REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
June 27, 2019
FROM: BLAKE KONCZAL, Executive Director
Fresno Regional Workforce Development Board
BY: WILMA QUAN, City Manager
Office of the Mayor & City Manager
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Regional and Local Plans Program Years 2017-2021, Two (2) Year Modifications
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council approve the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Regional and Local Plans Program Years (PYs) 2017-2021, Two (2) Year Modifications.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The California Workforce Development Board’s (CWDB) Strategic Workforce Development Plan for California has a broad vision and outlines ambitious goals for how the public workforce system can work with its partners to shape and support economic prosperity across the state and its regions. Under WIOA, the state has established 14 Regional Planning Units (RPUs) within the State of California that align workforce development activities and resources within the context of a larger regional economy and to develop and deploy available resources to provide coordinated and efficient services to job seekers and employers. Each RPU is required to develop a regional strategic plan. The Fresno Regional Workforce Development Board (FRWDB) is one (1) of eight (8) Workforce Development Boards in the designated San Joaquin Valley and Associated Counties RPU. The other local boards include Kern-Inyo-Mono, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare.
On July 27, 2018, the state released the Regional and Local Plan Modification Guidance for 2017-2021 (WSD-18-01), which provides guidance for the preparation and submission of both the local and regional workforce plans required by WIOA. As outlined in the directive, the final plan must be submitted to the state board no later than August 1, 2019.
The RPUs are required to submit updated Modifications required to align the Regional Plan with the state plan, including the following areas:
1) Coordinate and integrate reentry and workforce services to the formerly- incarcerated and other justice-involved individuals,
2) Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3) pre-apprenticeship partnerships, and
3) Regional self-assessments using Indicators of Regional Coordination and Alignment.
Modifications required to align the Local Plan with the state plan include the following areas:
1) Department of Social Services CalFresh programs,
2) Local Child Support Agencies to provide workforce services to unemployed, underemployed, and payment-delinquent non-custodial parents,
3) Programs that serve individuals with disabilities, including detail on strategies to implement Competitive Integrated Employment,
4) Requirements pertaining to services for English Language Learners, the Foreign Born, and Refugees, and
5) Other changes to regional and local plans made pursuant to changes in labor market and economic conditions or in other factors affecting the implementation of local or regional plans are submitted as modifications to the regional or local plan they propose to modify.
The directive mandates that each local board must hold public meetings for stakeholders to ensure opportunities to participant in and provide feedback on the local and regional plans as part of the initial development of the plan modifications. These meetings were held in October and November 2019. Attendees included the following:
1) Organizations providing services to the re-entry population,
2) English learners, as well as adult education partners, refugee resettlement agencies, immigration services providers,
3) Human Service program leads and providers,
4) Community college and other education partners, and
5) Disability organizations associated with the Department of Rehabilitation.
WIOA mandates that the draft plan be released for a 30-day public comment period. To meet this requirement, FRWDB staff released the draft plans for a 30-day public comment period on February 1, 2019. Comments were due no later than March 4, 2019. There were no comments in disagreement with the draft plans received during the public comment period, and there were no comments received that resulted in significant changes to the initial draft plan.
As outlined in the Directive, the final plans, with all required signatures, must be submitted to the CWDB no later than August 1, 2019.
BACKGROUND
WIOA Sections 106 and 107 and California UI Code Sections 14221-14222 require that local boards submit a comprehensive four (4) year regional and local plan to the state board. Under WIOA, a biennial update of regional and local plans is required in order to ensure plans remain current and account for “changes in labor market and economic conditions or in other factors affecting the implementation of the local plan” (29 U.S. Code § 3123). The State Board has also made changes to the State Plan, which requires that the Local Boards update their plans to keep them consistent with the policy direction of the State Plan as referenced in the Executive Summary above.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
By the definition provided in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines section 15378 the approval of this agreement does not qualify as a “project,” as defined by CEQA.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not considered since this item does not include a bid or award of a construction or services contract.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no increase in Net City Cost associated with the Recommended Action. The FRWDB is 100% funded by non-City sources. These have their origin primarily with the United States Department of Labor, being supplemented by other federal and State of California grants.
Attachment: Regional and Local Plans PY-17-21, Two (2) Year Modifications