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Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach

School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies

Cornell University

16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky

New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau

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Congressional Research Service (CRS)

 

The Workforce Investment Act and the One-Stop Delivery System

David H. Bradley, Specialist in Labor Economics

June 14, 2013

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41135.pdf

[full-text, 51 pages]

 

Summary

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA; P.L. 105-220), which succeeded the Job Training

Partnership Act (P.L. 97-300) as the main federal workforce development legislation, was enacted

to bring about increased coordination among federal workforce development and related

programs. WIA authorized the appropriation of “such sums as may be necessary” for each of

FY1999 through FY2003 to carry out the programs and activities authorized in the legislation.

Authorization of appropriations under WIA expired in FY2003 but has been extended annually

through the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related

Agencies Appropriations Act (Labor-HHS-ED). Reauthorization legislation was considered in the

108th, 109th, and 112th Congresses. In the 113th Congress, the House passed legislation

reauthorizing WIA.

 

Workforce development programs provide a combination of education and training services to

prepare individuals for work and to help them improve their prospects in the labor market and

may include activities such as job search assistance, career counseling, occupational skill training,

classroom training, or on-the-job training. The federal government provides workforce

development activities through WIA’s programs and other programs designed to increase the

employment and earnings of workers.

 

The WIA system provides central points of service by its system of around 3,000 One-Stop

centers nationwide through which state and local WIA training and employment activities are

provided and through which certain partner programs must be coordinated. This system is

supposed to provide employment and training services that are responsive to the demands of local

area employers. Administration of the One-Stop system occurs through Workforce Investment

Boards (WIBs), a majority of whose members must be representatives of business and which are

authorized to determine the mix of service provision, eligible providers, and types of training

programs, among other decisions. Unlike its predecessor, the Job Training Partnership Act

(JTPA), WIA provides universal access to its services. Finally, WIA is oriented toward a work

first approach to workforce development, such that placement in employment is the first goal of

the services provided under Title I of WIA

 

WIA includes five titles: Workforce Investment Systems (Title I), Adult Education and Literacy

(Title II), Workforce Investment-Related Activities (Title III), Rehabilitation Act Amendments of

1998 (Title IV), and General Provisions (Title V). Title I, whose programs are primarily

administered through the Employment and Training Administration (DOLETA) of the U.S.

Department of Labor (DOL), includes three state formula grant programs, multiple national

programs, Job Corps, and demonstration programs. Title II, whose programs are administered by

the U.S. Department of Education (ED), includes a state formula grant program and National

Leadership activities. Title III of WIA amends the Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933, and Title IV

amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Title V includes provisions for the administration of WIA.

 

This report provides details of WIA Title I state formula program structure, services, allocation

formulas, and performance accountability. In addition, it provides a program overview for

national grant programs. It also provides brief overviews of Titles II and IV. Title III of WIA

amends the Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933, which establishes the Employment Service (ES), to make

the ES an integral part of the One-Stop system created by WIA. Because the ES is a central part

of the One-Stop system, it is discussed briefly in this report even though it is authorized by

separate legislation (Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933).

 

Contents

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1

Title I—Workforce Investment Systems .......................................................................................... 2

Brief History of Federal Workforce Development Programs .................................................... 2

Overview of WIA Title I Programs ........................................................................................... 3

Characteristics of WIA Title I Programs ................................................................................... 4

The One-Stop Delivery System and Workforce Investment Boards ......................................... 5

One-Stop Delivery System .................................................................................................. 5

The Employment Service .................................................................................................... 8

Workforce Investment Boards ........................................................................................... 10

State Formula Grant Programs....................................................................................................... 12

Adult and Dislocated Worker Activities .................................................................................. 12

Overview and Purpose ...................................................................................................... 12

Structure—Statewide Activities ........................................................................................ 13

Structure—Local Activities ............................................................................................... 15

Youth Activities ....................................................................................................................... 18

Overview and Purpose ...................................................................................................... 18

Structure ............................................................................................................................ 18

Services ............................................................................................................................. 19

Job Corps ................................................................................................................................. 20

Overview and Purpose ...................................................................................................... 20

Structure ............................................................................................................................ 20

Services ............................................................................................................................. 21

National Grant Programs ......................................................................................................... 21

Native Americans Programs (Section 166) ....................................................................... 21

Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Programs (Section 167) ............................................ 22

Veterans’ Workforce Investment Program (Section 168) .................................................. 22

Demonstration, Pilot, Multiservice, Research, and Multistate Projects

(Section 171) .................................................................................................................. 22

National Emergency Grants (Section 173) ........................................................................ 23

YouthBuild Program (Section 173A) ................................................................................ 23

Funding for Title I Programs and Activities ............................................................................ 24

Allocation Formulas .......................................................................................................... 24

Performance Accountability in Title I ..................................................................................... 27

Negotiating Performance Levels Under WIA ......................................................................... 31

Common Measures and Waivers ............................................................................................. 33

Title II—Adult Education and Literacy ......................................................................................... 33

State Grants ............................................................................................................................. 34

National Activities and Incentive Grants ................................................................................. 34

Title IV—Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 ...................................................................... 35

Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants .................................................................................... 35

Other Programs ........................................................................................................................ 36

 

Tables

Table 1. Required Partners in One-Stop Centers ............................................................................. 6

Table 2. Services Provided to Adult and Dislocated Workers under Title I of WIA ...................... 15

Table 3. Performance Measures for WIA Title I Activities ............................................................ 29

Table B-1. WIA Title I, Appropriations for FY2009 to FY2013 ................................................... 39

Table B-2. WIA Title I, Appropriations for FY2000 to FY2008 ................................................... 41

Table B-3. WIA Title II, Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, Appropriations for FY2009 to FY2013 ................................... 43

Table B-4. WIA Title II, Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, Appropriations for FY1999 to FY2008 ................................. 44

Table B-5. Wagner-Peyser Act, U.S. Employment Service Funding, FY2009-FY2013 ............... 45

Table B-6. Wagner-Peyser Act, U.S. Employment Service Funding, FY2001-FY2008 ............... 45

Table B-7. Rehabilitation Act Appropriations from FY2010 to FY2013....................................... 46

 

Appendixes

Appendix A. Glossary of Selected WIA Terms ............................................................................. 37

Appendix B. Funding for Programs Authorized Under WIA ........................................................ 39

 

Contacts

Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 47

Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................... 47

 

 

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