WIA State Plans

Summary of State Plan Status

• 20 States have begun WIA Implementation
  
  
• 2 States fully approved: Vermont and Utah
  
  
• 3 Transition States: Florida, Kentucky, and Texas with expected full implementation on January 1, 2000
  
  
• 2 States approved for boards only: Illinois and Wisconsin
  
  
• 8 Transition Plans: Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Puerto Rico
  
  
• 5 Unified Transition Plans: Indiana, Louisiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee

Noteworthy Activities

• OGCM staff met with the OIG to arrange for a four site "field test" of revised WIA admin cost definition in preparation for inclusion in WIA final regulations. The anticipated sites are Fort Wayne; Charlotte; Lowell, MA; and Montana.
  
  
• There will be an Internal ETA State Planning Guidance training session held in Chicago on Monday, December 13th - 15th. The training will cover several issues related to the review and approval of WIA Strategic Five Year State Plans as well as Unified Plans. A demonstration of the emerging Electronic Plan Review Guide will be conducted for Regional Plan review staff.
  
  
• Performance Accountability Team presented proposed policies for WIA in four product areas to the Policy Council, the Policy Team, and at the Regional Administrators meeting. The four areas are, Performance and Core Measurements, Incentives and Sanctions, Negotiating Performance Levels, and Record Keeping and Reporting on WIA.
  
  
• The Intergovernmental organizations met with Deputy Secretaries Uhalde and Jacobs-Simmons on December 3rd to review the policies and information on Performance and Planning that will be distributed at the NGA Policy Forum to be held on Dec. 9th and 10th.

Announcements

• The American Association of Community Colleges and the U.S. Department of Labor are seeking four exemplary community college programs that are building the skills of U.S. workers. Cash grants of $10,000 will be awarded in each of the following categories: One-Stop Career Center Services/America's Career Kit Implementation; Dislocated Worker Services; Welfare-to-Work Services; and Career Pathways for At-Risk or Special-Needs Youth.
  
  The deadline is December 17, 1999; faxed or e-mailed materials will not be accepted. Applications for the fourth annual Workforce Development Awards can be accessed and downloaded at: http://www.aacc.nche.edu/headline/110399head5.htm.

Technical Assistance Activities

• The Great Lakes Employment and Training Association (GLETA) will hold a Leadership Conference on December 6th through 7th in Chicago, IL. The Leadership Conference will focus on the broader role of the Boards and Executive staff in terms of a Community Planning Process.
  
  
• The New York Association of Training and employment Professionals (NYATEP) have compiled a sampling of Memorandums of Understanding and resource agreements. State and local area postings of MOU's or a WIA resource can be e-mailed to ICESA at: [email protected].
  
  
• A new WIA Implementation support publication entitled, "Marketing the Employment Revolution" is available for reading online at: http://www.cobel.com/EmploymentRevolution
  
  
• Product information papers on WIA Performance Management Policies (Core Indicators, Incentives and Sanction Process, Negotiating Performance Levels, and Record-Keeping and Reporting), Final Regulation Preview, and Planning Guidance Revisions will be presented at the NGA Policy Forum on December 9th and 10th, after which they will be posted on the Internet.

Calendar of Significant Activities Expected During Coming Weeks

WIA Key Benchmarks