WIOA State Plan Common Elements

Description of the 2022 State Plan Modification Process

For the 2022 WIOA Combined State Plan Modification, the State Workforce Development Council convened a series of meetings, beginning fall of 2021, to bring together all WIOA strategic and core partners (Idaho’s WIOA Advisory Group). Partners reviewed progress towards implementation of the 2020 WIOA Combined State Plan and noted successes, challenges, and changes. Updates to this plan are from findings in meetings of Idaho’s WIOA Advisory Group and One-Stop Committee, along with ongoing input from employers, workforce partners, state agencies, and others. Core and partner program staff continually meet to explore and enhance best practices for providing job seekers employment and employers well-trained candidates.

Meetings of the WIOA Advisory Group were posted in accordance with Idaho Open Meeting Law on the WIOA State Plan Section of the Council’s website. The agendas specified which sections of the plan were going to be reviewed and updated.

The 2022 Combined WIOA State Plan Modification is created through coordination and collaboration of all the strategic and core partners and the programs each represent (see section on initial state plan process below) : Idaho Workforce Development Council, Idaho Commission on Aging, Idaho Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Idaho Department of Labor, Idaho Division of Career Technical Education, and Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. It also includes input and contributions from: Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Idaho Commission for Libraries, Easterseals-Goodwill, ExperienceWorks, and East Central Idaho Planning and Development Association.

Input from the public and other stakeholders was solicited as part of Idaho’s Public Comment Process. The comment period for the plan was available from February 3, 2022 through February  25, 2022. The plan was housed on the state's Workforce Development Council's website, with core and One-Stop partners with links to the plan from their own websites.  The information was also shared statewide through both the Idaho Association of Counties and the Idaho Association of Cities and their respective membership.

Description of the State Plan Development Process

The WIOA State Plan partners (known as the WIOA Advisory Group) developed the WIOA 2020 -2023 Combined State Plan between July 2019 and February 2020. The Workforce Development Council’s executive director Wendi Secrist led the plan development process through a series of public meetings. This includes 16 listening sessions that were held in:

• Hailey
• Twin Falls
• Pocatello
• Fort Hall
• Caldwell
• Payette
• Boise
• Salmon
• St. Anthony
• Preston
• Coeur d’Alene
• Bonners Ferry
• Plummer
• Lewiston
• Cottonwood
• McCall

All listening session invitations were sent to local media, local elected officials, chambers and other business organizations, and workforce system partners for distribution. Nearly 250 individuals attended the listening sessions.

Following the listening sessions, an all-day strategy session was held on November 12, 2019 to develop the goals and strategies for the WIOA State Plan under the umbrella of the Council’s strategic plan which was approved on July 18, 2019. Over 25 representatives of the workforce system partners attended and contributed. Through a technical assistance grant, USDOL provided facilitators for the session.

Meetings of the WIOA Advisory group were posted, in accordance with Idaho Open Meetings Law, on the WIOA State Plan section of the Council’s website, with a banner linking directly to the page from the home page. These agenda identified specific sections of the Combined State Plan to develop/review. Following the meeting, the modified sections with tracked changes were posted on the State Plan website.

The following individuals, representing the partners participating in the WIOA Combined State Plan contributed and were responsible for its program-specific content.

• Idaho Workforce Development Council – Wendi Secrist, Executive Director, Matthew Thomsen, Business Partnership Manager, Caty Solace, Outreach & Communications Manager, Amanda Ames, Finance and Grant Manager. Council staff represented the State Workforce Board. Paige Nielebeck, Management Assistant ensured that plan development complied with Idaho’s Open Meetings Law.
• Idaho Commission on Aging – Admir Selimovic, SCSEP Program Specialist. Admir represented the Combined Partner program of Senior Community Service Employment Program.
• Idaho Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired - Mike Walsh, Rehabilitation Services Chief. Mike represented Title IV programs administered by the Commission.
• Idaho Department of Labor – Kristyn Carr, Workforce Administration Program Operations Manager, Rico Barrera, Senior Planner, Janell Hyer, Research Analyst Supervisor, and Laurel McMahon, Workforce Services Program Operations Manager. Michael Johnson, Deputy Director, Unemployment Insurance administrator. Kristyn and Rico represented all core and partner programs (except for Unemployment Insurance) administered by the Department, including Title I-B, Title III, Veterans Employment, and Trade Adjustment Assistance as the administrative entity and fiscal agent. Laurel McMahon represented the Title I-B programs as a service provider.  Janell Hyer provided all of the updated labor market information in the economic and workforce analysis section of the plan. Michael Johnson represented input from the Unemployment Insurance program.
• Idaho Career & Technical Education (ICTE) – Molly Valceschini, State Coordinator for Adult Education and GED Administrator. Molly served as the State Plan Lead, represented Title II programs, and also provided a link to Carl D. Perkins programs via the Division (the Perkins program did not participate in the Plan, but is a close partner in the workforce development system).
• Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation - Teresa Pitt, Planning and Evaluation Manager; and Matt Markve, Program Evaluation Analyst. Teresa and Matt represented the Title IV general VR program administered by the Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.

Other WIOA partners, while not participating in the combined plan, contributed to the development of the state’s strategies and goals. They include:

• the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare representing TANF and SNAP Employment & Training,
• the Idaho Division of Career & Technical Education representing Perkins,
• the Idaho Commission for Libraries,
• North Idaho College as a WIOA Title I-B service provider,
• Easterseals-Goodwill and ExperienceWorks as state and federal service providers, respectively, for the Senior Community Service Employment Program, and
• East Central Idaho Planning and Development Association as a local workforce development board.

Additionally, input from the public and other stakeholders was solicited as part of Idaho’s Public Comment Process. The comment period for the plan was available from March 2, 2020 through March 23, 2020. The plan was housed on the state's Workforce Development Council's website, with core and One-Stop partners with links to the plan from their own websites.  The information was also shared statewide through both the Idaho Association of Counties and the Idaho Association of Cities and their respective membership.