing services at more than 200 locations throughout the state. 

Clients/Service Population: EDD processes over 1.5 million initial unemployment insurance claims per year, over half a million disability insurance claims, and provides job services to 1.5 million people through Wagner-Peyser programs. EDD also administers programs that are targeted towards youth, people with disabilities, veterans, and workers who lose their jobs or whose hours of work and wages are reduced as a result of increased imports.

Strengths: EDD’s online labor exchange system, the CalJOBSSM is accessible to both employers and job seekers throughout the state. CalJOBSSM contains over half a million job listings and is accessed by more than a million job seekers every year.

Opportunities: EDD is continuing to work to more fully integrate Wagner-Peyser staff into the AJCC system and comply with mandatory partnership requirements pertaining to how Unemployment Insurance recipients are served.

Employment Training Panel

The Employment Training Panel (ETP) is a statewide business-labor incumbent worker training and economic development program. ETP supports economic development in California through strategic partnerships with business, labor, and government, and through the provision of financial assistance to California businesses to support customized worker training programs that attract and retain skilled workers and businesses; provide workers with secure jobs that pay good wages and have opportunities for advancement; assist employers to successfully compete in the global economy; and promote the benefits and ongoing investment in employee training among employers. 

Clients/Service Population: ETP serves over 400 employers a year and 60,000 incumbent workers who receive training. To date, ETP has provided approximately $1.6 billion for the successful training and employment retention of over 1.2 million workers employed by over 84,000 California businesses.

Strengths: The “pay-for-performance” nature of ETP contracts helps facilitate close to an 80 percent retention rate for trained employees, resulting in both layoff aversion and business expansion. ETP’s contracts follow a pay-for-performance model, where employers earn funds as they complete employee training and retention benchmarks. ETP’s program is strong in employer engagement, with businesses developing their own customized training programs, and with ETP’s extensive outreach to, and participation of, their stakeholder employers. ETP also has strong relationships with the California Community Colleges, trade associations, and labor unions across the state. ETP is also currently developing a new computer system for both staff and customer use which will modernize their program.

Opportunities: ETP recognizes the need to focus more strategically on career pathways and industry sector engagement. ETP also has the goals of increasing their strategic partnerships with other state agencies including the CWDB, and with streamlining and modernizing their program requirements.

California Community Colleges

California Community Colleges’ Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) is the state agency for providing administration and direction for the California Community Colleges (CCC) postsecondary CTE programs, including the apprenticeship and the adult education programs. The Workforce and Economic Development Division (WEDD), within the CCCCO, is responsible for administration and program oversight of postsecondary CTE programs, including the apprenticeship, the adult education programs, and Perkins V. The Division’s portfolio consists of the Strong Workforce Program, California Adult Education Program, California Apprenticeship Initiative, Nursing, and the Economic Workforce Development Program. 

Clients/Service Population: California’s 115 community colleges offer 350 different fields of study, 8000 certificate programs, and 4,500 associate degree programs. More than a quarter of the state’s 2.1 million community college students enroll in a community college CTE course.

Strengths: Community colleges offer low cost education programs that are accessible to the public, including populations with barriers to employment. Many community colleges have strong partnerships with Local Boards and locally administered CalWORKs programs. The CCCCO investments are guided by the Vision for Success, a bold strategic plan with clear priorities and goals. The CCCCO also has a regional model that is designed to address the diverse communities and their workforce needs across the state. The regional model and employer engagement focus allows the CCC to better align programs and curricula with regional labor markets, build stronger regional partnerships, and provide more robust supportive services. Community colleges also have a variety of programs designed to serve populations with barriers to employment including Disabled Student Programs and Services, CalWORKs, Extended Opportunity Programs and Services, Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education Program, Foster and Kinship Care Education and Foster Youth Success Initiatives.

Opportunities: The CCCCO’s set of broad reforms underway has create an environment where campuses are carefully examining the student journey and changing how supports and services are designed and offer to increase retention, completion, transfer and achieving employment goals. Strengthening employer engagement activities, and conversations on competency based education and credentials attainment, as well as the intention to better align career pathways between K12 and CCC will further improve student outcomes and sustainability of CTE programs.

California State Board of Education and Department of Education

The State Board of Education (SBE) is the K-12 policy-making body for academic standards, curriculum, instructional materials, assessments and accountability. The SBE adopts instructional materials for use in grades kindergarten through eight. The SBE also adopts regulations to implement a wide variety of programs created by the Legislature, such as charter schools, and special education. In addition, the SBE has the authority to grant local education agency requests for waivers of certain provisions of the state Education Code, and acts on petitions to unify or reorganize school district boundaries. Finally, the SBE is officially the designated “State Education Agency” that is charged with providing policy guidance to the state and local education agencies regarding federal education policies and programs such as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (referred to as Perkins V), WIOA, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The California Department of Education (CDE) is the administrative and oversight body for K-12 programs, including career technical education and adult education and literacy programs in California. Four divisions within the CDE have program responsibilities associated, directly and/or indirectly, with WIOA. These divisions include the Career and College Transition Division, the Special Education Division, the English Learner and Support Division, and the Coordinated Student Support Division.

Clients/Service Population: Transition services are provided to 137,000 Students with Disabilities statewide, including 94,000 served by WorkAbility 1 programs; 18,314 at-risk students are served through county run juvenile justice facilities and county community schools; over three-quarters of a million students are served under adult education including basic skills, English Language Acquisition, CTE, Adults with Disabilities, and family literacy  programs. CDE also oversees CTE programs serving 970,000 secondary students and 59,000 adult CTE students.

Strengths: In both adult education and CTE, there is a focus on regional collaboration including K–12 programs, adult education, community college non-credit and credit programs, and partnerships with higher education to develop and integrate standards-based academics with career relevant, industry-themed pathways and work-based learning opportunities that are aligned to high-need, high-growth, or emerging regional economic sectors. The CDE has also developed a strong community of practice related to secondary transitions and has integrated work based learning approaches for students with disabilities; ensured WIOA Title II grantees have the flexibility to match curriculum with the goals and objectives of other WIOA funded programs; and implemented an evaluation process for the Coordinated Student Support programs. 

Opportunities: Access to supportive services for students such as counseling, childcare, and transportation services could be addressed by better coordination at the state, local, and regional level between programs overseen by CDE, human service programs, and other workforce and education programs. CDE also lacks common student identifiers across educational segments which creates obstacles to data matching and tracking individuals into the labor market.

Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development

The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) serves as the State of California’s leader for job growth and economic development efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. 

Clients/Service Population: GO-Biz works directly with businesses to help organizations understand opportunities to start, maintain, and grow operations in California. This assistance includes, but is not limited to: site selection, permit assistance, international trade development, connectivity to strategic partnerships, information on incentive programs, and referrals to local and state business assistance resources. In addition to direct business assistance, GO-Biz also administers and supports programs led by regional business assistance and economic development organizations. 

Strengths: Through its direct interactions with California businesses of all sizes and industry sectors, GO-Biz helps businesses communicate their workforce development needs to the ETP, Local Boards, educational institutions, and training providers. In conjunction with its local, regional and state partners, GO-Biz connects businesses with workforce needs to applicable resources. In collaboration with the network of workforce programs and institutions, GO-Biz assists in elevating the demands for the needed talent pipeline for our current and future employers and in identifying the emerging needs of future industries. GO-Biz’s business engagement allows early recognition of the emerging workforce needs for the future and advances those needs to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, local partner organizations, and educational systems to develop the necessary skills to create the workforce of the future.

Opportunities: GO-Biz has the opportunity to increase its reach to a wider audience of business, education and training partners and to coordinate business assistance activities with state, regional and local partners. 

Department of Rehabilitation

The mission of Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) works in partnership with consumers and other stakeholders to provide services and advocacy resulting in employment, independent living, and equality for individuals with disabilities in California. The DOR administers the largest vocational rehabilitation (VR) program in the country and delivers VR services to persons with disabilities in offices throughout the state so that persons with disabilities may prepare for and engage in competitive integrated employment and achieve economic self-sufficiency. In addition, DOR has cooperative agreements with state and local agencies (secondary and postsecondary education, mental health, and welfare) to provide services to consumers. The DOR operates under a federal Order of Selection (OOS) process, which gives priority to persons with the most significant disabilities. Persons with disabilities who are eligible for DOR's VR services may be provided a full range of services, including vocational assessment, assistive technology, vocational and educational training, job placement, supported employment and independent living skills training to maximize their ability to live and work independently within their communities. The DOR provides career counseling and information and referral services to encourage individuals working in non-competitive, non-integrated settings to work toward and achieve competitive integrated employment.

Client/Service Population: In federal fiscal year 2019, DOR provided a range of VR services to approximately 111,000 individuals with disabilities, of which approximately 29,600 were students with disabilities. The disability types of those individuals determined eligible for VR services includes:  4,900 who were blind or visually impaired; 6,500 with cognitive disabilities; 15,100 with learning disabilities; 13,600 with intellectual or developmental disabilities; 5,600 deaf or hard of hearing individuals; 16,100 with physical disabilities; 25,700 with psychiatric disabilities; 1,100 with traumatic brain injury; and 1,900 individuals with other disabilities. 

Strengths:  DOR employs qualified VR professionals and paraprofessionals who work with individuals with disabilities to find a career track with upward mobility offering sustainable living wages. The VR professionals are trained in assessment, career planning, job placement, and assistive technology services to meet the employment needs of eligible individuals with disabilities. DOR utilizes a consumer-centered approach to service delivery by employing VR professionals and VR paraprofessionals to deliver effective and timely consumer services throughout the state, including students with disabilities. DOR also maintains a network of partnerships with community-based disability organizations and other public agencies, including high schools, community colleges, universities, and county mental health agencies to provide a greater range of employment services and opportunities to DOR consumers than would otherwise be available through any single agency. 

Opportunities: Under federal law, VR programs must redirect 15% of funds from traditional VR services to pre-employment transition services for students with disabilities. There is an active risk that DOR will not have sufficient funds and human resources to provide VR services to all individuals with significant disabilities who apply for services. The DOR has been operating under an OOS process since September 1995. Insufficient funding may mean further limiting the OOS and access to VR services. 

CalWORKs

The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (CalWORKs) program operates in all fifty-eight counties providing temporary cash assistance to meet family basic needs and welfare-to-work services to help families become self- sufficient. CalWORKs programs are able to provide a wide array of services, including education and training, ancillary supportive services such as childcare and transportation support, and help with domestic violence and substance abuse issues.

Clients/Service Population: The CalWORKs caseload is approximately 530,000 cases, which equates to about 1.2 million Californians. Approximately 270,000 of these cases are eligible for welfare-to-work programs.

Strengths: CalWORKs has a robust subsidized employment program and has a lot of flexibility in the types of services it can provide. CalWORKs has an existing relationship with community colleges to provide support for CalWORKs recipients enrolled in academic and career pathway programs. While maintaining the work-first policies of TANF, recent changes in CalWORKs have increased the emphasis towards a work-focused, skills attainment, and barrier removal agenda to ensure that TANF recipients are positioned to achieve long-term successful outcomes and upward mobility.

Opportunities: CalWORKs serves a higher percentage of needy families than the rest of the nation. CalWORKs is designed primarily to combat child poverty by continuing to aid children even when the adults cannot (e.g., due to time limits or exemptions) or do not participate in the welfare-to-work program. CalWORKs serves many exempt adults with significant barriers to employment.

CalFresh Employment & Training 

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training program (CalFresh E&T) is a state-supervised program of employment and training services offered voluntarily at the county level to CalFresh recipients. CalFresh E&T’s strategic goals are focused around a central vision to increase the employment and earning capacity of CalFresh recipients by maximizing their access to CalFresh E&T, supportive services, and skills and credentialing.

Client/Service Population: CalFresh E&T is made available to counties who voluntarily decide to provide CalFresh E&T services to eligible participants. Eligibility for CalFresh E&T is determined by the administering county. A participant is eligible for CalFresh E&T if they meet these requirements:
•    Is a CalFresh reversal referral. 
•    Is an active CalFresh Recipient. Eligibility must be verified for each month of participation. In other words, you must be an  active CalFresh recipient in order to receive services through CalFresh E&T.   
•    Is not actively receiving CalWORKs (also referred to as non-assistance CalFresh recipients).

Strengths: Counties have flexibility in designing their respective CalFresh E&T program, including who the counties partner with. Definitions and descriptions often align and are derived from WIOA language so that program alignment can be made easier at the local level. 

Opportunities: The intensity of services can vary between counties resulting in lack of consistency in service quality depending on localized efforts and integrated partnership.  There are also potential partners already providing E&T allowable services to eligible clients who are not able to access reimbursement funds due to contracting restrictions. 

Department of Industrial Relations – Division of Apprenticeship Standards

The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) - Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) administers California apprenticeship law and enforces apprenticeship standards for wages, hours, working conditions and the specific skills required for state certification as a journeyperson in an apprenticeable occupation. DIR-DAS promotes apprenticeship training through creation of partnerships, consults with program sponsors and monitors programs to ensure high standards for on-the-job training and supplemental classroom instruction. Through this effort, the retiring skilled workforce is replenished with new skilled workers to keep California's economic engine running strong.

Clients/Service Population: DIR-DAS serves industry, educational institutions, government, and apprentice and journey level workers. California continues to lead the nation in apprenticeship, with 93,955 apprentices registered in 1,168 DAS-approved programs represented by 473 sponsors.

Strengths: The apprenticeship model has a proven track record of placing workers in high-wage, middle-skills career pathways. The apprenticeship system of training is efficient and cost-effective and results in higher retention rates, lower turnover, and reduced costs for recruitment of new employees. The curriculum and on-the-job training are guided by industry and meet industry needs. Apprenticeship connects employers with public education facilities for related classroom instruction.

Opportunities: The majority of existing apprenticeship programs are established for occupations in the construction and building trades. Women and minorities continue to be underrepresented in many apprenticeship programs.

Department of Child Support Services

The Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) works with parents, custodial and non-custodial, and legally acknowledged guardians to ensure children and families receive court-ordered financial and medical support. DCSS’ mission is to promote parental responsibility to enhance the well-being of children by providing child support services to establish parentage and collect child support, with the vision that all parents are engaged in supporting their children.

Clients/Service Population: DCSS works with parents, custodial and non-custodial, and legally acknowledged guardians to ensure children and families receive court-ordered financial and medical support.

Strengths: DCSS is exploring the use of behaviorally informed interventions to improve child support outcomes by focusing on areas to improve establishment and enforcement outcomes. The areas of focus are early engagement, right-sizing orders, reliable payment, family-centered services, and potentially customizing enforcement actions to accommodate parents taking advantage of workforce activities.

Opportunities: Local county child support agencies currently have limited access to data for clients that are referred to the workforce system. Increasing access will allow staff to assist individuals with child support obligations in obtaining permanent employment. 

Senior Community Service Employment Program

The California Department of Aging (CDA) administers programs that serve older adults, adults with disabilities, family caregivers, and residents in long-term care facilities throughout the State. CDA contracts with the network of 33 Area Agencies on Aging, who directly manage a wide array of federal and state-funded services.  The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) provides eligible individuals part-time, subsidized job training through community service assignments at non-profit organizations or governmental entities. SCSEP aims to foster individual economic self-sufficiency and increase the number of persons who may benefit from unsubsidized employment in both public and private sectors, as well as strengthen self-sufficiency and provide support to organizations that benefit from increased civic engagement. 

Client/Service Populations: Program-eligible older workers must be residents of California, 55 years of age or older, unemployed, and have total annual family income that does not exceed 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, currently $15,613 for an individual.  Service priority is given to individuals meeting one or more of the following criteria:
•    Is a veteran or a spouse of a veteran
•    Is 65 years of age or older
•    Has a disability
•    Has limited English proficiency
•    Has low literacy skills
•    Resides in a rural area
•    Has low employment prospects
•    Has failed to find employment after utilizing services under WIOA Title I 
•    Is homeless or at risk for homelessness

Strengths: California is the most populous state in the country and has the highest number of SCSEP-eligible older individuals. Demographic shifts in the population mean that the demand for SCSEP services will likely increase. As the only federally mandated job training program targeted towards serving low-income workers age 55 years and older, SCSEP serves a dual purpose as a training program for low-income older workers and a source of subsidized staff trainees for community-based organizations.

Opportunities: California’s SCSEP has insufficient funding to support the program’s allocated positions due to the disparity between the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and the California state minimum wage of $13.00 per hour. State minimum wage increases have reduced or modified the number of CDA’s allocated SCSEP positions by 40 percent, further destabilizing the program, reducing service capacity, and serving fewer older adults. 

WIOA Section 166 - Indian/Native American Programs

The WIOA Section 166 Indian/Native American (INA) Program supports employment and training activities for Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian people, helping more fully develop their academic, occupational and literacy skills to help them compete more effectively in the job market and achieve personal and economic self-sufficiency. There are eight WIOA Section 166 INA Employment and Training grantees in California that receive over funding to provide services to Indian and other Native American populations in California

Clients/Service Population: WIOA Section 166 INA Program serves Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians who are unemployed, or underemployed, or low-income individuals, or a recipient of a lay-off notice.

Strengths: The INA programs promote the economic and social development of Indian communities. Services are provided in a culturally appropriate manner, consistent with the principles of Indian self-determination.

Opportunities: The funding allocated to INA programs is insufficient to meet the needs of the population and improvements can be made in relation to co-enrolling the INA population through the AJCC system. Many INA grantees are located in rural areas and lack access to technology and support services, including transportation.

WIOA Section 167 - Farmworker Service Programs

The National Farmworker Jobs Program is a nationally-directed, locally-administered program of employment and training services for migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Created under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, and currently authorized under WIOA Section 167, the program seeks to counter the chronic unemployment and underemployment experienced by migrant seasonal farmworkers (MSFW) who depend primarily on seasonal jobs in California's agricultural sector. There are five WIOA Section 167 farmworker service programs represented statewide by La Cooperativa Campesina de California. These programs provide services throughout California but especially in rural areas where farmworkers live and work. Training services include English as a Second Language, General Education Development, adult and family literacy, basic education, vocational education, and employer-based training. Related services such as childcare, transportation, emergency services, housing, counseling, job placement, and follow-up services enhance these training efforts.

Clients/Service Population: WIOA Section 167 grantees serve eligible migrant/seasonal farmworkers and their dependents. Eligible farmworkers are those individuals who primarily depend on employment in agricultural labor that is characterized by chronic unemployment and underemployment.

Strengths: WIOA Section 167 grantees have well-developed relationships with Local Boards and the AJCC system, provide occupational skills training, related supportive services, and housing assistance to the MSFW population. Many Section 167 grantees also list programs on the State Eligible Training Provider List and receive referrals from AJCCs.

Opportunities: The funding allocated to MSFW programs is insufficient to meet the needs of the population and many MSFWs have limited English language capacity and do not have access to supportive services, including transportation and child care, which limits opportunities for them to attain skills, credentials, and degrees from the “mainstream” educational system.

Job Corps

Job Corps is the nation's largest and most comprehensive residential education and job training program for at-risk youth, ages 16 through 24. Through a nationwide network of campuses, Job Corps offers a comprehensive array of career development services to prepare young people for successful careers. Job Corps employs a holistic career development training approach which integrates the teaching of academic, vocational, and employability skills, as well training in social competencies, through a combination of classroom, practical and work-based learning experiences to prepare youth for stable, long-term, high-paying jobs.

Clients/Service Population: Job Corps serves young men and women age 16-24 who are out of school and have barriers to employment.

Strengths: Job Corps is a comprehensive program which provides high school diploma and equivalency programs, occupational skills training, work readiness, and housing and supportive services to young men and women enrolled in the program.

Opportunities: Since Job Corps Centers are only located in some Local Areas, not all AJCCs can access and provide referrals to the services they provide.

Jobs for Veterans State Grant

The Jobs for Veterans State Grants (JVSG) program provides funding to state workforce agencies to hire dedicated staff to provide individualized career and training-related services to veterans and eligible persons with significant barriers to employment and to assist employers fill their workforce needs with job-seeking veterans. The Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program (DVOP) specialists focus is on providing individualized career services through case management whereas the Local Veterans’ Employment Representatives (LVER) coordinate with local business service teams and members of the community to advocate to employers on behalf of veterans and to develop job opportunities specifically for veterans.

Services are provided to veterans and eligible persons according to their individual needs. Basic career services are universally accessible and are made available to all veterans seeking employment and training services in at least one comprehensive American Job Center of California (AJCC) in each Local Area. On a priority of service basis, an AJCC staff member determines the eligible person’s purpose for registering. Once the veteran or other eligible person is identified, a Veteran Service Navigator conducts an initial assessment. If they are deemed a veteran with a significant barrier to employment or other special criteria, they are referred to the DVOP specialist for further assessment and individualized career services.

Clients/Service Population: In addition to the universal access and priority of services provided to all veterans, the JVSG program is intended to target the following veterans with barriers to employment:

  • A special disabled or disabled veteran which are those:
    • who are entitled to compensation under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
    • were discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability
  • A veteran who is homeless
  • A recently-separated service member, who has been unemployed for 27 or more weeks in the previous 12 months
  • A veteran who is currently incarcerated or who has been released from incarceration
  • A veteran lacking a high school diploma or equivalent certificate
  • A veteran who is low-income
  • Veterans aged 18–24
  • Vietnam-era Veterans
  • Transitioning members of the Armed Forces who have been identified as in need of Individualized Career Services
  • Members of the Armed Forces who are wounded, ill, or injured and receiving treatment in military treatment facilities or warrior transition units
  • The spouses or other family caregivers of such wounded, ill, or injured members.
  • The spouse of any of the following individuals:
    • Any veteran who died of a service connected disability
    • Any veteran who has a total disability resulting from a service- connected disability.
    • Any veteran who died while a disability so evaluated was in existence.
    • Any member of the Armed Forces serving on active duty who is listed, in one or more of the following categories and has been so listed for a total of more than 90 days:
      1. missing in action
      2. Captured in the line of duty by a hostile force
      3. or forcibly detained or interned in line of duty by a foreign government or power.

Strengths: Since JVSG staff are required to be veterans, they have the opportunity to build rapport with their clients and assess not only their employment needs but also additional community resources. This allows DVOPS to provide veterans with comprehensive employment. LVERS have first-hand knowledge of the attributes a veteran can bring to a company and provide employers assistance on understanding how the veterans’ military experience matches their needs.

Opportunities: JVSG is continuing to work on fully integrating the LVERs services into the Business Services platform in the AJCCs to promote hiring veterans to the employer community. In addition, DVOPS are continually working to integrate with all AJCC partners and community resources to better serve the veteran community to obtain meaningful and successful careers.