Located in:
- III. Operational Planning Elements
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include an Operational Planning Elements section that supports the State’s strategy and the system-wide vision described in Section II(c) above. Unless otherwise noted, all Operational Planning Elements apply to Combined State Plan partner programs included in the plan as well as to core programs. This section must include—
- b. State Operating Systems and Policies
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include a description of the State operating systems and policies that will support the implementation of the State strategy described in section II Strategic Elements. This includes—
- b. State Operating Systems and Policies
III. b. 6. B. Assessment of Participants’ Post-program Success
Describe how lead State agencies will use the workforce development system to assess the progress of participants who are exiting from core programs in entering, persisting in, and completing postsecondary education, or entering or remaining in employment. States may choose to set additional indicators of performance.
Current Narrative:
Michigan recognizes that it is only through the collective efforts of the various agencies that touch workforce development that the best outcomes can be achieved. Coordination, communication, leveraging of resources, and partnerships are stressed throughout the state. Assessment of effectiveness measures will also be developed to allow the State and local workforce development boards to make more informed decisions about programming and the use of funds. The State will develop additional performance measures to the degree they provide meaningful and actionable information and data can feasibly be collected.
The State will measure performance of the core programs using Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) performance metrics and will further assess the overall effectiveness of the workforce system and those educational programs that support and work with it on the basis of these programs’ collective ability to produce industry-valued, recognized post-secondary credentials and apprenticeship enrollments. The State Board will also work with non-core programs to align performance measurement for state-funded workforce and education programs for which the Michigan Department of Education has mandated performance reporting.
Specifically, the State will emphasize “demand-driven skills-attainment” in the policies it sets pertaining to local and regional workforce planning goals and program performance goals will be consistent with this policy direction. For example, in setting performance standards for local boards, the State will give great weight to WIOA performance measures related to skills attainment, program completion, and credential attainment (including, when relevant, high school diplomas), and will validate the labor market value of relevant programs by examining the employment and wage outcomes of the individuals served using relevant WIOA performance metrics.
The purpose of this overall approach to program assessment is to facilitate the attainment of marketable skills that ultimately will improve the labor market outcomes (employment rates and wages) of the individuals being served. The focus on labor market relevant skills attainment (as measured by the production and receipt of industry-valued credentials) is intended to work in tandem with and reinforce the performance assessment system required by WIOA, so as to increase the performance outcomes of local service providers by requiring investments that actually develop the workforce skills of the individuals they serve. If local providers make training-related investments calibrated to the needs of their local and regional labor markets, their performance numbers should benefit.
The State will also work with regionally organized local boards and other partners to determine the extent to which persons receiving training and education services aligned with regional industry needs are actually obtaining employment in occupations and sectors directly related to their programs of study. Developing this capacity will require creativity and the development of an operational plan for collecting relevant information. The State will work with local areas, and partners to build this capacity and will consider alternative approaches to measuring how well local providers are calibrating training and education offerings to regional labor market trends, given the current limits of occupation and industry sector information contained in relevant wage records.
Finally, the State will work with local partners and relevant stakeholders to conduct program evaluation and research that examines program impacts on wages and employment, using rigorous statistical methodology to compare the labor market outcomes of individuals who participate and complete relevant programs with similar individuals who do not participate and complete these programs.
Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) – Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS) and Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP)
Participants who exit the VR program are measured during the 2nd and 4th quarter post exit to determine employment status. The parameters for post exit evaluation are referenced in the Rehabilitation Services Administration Technical Assistance Circulars 17-01 and 18-04.