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Federal Support for Workforce Development
Department of LaborThe National Apprenticeship ActThe National Apprenticeship Act, also known as the Fitzgerald Act, authorizes and directs the Secretary of Labor to formulate and promote labor standards that are necessary to safeguard the welfare of apprentices; bring together employers and labor to implement and formulate apprenticeship programs; encourage contracts of apprenticeship; and cooperate with state agencies that promote apprenticeship. The Secretary of Labor may publish information that relates to existing and proposed labor standards of apprenticeship. In order to carry out these activities and receive relevant information, the act grants the Secretary the authority to appoint national apprenticeship advisory committees which includes representatives from labor, educators, employers, and officers of other executive departments.
Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)The Community Service Senior Opportunities Act is Title V of the Older Americans Act. The act helps older Americans achieve economic self-sufficiency and promote opportunities in community service. The Secretary of Labor may award grants to projects that do the following: (1) provides community service employment and employs eligible individuals in service related projects; (2) contributes to the general welfare of the community; (3) does not reduce available employment to other individuals; (4) coordinates activities with training and other service providers under the Workforce Investment Act (such as utilizing the one-stop delivery system to recruit individuals); (5) pays the reasonable expenses of training, wages, and supportive services; (6) provides safe employment conditions; (7) serves the needs of minorities, individuals with limited English-speaking skills, and those with economic need; and (8) assesses a participant’s skills and prepares a related service strategy, or refers the participant to the one-stop delivery system. Eligible individuals may be considered by workforce investment boards and one-stop operators as satisfying the requirements for receiving services under Title I of the Workforce Investment Act.
Wagner-Peyser ActThe Wagner-Peyser Act created the Employment Service program. That program Title III of the Workforce Investment Act amends the Wagner-Peyser Act in order for the Employment Service Program to work in coordination with the workforce system. The Secretary of Labor is responsible for the accountability measures for the entire workforce investment system, including the national Employment Service Employment Services, which focuses on providing job search assistance, job referral, job placement, skill assessment, and career guidance. Services offered to employers include recruiting and matching potential employees to job openings, and helping employers deal with layoffs. Governors are now given more authority to determine fund allocation, and the state Employment Service agencies are required to participate in the one-stop system. Another revision to the original Act is that there is now a nationwide employment statistics system which is managed by the Department of Labor and state Employment Service areas.
The Workforce Investment Act (WIA)The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) created the state and local workforce boards, one-stop centers, and Youth Councils. Title I of the act primarily deals with the structure of the workforce system, and the requirements that the governors, state and local workforce boards, and workforce investment areas must meet. In order to receive the federal funding provided under the act, it is the responsibility of the Governor to submit a state plan to the Secretary of Labor. Funding for adult and dislocated worker programs should be used in the following ways: (1) providing job information; (2) assessment; (3) counseling; and (4) job search assistance. The one-stop centers should also provide access to more concentrated services such as intensive counseling, occupational assessment, life skills classes, and other occupational and non-occupational training. Funding for youth activities may be used in similar ways, with an emphasis on assessing the academic skill-level of the customers, and providing them with the supportive services necessary in gaining meaningful employment and education.
Department of EducationAdult Education and Family Literacy ActThe Adult Education and Family Literacy Act is Title II of the Workforce Investment Act. The purpose of the act is to promote and provide adult education and literacy services. Funds are available to those services that assist in adult literacy, help individuals to obtain the knowledge and skills needed for employment and self-sufficiency, and those that assist adults in completing their secondary-school education. States award the federal grants or contracts on a competitive basis, and all eligible providers are required to submit proposals. All funds must be used in one or more of the following ways: (1) adult education and literacy services, such as workplace literacy; (2) family literacy services; and (3) English literacy programs.
Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement ActThe purpose of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act is to develop and promote the academic, career, and technical skills of secondary and postsecondary students. The Secretary of Education is authorized to award funding for the following activities: (1) developing and providing access to quality programs; (2) supporting the operational costs of career and technical education; (3) developing and assisting students in meeting academic and technical standards; (4) developing challenging instruction; (5) conducting national research on the best practices in the field; (6) providing technical assistance to promote leadership and professional development; (7) ensuring career and technical access to special populations; (8) improving the quality of career and technical education staff; (9) developing or improving the use of technology in career and technical education; and (10) supporting partnerships among secondary schools, post-secondary institutions, baccalaureate degree granting institutions, area career and technical education schools, local workforce investment boards, business and industry, and intermediaries.
Higher Education Act of 2008The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 reauthorized the amended version of the Higher Education Act of 1965. One of the purposes of the act was to improve and provide aid to colleges and universities. Special emphasis is placed on those institutions which have historically served minorities or suffer from low-endowments. The other main purpose of the act is to help make college education affordable by providing financial assistance, such as Pell Grants, to those pursuing post-secondary education, and to implement a more generous loan-forgiveness program. The reauthorized act aimed to establish transparency among educational institutions by establishing a College Navigator Website. Lastly, the act authorizes the Secretary of Education to apportion various grants to programs that help at-risk individuals and minorities receive a high-school diploma or equivalency, and/or attend a post-secondary institution.
Rehabilitation Act, as amended by Title IV of WIAThe Rehabilitation Act was implemented to address the economic, employment, and inclusive needs of individuals with disabilities. To address these needs, it is important that individuals with disabilities have the opportunity to participate in workforce activities under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). Organizations are eligible to receive federal funding in order to assist individuals with disabilities in workforce investment activities. To be eligible for funding, a State must submit a vocational rehabilitation plan to the Rehabilitation Services Administration. An individual is eligible for services if s/he has a disability and requires vocational rehabilitation to help secure or retain employment. Each participant has an individualized plan for employment that details employment goals, specifies the services that will be provided, and identifies service providers to fulfill those needs. Some of the services include an assessment for determining eligibility and need, counseling, referral to other services, job search and placement assistance, follow-up services, and training. For all of the programs, evaluation standards must be consistent with the core indicators of performance found in section 136(b) of the WIA.
Environmental Protection AgencySenior Environmental ProgramThe Senior Environmental Program was authorized under The Environmental Programs Assistance Act of 1984. The purpose of the act was to provide aid to state and local programs that advocate for decreasing, preventing, and controlling pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may either make grants, or enter into agreements with private non-profit organizations for the purpose of utilizing the talents of older Americans by having them provide technical assistance to these environmental programs. The Senior Environmental Employment Program allows older Americans to share their knowledge with the EPA, and to remain active in their community. In awarding the grant, it is necessary to certify that the grants or agreements will not result in the displacement of individuals currently employed, result in the employment of any individual when another is in layoff status, or affect existing contracts for services.
Department of Health and Human ServicesTemporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) was authorized under Title I of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. Block grants are available to end the dependency of needy individuals on government benefits, and to promote job preparation and work. Each family assistance program should focus on providing assistance in job preparation, work, and supportive services. The state must require that a caretaker receiving federal benefits engage in work when the individual is ready, or when the individual has received assistance for two years, whichever is sooner. Work activities that are acceptable include: (1) unsubsidized employment; (2) subsidized private or public sector employment; (3) work experience; (4) on-the-job training; (5) job search and readiness assistance; (6) community service; (7) vocational education training; (8) education directly related to employment; (9) attendance at a secondary school (or enrollment to receive a certificate equivalence); or (10) providing child care services to an individual who is participating in the program. Each participant should have an individualized plan for employment that includes their employment goals, the services the state will provide, and the obligations placed on the individual.
Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentQuality Housing and Work Responsibility ActThe Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act authorizes the Department of Housing of Urban Development to make grants to Public Housing Agencies, or to resident organizations, to assist residents in becoming economically self-sufficient. The projects funded should include either making physical improvements to public housing, services focused on work readiness for the elderly or disabled, economic and job development, or other activities that encourage economic self-sufficiency. To ensure that an individual is not punished for obtaining employment, the act prohibits the public housing agency from increasing a tenant’s rent due to employment during the twelve month period when the employment began, so long as that income comes from someone who was either: (1) unemployed for at least twelve months; (2) participating in a self-sufficiency or job-training program; or (3) is, or was in the past six months, receiving welfare. Every adult resident of public housing is required to perform eight hours of community service or participate in a self-sufficiency program. These requirements do not apply to older Americans, those with disabilities, or persons who are already working.
Department of JusticeSecond Chance Act of 2007The Second Chance Act of 2007 was created for the purpose of improving the lives of the formerly incarcerated. Under the authorization of this act, the Attorney General may make grants to state and local governments, and other public and private entities, to evaluate methods in improving academic and vocational education for offenders in prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities. The Attorney General may also make grants to provide technology career training to prisoners, and to establish a training program to prisoners to prepare them for tech-based jobs upon their release. It is the responsibility of the Bureau of Prisons to asses each prisoner’s skill level at the beginning of imprisonment, and to determine which of the prisoner’s skill areas need improvement. The Bureau determines the program assignments for prisoners based on the areas of need, and they provide incentives to prisoners to encourage their participation in the program. Lastly, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Labor must work together to educate one-stop operators, and employers that are one-stop partners, on the available incentives for hiring former federal, state, or local prisoners.
Department of TransportationSafe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity ActUnder the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), there are various federal awards available to aid in workforce development. For example, the Secretary of Transportation is authorized to set aside up to $10 million of federal transportation funds to support programs that enhance training opportunities for minorities and women (a state is also permitted to reserve funds for this purpose). The Secretary of Transportation may issue grants for employment training programs, outreach programs to increase minority and female employment, research on public transportation personnel and training needs, and training assistance for minority business opportunities. Additionally, federal aid highway programs provide funds to projects that produce significant employment and job-training opportunities. One program, the Access to Jobs Project, helps transport welfare recipients and eligible low-income individuals to their jobs and other activities related to their employment. Lastly, The Human Resource Program authorizes the Secretary to provide funding for fellowships, and to train personnel in managerial, technical, and professional positions in the public transportation field.
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