Detailed Information on the
Department of Labor - Women's Bureau Assessment

Updating and enhancing the Wi$eUp financial education curriculum in response to new research and suggestions from stakeholders.

Making the Wi$eUp classroom learning process more meaningful, interesting, effective and accessible to a wider group of women.

Expanding Flex-Options outreach and educational efforts to state/local governments and university consortia of employers to work toward addressing workplace flexibility from a sustainability platform.

Establishing new outcome measures that more clearly demonstrate the results of the program's demonstration projects and link directly to the program's mission.

Setting aggressive long-term targets for improving working conditions for women.

Conducting ongoing, independent evaluations of the program's demonstration projects in order to establish program effectiveness and inform improvement efforts.

Conducting targeted outreach to corporations to encourage them to offer the Wi$e Up financial education project to their employees.??

Developing and using a uniform definition for "interested employers who expand or implement flexible workplace policies" in order to improve the consistency and reliability of performance data.

Establishing mechanisms for ongoing communication with Wi$e Up project participants in order to increase their utilization of project resources and improve outcome goal data collection efforts.

Measure: Women's Bureau cost per employee in participating companies with flexible programs and policies

Explanation:The Women's Bureau fulfills its duty "to formulate standards and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women, improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency, and advance their opportunities for profitable employment" by piloting demonstration projects focusing on Better Jobs, Better Earnings, and Better Living. Better Living projects seek to help businesses create or expand flexible work programs, policies, and procedures, such as telecommuting, job sharing, and compressed work schedules. Through the Bureau's Flex-Options for Women project, employers receive mentoring, resources, and technical assistance from the agency and its partners. This measure tracks the success of the Flex-Options project in increasing the number of people who have access to flexible work programs and policies. The measure is calculated by dividing the total cost of the Flex-Options project by the number of employees in businesses which create or expand flexible practices as a result of the Flex-Options project. With this measure, the Bureau is able to link the project's cost with individual beneficiaries of the project. The cost-effectiveness varies depending on the size of the companies involved in the project each year. Because the Bureau's focus is on reaching small and medium sized companies, it was decided in 2007 that the target would not be decreased substantially if a large company was included in the results the previous year. For example, a very large company participated in FY 2006 causing the cost to go down significantly. Since this is not the Bureau's focus, we made an adjustment based on the number of employees we expect to reach in the next year, and raised the target slightly for FY 2007.

Measure: Women's Bureau's cost per business owner who develops a flexible workplace or program

Explanation:The Women's Bureau fulfills its duty "to formulate standards and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women, improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency, and advance their opportunities for profitable employment" by piloting demonstration projects focusing on Better Jobs, Better Earnings, and Better Living. Better Living projects seek to help businesses create or expand flexible work programs, policies, and procedures, such as telecommuting, job sharing, and compressed work schedules. Through the Bureau's Flex-Options for Women project, employers receive mentoring, resources, and technical assistance from the agency and its partners. This efficiency measure is calculated by dividing the full cost of the Flex-Options for Women project by the number of business owners who create or expand a flexible workplace practices. With this measure the Bureau is able to link the project's cost with its ability to reach more business owners. The Bureau's focus is on small and medium sized companies, in order to help these companies recruit and retain employees, as well as to give more women access to flexible work options.

Measure: Women's Bureau's cost per participant who takes an action step toward securing their financial future

Explanation:The Women's Bureau fulfills its duty "to formulate standards and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women, improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency, and advance their opportunities for profitable employment" by piloting demonstration projects focusing on Better Jobs, Better Earnings, and Better Living. Better Earnings projects seek to increase women's financial security by promoting financial literacy and planning. This measure tracks the cost-effectiveness of the Bureau's Wi$e Up financial education project by measuring the cost per participant who says she will achieve at least one of the project's goals - reduced debt or increased saving/investing. Reduced debt means the participants have lowered the dollar amount of their overall debt, excluding student loans and home mortgages. Increased saving/investing refers to opening or adding to a savings or retirement account, or starting to invest/increasing investments in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. The cost per participant is calculated by dividing the annual cost of the project by the number of participants who submit plans regarding their financial security. A new baseline was established in FY 2007 to reflect when the project began tracking reduced debt and increased savings/investments. Previously, the definition of financial action steps was broader and included a wider range of financial security steps the participant could take.

Measure: Percent of participating employers who created or expanded a flexible workplace practice

Explanation:The Women's Bureau fulfills its duty "to formulate standards and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women, improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency, and advance their opportunities for profitable employment" by piloting demonstration projects focusing on Better Jobs, Better Earnings, and Better Living. Better Living projects seek to help businesses create or expand flexible work programs, policies, and procedures, such as telecommuting, job sharing, and compressed work schedules. Through the Bureau's Flex-Options for Women project, employers receive mentoring, resources, and technical assistance from the agency and its partners. This measure gauges the ratio of employers creating or expanding at least one workplace flexibility policy/program as compared with the number of "interested" employers. It highlights the impact of the Bureau's efforts on the employers enrolled in the program. FY 2007 was the baseline year for this measure. For 2008, the Women's Bureau raised the standard in its definition of "interested employer" to improve the accuracy of this measure. The Bureau also collects data for the Flex-Options for Women project outcome measures - the policies/programs created or expanded and the employees with access to these policies/programs.

Is the program purpose clear?

Explanation: Congress created the Women's Bureau in 1920 to "formulate standards and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women, improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency, and advance their opportunities for profitable employment." This legislation also gave the Bureau the authority to investigate and report to the Department of Labor upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of working women.

Evidence: Authorizing Law (Public Law 66-259; 29 U.S.C. 11-16.29 (1920)), which established the Women's Bureau within the U.S. Department of Labor.

Does the program address a specific and existing problem, interest, or need?

Explanation: Since its inception in 1920, the Women's Bureau has served as the only federal agency mandated to represent the employment needs of America's working women. The initial basis for this advocacy was rooted in women's working conditions at the turn of the 20th century. Women's employment opportunities have increased substantially since the 1920's, and there are now federal and State laws that set minimum standards for the working conditions of both female and male wage earners, and programs to enforce these laws. However, Congressional interest in preserving the advocacy role of the Women's Bureau continues to the present.

Evidence: Authorizing Law (Public Law 66-259; 29 U.S.C. 11-16.29 (1920)), which established the Women's Bureau within the U.S. Department of Labor.

Is the program designed so that it is not redundant or duplicative of any other Federal, state, local or private effort?

Explanation: Although the Women's Bureau provides a coordinating role for programs related to women's employment within the Department of Labor, the Bureau's programs are duplicative of other Federal efforts. The Women's Bureau's three main performance goals are to increase: 1) women's employment in high-growth occupations, 2) opportunities for women to take steps to improve their economic security and retirement savings, and 3) the number of employer flexible programs and policies. The Bureau's demonstration projects, which are administered under these three areas, address similar problems as programs managed by other Federal agencies. These agencies include: DOL's Employment and Training Administration (ETA), which provides job training opportunities to adult women and men; the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (chaired by the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury), which was established to improve financial literacy and retirement education among all Americans; DOL's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), which administers "Saving Matters" - a retirement savings education project; DOL's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) in the Employment Standards Administration (ESA), which enforces and provides assistance to promote compliance with federal laws governing men and women's working conditions and family and medical leave; and the Small Business Administration's Office of Women's Business Ownership, which promotes increased business ownership among women.

Evidence: Secretary's Order 03-95 "Coordination and Direction of Department of Labor Programs Affecting Women"; Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Workforce Investment Act of 1988, Public Law 105-220 (August 1988); Financial Literacy and Education Commission, Title V, the Financial Literacy and Education Improvement Act, which was part of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, Pub. L. 108-159 (December 2003); Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), P.L. 93-406 (September 1974); Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), administers and enforces three legal authorities that require equal employment opportunity (Executive Order 11246, as amended; Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended, 38 U.S.C. 4212); and the Small Business Administration's Office of Women's Business Ownership, Small Business Act of 1953 (Public Law 85-536, as amended (April 2004).

Is the program design free of major flaws that would limit the program's effectiveness or efficiency?

Explanation: At this time, the Women's Bureau meets the criteria for a yes because there is no strong evidence to show that an alternative approach would be more effective. Currently, the Bureau focuses its resources on short-term demonstration projects that serve working women and young girls, and on encouraging project replication by developing partnerships with companies, universities, faith-based and community-based organizations. Over the past several years, several projects have been replicated by private, non-profit, and state organizations, including the Girls' E-Mentoring in Science, Engineering, and Technology (GEM-SET) program and the Wi$e Up Financial Security Education program. Other than the Bureau's success with leveraging partnerships and resources from other sources, however, there is no strong evidence that the Bureau's structure is effective. The Bureau has not conducted cost effectiveness studies or evaluations that compare their program design to alternative mechanisms. For example, they cannot show that their demonstration projects have a significant effect on women's employment outcomes (i.e. demonstrably better employment and earnings because of the Women's Bureau activities); that their regional offices are cost-effective; or that their short-term demonstration projects are more effective than long-term programs.

Evidence: Authorizing Law (Public Law 66-259; 29 U.S.C. 11-16.29 (1920)); The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is continuing the Girls' E-Mentoring in Science, Engineering, and Technology (GEM-SET) program, which links girls, ages 13-18, with volunteer women mentors in the fields of science, engineering and technology via e-mail and a website (www.uic.edu/orgs/gem-set); and the Center for Women in Charleston, SC, the ALCATEL Corporation, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants have agreed to promote and/or replicate the Wi$e Up Financial Security Education program, which provides classroom and web-based financial education for women in their 20s and 30s (wiseupwomen.org).

Is the program design effectively targeted so that resources will address the program's purpose directly and will reach intended beneficiaries?

Explanation: The Women's Bureau targets specific beneficiaries, including young adults who are interested in pursuing nursing as a career; women with disabilities who wish to become entrepreneurs; women currently between the ages of 22 and 33; women transitioning back into the workforce; and business owners who express interest in developing flexible workplace policies. The Bureau utilizes a variety of approaches to reach these beneficiaries. These methods include linking volunteer mentors with project participants through email and a website; providing entrepreneurship training to women with disabilities; an online, self-paced financial education curriculum also offered in a classroom setting; conferences presenting women with information and resources to help them achieve financial security; and corporate executives mentoring business owners interested in developing flexible workplace policies. The Bureau uses several methods to track beneficiaries in its demonstration projects, including routine data collection and project reports.

Evidence: Authorizing Law (Public Law 66-259; 29 U.S.C. 11-16.29 (1920)); 2004 Women's Bureau Accomplishments Report; Women's Bureau's Strategic and Performance Plan 2003-2008, http://www.dol.gov/wb/WBBSCFinal.pdf; Demonstration project websites available through Women's Bureau homepage, http://www.dol.gov/wb; or directly to project websites (GEM-SET) http://www.gem-set.org, (GEM-Nursing) http://www.gem-nursing.org, (Wi$e Up) http://www.wiseupwomen.org, and Flex-Options for Women http://www.we-inc.org/flex.html.

Does the program have a limited number of specific long-term performance measures that focus on outcomes and meaningfully reflect the purpose of the program?

Explanation: Although the Women's Bureau established six long-term performance measures for its 2003-2008 Strategic Plan, these measures do not meet the criteria for a yes answer. Over the past several years, the Bureau has taken significant steps in developing more meaningful performance measures and linking them to their strategic goals. However, significant problems exist with how each of their current measures is defined and with establishing the link between a result (i.e., increasing earnings or finding employment) and participation in a demonstration project. In addition, since the Bureau's demonstration projects are short-term in design and change on a 1- to 3-year basis, these measures do not demonstrate that the Bureau's programs are effective over a longer period of time (5 to 10 years).

Evidence: Women's Bureau Strategic and Performance Plan 2003-2008 (finalized 12/2004), www.dol.gov/wb/WBBSCFinal.pdf; U.S. Department of Labor 2004 Performance and Accountability Report, www.dol.gov/_sec/media/reports/annual2004/annualreport.pdf.

Does the program have ambitious targets and timeframes for its long-term measures?

Explanation: Although the Women's Bureau established baselines and annual targets for each of its current long-term measures, it has not set ambitious long-term targets. In part, this is due to how the Bureau has designed these measures. Each long-term measure is associated with short-term demonstration projects that can change on a yearly basis. Ambitious targets, however, require setting a timeframe for achieving an increasingly higher (or lower) target level for a five to ten year period. As the Bureau revises its long-term outcome measures (as discussed in Q2.1), it will need to set ambitious long-term targets and timeframes for its revised measures.

Evidence: Women's Bureau Strategic and Performance Plan (finalized 12/2004) www.dol.gov/wb/WBBSCFinal.pdf.

Does the program have a limited number of specific annual performance measures that can demonstrate progress toward achieving the program's long-term goals?

Explanation: Although the Women's Bureau has established six annual performance measures, they do not meet the criteria for a yes. The Bureau's annual measures are the same as their long-term measures, which are not well defined and do not adequately demonstrate the affect of a demonstration project on women's employment outcomes (as noted in Q2.1). The Bureau, however, does have a number of annual, output measures that support the programs' performance goals.

Evidence: Women's Bureau Strategic and Performance Plan FY 2003-2008 (finalized 12/2004) www.dol.gov/wb/WBBSCFinal.pdf.

Does the program have baselines and ambitious targets for its annual measures?

Explanation: Although the Women's Bureau has established targets for all and baselines for the six annual measures listed in their Strategic and Performance Plan, they have not met the criteria for a yes answer. In addition to developing better outcome oriented annual measures (see Q 2.3), the Bureau needs to establish more ambitious targets for these measures. Currently, many of the Bureau's annual measures do not show a trend toward continued improvement on a year-to-year basis.

Evidence: Women's Bureau Strategic and Performance Plan FY 2003-2008 (finalized 12/2004) www.dol.gov/wb/WBBSCFinal.pdf).

Do all partners (including grantees, sub-grantees, contractors, cost-sharing partners, and other government partners) commit to and work toward the annual and/or long-term goals of the program?

Explanation: Since the Women's Bureau needs to develop new annual and long-term outcome measures, they have not met the criteria for a yes answer. The Bureau, however, does use multiple mechanisms to ensure all partners commit to and work toward the Bureau's performance goals as outlined in their current strategic plan. For example, every contract sets forth specific deliverables with due dates, periods of performance, a compensation and payment schedule, and billing instructions linked to long-term measures in the Strategic Plan. When contractors are not on schedule, the WB works with the partner to determine whether corrective action is necessary to ensure strategic plan goals are met and quality deliverables are received. The Bureau also collaborates with governmental partners who support the Bureau's strategic plan goals. For example, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the Office of Disabilities Employment Policy (ODEP) has provided funding to the Bureau to extend the Women with Disabilities Entrepreneurship project for an additional two years in order to serve women with severe disabilities.

Evidence: National and Regional GEM-Nursing Statement of Work and Memorandum of Understanding with ODEP demonstrate how the expectations outlined in statements of work link to the data and discussions provided in the quarterly reports. Project quarterly reports include data for the Bureau's strategic and performance plan. Recent spending and performance reports for these programs include: GEM-Nursing FY05 2QTR Report, ODEP-Disabilities Phase II Statement Of Work, 4th Qtr 04 WDEP ODEP Report, 3rd Qtr 05 WDEP ODEP Report, and 4th Qtr 05 WDEP ODEP Report.

Are independent evaluations of sufficient scope and quality conducted on a regular basis or as needed to support program improvements and evaluate effectiveness and relevance to the problem, interest, or need?

Explanation: The Bureau has conducted program evaluations, but their scope and quality do not satisfy the requirements of a yes answer. Over the past five years, the Bureau has conducted three administrative evaluations focused on improving its internal operations, including strategic planning processes and human capital management; and one evaluation to gauge the effectiveness of one of its demonstration projects. Both the administrative and program evaluations were conducted by recognized and independent organizations. These evaluations, however, do not adequately demonstrate the effectiveness of the entire program (covering quality and scope) and they have not been conducted on a recurring basis (addressing frequency). In addition, the evaluation conducted on the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANT0) Grant Program, which the Women's Bureau administered with DOL's Office of Apprenticeship Training (until the program ended in 2003), was unable to determine program effectiveness. The Bureau has begun the process of contracting for an outside evaluation of the electronic mentoring model used by most of Women's Bureau demonstration projects. As described in the Bureau's statement of work for the e-mentoring programs, the evaluation will provide information on the effectiveness of demonstration projects that use electronic technology (which include four out of six of the Bureau's current demonstration projects).

Evidence: Logistics Management Institute (LMI) Statement of Work; LMI Statement of Work (Amended); GALT Solutions, Inc. Statement of Work; Performance Institute (PI) Statement of Work; Westat Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANT0) Grant Program, Statement of Work and Executive Summary (May 2003).

Are Budget requests explicitly tied to accomplishment of the annual and long-term performance goals, and are the resource needs presented in a complete and transparent manner in the program's budget?

Explanation: The Women's Bureau's FY 2006 Performance Budget is based on the strategic plan that was in place at the time of the budget submission (version completed 7/2003). The budget submission links DOL's strategic goals and the Bureau's performance and output goals both in narrative and in the Summary of Performance and Resource level table. It also describes the major projects along with performance goals, performance indicators, critical strategies for achieving the goals, and resources required to achieve these measures. The Bureau was one of the first agencies to develop a methodology to provide full costing for their projects' performance measures through the Department of Labor's Cost Analysis Manager (CAM) model. This methodology uses an activity-based costing statistical application that is able to allocate overhead cost to various projects.

Evidence: FY 2006 budget request; Women's Bureau Strategic and Performance Plan 2003-2008 (finalized 7/2003).

Has the program taken meaningful steps to correct its strategic planning deficiencies?

Explanation: Although the Women's Bureau developed a Strategic and Performance Plan for 2003-2008 that more clearly linked its strategic and outcome goals to its annual and long-term outcome measures, the Bureau does not meet the criteria for a yes since they currently do not have adequate annual or long term outcome measures. The Bureau, however, has taken steps to reduce some of its strategic planning deficiencies. In FY 2002, the Bureau underwent an agency-wide effort to revise its strategic planning document, which resulted in a reduction of its annual and long-term measures and a clearer delineation of its strategic goals and performance measures. The current strategic plan focuses on linking demonstration projects with a limited number of long-term measures and developing partnerships in which partners' replicate Bureau demonstration projects. The strategic planning process also facilitated a reorganization of how the Bureau manages demonstration projects. Prior to FY 2004, all demonstration projects were monitored at the regional level. Currently, projects are managed by a joint regional and national team. Project-related information now is centralized in the National Office, which ensures greater consistency in data collection across projects.

Evidence: Women's Bureau's current Strategic and Performance Plan (finalized 12/2004) www.dol.gov/wb/WBBSCFinal.pdf; Earlier versions of the Women's Bureau's Strategic and Performance Plans (completed 5/2002 and 7/2003), hard copies provided on request.

Does the agency regularly collect timely and credible performance information, including information from key program partners, and use it to manage the program and improve performance?

Explanation: All contracts awarded by the Women's Bureau set forth performance expectations that are aligned with the Bureau's current FY 2003-2008 Strategic and Performance Plan, and each contract is assigned a contract officer's technical representative (COTR). The contract statement of work contains a list of deliverables with due dates, periods of performance, a compensation and payment schedule, and billing instructions that likewise tie to the Bureau's goals. Contractors provide quarterly reports that detail progress on each deliverable which are linked to the strategic plan. If after reviewing the data, the COTR determines the contractor is not on schedule or at risk of failing to provide a timely, quality deliverable, the COTR will then work with the contractor to develop a corrective action plan. Women's Bureau demonstration projects tied to the Strategic Plan require quarterly reports with performance data and include mechanisms for reviewing and validating this data.

Evidence: Demonstration project principle contractor quarterly report formats are developed around tracking key performance measures; Regional activities and technical assistance are tracked in Women's Bureau Information System (WBIS), and WBIS Standard Operating Procedures document outlines data requirements; Regional EOA standards require updating and maintaining database; Performance Standards link staff performance to quantified outcomes from strategic and performance plan, which is accessible at www.dol.gov/wb/WBBSCFinal.pdf; and DOL's Annual Report on Performance and Accountability for FY 2004 includes the Flex-Options project, which is accessible at: www.dol.gov/_sec/Budget2004/appendixa3.htm#41.

Are Federal managers and program partners (including grantees, sub-grantees, contractors, cost-sharing partners, and other government partners) held accountable for cost, schedule and performance results?

Explanation: National Office and Regional managers provide progress reports on costs, schedules, and performance results to the Director at weekly meetings. The Director uses these reports to determine whether corrective actions, such as redistributing resources or modifications to an approach, are needed. The Bureau holds National and Regional Office managers accountable for Strategic Plan goals within their yearly performance standards appraisals. Managers also work closely with contractors and partners to ensure that costs are met, the prescribed results are achieved, and that corrective actions are instituted if the project is not on target to meet its goals. All contracts with partners contain statements of work (SOW) that relate to the Secretary's Goals, the WB's Strategic and Performance Plan, and a timeline with a list of deliverables.

Evidence: National and Regional Office Managers Standards provide managers guidance on contract management (e.g., Equal Opportunity Assistant Management Plan, Program Development Specialist Performance Management Plan, Regional Administrator Management Plan); and National Office and Regional Office demonstration contracts detail contractor deliverables (e.g., GEM-Nursing National Statement of Work and GEM-Nursing Westfield Voc Tech HS Regional Statement of Work).

Are funds (Federal and partners') obligated in a timely manner and spent for the intended purpose?

Explanation: The Bureau develops a yearly operating plan to support the goals outlined in the budget. Funding requirements for each project in the strategic plan are validated by the project managers, reviewed by the management team, and then allocated to the appropriate regional or national office for obligation. Monthly status reports which track actual spending in relationship to the budget allocation are provided to the national office by each region and a consolidated report is prepared internally for the Director and the management team. The Department also provides similar reports to the Women's Bureau, but less frequently and on a consolidated Bureau level rather than an activity level. The internally produced report details current spending and projected obligations as well as a detailed spending plan for discretionary funds. The accounting record (detail fund report) is reviewed monthly to ensure that all obligations are promptly and properly recorded and no erroneous payments are made. The Bureau's project development cycle, i.e. concept design, validation, detailed plan, and implementation, leads to non-compensation dollars generally being obligated during the third and fourth quarters of the fiscal year. The Bureau has never violated the Anti-Deficiency Act and obligated over 97.5% of its appropriation in FY 2004.

Evidence: Departmental Management FY 2005 Projection as of (date) Report; Detail Fund Report D-253A; Monthly Regional Status Reports; and Women's Bureau Monthly Status Report.

Does the program have procedures (e.g. competitive sourcing/cost comparisons, IT improvements, appropriate incentives) to measure and achieve efficiencies and cost effectiveness in program execution?

Explanation: The Women's Bureau has three efficiency measures (see performance measures section) and has used activity-based costing and other procedures to achieve efficiencies and cost effectiveness. The Bureau was one of the first agencies to develop and use the Department of Labor's Cost Analysis Manager (CAM) model to provide full cost information for performance goals. The Women's Bureau designed its model to capture full costs for all significant projects and activities supporting its performance goals. Senior management has started using CAM reports on FY 2003 and FY 2004 projects to evaluate the cost of serving customers, achieving outcomes, and to explore how changes in project implementation, such as expanding to additional regions, could increase results and impact cost. The Bureau also has identified a total of 47 FTE for DOL-wide competitions that will take place over the next five years.

Evidence: Cost Analysis Manager (CAM) Model Methodology Chart; CAM Output Catalogue; CAM Activity Dictionary; DOL's FY06-FY10 Competitive Sourcing Green Competition Plan

Does the program collaborate and coordinate effectively with related programs?

Explanation: The Women's Bureau routinely coordinates with governmental and non-governmental entities as a means to achieving its strategic and outcome goals. In order to track the numbers of partners who adopt all or part of a Women's Bureau demonstration project, the Bureau added a new performance goal, "Value-Added Partnerships," to its Strategic and Performance Plan for 2003-2008. For example, the scope of the Bureau's Women with Disabilities Entrepreneurship Project was expanded in 2004 with the technical and financial assistance of DOL's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). Created in 2002 and extended for two years in 2004, this project provides technical assistance (TA) to women with disabilities who are interested in entrepreneurship. In FY 2004, the WB partnered with a private-sector entity, CVS Pharmacies, to pilot the Bureau's employer-driven Older Women Workers project. This project's partners provided older Hispanic and Asian American women with basic computer and life skills training. Upon graduation, these women became qualified to work in entry-level career ladder positions with CVS and other retail businesses. After the pilot year, the contracted partners took ownership of the project, which allowed the Bureau to reallocate funds for another pilot project, Online Learning for Women in Transition. The Bureau will use the lessons learned during the Older Women Workers project in the design of the Online Learning for Women in Transition project.

Evidence: Women's Bureau Strategic and Performance Plan 2003-2008 (finalized 7/2003). ODEP Memorandum of Understanding; The Women's Bureau also collaborates in a variety of ways with Federal programs outside the Department of Labor including demonstration project design and implementation, interagency work groups, conference co-sponsorship, information sharing, and the creation and dissemination of publications. The Bureau has worked with Federal partners, such as the Department of Agriculture, Corp of Engineers, Department of Defense, Small Business Administration, and Department of State.

Does the program use strong financial management practices?

Explanation: In compliance with the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act and the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act, the Women's Bureau provides quarterly certification to the Department that it exercises sound management systems and internal controls. Systems of internal controls are reviewed on a regular basis and any identified weaknesses are addressed. In 2003, the Department's Office of the Inspector General conducted an audit of overtime use within the Women's Bureau. As a result of the OIG findings, the Bureau reviewed all its Time and Attendance procedures and issued new "Time and Attendance Standard Operating Procedures"(SOPs), which the OIG accepted. The independent audit of DOL's FY 2004 Financial Statement and Internal Controls found no issues regarding erroneous payments or material internal control issues for the Women's Bureau. With regard to timely and accurate payments to contractors, procedures are in place to ensure review and sign-off of invoices by the contract officer's technical representative (COTR) or the appropriate supervisor. All purchase card statements are reconciled on a monthly basis and approved by the Administrative Officer, National Office Coordinator, or appropriate Regional Administrator.

Evidence: Time & Attendance SOP; Quarterly financial certifications to OCFO; The Women's Bureau follows the DOL Purchase Card Handbook , which is available on the LaborNet website, and the GSA Smart Purchase Guide, Blueprint for Success: Purchase Card Oversight available on the GSA website; Women's Bureau COTR's receive COTR/GOTR training provided either by ETA, Office of Grants and Contract Management, or by an outside source such as USDA Graduate School or Management Concepts Inc. All the courses provide participants classroom training as well as reference manuals on proper procedures for being a COTR, which includes the monitoring, reviewing and certifying invoices for payments. In the National Office, a copy of the ETA reference manual is maintained by the Administrative Officer, and is made available to staff.

Has the program taken meaningful steps to address its management deficiencies?

Explanation: In 2002, the Bureau underwent an external evaluation conducted by the Logistics Management Institute that identified management deficiencies, including a lack of strategic direction, program outcomes were not well identified, regional office requirements were not clearly specified, and headquarters' organizational design limited the Bureau's effectiveness. In response, the Director implemented the following corrective actions: revised the current Strategic and Performance Plan (2003-2008) to align Bureau goals, demonstration projects, and long term measures; revised work assignments for the regional office staff; and redesigned the Bureau's management team. The Women's Bureau also diagnoses and addresses management deficiencies through: 1) participation in the Department's Mid-Year Reviews of budget and performance; 2) weekly meetings of the Director and national and regional office management; 3) participation in the Department-wide Strategic Planning and Performance Work Group, which coordinates all performance, planning, and reporting activities; 4) participation in the Department's semi-annual progress and status reviews and preparation of bureau-level Presidential Management Agenda (PMA) scorecard process; 5) implementation of project teams comprised of National and Regional Office staff to manage project activities, monitor contractor deliverables, and gauge performance.

Evidence: Evaluation of Women's Bureau Programs, Strategies, and Organization, Logistics Management Institute, January 2002. Women's Bureau Strategic and Performance Plan 2003-2008 (finalized 12/2004) www.dol.gov/wb/WBBSCFinal.pdf.

Has the program demonstrated adequate progress in achieving its long-term performance goals?

Explanation: Although the Women's Bureau has made significant improvements in establishing relevant long term outcome goals, they have not met the criteria for a yes answer. The Bureau's outcome goals need to be revised (as noted in Q 2.1) to better reflect the long term effectiveness of the program and ambitious targets and timeframes need to be established.

Evidence: Women's Bureau Strategic and Performance Plan 2003-2008 (finalized 12/2004)www.dol.gov/wb/WBBSCFinal.pdf.

Does the program (including program partners) achieve its annual performance goals?

Explanation: The Women's Bureau currently does not have adequate annual outcome measures (as noted in Q2.3) and therefore does not meet the criteria for a yes. The Bureau also needs to set ambitious targets for these measures.

Evidence: Women's Bureau Strategic and Performance Plan 2003-2008 (finalized 12/2004)www.dol.gov/wb/WBBSCFinal.pdf.

Does the program demonstrate improved efficiencies or cost effectiveness in achieving program goals each year?

Explanation: The Women's Bureau has begun to demonstrate improved efficiencies and cost effectiveness through the use of DOL's Cost Analysis Manager (CAM), IT improvements, and National Office workload realignment. FY 2003 and FY 2004 CAM Reports indicate that as demonstration projects move from development to implementation, the cost per outcome decreases. In FY 2003, the Bureau developed the Women's Bureau Information System, an online data management system, which has reduced (between 5-10%) the amount of staff-time spent compiling and reporting on regional and national office activities. In FY 2003, the Bureau also realigned the workload of its staff in the Office of Information and Support Services (OISS) to better match strategic plans outcomes, which resulted in a decrease of 65% for staff time spent on meetings, budget execution, and management issues, and an increase of 19% for staff time spent on human capital and strategic planning issues. In FY 2005, the Bureau piloted an initiative to have two regional administrators assume supervision of adjacent regions, resulting in a cost savings of $48,000 for one region and $101,000 for the second region. Over the next several years, the Bureau will be able to better demonstrate improved cost effectiveness and efficiencies through presenting data on their efficiency measures and the results of their competitive sourcing initiatives, as well as the continued use of CAM to maximize resources.

Evidence: CAM National Office Analysis; CAM Output Costs; WBIS Statement of Purpose Document; GALT Solutions' "WB OISS Strategic Alignment Project Summary Evaluation" (June 2005)

Does the performance of this program compare favorably to other programs, including government, private, etc., with similar purpose and goals?

Explanation: Since there are no evaluations or other systematic assessments that compare the Women's Bureau to other similar programs, the Bureau does not meet the criteria for a yes answer. At this time, it cannot be determined how well the program performs compared to other Federal, state, or non-profit agencies with similar goals.

Evidence:  

Do independent evaluations of sufficient scope and quality indicate that the program is effective and achieving results?

Explanation: Although the Women's Bureau has conducted four evaluations over the past five years, these evaluations do not indicate whether or not the program's demonstration projects, leadership forums, and financial and retirement programs are effective. The Bureau, however, is currently selecting a contractor to evaluate the electronic mentoring model used in most of its demonstration projects. The results of this evaluation will provide new information on the outcomes and cost effectiveness of their demonstration projects. The Bureau also needs to consider conducting an evaluation of their leadership forums and financial and retirement projects.

Evidence: Logistics Management Institute (LMI) contract and statement of work; GALT Solutions, Inc., contract and statement of work; Performance Institute (PI) contract and statement of work; Westat Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANT0) Grant Program, Statement of Work, Executive Summary, and Final Report (May 2003); CAM - National Office workload.