WIOA State Plan Common Elements

(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.

Through WIOA and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), Congress requires states to track participants’ post-program success using a series of measures. For the WIOA Title I Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs, Title II Adult Education and Literacy programs, Title III Wagner-Peyser employment services, and Title IV VR, the primary indicators of performance are, as follows:

• Employment during 2nd quarter after exit
• Employment during 4th quarter after exit
• Median earnings
• Credential attainment rate (excluding Wagner-Peyser)
• Measurable skills gain (excluding Wagner-Peyser)
• Effectiveness in serving employers

For the WIOA Title I Youth program, the primary indicators of performance are, as follows:

• Employment, education, or training during 2nd quarter after exit
• Employment, education, or training during 4th quarter after exit
• Median earnings
• Credential attainment rate
• Measurable skills gain
• Effectiveness in serving employers

For the TANF Program, the primary indicator of performance, based on PRWORA requirements, is the WPR. The WPR is a measurement of families getting TANF cash assistance that include an adult “engaged in work”—that is, participating in a qualifying work-related activity for a sufficient number of hours per week. Maryland is fully committed to tracking these mandated outcomes, but recognizes that the WIOA system’s mark of success goes beyond these measures. Utilizing the technical assistance provided to Maryland through its participation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Systems to Family Stability National Policy Academy, the WIOA partners have worked collaboratively to determine how best to measure success. As Maryland seeks to strengthen and enhance its workforce system through implementation of the State Plan, success requires a commitment to innovation, collaboration, and a true systems approach among the state’s many workforce partners.

In order to guide the WIOA partners in this work, the Benchmarks of Success for Maryland’s Workforce System will set forth a clear vision, goals, and measurable achievements that help define success and lay the core foundation of this new system. These goals and corresponding benchmarks will be focused around a central vision of increasing the earning capacity of Marylanders by maximizing access to employment, skills and credentialing, life management skills, and supportive services. These goals and benchmarks are not mere measures, but rather provide a way of thinking systematically about how Maryland delivers services. They reflect Maryland’s dedication to focusing its efforts on people who need the system’s assistance the most. The strategic goals and coinciding benchmarks, which are currently undergoing a collaborative vetting process, will intentionally set a high bar and are meant to be used as a leadership tool, guiding strategic conversations and defining a set of achievements for the workforce system to commit to and strive toward in the collective work to improve the lives of Marylanders. To be clear, the intention of these benchmarks is not to be punitive; but rather, to be forward thinking about what success really means in Maryland. The benchmarks will allow the WIOA partners to collectively measure success, as defined by Maryland, beyond what Congress requires.

Further, the WIOA partners are committed to driving resources, services, and collaboration towards strategies that will effectively and efficiently push the system to make progress in reaching its goals. The WIOA Alignment Group will work with the WIOA Work Groups to find ways to effectively measure and strategize how best to meet these benchmarks across the system. Additionally, the WIOA Alignment Group will continually revisit these benchmarks to gauge progress and to determine whether additional measures should be tracked.