Employment and Training Administration - Workforce Professionals - What's New in Workforce Investment

Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development: ETA Announces Proposed New Data Collection; Seeks Comments by December 8

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is currently soliciting comments on a new proposed data collection for the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Initiative Evaluation.

The October 9 FEDERAL REGISTER provides additional background, including the grant-making history under this initiative. This notice also addresses the administration of the survey, furnishes burden hour estimates, and describes the desired focus for public comment. The notice outlines agency expectations that there will be approximately 4,160 respondents for the screener survey and 7,800 respsondents for the WIRED survey. Both surveys will be administered twice.

A copy of the proposed information collection can be obtained by contacting Eileen Pederson, Telephone number: 202-693-3647 (this is not a toll-free number), Fax number: 202-693-2766. e-mail: pederson.eileen@dol.gov. A copy can also be found at http://www.doleta.gov/OMBCN/OMBControlNumber.cfm

Written comments should be submitted to Ms. Pederson no later than December 8, 2008.

ETA Announces Availability of $125 Million in Funds for New Round of Community-Based Job Training Grants

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has announced the availability of $125 million in grant funds for a new round of Community-Based Job Training Grants.

These grants will be awarded through a competitive process to support workforce training for high-growth/high-demand industries through the national system of community and technical colleges. Funds will be awarded to individual community and technical colleges, community college districts, state community college systems, and One-Stop Career Centers to support or engage in a combination of capacity building and training activities for the purpose of building the capacity of community colleges to train individuals for careers in high-growth/high-demand industries in the local and/or regional economies. This Solicitation contains an exception for rural areas and other communities that are educationally underserved due to their lack of access to community or technical colleges.

In awarding Community-Based Job Training Grants, every effort will be made to fairly distribute grants across rural and urban areas and across the different geographic regions of the United States. It is anticipated that individual awards will range from $500,000 to $2 million.

The closing date for receipt of applications under this solicitation is November 24, 2008.

A Virtual Prospective Applicant Conference will be held for this grant competition on October 24, 2008 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. Additional information and links to registration for the Virtual Prospective Applicant Conference will be posted on at www.doleta.gov/business/Community-BasedJobTrainingGrants.cfm.

The October 10 FEDERAL REGISTER contains the solicitation. The document will also be available at www.grants.gov and www.doleta.gov/grants/find_grants.cfm.

Additional Background on Community-Based Job Training Grants

Summary of Grants Awarded to Date

Department Honors Winners of the New Freedom Initiative Award for Efforts to Improve Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities

The Department of Labor has recognized eight winners of the 7th annual New Freedom Initiative Award for their outstanding efforts to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The awards ceremony took place at the Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel in Washington, D.C.

News Release

Secretary Chao`s Remarks / Profiles of Awardees

ETA Publishes FY 2009 Labor Surplus Areas

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has published the annual list of labor surplus areas for Fiscal Year 2009 in the October 7, 2008 FEDERAL REGISTER.

The Department of Labor`s regulations implementing Executive Orders 12073 and 10582 are set forth at 20 CFR Part 654, Subparts A and B. These regulations require the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) to classify jurisdictions as labor surplus areas pursuant to the criteria specified in the regulations and to publish annually a list of labor surplus areas.

In addition, the regulations provide exceptional circumstance criteria for classifying labor surplus areas when catastrophic events, such as natural disasters, plant closings, and contract cancellations are expected to have a long-term impact on labor market area conditions, discounting temporary or seasonal factors.

ETA`s Labor Surplus Area Web Page

ETA Announces Availability of $47 Million for YouthBuild Grants; Closing Date for Applications is January 15, 2009

The Employment and Training Administration has announced the availability of approximately $47 million in funding for YouthBuild grants, and invites proposals from eligible organizations.

These YouthBuild grants will be awarded through a competitive process. Grant funds will be used to provide disadvantaged youth with: The education and employment skills necessary to achieve economic self-sufficiency in occupations in high demand and postsecondary education and training opportunities; opportunities for meaningful work and service to their communities; and opportunities to develop employment and leadership skills and a commitment to community development among youth in low-income communities. As part of their programming, YouthBuild grantees will tap the energies and talents of disadvantaged youth to increase the supply of permanent affordable housing for homeless individuals and low-income families and to help youth develop the leadership, learning, and high-demand occupational skills needed to succeed in today`s global economy.

Applicants can apply for 3 year grants (2 years of program operations with a 12 month follow-up period) that will range from $700,000 to $1.1 million. These grants will be incrementally funded, with half of the grant funds awarded from fiscal year (FY) 2009 appropriations, for the first 12 months of operations. Pending satisfactory performance and availability of funds, the remaining funds would be awarded next year (FY 2010) for second year operations. These awards will support 2 years of core program operations (education, occupational skills training, and youth leadership development activities) plus an additional 12 months of follow-up support services and tracking of participant outcomes for each cohort of youth. A minimum of 5 percent of total funds should be reserved for the 12 month follow-up period.

ETA hopes to serve approximately 2,900 youth participants during the first year of the grant, with projects operating in approximately 90-100 communities across the country. Under this announcement, the agency will be awarding grants to organizations to oversee the provision of education and employment services to disadvantaged youth in their communities. Each applicant should indicate the proposed number of participants to be served based on an average annual cost of between $15,000--$18,000.

An organization is an eligible applicant for these grants if it is a public or private non-profit agency or organization (including a consortium of such agencies or organizations with a designated lead applicant), including, but not limited to:

Community-based organizations, including faith-based organizations;

An entity carrying out activities under the WIA, such as a local workforce investment board or One-Stop Career Center;

A community action agency;

A State or local housing development agency;

An Indian tribe or other agency primarily serving Indians;

A community development corporation;

A State or local youth service conservation corps; or

Any other relevant public or private non-profit entity that provides education or employment training and can meet the required elements of the grant.

A Virtual Prospective Applicant Conference will be held for this grant competition. The date and access information for this Virtual Prospective Applicant Conference will be posted on ETA`s Web site at http://www.doleta.gov/youth_services/youthbuildgrantee.cfm. Applicants are advised that the appropriation funding this competition does not allow for funds to be obligated prior to April 1, 2009.

The closing date for applications is January 15, 2009.

Full background / eligible applicants / application requirements / evaluation criteria.

Also see:

Training and Employment Notice 44-07: Providing Strategies to the One-Stop Career Center System on Collaborating with YouthBuild Programs.

Responses to Personal Reemployment Accounts: Findings from the Demonstration States

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has announced the release and availability of a report entitled "Responses to Personal Reemployment Accounts (PRAs): Findings From the Demonstration States."

Training and Employment Notice (TEN) 12-08 provides the background, a description of the publication, and access instructions (including requests for hard copies).

Personal Reemployment Acounts (PRAs) are a strategy intended to help unemployed workers build job skills and find work through self-managed accounts. Targeted to a subset of recipients of Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits who are most likely to exhaust UI benefits, PRAs of $3,000 allow those recipients to choose how and when to spend funds from their account to purchase reemployment services, including training. Recipients may also elect to receive the funds as cash reemployment bonuses for reentering the workforce and keeping a job. PRAs were intended to achieve three goals: (1) to give job seekers choice in and control over the type and timing of services they received; (2) to encourage and support rapid return to the labor market, thereby shortening the unemployment spell; and (3) to promote job retention.

In 2004, ETA launched the PRA demonstration to examine this strategy. Seven states volunteered to participate in the demonstration: Florida, Idaho, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Texas, and West Virginia. In the summer of 2006, a second round provided Idaho, Minnesota, and Mississippi with additional funds to extend their PRA demonstrations, and allowed a new state - Hawaii - to join the demonstration. The eight demonstration states established PRAs for 4,480 unemployed workers at risk of exhausting their UI benefits.

The lessons from the evaluation of the PRA demonstration are of value to policymakers and program administrators, as the concept of self-managed accounts in the workforce investment system continues to evolve. The PRA demonstration can shed light on potential strengths and weaknesses of self-managed accounts.

Report Access

On-Line Training Course Available: "Transforming Partnerships: How to Apply the Department of Labor`s Equal Treatment and Religion-Related Regulations to Public-Private Partnerships"

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has issued Training and Employment Notice (TEN) 11-08.

This TEN inform the workforce investment system of the launch of "Transforming Partnerships: How to Apply the U.S. Department of Labor`s Equal Treatment and Religion-Related Regulations to Public-Private Partnerships," an online training course.

This course provides a basic framework for understanding the Faith-Based and Community Initiative and its implementation at the Department of Labor. This course also provides in-depth training on the equal treatment and religion-related regulations; specifically the new equal treatment regulations at 29 C.F.R. Part 2, Subpart D, and the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) nondiscrimination and programmatic regulations at 29 C.F.R. 37.6(f), 20 C.F.R. 667.266 and 667.275, as well as case law; an understanding of which is crucial to ensure proper implementation of these regulations.

All local workforce investment boards, one-stop career centers, state workforce agencies, state workforce investment boards, and state workforce liaisons are encouraged to register for and take this online training course.

The online training course is available on ETA`s WWW.WORKFORCE3ONE.ORG website. If not already registered, please type the key words "equal treatment" in the search box on the upper right hand corner of the page to locate. If you are previously registered on this site, you can find the course directly at: http://www.workforce3one.org/public/_shared/detail.cfm?id=5566&simple=false .

Questions regarding the TEN or the online training course can be directed to Kristin Fortin in the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at (202) 693-6457 or at: fortin.kristin@dol.gov or Denise Sudell in the Civil Rights Center at (202) 693-6554 or at sudell.denise@dol.gov.

ETA Announces Availability of Funding for Demonstration Grants to Target Employment and Training Needs of Young Parents

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has announced the availability of approximately $5 million to fund demonstration grants that target the employment and training needs of young parents.

The Young Parents Demonstration program is designed to provide educational and occupational skills training leading to family economic self-sufficiency to both mothers and fathers, and expectant mothers ages 16 to 24. Projects funded will be encouraged to serve young parents in high-risk categories, including those who are court-involved, in the child welfare or foster care system, homeless, or victims of child abuse.

ETA anticipates awarding between 5-7 grants under the solicitation, with individual grants ranging in value from $500,000 to $1 million. However, this does not preclude the agency from funding grants at either a lower or higher amount, or funding a smaller or larger number of projects, based on the type and the number of quality submissions. Applicants are encouraged to submit budgets for quality projects at whatever funding level is appropriate for their project.

The period of grant performance will be up to 36 months from the date of execution of the grant documents. This performance period shall include all necessary implementation and start-up activities, participant follow-up for performance outcomes, and grant close-out activities. ETA may elect to exercise its option to award no-cost extensions to grants for an additional period, based on the success of the program and other relevant factors, if the grantee requests, and provides a significant justification for, such an extension.

This SGA intends to encourage new and continuing partnerships between: The publicly funded workforce investment system; representatives from business, industry, and economic development; and the continuum of education.

In order to be eligible for consideration under this solicitation, the applicant must be either:

An accredited educational institution in partnership with a Workforce Investment Board;

A non-profit provider of workforce system services determined to be tax exempt under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code in partnership with a Workforce Investment Board. Please note that 501(c)(4) organizations which engage in lobbying activities are not eligible applicants under this solicitation;

A One-Stop Career Center as established under Section 121 of WIA, [29 U.S.C. 2841], in partnership with a state or local Workforce Investment Board. The eligible applicant for One-Stop Career Centers is the One-Stop Operator, as defined under Section 121(d) of WIA [29 U.S.C. 2841(d)], on behalf of the One-Stop Career Center;

An employer or industry association in partnership with a Workforce Investment Board; or

A private, for-profit organization in partnership with a Workforce Investment Board.

Applicants must have a letter of commitment from the participating Workforce Investment Board. Please note that applications without a letter of commitment from a Workforce Investment Board will be considered non-responsive and will not be reviewed.

The closing date for receipt of applications under this announcement is November 17, 2008.

The October 3 FEDERAL REGISTER contains the solicitation. The document will also be available at www.grants.gov and www.doleta.gov/sga.

Department`s 6th Annual Opportunity Conference Scheduled for October 23 in Orlando, Florida

Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao will host the Department of Labor`s 6th annual Opportunity Conference in Orlando on Thursday, October 23, at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando.

The free, one-day conference will feature workshops of interest to business owners; those wanting to work with federal, state and local governments; and those considering working for the federal government.

Conference co-sponsors include the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the National Urban League, Women Entrepreneurs Inc. and the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce.

The Opportunity Conference promotes economic development in the Asian Pacific American, Hispanic American and African American communities.

Additional conference information / registration

New Directions in Youth Policy: P/PV Sponsors October 7 Webcast

Public/Private Ventures is sponsoring a webcast on October 7 entitled "New Directions in Youth Policy."

The P/PV announcement:

Join keynote speaker Andrew Sum from Northeastern University; moderator Brent Staples, columnist for The New York Times; and a panel of experts:
Michele Cahill, Carnegie Corporation of New York
Jacquelynne Eccles, University of Michigan
Jean Grossman, Princeton University and P/PV
Loren Harris, Ford Foundation
Stacy Holland, Philadelphia Youth Network
Brent Orrell, U.S. Department of Labor
Sudhir Venkatesh, Columbia University

Together, the panelists will examine how 30 years of research can inform and advance policies that better meet the needs of older youth, especially in low-income communities.

With the presidential election just months away, we will address hard questions: What skills, supports and opportunities do young people need to succeed in the 21st Century? Through the lens of evaluation research, which practices and program models produce positive results? In an era of tight public spending, what should policymakers be asked to invest in? How should leading stakeholders collaborate to address critical gaps and bring more effective policies and practices to scale?

P/PV will broadcast the event on October 7, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST.

The agenda and instructions for joining the webcast can be found at www.ppv.org/webcast.