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| DOL STRATEGIC GOAL 1: |
| A PREPARED WORKFORCE |
| Enhance opportunities for
America's Workforce |
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| OUTCOME GOALS: |
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- Increase employment, earnings, and assistance
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- Increase the number of youth making a successful
transition to work
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- Improve the effectiveness of information and analysis on
the U.S. economy
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| Total Budgeted Amount for this
Goal (in Billions): |
| FY 2000 - $4.9 |
| FY 2001 - $5.6 |
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The Secretary of Labor's key priorities for this strategic goal are to
ensure that every American has the schooling, the training, and the skills to
succeed in the increasingly competitive global economy and to help young people
make a successful transition to the world of work and family responsibility.
The performance goals in this section were developed to support the Secretary's
initiatives that focus first on youth and then target the high unemployment,
low skills, and lack of work experience among youth and adults in some of our
poorest communities.
Department of Labor's programs and agencies support this strategic goal
include the Employment and Training Administration's Welfare Investment Act
(WIA) and Wagner-Peyser Act programs, the Veterans' Employment and Training
Administration, the Women's Bureau, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
For Strategic Goal One, the Secretary of Labor has established the
following key priorities:
- Youth Opportunity Movement: The Youth Opportunity Movement
includes several programs that advance the Department's goal to promote a
prepared workforce by addressing the opportunity gaps and reaching untapped
markets.
Youth Opportunity Grants provide comprehensive, longer
term intervention in the lives of primarily out-of-school youth living in inner
cities and high poverty areas to help them graduate from high school, get jobs,
and progress in the workforce.
The Responsible Reintegration for
Young Offenders initiative is a large scale WIA Pilot and Demonstration
initiative to link youthful offenders under age 35 with essential services that
can help make the difference in their choices in the future, such as education,
training, job placement, drug counseling, and mentoring, as the primary tools
for reintegrating this population into the mainstream economy. Through local
competitive grants, this program would establish partnerships between the
criminal justice system and local workforce investment systems, complementing a
similar program in the Department of Justice.
The Safe
Schools/Healthy Students initiative began in FY 1999 in collaboration with
the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Justice promotes
healthy childhood development and aims to prevent school violence and alcohol
and other drug abuse through a comprehensive, community-wide approach. With the
Department's participation, the activities for FY 2001 can be expanded to
include connections among high schools, post-secondary schools, alternative
schools, out-of-school youth programs, and work-based learning programs, in
order to reduce violent behaviors.
- Fathers Work/Families Win: Building on the investments and
partnerships begun under Welfare-to-Work, the Fathers Work/Families Win
initiative will help low income fathers who are living with their children
provide the financial and emotional support their children deserve. The Fathers
Work component of the program will assist non-custodial parents to obtain or
retain employment and progress up career ladders, including upgrading their
skills so they can support their children. The Families Win component of the
program will provide competitive grants to help low income parents stay in
jobs, move up career ladders, and stay off welfare. The competitive grants
provided by the initiative will be awarded to State and local Workforce
Investment Boards enabling States and local communities to complement welfare
reform efforts by focusing on work connections, work support activities, and
skills training
The FY 2001 outcome and performance goals for this strategic goal
follow. Detailed information on every performance goal, including indicator,
data source, baseline and explanatory comments, can be found in Appendix B.
Outcome Goal 1.1 -- Increase employment, earnings, and
assistance
FY 2001 Performance Goals |
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| A. |
Of those Welfare-to-Work (WtW) participants
placed in unsubsidized employment, 66% will remain in the workforce for six
months with 6% average earnings increase by the second consecutive quarter
following placement. |
| B. |
Of those registered under the WIA adult program,
76% will be employed in the third quarter after program exit, with increased
average earnings of $3,600. |
| C. |
76% of job seekers registered by the
Wagner-Peyser Act funding stream will have unsubsidized jobs six months after
initial entry into employment (Six Month Retention Rate). |
| D. |
Increase by 10 percent, the total number of job
openings listed with the public employment service, including both those listed
with State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) and those listed directly with
America's Job Bank (AJB) via the Internet. |
| E. |
Increase by 5% the number of people with
disabilities served and increase by 2 percentage points the rate of
unsubsidized employment (entered employment rate) in the local Workforce
Investment Area. |
| F. |
During the initial year of funding, at least 100
grants will be awarded and 40,000 non-custodial fathers and 40,000 working poor
families enrolled in the Fathers Work–Families Win initiative. |
| G. |
Increase by 6% the number of newly registered
female apprentices over the end of the FY 1999 baseline. |
| H. |
66% of participants will be satisfied with
services received from workforce investment activities. |
| I. |
61% of employers will be satisfied with services
received from workforce investment activities. |
| J. |
Increase by 10% the number of women prepared for
the labor force by providing them with tools and education on equal pay,
occupational segregation, pension benefits, dependent care, diverse
nontraditional occupations, safe and healthy workplaces, and their rights in
the workplace. (From 25,000 to 27,500) |
| K. |
27% of those veterans and other eligible persons
registering for public labor exchange core services will enter employment each
year through assistance provided by VETS' funded staff and the Wagner-Peyser
funded systems. |
| L. |
At least 50% of those veterans and other
eligible persons enrolled in Homeless Veteran Reintegration Project grants
enter employment. |
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Operating Agencies: ETA, VETS, WB
Sustained Efforts in FY 2001:
- DOL will provide financial support for continued services, improved
effectiveness of service delivery, and grantee performance, and improved
capacity to meet performance goals by: (1) increasing the utilization of
resources available to help welfare recipients get unsubsidized jobs by
continuing to work with other agencies to remove regulatory barriers among
complementary Federal, state, and local programs, (2) providing incentives for
WtW Formula grantees to achieve program goals by providing bonuses to high
performing States in the year 2000 through measurement of the number of
participants placed into unsubsidized jobs, job retention and earnings gains,
and, (3) producing targeted technical assistance products and activities to
expand the knowledge base to meet the specific needs of programs in urban and
rural areas, those serving non-custodial parents, as well as individuals with
disabilities. (1.1A)
- DOL will continue to improve the planning and management of the
Registered Apprenticeship System by: (1) arranging for stakeholder input (2)
assisting the reconstituted Federal Committee on Registered Apprenticeship to
accomplishment its mission (3) improving the capacity to gather and analyze
accurate, consistent, timely and high-quality information in support of
registered apprenticeship programs, and (4) improving retention and assuring
appropriate gains in starting wages and scheduled rate increases by increasing
the number of quality assessments. (1.1G)
- DOL will compare the performance of VETS' service delivery systems
in providing services to veterans versus those systems serving non-veterans, to
help identify veterans' service areas needing performance improvement. (1.1K
& L)
- DOL will increase the quality and amount of training provided
annually to 1,500 veteran service provider staff by the National Veterans'
Training Institute to meet veteran service providers' ongoing training needs --
resulting in large part from the relatively high turnover rates consistently
prevalent among DVOP and LVER staff. (1.1K & L)
- DOL will continue to pilot test the use of Veterans employment
representatives in matching qualified separating military personnel with
employer needs for specific skills within a single geographic area. (1.1K &
L)
Significant New or Enhanced Efforts in FY 2001:
- DOL will enhance current workforce development systems in relation
to the changing workforce development environment and the need for lifelong
learning by: (1) assessing abilities to provide universal services to all
through combinations of the Internet and One-Stop Centers, (2) identifying new
ways to provide services to all workers, including low-income customers and
persons with disabilities, and, (3) creating plans to educate and maintain
capacity of staff to ensure that they can meet the demands. (1.1B & E)
- DOL (ETA) will streamline systems by identifying non-legislative
barriers to integrated One-Stop service delivery by engaging the National
Association of Counties and selected States to look at streamlining from
Federal and state perspectives in order to identify common barriers and report
on models of streamlined workforce systems that work. (1.1B)
- DOL (ETA) will promote the information and services in the America's
Jobs Network by: (1) outreaching to low income groups in schools and
neighborhoods through community-based organizations, enlisting their assistance
in assessment and referral of individuals to the "best available training and
employment opportunities," and (2) marketing the "Lifetime Learning Tax Credit"
enacted in 1997 to assist adults who need to upgrade their skills and change
careers. (1.1B)
- DOL will help customers and job seekers receive the appropriate level
of service by financially assisting the States, developing and offering
information and tools to be used by customers, improving access to information
and services, and developing system-building infrastructure. (1.1C & D)
- Such system-building will support a three tiered delivery system for
Wagner-Peyser services within the One-Stop delivery system–self-service,
facilitated self-help service, and staff-assisted service. (1.1 D & E)
- DOL will seek to increase the number of apprenticeship programs and
expand the number of registered female apprentices by: (1) promoting technical
assistance to local, State, multi-State employers, employers' associations, and
the unions, (2) participating actively in the local and State Workforce
Investment Boards; and, (3) promoting registered apprenticeship to our
Workforce Investment partners. (1.1G)
- DOL will develop an incentive, rewards, and sanctions process for
grantees that supports desired actions and/or levels of performance while
proscribing unacceptable actions or performance levels, thereby focusing State
Employment Security Agencies and other grantees' efforts toward better
performance on behalf of veterans. Nationwide standards of minimally acceptable
performance levels applicable to each State can be set, with each State then
negotiating specific levels at or above that floor level suitable to its own
circumstances. Incentives and rewards in grants can then be established to
benefit States that exceed their established performance level. Greater
incentives will be provided for successful delivery of services to targeted
veterans. (1.1 K & L)
- DOL will visit and provide operational and technical assistance to
Fathers Work/Families Win grantees to ensure that programs become fully
operational in the shortest time period and to avoid potentially harmful issues
in program start-up. (1.1F)
- DOL will build on the launch of the Workforce Excellence Network to
provide training, tools and assistance to Workforce Investment Areas and
One-Stop partner programs using the Malcolm Baldrige criteria for performance
excellence, quality and continuous improvement techniques, and customer
satisfaction. DOL will provide recognition to workforce entities that achieve
identified levels of performance excellence. (1.1A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, &
I)
- DOL will conduct workshops, training seminars, public forums,
distribute Women's Bureau publications and provide intensive follow-up in order
to ensure an increase in the number of women receiving employment, wage
increases, upward mobility, and/or better-paying jobs. (1.1J)
- DOL will provide tools and information on equal pay, workplace
safety and health, women's work rights, and pension equity to women workers,
employers, legislators, and public policy officials that will result in an
increase in the number of women prepared for the workplace and/or retirement.
(1.1J)
- DOL will develop partnerships with employers and labor unions to
increase the participation of women in apprenticeship and other nontraditional
occupations, including occupations in telecommunications and other high
technology industries. Women with physical and cognitive disabilities will be
included in these efforts. (1.1J)
To measure system-wide outcomes of all related employment and training
programs, to focus resources on results, and to simplify reporting
requirements, DOL initiated the Workforce Development Performance Measurement
Initiative and convened the Workforce Development Performance Measurement
Group. DOL will build upon the earlier work of the Performance Measurement
Group by working with its partners at the Departments of Health and Human
Services (HHS), Education (ED), and Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and
their state and local partners, to establish the new system performance
measures as part of the new Workforce Investment System and will address
cross-cutting policy and related issues pertaining to systemic performance
accountability.
The implementation of the Workforce Investment Act emphasizes the
universal services available to the Nation's job-seekers, workers, and
employers through the One-Stop Career Center System. Program and service
integration in the system will continue to develop as partnerships are forged
and strengthened among DOL agencies, other Federal programs, and State and
local organizations. The effectiveness of the workforce investment system will
be addressed through pilots, demonstrations, and research; capacity-building
efforts for service providers and grantees; and, through testing and refinement
of new workforce development performance measures.
As the Congressionally-delegated lead federal agency for the
Welfare-to-Work legislation, DOL provides leadership for implementation of new
programs and activities designed to move people from welfare to employment. DOL
works closely with state and local government agency programs, HHS, HUD, the
Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), and
the Department of Interior (DOI), to assist individuals as they move from
welfare to work, and to boost employment rates.
The Department's employment and training programs for veterans and
soon-to-be-separated service members and their families are coordinated closely
with VA and DOD. This Transition Assistance Program (TAP) operates across the
country and has been shown to be effective in reducing the time of
unemployment. When TAP is implemented at the local military bases, specific
areas of coordination and cooperation are designated. For instance, DOL may
provide the instructors for the typical three-day training, DOD the meeting
space and logistical arrangements, and VA the assistance to service members who
have service-incurred disabilities.
DOL, through VETS, will continue to lead a Federal Interagency Task
Force on Certification and Licensing of Transitioning Military Personnel that
will recommend a course of action to allow qualified military personnel to
obtain both Federal and non-federal certifications and/or licenses necessary
for civilian employment. Such an effort is necessary because veterans are not
always credited with the training and experience received during military
service when they seek civilian jobs. Thus, veterans are forced to spend money
on unnecessary and duplicative training to obtain civilian licenses or
certifications and, in the process, endure unnecessarily long periods of
unemployment and underemployment. In FY 2001, DOL proposes to start compiling
information on licenses, credentials, and other occupational requirements and
then develop a database of this information. VETS will work with the Assistant
Secretaries for Policy and ETA to develop an expert system to help determine
what occupational requirements a service member or a job entrant will face in a
particular occupation in a given state. VETS will expand from 5 to 7 the number
of State pilot projects that are assisting transitioning service members with
obtaining certification needed for the civilian counterpart of their military
occupation.
Cross-cutting federal efforts on the homeless make the Homeless
Veterans' Reintegration Project (HVRP) an outstanding example of how different
federal programs working together can effectively serve a population in need.
In implementing HVRP, the Department works closely with HUD and VA to refer
homeless veterans in need of shelter, substance abuse assistance or mental
health counseling, to the appropriate programs. Once stabilized, these veterans
are referred back to DOL HVRP programs for job-finding assistance.
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| A. |
Of the 14-18 year-old youth registered under the
WIA youth program, 50% will be either employed, in advanced training,
post-secondary education, military service or apprenticeships in the third
quarter after program exit.
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| B. |
Of the 19-21 year-old youth registered under the
WIA youth program, 70% will be employed in the third quarter after program
exit.
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| C. |
85% of Job Corps graduates will get jobs
with entry average hourly wages of $7.25 or be enrolled in education; 70% will
continue to be employed or enrolled in education six months after their initial
placement date. (Placement and Retention).
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| D. |
70% of Youth Opportunity Grant participants
placed in employment, the military, advanced training, post-secondary
education, or apprenticeships will be retained at six months.
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| E. |
In 25 communities, Youth Councils will build
local partnerships with business, community organizations, and schools to
improve opportunities for at-risk youth.
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| F. |
65% of Responsible Reintegration for Young
Offender program graduates will get jobs, re-enroll in high school, or be
enrolled in post-secondary education or training.
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Operating Agencies: ETA,
Significant New or Enhanced Efforts in FY 2001:
- DOL will continue to build the Youth Opportunity Movement to improve
the capacity of the workforce development system to provide youth with skills,
and offer them a comprehensive array of services so that they are able to
successfully transition to the workforce as they continue their education and
training. In collaboration with local youth providers, our partners, and
stakeholders, four major themes will be emphasized:
- Establishing strong local youth councils that bring together local
workforce training providers, schools, community organizations, and others in
an effort to strategically align and leverage resources to create community
youth assistance strategies linked to local youth needs and labor market needs
to improve the efficiency and quality of youth services;
- Promoting the provision of a systematic offering of comprehensive
youth services based upon individual assessment and tailored to the age and
maturity level of each individual youth;
- Encouraging and promoting youth connections to the One-Stop delivery
system; and
-Visiting and provideing operational and technical assistance to
grantees for the Safe Schools, Healthy Students and Responsible Reintegration
for Young Offender programs to ensure that they become fully operational in the
shortest time period and to avoid potentially harmful issues in program
start-up.
- Investing in a performance accountability system where data from
performance measurement is built into a process for continuously improving the
provision of services and activities and which promotes customer satisfaction
(1.2A, B, E & F)
- DOL will enhance placement services, including longer follow-up for
Job Corps graduates, fully implement school-to-work principles, and increase
employer involvement in the development of occupational training programs by:
- Placing continued emphasis on performance in the competitive
procurement process;
- Incorporating findings from reports to-date from the long-term
evaluation study of Job Corps and other external bodies, such as the Office of
Inspector General and General Accounting Office, to enhance program design;
- Increasing students' use of technology in training and information
access for jobs or further education;
- Creating partnerships with employers to customize training and
provide work-based learning sites; and
- Maintaining a close working relationship between Job Corps, the
School-to-Work Office, and BAT. (1.2 C)
Opportunities for youth to make a successful transition to a career
path will include development of Business and Community Visions for creating
relationships and networks with employers, One-Stops, and Workorce Investment
Boards. DOL will also implement a youth development profession apprenticeship
and accreditation to improve the skill of front-line staff delivery of services
to youth.
Linkage with HHS programs will be established to provide shelter for
runaway youth, drug prevention for youth in at-risk circumstances, educational
or workforce activities for youth living in high poverty areas, and access to
child-care services. Support will be given to coordinated activities with HUD's
Youth Build and Jobs Plus programs, as well as outreach programs to youth in
public housing.
HUD's Step Up Program, designed to provide education and training to
increase registered apprenticeships for public housing residents, is another
area of coordinated activity in which DOL apprenticeship representatives
promote and provide technical advice and assistance at the state and local
level. The occupational information resources of BLS and the work of the
National Skills Standards Board also play an important part in this effort.
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A.
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Produce and disseminate timely, accurate, and
relevant economic information.
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B.
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Improve the accuracy, efficiency, and relevancy
of economic measures.
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Operating Agency: BLS
Sustained Efforts in FY 2001:
- DOL will continue to carry out its mandate as the principal
fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the field of labor economics.
This includes producing impartial and objective essential economic data for the
nation in the areas of employment and unemployment, price change, compensation,
safety and health, productivity, and economic growth. Business, labor,
governments, the media, and the public rely on these measures to develop
economic policy and make well-informed decisions. (1.3 A & B)
- By utilizing technological advances, DOL will improve the operational
processes used to develop economic data, specifically through the use of the
BLS Statistical Program Model. (1.3 A & B)
Significant New or Enhanced Efforts in FY 2001:
- DOL will extend coverage of the Producer Price Index to the
construction sector and enhance an ongoing expansion service sector coverage.
(1.3 B)
- DOL will conduct a new time-use survey measuring how Americans spend
their time. (1.3 B)
- DOL will support the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) by strengthening
a program that produces employment statistics at the State and local level and
establishing a new program to provide State data. (1.3 B)
- DOL will expand the Nation's statistical ability to track
discrimination in labor markets and employment relationships. (1.3 B)
- DOL will complete the revision of the Consumer Price Index. (1.3B)
DOL, as a producer of economic statistics on the U.S. economy, must
work in partnership with other federal, state, and international statistical
agencies. These organizations encounter common and sometimes overlapping issues
that must be coordinated for the benefit of the users of these data. Such
coordination not only maximizes DOL performance, but also helps to improve the
accuracy, efficiency, and relevancy of economic measures produced by the
Department.
As a federal statistical agency, the Department's BLS is a member of
the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy, a committee of representatives
from 15 agencies, which works to identify areas for collaboration. During FY
2001, the Council will work on enhancements to FedStats, a "one-stop shopping"
web site for federal statistics, including the development of a national
statistical information infrastructure.
- As a member of the international statistical community, DOL also works
with foreign statistical agencies and international organizations in efforts to
enhance comparability of concepts and definitions. During FY 2001, a
statistical working party led by DOL and sponsored by the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development, will address issues dealing with
improving and standardizing the data on productivity and
employment/unemployment used around the world.
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