BILL NUMBER: SB 410 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 27, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 20, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Ducheny
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to amend Sections 9600.5, 14000, and 14230 of, and to add
Section 14230.7 to, the Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to
workforce investment.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 410, as amended, Ducheny. California Workforce Investment Act:
federal funding.
(1) The federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 provides for
workforce investment activities, including activities in which states
may participate. Existing law contains various programs for job
training and employment investment, including work incentive and
employment training outreach programs. Existing law establishes local
workforce investment boards to implement and administer various
workforce training and development programs in the state, and
requires those local boards to establish at least one comprehensive
one-stop career center in each local workforce investment area.
Existing law further declares that it is the intent of the
Legislature to deliver comprehensive workforce services to
jobseekers, students, and employers at those comprehensive one-stop
career centers to, among other things, make job outreach, intake, job
search and placement assistance, and other related services
available in one location.
This bill would also declare that it is the intent of the
Legislature that other intensive services, such as out-of-area job
search assistance, literacy activities related to workforce
readiness, relocation assistance, internships, financial
assistance, and work experience programs also be provided at
those one-stop career centers to individuals who have met specified
requirements, based on an assessment or individual employment plan.
The bill would also prescribe eligibility
criteria for recipients of financial assistance in the form of
needs-related payments and would require the one-stop career
centers, given sufficient resources, to take various actions with
respect to the coordination and delivery of supportive services, as
described, to individuals who are enrolled in job training programs
, and . The bill also would require
local boards to develop a policy on supportive services, as
specified. By imposing new duties on local entities, the bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing law requires the Employment Development Department to
report annually to the Governor, the Legislature, and the California
Workforce Investment Board, no later than November 30, regarding the
training expenditures made by local workforce investment boards in
the prior fiscal year, as provided.
This bill would revise the above reporting requirement, as
specified.
(3) Existing law establishes the California Workforce Investment
Board (CWIB), and requires the CWIB to assist the Governor with
promoting the development, oversight, and continuous development of a
well-educated and highly skilled workforce, and development of the
State Workforce Investment Plan.
This bill would require the CWIB to develop policies, funding
recommendations, and strategies that will maximize funding across all
workforce programs for developing and enhancing the skills of
Californians in order to meet the needs of California's businesses,
as specified. The bill would require funding available through the
federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to be for
increasing training services, and would require training priorities
to be consistent with those identified in that act.
(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) California's unemployment rate has increased dramatically in
recent months, and now stands at a rate of approximately 10.5 percent
statewide. Over 30 of California's counties have unemployment rates
at or above 10 percent, and in the last year, approximately 650,000
Californians have lost their jobs while the total number of
unemployed individuals in the state has risen to over 1.7 million.
(b) Ensuring access to, and increasing the availability of, job
training, supportive services needed for unemployed individuals to
successfully enter and complete job training programs, and work
experience for youth and adults are vital to California's economy and
will help to ensure the survival of the state's businesses and
industry during challenging times.
(c) Federal funding assistance for employment training is
critically needed to put Californians back to work.
(d) Leveraging existing resources, through collaboration among
local workforce investment boards, community colleges, adult
education programs, including adult basic education, English as a
second language programs, regional occupational programs and centers,
and other publicly funded educational institutions, in addition to
registered apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs, is an
effective way to increase the number of Californians who have access
to job training opportunities.
SEC. 2. Section 9600.5 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
amended to read:
9600.5. The director of the Employment Development Department
shall report annually to the Governor, the Legislature, and the
California Workforce Investment Board, no later than November 30,
regarding the training expenditures made by local workforce
investment boards in the prior fiscal year. This shall include funds
made available to California through the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The department shall
specify what expenditures qualify as training expenditures,
including, but not limited to, the price paid for classroom
instruction or other training opportunities, contracted services for
customized training and on-the-job training, development of training
materials, and services provided in one-stop career centers, such as
supportive services, including coaching and case management, that
enable a participant to attend and complete training. The annual
report shall specify the total amount of federal funding provided to
the state and to each of the local workforce investment boards for
the adult and dislocated persons programs and the amount within each
program expended for training services. The report shall also include
training expenditures incurred by organizations funded by the
Governor's 15 percent discretionary fund from the Workforce
Investment Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-220).
SEC. 3. Section 14000 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
amended to read:
14000. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that, in order for
California to remain prosperous and globally competitive, it needs to
have a highly skilled workforce.
(b) The Legislature recognizes all of the following:
(1) California must transform its current job training, job
placement, and vocational education programs into an integrated,
accessible, and accountable workforce investment system that can
effectively serve job seekers, students, and employers.
(2) California's workforce investment system must provide lifelong
learning for all Californians, promote self-sufficiency, link
education and training to economic development, and prepare
California to successfully compete in the global economy.
(3) The programs described in paragraphs (1) and (2) must be
accessible to all Californians, including persons with economic,
physical, or other barriers to employment.
(c) The California Workforce Investment Board shall develop
policies, funding recommendations, and strategies that will maximize
funding across all workforce programs for developing and enhancing
the skills of Californians in order to meet the needs of California's
businesses. To do this, it shall use the following guiding
principles:
(1) Investing in regional workforce and economic development
strategies to build prosperous communities and competitive
industries.
(2) Providing all Californians with access to high-quality
postsecondary education and skills training.
(3) Providing working adults with opportunities to move up the
skill ladder.
(4) Linking workforce preparation and institutions to create
pathways to high wage jobs.
(5) Aligning program goals and measures to achieve a shared vision
of California's future and to ensure accountability.
(d) Individuals who are recently laid off from work need to
quickly access job training and develop necessary skills to reenter
the labor force. It is the intent of the Legislature that local
workforce investment boards and community colleges develop innovative
strategies to provide training that accommodates the needs of
unemployed or underemployed adults, can provide certificates and
credentials through flexible schedules, and implement new approaches
to delivering job skills training and education.
(e) Priority for funding available through the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) to local
workforce investment boards shall be used for increasing
training services insofar as is consistent with that act. This
funding shall not supplant funds currently being spent on training,
nor decrease the leveraging of resources among training institutions
and workforce investment boards. Training priorities shall be
consistent with those identified in the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5), including green jobs and
health care.
SEC. 4. Section 14230 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
amended to read:
14230. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that:
(1) California deliver comprehensive workforce services to
jobseekers, students, and employers through a system of one-stop
career centers.
(2) Services and resources target high-wage industry sectors with
career advancement opportunities.
(3) Universal access to core services shall be available to adult
residents regardless of income, education, employment barriers, or
other eligibility requirements. Core services shall include, but not
be limited to:
(A) Outreach, intake, and orientation to services available
through the one-stop delivery system.
(B) Initial assessment of skill levels, aptitudes, abilities, and
supportive service needs.
(C) Job search and placement assistance.
(D) Career counseling, where appropriate.
(E) Provision of labor market information.
(F) Provision of program performance and cost information on
eligible providers of training services and local area performance
measures.
(G) Provision of information on supportive services in the local
area.
(H) Provision of information on the filing of claims for
unemployment compensation benefits and unemployment compensation
disability benefits.
(I) Assistance in establishing eligibility for welfare-to-work
activities pursuant to Section 11325.8 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, and financial aid assistance.
(4) State and federally funded workforce education, training, and
employment programs shall be integrated in the one-stop delivery
system to achieve universal access to the core services described in
paragraph (3).
(5) (A) Intensive services shall be available to individuals who
have completed at least one core service, have been unable to obtain
employment, and who have been determined, by the one-stop operator,
as being in need of more intensive services, or who are employed but
in need of intensive services to obtain or retain employment to
achieve self-sufficiency.
(B) Intensive services may include comprehensive and specialized
assessments of skill levels and service needs, including learning
disability screening, the development of individual employment plans,
counseling, career planning, and short-term prevocational services
to prepare an individual for training and employment.
(C) Other intensive services such as out-of-area job search
assistance, literacy activities related to workforce readiness,
relocation assistance, internships, and work experience programs may
be made available to individuals who have met the requirements for
intensive services based on an assessment or individual employment
plan.
(D) For the purposes of this paragraph, "work experience" means a
planned, structured, learning experience that takes place in a
workplace for a limited period of time. Work experience may be paid
or unpaid, as appropriate. A work experience workplace may be in the
private for-profit sector, the nonprofit sector, or the public
sector. Labor standards shall apply in any work experience where an
employee-employer relationship, as defined by the Fair Labor
Standards Act (29 U.S.C. Sec. 201, et seq.), exists.
(6) Training services shall be made available to individuals who
have met the requirements for intensive services, have been unable to
obtain or retain employment through these services, and who, after
an interview, evaluation, or assessment, are determined to be in need
of training, and have selected a program of services directly linked
to occupations in demand in the local or regional area. Training
services may include:
(A) Occupational skill training including training for
nontraditional employment.
(B) On-the-job training.
(C) Programs that combine workplace training with related
instruction.
(D) Training programs operated by the private sector.
(E) Skill upgrading and retraining.
(F) Entrepreneurial training.
(G) Job readiness training.
(H) Adult education and literacy activities, including vocational
English as a second language, provided in combination with
subparagraphs (A) through (G), inclusive.
(I) Preapprenticeship and registered apprenticeship training. For
the purposes of this section, entrance into a registered
apprenticeship program shall be considered placement into a job.
(J) Customized training conducted by an employer or a group of
employers or a labor-management training partnership with a
commitment to employ an individual upon completion of the training.
(7) As prescribed in the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, when
funds are limited, priority for intensive services and training
services shall be given to adult recipients of public assistance and
other low-income adults, such as CalWORKs participants.
(b) Each local workforce investment board shall establish at least
one full service one-stop career center in the local workforce
investment area. Each full service one-stop career center shall have
all entities specified in Section 14231 as partners and shall provide
jobseekers with integrated employment, education, training, and job
search services. Additionally, employers will be provided with access
to comprehensive career and labor market information, job placement,
economic development information, performance and program
information on service providers, and other such services as the
businesses in the community may require.
(c) Local boards may also establish affiliated and specialized
centers, as defined in the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, which
shall act as portals into the larger local one-stop system, but are
not required to have all of the partners specified for full service
one-stop centers.
(d) Each local board shall develop a policy for identifying
individuals who, because of their skills or experience, should be
referred immediately to training services. This policy, along with
the methods for referral of individuals between the one-stop
operators and the one-stop partners for appropriate services and
activities, shall be contained in the memorandum of understanding
between the local board and the one-stop partners.
(e) In light of California's diverse population, each one-stop
career center should have the capacity to provide the appropriate
services to the full range of languages and cultures represented in
the community served by the one-stop career center.
SEC. 5. Section 14230.7 is added to the Unemployment Insurance
Code, to read:
14230.7. (a) (1) One-stop career centers,
if given sufficient resources, shall coordinate with training
providers and educational institutions and agencies to deliver
comprehensive supportive services to individuals enrolled in job
training programs. Supportive services may include, but are not
limited to, transportation, child care, dependent care, housing, and
needs-related payments that are necessary to enable a person to
participate in the workforce training and development activities
authorized under this division. In order to
The provision of needs-related payments that provide financial
assistance to participants for the purpose of enabling those
individuals to participate in training is one of the supportive
services authorized by Section 134(e)(3) of the federal Workforce
Investment Act of 1998.
(2) To receive needs-related
payments, adult participants shall meet all of the following
criteria:
(1)
(A) Be unemployed.
(2)
(B) Not qualify for, or have ceased qualifying for,
unemployment compensation.
(3)
(C) Be enrolled in a program of training services.
(3) (A) To receive needs-related payments, a dislocated worker
shall meet all of the following criteria:
(i) Be unemployed.
(ii) Not qualify for, or have ceased qualifying for, unemployment
compensation or assistance under the federal Trade Assistance Act of
1994 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 6211 et seq.).
(iii) Be enrolled in a program of training services authorized
under the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec.
2801 et seq.) by the end of the 13th week after the worker's most
recent layoff that resulted in a determination of the worker's
eligibility as a dislocated worker, or, if later, by the end of the
eighth week after the worker is informed that a short-term layoff
will exceed six months.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph "dislocated worker" means a
dislocated worker as defined in Section 2801(9) of Title 29 of the
United States Code.
(b) Local boards shall develop a policy, in consultation with
one-stop career center partners and other community service
providers, to ensure resource and service coordination in the local
workforce area. The policy shall address procedures for the referral
of unemployed individuals to providers of supportive services and
funding options to cover the cost of providing those services.
(c) Supportive services under this section shall only be provided
to individuals who are enrolled in training services, but who are
unable to obtain those supportive services from other state programs
that offer similar services.
(d) Local boards may establish limits on the provision of
supportive services pursuant to this section, including a limit on
the maximum amount of funding and maximum length of time for
providing support services to eligible participants.
SEC. 6. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.