WIOA State Plan Common Elements

State Board Activities

The CWDB and its staff provide active ongoing policy analysis, technical assistance, and program evaluation to inform and shape state policy on workforce and educational program design and implementation.

Executive Director

The Executive Director, who reports to both the CWDB Chair and the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, guides strategy, operations, planning, and policy development. The Executive Director is also the face and chief liaison for the organization in CWDB’s dealings with other state department heads and workforce system stakeholders.

Chief Deputy Director

The Chief Deputy Director is the CWDB chief of staff and oversees the daily operations of the Deputy Directors and the staff in their branches. The Deputy Directors responsible for the operations in the branches supervise the work of all staff in these units, and each reports to the Chief Deputy Director.

The Administrative Support Branch

The Administrative Support Branch is responsible for providing administrative support for the CWDB, ensuring compliance on all federal WIOA reporting and state reporting and fiscal requirements, CWDB budget development and oversight, administrative matters pertaining to hiring and termination, procurement of goods and services, grant administrative matters, and program logistics. Specific responsibilities include the following:

• Fiscal operations and budget:
  • Preparation of October and April budget revision
  • Maintenance of the CWDB’s “above the line” WIOA funds
  • Budget authority and total dollars allocated
  • Tracking of all CWDB grant and initiative funds
  • Providing a detailed monthly encumbrance and expenditure report to accurately project expenditures
• Procurement of goods and services through contracting and interagency agreements
• Human resources
• CWDB staff development
• CWDB member, committee, and workgroup support
• Handling the logistical needs of CWDB and all of its committees and workgroups
• Solicitation of federal and state funding opportunities
• Drafting of annual reports, publication and audit responses
• Maintenance of IT hardware and software, email systems, telecommunications equipment, network printers and copiers, and CWDB website as well as other online platforms

The State Plan and Policy Development Branch

The State Plan and Policy Development Branch is responsible for conducting policy and program review for the State Board in order to build a comprehensive state system and foster its continuous improvement. This function is achieved primarily through the development of policy recommendations and the identification and dissemination of information concerning best practices pertaining, but not limited to, the following areas:

• Developing planning guidance and policy directives to serve as technical assistance and provide policy rationale and supportive data for best practices and model partnerships.
• Conducting research on policies concerning effective sector engagement.
• Conducting research on building of careers pathways tailored to client population needs.
• Convening State Plan partners in accordance with the requirements of WIOA.
• Provide state and federal legislative analysis and government affairs support.
• Operating the CAAL-Skills Project.
• Administering the Corrections Workforce Partnership and Prison to Employment program.

The Program Implementation and Regional Support Branch

The Program Implementation and Regional Support Branch is charged with guiding innovation related policy and practice to advance the state’s broad labor market goals of shared prosperity and income mobility.  In providing technical assistance to key partners in the state’s various regions, this branch works to foster the continuous improvement and implementation of best practices for those elements of the system pertaining, but not limited to, the following:

• System alignment through regional partnership.
• Sector engagement in regional labor markets.
• Using regional coalitions and partnerships to inform and advance the development of careers pathways.
• Accelerating skills and credential attainment aligned with regional labor markets.
• Facilitating access to job training, education and workforce services for populations with barriers to employment.

The High Road Field Branch

The High Road Field Branch is tasked with engaging partners to advance an integrated approach to labor, workforce and economic policy. This approach includes a commitment to equity, sustainability, and job quality and enlists the following four elements: industry led problem solving; partnerships as a priority; worker wisdom; and industry driven education and training solutions. The work of the High Road Field Branch includes the following areas: 

• Developing the CWDB’s high road sector strategy as an effective, clear, transferrable and teachable field of practice.
• Supporting and scaling up existing HRTP and HRCC projects.
• Identifying and developing new HRTPs and HRCCs, with a focus on industry sectors impacted by climate change, policies that lead to a carbon neutral economy, and/or changes in technology and automation.
• Integrating apprenticeship and public sector employment with high road sector field practitioners.
• Establishing the High Road Institute for coaching and training new high road sector practitioners.
• Integrating the high road vision in regional field capacity building and Regional Plan implementation.
• Engaging public agencies, elected officials, board members, thought partners, and regional stakeholders to align all related work with the high road sector strategy underlying the CWDB’s economic mobility goals.