Located in:
- Program-specific Requirements for Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth Activities under Title I-B
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include the following with respect to activities carried out under subtitle B—
a. 2. C. Describe how the State will utilize Rapid Response funds to respond to layoffs and plant closings and coordinate services to quickly aid companies and their affected workers. States also should describe any layoff aversion strategies they have implemented to address at risk companies and workers.
Current Narrative:
Indiana uses Rapid Response funding to market and host Rapid Response Orientations, Job Fairs and Workshops in response to a Worker Adjustment Retaining Notification (WARN) being submitted, as well as in lieu of a WARN being submitted to reach dislocated workers not affected by a company required to submit a WARN for layoff, closure, or reduction in hours. Local workforce development boards can apply for a Rapid Response Grant from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) to assist with Rapid Response activities. If Indiana has exhausted all WIOA funding allocated for Rapid Response, Indiana may pull from the Governor Discretionary fund for Dislocated Workers. Our goal is to use Rapid Response funding to reach any dislocated workers that may be affected by a WARN or Non-WARN, and to upskill where necessary to ensure an individual’s swift return to employment. To further support our efforts to connect with businesses that may be looking at imminent layoff, DWD utilizes Dun & Bradstreet’s “Market Insight” desktop data in evaluating, and ranking, Hoosier businesses based on financial risk. This critical insight allows DWD to use intelligence from companies in a proactive manner by providing a solutions-based approach to manage economic transitions. This program applies a blend of real time financial fitness and material change data analytics, for our ongoing evaluation. With this analysis, DWD supplies leads to local areas for consultation before a business catastrophe occurs and before a business and its workers become at risk. This software is in partnership with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) and is used to:
Consistently analyze labor market data to drive proactive local engagement,
Approach education and career upskilling in talent fluidly,
Tap innovative funding sources, and
Embrace ongoing talent evaluation.
Use of these analytics across Indiana was delayed by the pandemic, however DWD implemented a pilot to develop best practices in several regions. Both State and local business services teams are determining how this information will be utilized and implemented, consistently, statewide. Currently, DWD works closely with three (3) local areas to develop a method and processes to use this information, offer technical assistance, and coordinate with employers to avoid layoffs at the community level. Indiana recently used this tool to analyze the recent layoffs at a local trucking company to evaluate other employer impacts.
Indiana DWD partners with local areas to build and implement Layoff Aversion strategies using the Dun and Bradstreet tool. These strategies leverage Rapid Response funding to support the cost of upskilling workers with their current employer, as well as upskilling of dislocated workers looking for new employment opportunities. Indiana is seeking to expand on this work over the next four years to implement practices that provide early intervention to support businesses and their employees DWD team align with local areas to review and determine prospects for layoff aversion by analyzing the current level of engagement in the Client Relationship Manager (CRM) system and confirming the outreach strategy based on the plan within the local area. Discussions and strategies include addressing:
The proposed layoff schedule and the employer’s plans to assist the dislocated workers, including the status of any collective bargaining negotiations affecting layoff benefits,
The need for a voluntary labor management committee or workforce transition committee comprised of representatives of the employer, affected workers, their representatives, and/or other community entities as necessary to assist in planning and overseeing event-specific strategy that supports the reemployment of affected workers (this work typically starts at the State-level but will involve close coordination with the local region. Whether the region steps in to lead or is more of a collaborator with the State depends on regional capacity, skill, and confidence level to manage),
Appropriate labor representatives to consult and coordinate with when planning Rapid Response activities for impacted workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement,
The need for peer-to-peer worker outreach to connect dislocated workers with services in conjunction with the labor management committee or its equivalent, and
Those procedures are in place for the timely access and referral to WorkOne programs, services, and information offered by the WIOA (including Wagner-Peyser), UI, TAA, and other workforce development programs.
Our Market Insight data analytics can also be applied directly to Rapid Response by conducting radius searches of growing businesses in matching occupations. These leads then serve DWD and local areas as immediate connection points to reduce local dislocated impact. These connections could be in service of direct reemployment or alignment to upskilling affected talent in accessing quality jobs. These crucial connections serve our mission of coaching Hoosier businesses to produce their talent, rather than simply consume it. With an unemployment rate that many consider “full employment” we must look beyond churning, immediate jobs, and drive communities into long term talent growth strategies.