Interim-Final Rule:

The Workforce Investment Act

Published in the Federal Register on April 15, 1999

Working with the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and other Federal Agencies that oversee training and employment programs, the Department of Labor has crafted regulations to implement the first major reform of the nation's job training system in more than 15 years. They create the framework for:

Streamlined services through the establishment of One-Stop systems in every community across the country that will provide easy access to services and information for individual and businesses alike. At the local level, 14 separate federally funded workforce investment programs are required to enter into an Memorandum of Understanding to ensure accessibility and to coordinate the delivery of services.

Empowering individuals by requiring that information be available so people can make their own career decisions, and by establishing "individual training accounts" that will allow people to personally select the training that meets their individual needs.

Universal access to the one-stop system services by requiring that information about jobs and assistance in applying for them, as well as information about workforce services and the opportunity to apply for them will be available and accessible in at least one physical location in every area for any job seeker or anyone who wants to advance his or her career.

Increased accountability by establishing core indicators of performance that lead to incentives for exceeding goals and sanctions for failure to meet those goals.

A strong role for local workforce investment boards and the private sector by requiring the establishment of business-led boards that will focus on strategic planning, policy development and oversight of the local workforce investment system.

State and local flexibility by reserving significant authority for the Governor and chief elected officials to build on existing reforms to implement innovative systems tailored to meet the needs of local and regional labor markets. And

Improved youth programs by requiring the establishment of local youth councils to link local labor market needs and community youth services, and ensure a strong connection between academic and occupational learning.

The format as well as the substance of the Interim-Final regulations reflects our commitment to regulatory reform and to writing regulations that are user friendly. These regulations are written in plain English, and in a question and answer format to make them easier to use. Further, because they are written to provide greater authority and flexibility for State and Local partners, these regulations do not include all of the requirements and procedures we had under the Job Training Partnership Act programs. As a result, they are only half as long as the regulations they replace.

The Department has provided for a 90 day comment period, during which we will meet with State and Local government officials, representatives of business and workers including organized labor, community based organizations, service providers, representatives of other Federal partner programs, and the general public to describe the process for implementing the Workforce Investment Act, answer questions about the Department's expectations for Title I of the Act, and solicit comments on how to make the regulations more effective.

Final Regulations, incorporating the comments received and the experience of the early implementing States, will be published by the end of 1999, so that all States will be able to implement the Workforce Investment Act reforms by July 1, 2000.

During the 8 months leading up to the publication of the interim-final regulations, the Department: established an Internet website ()http://usworkforce.org) to encourage comments; published a White Paper to describe goals and principles; hosted Town Hall meetings across the country attended by more than 2000 people to solicit comments on the key reforms; distributed planning guidance to the partners and stakeholders for States to use in developing their own 5-year strategic workforce investment plan; and conducted Workforce Investment Act Implementation Training for over 2000 workforce investment professionals.

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