BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                 Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
                              Senator Ben Hueso, Chair

          Date of Hearing: June 25, 2014               2013-2014 Regular  
          Session                              
          Consultant: Alma Perez-Schwab                Fiscal:Yes
                                                       Urgency: No
          
                                  Bill No: AB 2148
                                   Author: Mullin
                        As Introduced/Amended: June 19, 2014
          

                                       SUBJECT
          
             Workforce development: annual workforce metrics dashboard 


                                     KEY ISSUES

          Should the Legislature require that the California Workforce  
          Investment Board (CWIB) develop a workforce metrics dashboard  
          that measures the state's investments in workforce development  
          and its impact on the labor market?  

          Should this metrics dashboard provide a status report on  
          credential and degree attainment, training completion and  
          earnings resulting from an individual's participation in  
          workforce education and training programs? 

          Should the Legislature require that the Employment Development  
          Department aggregate specified data regarding demographics,  
          earnings, and industry of employment to assist the CWIB in the  
          production of this metrics dashboard? 


                                      ANALYSIS
          
           The federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998  provides  
          funding for activities and programs for job training and  
          employment investment in which states may participate, including  
          work incentive and employment training outreach programs.  

           Following passage of the federal WIA, the state established the  
          California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB)  and charged the  
          board with the responsibility of developing a unified, strategic  









          planning process to coordinate various education, training, and  
          employment programs into an integrated workforce development  
          system. There are 49 Local WIBs and within each local workforce  
          area there are one or more One-Stop Centers, which provide  
          access to career information, counseling, funding for education,  
          training and supportive services.  

           Among its responsibilities,  the State Board must do the  
          following: 

             1)   Develop the State Workforce Investment Plan;
             2)   Develop guidelines for continuous improvement and  
               operation of the workforce system;
             3)   Develop and modify allocation formulas for the  
               distribution of funds;
             4)   Assist the Governor in the alignment of the education  
               and workforce investment system to the needs of the state's  
               current and future workforce;
             5)   Certification and re-certification of local WIBs.  
           

          This Bill  would additionally require that the California  
          Workforce Investment Board assist the Governor in the  
          development of an annual workforce metrics dashboard that  
          measures the state's investments in workforce development to  
          better understand their impact on the labor market.  

          Specifically, this bill would: 

             1)   Require the CWIB to produce this metrics dashboard using  
               existing available data and resources that are currently  
               collected and accessible to state agencies. 

             2)   Require the CWIB to convene workforce program partners  
               to develop a standardized set of inputs and outputs for the  
               workforce metrics dashboard and outlines that the dashboard  
               shall do all of the following:

                  a.        Provide a status report on credential and  
                    degree attainment, training completion, and  
                    participant earnings from workforce education and  
                    training programs.  The CWIB shall publish and  
          Hearing Date:  June 25, 2014                             AB 2148 
          Consultant: Alma Perez-Schwab                            Page 2

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                    distribute the final report.   
                  b.        Provide demographic breakdowns, to the extent  
                    possible, that include race, ethnicity, age, gender,  
                    veteran status, wage and credential degree outcomes  
                    and information on workforce outcomes in different  
                    industry sectors.
                  c.        Measure, at a minimum and to the extent  
                    feasible within existing resources, the performance of  
                    specified workforce programs currently operating. 
                  d.        Measure participant earnings using  
                    unemployment insurance wage records in California, and  
                    to the extent feasible, in other states.  

             3)   Require that the Employment Development Department  
               assist the CWIB measure participant earnings by providing  
               the board with specified earnings data.   

             4)   Authorize the State Department of Education (CDE) to  
               collect, and keep confidential, the social security numbers  
               of adults participating in adult education programs to  
               track and accurately reflect their participation on the  
               metrics dashboard. However, no individual shall be denied  
               participation for refusing to provide a social security  
               number.

             5)   Specify that the participating workforce programs shall  
               provide participant data in a standardized format to the  
               Employment Development Department (EDD).

             6)   Require the EDD to aggregate the data provided by the  
               participating workforce programs and report it organized by  
               demographics, earnings and industry of employment to assist  
               the CWIB in the production of the workforce metrics  
               dashboard.

                                          
                                      COMMENTS

          1.  California Workforce Investment Board: 

            California's Workforce Investment Act allocation from the U.S.  
            Department of Labor has declined over the years from a high of  
          Hearing Date:  June 25, 2014                             AB 2148  
          Consultant: Alma Perez-Schwab                            Page 3

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            $630 million in 2000-01 to $411 million in 2012-13.  
            California's WIA dollars are overseen by the 56-member CWIB,  
            of which 61% of the members represent the private sector, as  
            required by federal law.  Among its primary duties, the CWIB  
            provides guidance to Local WIBs and is responsible for the  
            development of a unified, strategic plan to coordinate various  
            education, training, and employment programs that result in an  
            integrated workforce development system that supports economic  
            development.  The plan is required to be updated at least  
            every 5 years in order to address the state's changing  
            economic, demographic, and workplace needs.  

          2. Need for this bill?

            California has numerous state and local entities providing  
            academic and vocational education, workforce training, and  
            economic development activities. In recent years there has  
            been an increased emphasis at both the federal and state level  
            on integrating all these programs to the extent possible,  
            encouraging strategic planning and establishing methods to  
            measure performance and enhance accountability. Unfortunately,  
            although the various programs may measure individual outcomes,  
            there is currently no cross-system data collection effort in  
            place to measure and assess the effectiveness of these  
            programs and/or return on investments made.  With this bill,  
            the author seeks to use currently collected data to obtain a  
            simple, useful snapshot of the collective impact of many of  
            the state's key workforce programs. The author believes this  
            annual snapshot would provide practitioners and policymakers  
            with data that would assist them in making informed investment  
            decisions.   

          3.  Proponent Arguments  :
            
            According to the author, over the past decade, California's  
            major workforce development programs have begun working  
            together to improve participant outcomes and focus efforts  
            towards industries that provide individuals with career  
            opportunities. Unfortunately, the author argues, an important  
            missing link in reaching this goal is cross-system data  
            collection that provides evidence of the aggregate  
            effectiveness of these programs. According to proponents,  
          Hearing Date:  June 25, 2014                             AB 2148  
          Consultant: Alma Perez-Schwab                            Page 4

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            instead of producing a combined report, programs are producing  
            their own individual reports in silos, creating a fractured  
            data reporting system. The goal of this bill is to bring these  
            separate reports together using currently collected data to  
            obtain a simple, useful snapshot of the collective impact of  
            the state's key workforce programs.  

            Proponents are also supportive of the provision that  
            authorizes the California Department of Education (CDE) to  
            confidentially collect social security numbers for adults  
            participating in adult education programs, a provision they  
            believe will help to better align local programs, measure  
            program effectiveness, and improve on program design and  
            delivery. Overall, proponents argue that the information to be  
            obtained through this bill would allow the state to measure  
            program effectiveness, improve program design and delivery and  
            improve alignment with the needs of industry.
          4.  Opponent Arguments  :

            None received. 

          5.  Prior and Related Legislation  :

            SB 118 (Lieu) of 2013:  Chaptered
            This bill required the CWIB to incorporate specific principles  
            into the state's strategic plan that align the education and  
            workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century  
            economy.  Additionally, the bill encouraged state and local  
            WIBs to collaborate with other public and private institutions  
            in adopting local and regional training and education  
            strategies across all delivery systems and making investments  
            outcome oriented and accountable, measuring results through  
            program completion, employment, and earnings. 

            SB 1022 (Huff) of 2014:  Pending in Assembly Higher Education  
            Committee 
            This bill would require the California State University, and  
            requests the University of California, to provide labor market  
            prematriculation and outcome information on their graduates,  
            as specified, and to make this information publicly available  
            on their websites. 

          Hearing Date:  June 25, 2014                             AB 2148  
          Consultant: Alma Perez-Schwab                            Page 5

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            SB 1141 (Hancock) of 2014:  Pending in Assembly Insurance  
            Committee 
            This bill would require the director of EDD to permit the  
            Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to obtain  
            quarterly wage data of former inmates who have been  
            incarcerated within the prison system in order to assess the  
            impact of rehabilitation services [or the lack of] on the  
            employment and earnings of former inmates. 


                                       SUPPORT
          
          California Budget Project
          California EDGE Coalition 
          California Hospital Association
          California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
          California Manufacturing and Technology Association
          California Workforce Association
          Career Ladders Project for the California Community Colleges
          National Council of La Raza
          Policy Link
          State Building and Construction Trades of California
          Veterans Caucus of the California Democratic Party
          

                                     OPPOSITION
          
          None received 













          Hearing Date:  June 25, 2014                             AB 2148  
          Consultant: Alma Perez-Schwab                            Page 6

          Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations