PEER
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
Discussion of 2009 PEER Report: A
Review of Mississippi’s Implementation
of the Workforce Investment Act
PEER
Briefing Outline
• Background: Description of Workforce
Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 [P.L. 105-220]
• Mississippi’s Implementation of the Act
• Holding the Act Accountable for Results
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Background: Description of WIA
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Purpose of WIA (global)
• To provide workforce development services to
employers and workers resulting in:
– reduced dependency on public assistance;
– improved quality of the workforce; and,
– enhanced productivity and competitiveness of
the U.S.
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Purpose of WIA (individual)
• To increase participants’ occupational skills,
resulting in increased:
– employment;
– employment retention; and,
– earnings
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Major Components of WIA
• 3 program areas:
– Adults (age 18 and older);
– Dislocated workers (laid off and unlikely to return to previous
employment); and
– Youth (age 14-18)
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Major Components of WIA, cont.
• Provides broader range of services than Job Training
Partnership Act:
– Core service requirements (e.g., outreach, assessment of
skills and needs, job search, placement assistance)
– Intensive services requirements (e.g., comprehensive
assessments, development of individual employment plans,
occupational skills training, on-the-job training, supportive
services such as child care)
• “One-stop-shop:” customers must be able to access
services at a single location in their neighborhoods
• Shift in program responsibility from state to locals7
The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Major Components of WIA, cont.
• Creation of state workforce investment boards (SWIBs)
– must develop 5 year strategic plans
– must designate LWIB areas
• Creation of local workforce investment boards (LWIBs)
– required business majority and business chair (over 12,000
employers serve on SWIBs and over 550 LWIBs nationwide)
– businesses help to ensure that the system prepares people for
current and future jobs by training the workforce to meet their
skill needs
– conduct local labor market analyses to understand demand and
trends in the market8
The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
WIA: Pennsylvania Example
• Sectoral approach used to target WIA resources:
– identify industries with strongest upcoming need
for skilled workers and potential for growth
– train workforce to meet their demands
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
WIA: Pennsylvania Example, cont.
• Industry Need:
– Manufacturers in Berks County region losing
skilled industrial maintenance workers to
retirement;
– Inadequate pipeline of new entrants;
– Shifting job requirements: need for cross-trained
technicians with more advanced technical skills
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
WIA: Pennsylvania Example, cont.
• Training Solution:
– Employers partnered with community colleges,
secondary career and technology centers, and
LWIBs to address need for workers skilled in
mechatronics (combines mechanical, electrical
and controls engineering with computer science);
– Developed an advanced manufacturing integrated
systems technician certification program; over
400 workers earned certification
– Later added associate and baccalaureate degree
programs11
The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Implementation of WIA in Mississippi
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
State WIA Administrator
• Governor designated Mississippi’s Department of
Employment Security as the state WIA Administrator
– MDES establishes statewide WIA policies
– MDES monitors the performance of the workforce areas
and submits quarterly and annual progress reports to U.S.
Dept. of Labor (DOL)
– MDES receives federal WIA allocations from DOL and
allocates the funds to the state’s four LWIBs
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Mississippi WIA Funding Allocations
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Mississippi WIA Funding Allocations, cont.
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Mississippi’s WIA Service System
• In 2008:
– 53 Workforce Investment Network (WIN) Job Centers;
– 14 E-WIN access points at public libraries;
– access to Mississippi Online Job Opportunities (MOJO)
from any location with internet access
• MDES functions as the one-stop operator of the
majority of centers
• “One-stop” partners include: Department of
Education, Department of Rehabilitation Services,
and State Board for Community and Junior Colleges
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Holding WIA Accountable for Results
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
WIA Performance Accountability System
• WIA establishes “common measures” for the 3 programs
(adults, dislocated workers, and youth)
• Data collected from Unemployment Insurance (UI) wage
records
• In setting performance goals (negotiated with DOL), the
act directs the state and local areas to take into account
factors affecting performance such as differences in
economic conditions, characteristics of participants, and
services to be provided
• DOL considers a state in compliance if it meets at least
80% of the negotiated performance goal 18
The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Common Measures for Adults and Dislocated
Workers
• Entered employment rate: of unemployed
participants: # employed in 1st quarter after exit quarter
• Employment retention rate: of those participants
employed in 1st quarter after exit quarter: # employed
in both 2nd and 3rd quarters after exit quarter
• Average earnings: of participants employed in 1st, 2nd,
and 3rd quarters after exit quarter: total earnings in 2nd
plus 3rd quarters after the exit quarter
Divided by # participants who exit during quarter19
The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Mississippi’s Performance on the Common
Measures: AdultsProgram
Year
Entered
Employment
Rate
Employment
Retention Rate
Average
Earnings*
2001 86.9 84.0 3,305
2002 83.5 83.6 2,980
2003 78.4 85.1 2,675
2004 71.9 84.1 2,584
2005 66.8 76.6 2,459
2006 62.4 75.5 9,334
2007 63.5 79.7 9,818
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
* Changed from “increase in average earnings” to “average earnings” in 2006
PEER
Mississippi’s Performance on the Common
Measures: Dislocated WorkersProgram
Year
Entered
Employment
Rate
Employment
Retention Rate
Average
Earnings*
2001 95.4 89.4 95.6%
2002 91.6 86.9 121%
2003 83.5 88.9 122.5%
2004 76.6 87 121.5%
2005 70.3 79.7 $857
2006 63.5 77.5 $10,597
2007 65.9 82.1 $11,148
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
* Changed from “increase in average earnings” to “average earnings” in 2006
PEER
WIA Performance Accountability System:
Common Measures for Youth
• Placement in employment or education
– Of those not in post-secondary education or employment
at date of participation: # of participants employed,
enrolled in post-secondary education or advanced
training/occupational skills training in 1st quarter after
exit quarter
• Attainment of a degree or certificate
– Of those enrolled in education: # participants who attain
a diploma, GED, or certificate by end of 3rd quarter after
exit quarter
Divided by # of participants who exit during quarter 22
The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Common Measures for Youth, cont.
• Literacy or numeracy gains
– Of out-of-school youth deficient in basic skills:
# of participants who increase one or more
functioning levels/ # of participants who have
completed a year in the program plus the # of
participants who exit before completing a year
in the program
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Mississippi’s Performance on the Common
Measures: Youth
Program
Year
Placement (in
employment or
education)
Attainment (of
a degree or
certificate)
Literacy or
Numeracy Gains
2005 53.6 42.1 38.7
2006 76.4 77.7 14
2007 79.4 70.7 66.6
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Increase in Number of WIA Participants
who Entered Employment
• During period of PY 2000- PY 2007:
– 153,783 WIA participants entered employment
• Adults: 78,180
• Dislocated Workers: 69,728
• Youth: 5,875
• The number of WIA participants who became
employed increased from 872 in PY 2001 to
49,174 in PY 2007
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Performance Accountability System:
Customer Satisfaction
• Surveys conducted after conclusion of participation
in workforce investment activities
• MDES also hired “mystery shoppers” to evaluate
customer service at the WIN centers, based on:
– Job seeker visits (finding: centers hard to find due to lack
of signage)
– Job seeker calls (majority of centers scored “8” or above)
– Employer calls (majority of centers scored “7” or above)
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Limitations to WIA Performance
Monitoring
• Data reported to DOL’s national participant
database, the Workforce Investment Act
Standardized Records Data (WIASARD)
• GAO and DOL expressed concerns about
completeness and accuracy of data in WIASARD
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Limitations to WIA Performance
Monitoring, cont.
• Data source (UI) is not available on all workers
• GAO found that states are selecting which
participants they include in their reporting
• Data does not differentiate between effectiveness
of the different services that participants receive
• Common measures do not reflect on the more
global objectives; e.g., improved quality of
workforce, effectiveness of WIA programs in
reducing un/underemployment28
The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Mississippi Employment and Unemployment Data
(7/90-7/11)
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
Mississippi Unemployment Rates (7/90-7/11)
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
WIA Participants who Entered Employment in
Comparison to # Unemployed
Program Year
Total WIA
Participants who
Entered
Employment
Total Unemployed
Persons
Percentage of
Unemployed
Served
2001 872 64,925 1.30%
2002 5,710 85,701 6.70%
2003 11,171 89,585 12.50%
2004 22,670 82,873 27.40%
2005 31,055 95,227 32.60%
2006 33,131 84,110 39.40%
2007 49,174 81,350 60.40%
Total 153,783 583,771 26.30%
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
PEER Efficiency Review
• PEER concluded that through more efficient use of
technology (e.g., establishment of call centers,
automated services) MDES has become more
efficient in its delivery of employment services
• From 2000 through 2008, there were:
– 21 fewer service delivery sites;
– 15% fewer MDES employees (539 in 2000 vs. 460
in 2008) providing employment services to
significantly more program participants
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review
PEER
PEER Efficiency Review
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The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review