BILL NUMBER: AB 2642 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 4, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Eduardo Garcia, Eggman, Cristina
Garcia, Gomez, and Maienschein
( Coauthors: Assembly Members
Chang and Steinorth )
( Coauthor: Senator
Wieckowski )
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to add Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 14600) to
Division 7 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to workforce
development, and making an appropriation therefor.
development.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2642, as amended, Eduardo Garcia. Removing Barriers to
Employment Act. Act: Breaking Barriers to
Employment Initiative.
Existing law establishes the Labor and Workforce Development
Agency and provides that the agency consists of, among other
entities, the California Workforce Investment Board, the Employment
Development Department, and the Employment Training Panel. The
California Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act establishes the
California Workforce Development Board as the body responsible for
assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous
improvement of California's workforce investment system and the
alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the
needs of the 21st century economy and workforce. That act
requires the establishment of a local workforce development
board in each local workforce development area of the state to,
among other things, carry out analyses of the economic conditions in
the local region.
This bill would enact the Removing Barriers to Employment Act,
which would require the California Workforce Investment
Board to work with the Employment Development Department
establish the Breaking Barriers to Employment Initiative within
the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. The bill would require
the initiative to be led by the Secretary of Labor and
Workforce Development and authorizes the secretary to assign all or
part of the administr ation of the initiative to one or
more entities within the agency's oversight. The bill
would specify that the purpose of the initiative is to create a
grant program to provide funds to local workforce
investment boards and community-based organizations working in
partnership on proposals that will address the needs of
persons assist individuals who have
multiple barriers to employment, employment
to prepare them for receive the
remedial education and work readiness skills that will help those
individuals to successfully participate in training,
apprenticeship apprenticeship, or employment
opportunities that will lead to self-sufficiency and economic
stability. The bill would additionally appropriate an
unspecified amount from an unspecified fund to the California
Workforce Investment Board for administration of the grant program.
The bill would require the secretary to d
evelop criteria for the selection of grant recipients, as specified,
and would require the secretary, by January 1, 2018, to post a report
on the agency's Internet Web site that aggregates
information provided by grant recipients. The bill would authorize
the secretary, when implementing the initiative, to fund a project
that uses a model that was previously funded as a pilot project under
certain programs if specified criteria are met. The bill would make
the funding of the initiative subject to an appropriation by the
Legislature for that purpose and would make implementation of the
initiative contingent on the secretary notifying the Department of
Finance that sufficient moneys have been appropriated.
Vote: 2/3 majority . Appropriation:
yes no . Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 14600) is added to
Division 7 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, to read:
CHAPTER 6. REMOVING BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT ACT
14600. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The economy in California continues to improve as shown by
lower unemployment rates and job growth, but poverty is still an
issue in many of our cities and among many of our citizens. The
California Poverty Measure reported in 2015 that 78 percent of
Californians in poverty live in families with at least one adult
working, with 69 percent of those working full time. Low-income
families continue to struggle to pay for the basic cost of supporting
their families. With low wages and lack of job skills, this target
population falls further behind and cannot escape poverty.
(b) Lack of formal education, low English literacy
literacy, and lower-level job skills prevent
upward mobility in pay and job stability. There is a need for
improved access and funding to provide "career pathways" services,
particularly for the poor.
(c) Increased funding for supportive services such as
child care, transportation, English language improvement
training, adult education, high school diploma and GED acquisition,
skills training, work experience, on-the-job training,
earn-as-you-learn, industry certifications, mentoring, case
management management, and more is needed to
bridge the gap to gainful employment for the more difficult to reach
in our population.
(d) Local community-based organizations, government
agencies agencies, and workforce investment
boards throughout California struggle to provide adequate services to
the increasing number of poor residents who need career pathways
services. In particular, funding is needed for case management,
career guidance, and support other
services that enhance training/job retention and the ability to meet
family basic expense needs while pursuing a career opportunity.
(e) Special emphasis is needed to make sure that programs reach
those among us with the most difficult needs with the goal of
preparing those persons for training, educational, apprenticeship or
employment opportunities.
14600.5. As used in this chapter, "Breaking Barriers to
Employment Initiative" or "initiative" means the Breaking Barriers to
Employment Initiative established in this chapter.
14601. (a) The California Workforce Investment Board
shall work with the Employment Development Department to create a
grant program to This chapter establishes the Breaking
Barriers to Employment Initiative within the agency. The initiative
shall be led by the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development,
that may assign all or part of the administration of the initiative
to one or more entities within the agency's oversight.
(b) The purpose of the initiative is to
provide funds to local workforce investment
boards and community-based organizations working in
partnership on that submit joint proposals that
will address the needs of persons assist
individuals who have multiple barriers to employment
to prepare them for training, apprenticeship to
receive the remedial education and work readiness skills that will
help them to successfully participate in training, apprenticeship,
or employment opportunities that will lead to self-sufficiency
and economic stability.
(c) In developing the initiative, the Secretary of Labor and
Workforce Development or his or her delegate shall consult with
public and private stakeholders, including nonprofit community-based
organizations, workforce development boards, local governments, and
other entities that serve individuals who face barriers to
employment.
(d) Funding for the initiative shall be subject to appropriation
by the Legislature for that purpose. Implementation of the initiative
is contingent upon the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development
notifying the Department of Finance that sufficient moneys have been
appropriated and deposited in the Consolidated Work Program Fund.
(e) The outcomes of the initiative shall be reported pursuant to
Section 14601.2.
14601.2. The Secretary of Labor and Workforce
Development shall develop criteria for the selection of grant
recipients that meet all of the following:
(a) Outreach and technical assistance shall be provided to
prospective applicants, especially in rural and small population
areas.
(b) Grants shall be awarded on a competitive basis. The program
shall include provisions to ensure a range of targeted populations
and geographic locations receive training opportunities.
(c) Each application shall include at least one workforce
investment board and one community-based organization. An application
that serves clients across one or more workforce investment areas
shall include a letter of acknowledgment from each workforce board
within the proposed service area, but need not include a specific
role for all of the workforce investment boards in that area.
However, all applications shall have at least one workforce board and
one community-based organization working in partnership.
(d) Applicants shall apply for funds to serve one or more targeted
populations in one or more neighborhoods, local jurisdictions,
regions, or statewide. Each application shall include how programs
are designed to complement the work of, and integrate the individuals
being served with, the workforce development boards within the
proposed service area.
(b)
(e) The grant program proposal
shall require grant proposals to meet the following:
(1) Grant proposals
shall demonstrate how the grant recipient will address the
needs of one or more of the following populations:
(A)
( 1) Youths who are disconnected from the
education system or employment.
(B)
(2) Women seeking training or education to move into
nontraditional fields of employment.
(C)
( 3) Workers displaced by the movement of an
employer or those who are long-term unemployed.
(D)
( 4) Unskilled or under-skilled, low-earning
workers looking to advance into better-paying employment
opportunities.
(E)
( 5) Persons for whom English is not their
primary language.
(F)
( 6) Economically disadvantaged persons who
face barriers to reaching training or apprenticeship opportunities
for sustainable careers.
(G)
( 7) CalWORKS participants.
(H)
( 8) Persons who are incarcerated and soon
to be released or formerly incarcerated.
(I)
( 9) Armed services veterans who face
barriers due to skills that are not applicable to employment,
training, apprenticeship opportunities in the region in which they
live, or because of mental health, health, or other barriers that
serve as impediments to those opportunities.
(J)
(10) Native Americans or migrant, seasonal farmworkers.
(K)
(11) People with developmental or other disabilities.
(f) The grant proposal shall explain the specific purpose of the
grant funds and define the general methodology and training methods
proposed to be used.
(2) Grant proposals
(g) (1) The
proposal shall include a method to measure success of
any program funded by the grant. Measurements identify
baseline criteria and metrics by which the overall success of the
grant program can be evaluated. The proposal shall also explain the
manner in which the progress of the individuals participating in the
program will be monitored during the grant period.
(2) One component of the grant proposal shall provide for a
preservice education and training assessment, which shall form the
baseline for measuring program performance. A prior assessment may be
used if, in the determination of the Secretary of Labor and
Workforce Development, its results are accurate and appropriate for
the proposed program.
(3) Measurements of success
shall be based on the targeted population and the baseline
measurements set through the individual client assessment. These
metrics may include, but are not limited to:
(A) The number of participants in the program who have completed a
high school diploma or received a GED.
(B) The number of participants in the program who have completed a
remedial education program.
(C) The number of participants in the program who have completed a
work readiness program.
(D) The number of participants who have received assistance to
enroll their children in after school programs while the program
participant enroll enrolls in secondary
or postsecondary education or maintains employment.
(E) The number of participants who have obtained access to
reliable transportation or received a driver's license since
enrollment in the program.
(F)
(E) The number of participants who have completed a
certified drug treatment or mental health program.
(G) The number of participants who have obtained and maintained
safe housing.
(H)
( F) The number of participants who have
completed matriculated to a
pre-apprenticeship preapprenticeship or apprenticeship
program.
(c) The amount of ___ is appropriated from the ____ fund to the
California Workforce Investment Board to carry out this section.
(h) (1) Key features of the grant shall be provided in a
memorandum of understanding between the applicants and the agency,
including, but not limited to, the purpose of the grant, expected
outcomes, the oversight and monitoring process, and reporting
requirements.
(2) As a condition of receiving funds, a grant recipient shall
agree to provide information to the Secretary of Labor and Workforce
Development that is determined by the secretary as necessary to meet
all reporting requirements.
(i) On at least an annual basis and upon completion of the grant
period, grant recipients shall report to the Secretary of Labor and
Workforce Development information regarding their use of funds,
workforce training outcomes, and any other information required by
the secretary.
(j) By January 1, 2018, the Secretary of Labor and Workforce
Development shall post a report on the agency's Internet Web site
that aggregates the information provided by the grant recipients,
including, but not limited to, the overall success of the grant
programs.
14601.3. In implementing the initiative, the Secretary of Labor
and Workforce Development may fund a project that uses a model that
was previously funded as a pilot project through the Workforce
Accelerator, the Supervised Population Workforce Training Program,
SlingShot, or other existing programs, to the extent that the goals,
measures, and metrics are sufficiently aligned, so as to:
(a) Serve the same client base.
(b) Address the needs of individuals who face multiple barriers to
employment to receive remedial education and work readiness skills.
(c) Have an end goal of preparing those individuals for further
training that results in apprenticeship or middle-skill employment
opportunities. Eligible applicants for programs under this section
shall exclusively be joint applications from one or more workforce
investment boards and one or more community-based organizations.