2015 -- S 0534

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LC001922

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2015

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - GOVERNOR'S WORKFORCE

BOARD

     Introduced By: Senators Conley, Miller, Goldin, Ottiano, and Lombardi

     Date Introduced: February 26, 2015

     Referred To: Senate Labor

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 42-102-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-102 entitled "Rhode

Island Human Resource Investment Council [Effective February 1, 2015]" is hereby amended to

read as follows:

     42-102-6. Powers and duties. [Effective February 1, 2015.] -- (a) Strategic statewide

employment and training plan.

      (1) The board shall meet with other entities involved with career and technical education,

workforce development, and career training and shall be responsible for the development of a

comprehensive, and cohesive statewide employment-and-training plan. The strategic, statewide

employment-and-training plan shall include goals and objectives for serving the state's existing

and emerging workforce utilizing all state and federal workforce development programs. The

board shall take into consideration the needs of all segments of the state's citizenry in establishing

goals and training objectives, including the workforce needs of the state's employers.

      (2) The strategic statewide employment and training plan shall be developed biennially

and shall cover the subsequent, two (2) fiscal years. Said biennial plans shall be submitted on

November 15. The biennial plan shall outline goals and objectives of the coordinated programs

system, major priorities needed for the next two-year (2) period, and policies and requirements

necessary to meet those priorities. The board shall provide a funding plan necessary to achieve

system priorities and serve the anticipated number of participants and shall identify the general

revenue funds necessary to meet program needs, taking into account anticipated federal, private,

and other sources of funds. The biennial plan shall incorporate the annual unified workforce

development system report required pursuant to subsection (f) in those years in which both

reports are due.

      (3) The board shall develop and maintain a comprehensive inventory and analysis of

workforce development activities in the state to support the biennial statewide employment and

training plan. The analysis shall include, but not be limited to, an examination of the populations

being served across the different employment and training and adult education programs across

the state; the number of participants being served by these programs; the type of services

provided; and the eligibility requirements of each of these programs. The analysis shall also

identify the funding sources (all sources) used in these programs; the service providers within the

state; as well as the range of services provided. The analysis shall also examine the employer role

in workforce development activities, including, but not limited to, how employer needs are

assessed, benefits employers receive for partnering with workforce development organizations,

and the role employers play in developing programs and providing training.

      (4) The board shall establish and convene an advisory group to assist in the development

of this comprehensive inventory and analysis that consists of stakeholders and organizations with

specific knowledge and expertise in the area of workforce development.

      (5) All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish advice and information,

documentary or otherwise, to the board and its agents as is deemed necessary or desirable by the

board to facilitate the purposes of the board, including the development of the statewide,

employment-and-training plan.

      (6) Elements of the statewide employment and training plan established pursuant to

subsection (a) of this section may inform the development of the state workforce investment plan

required pursuant to § 42-102-6(d)(2)(i).

      (b) Performance management and coordination of employment-and-training programs.

      (1) The board shall establish statewide policies, definitions, objectives, goals, and

guidelines for the coordination of all employment-and-training programs and related services and

programs within the state, including:

      (i) The state department of labor and training programs, sponsored under the Workforce

Investment Act of 1998, Wagner-Peyser Act, 29 U.S.C. 49 et seq., the Trade Act of 2002, and

any other employment-related educational program administered by the state department of labor

and training;

      (ii) The state department of human services training programs, sponsored under the

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Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Title IV of the Social Security Act; the Supplemental

Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training Program; Vocational

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and any other employment-and-training and related services and

employment-related educational programs administered by the state's department of human

services;

      (iii) Employment and training programs sponsored under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational

Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq., the Federal Adult Education Act, Title II of the Workforce

Investment Act of 1998 and any other employment-related educational programs administered by

the board of education;

      (iv) The state department of corrections training programs for ex-offenders to help them

reintegrate into the community and re-enter employment;

      (v) Projects and services funded through the job development fund pursuant to § 42-102-

6(e)(1);

      (vi) All other employment-and-training and related services and employment-related

educational programs, either presently existing or hereinafter established that are administered by

any state agencies, departments, or councils; and

      (vii) Programs included within subsections (b)(1)(i) through (b)(1)(vi) of this section

shall be referred herein collectively as "the coordinated programs system".

      (2) With respect to plans for employment-and-training programs sponsored under the

federal Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq., and any other

employment-related educational programs administered by the board of education, the workforce

board and board of education shall establish a process for the development and preparation of all

these plans and the board of education shall approve the plan subject to review and comment by

the workforce board; provided, however, that the responsibilities and duties of the board of

education, as set forth in the general laws, shall not be abridged.

      (3) With respect to plans for the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Program,

SNAP Employment and Training Program, Vocational Rehabilitation Services, and any other

employment-and-training and related programs administered by the state's department of human

services, the authority and responsibilities of the department as the single state agency under

Titles IV-A, 42 U.S.C. 601 through 617, and IV-F, 42 U.S.C. 681 through 687 [repealed] of the

Federal Social Security Act shall not be abridged.

      (4) With respect to plans for training ex-offenders to help them reintegrate into the

community and re-enter employment, and any other employment-and-training programs

administered by the state's department of corrections, the responsibilities and duties of the

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department, as set forth in the general laws, shall not be abridged.

      (5) The board shall review, comment on, or approve as appropriate all plans for

employment and training within the coordinated-programs system. The board shall establish

policies and performance goals for the coordinated-programs system. These policies and goals

shall include, but not be limited to:

      (i) Establishing and communicating uniform policies and consistent terms and

definitions;

      (ii) Gathering and distributing information from, and to, all agencies, departments, and

councils within the coordinated-programs system;

      (iii) Standardizing and coordinating program planning, evaluation, budgeting, and

funding processes;

      (iv) Recommending structural and procedural changes;

      (v) Establishing performance goals and measurements for monitoring the effectiveness

of the programs provided through the coordinated-programs system; and

      (vi) Reconciling diverse agency, departmental, or council goals and developing priorities

among those goals.

      (c) Comprehensive system-improvement plan.

      (1) The 2015 unified workforce development system report required pursuant to § 42-

102-6(f) and due on November 15, 2015 shall include an additional, comprehensive system-

improvement plan to facilitate the seamless and coordinated delivery of workforce services in this

state, consistent with the goals and objectives of the board's statewide employment-and-training

plan. In developing the comprehensive, system-improvement plan, the board shall review the

roles, responsibilities, and functions of all state employment-and-training programs. The study

shall identify any gaps in the services provided by those programs; any barriers to integration and

cooperation of these programs; and any other matters that adversely affect the seamless delivery

of workforce-development systems in the state.

      (2) The board shall include in the comprehensive, system-improvement plan:

      (i) A list of specific barriers, whether structural, regulatory, or statutory, that adversely

affect the seamless, and coordinated, delivery of workforce-development programs and services

in this state, as well as recommendations to overcome or eliminate these barriers; and

      (ii) Recommendations for providing, at a minimum, board comment and review of all

state employment-and-training programs, to ensure such programs are consistent with the board's

statewide employment-and-training plan, and meet the current, and projected, workforce demands

of this state, including programs that, pursuant to state or federal law or regulation, must remain

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autonomous.

      (3) The recommendations developed by the board under subsection (c)(1) must identify

the state agency or department that is responsible for implementing each recommendation; and

include a time frame for the implementation of each recommendation. The governor may include

such recommendations in his or her proposed budget the following fiscal year.

      (d) Workforce investment act responsibilities.

      (1) The board shall assume the duties and responsibilities of the state workforce

investment board established pursuant to Executive Order 05-18 dated September 22, 2005, as

outlined in subsection(c)(2).

      (2) The board shall assist the governor and the general assembly in:

      (i) Developing a state workforce-investment plan for the purposes of the Workforce

Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) and the Wagner-Peyser Act;

      (ii) Actively promoting and coordinating private-sector involvement in the workforce-

investment system through the development of partnerships among state agencies, the business

community, and the Board;

      (iii) Ensuring that the current, and projected, workforce needs of Rhode Island

employers inform and advise Rhode Island's education and workforce-development system;

      (iv) Providing oversight of local workforce-investment boards, whose primary role in the

workforce investment system is to deliver employment, training, and related education services in

their respective local area; and

      (v) Developing a statewide system of activities that are funded under the WIA or carried

out through the one-stop delivery system, including:

      (A) Assuring coordination and non duplication among the programs and activities

carried out by one-stop partners;

      (B) Reviewing local workforce-investment plans;

      (C) Designating local workforce-investment areas in accordance with federal law;

      (D) Developing allocation formulas for the distribution of funds for adult employment-

and-training activities, and youth activities to local areas; and creating and expanding job and

career opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities;

      (E) Developing comprehensive state performance measures as prescribed by federal law,

including state-adjusted levels of performance, to assess the effectiveness of the workforce-

investment activities in the state;

      (F) Preparing the annual report to the Secretary of Labor described in WIA;

      (G) Developing the statewide employment statistics system;

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      (H) Developing an application for incentive grants;

      (I) Carrying out the responsibilities of a local board as outlined in WIA; and

      (J) Addressing any other issue requiring input from the board under the provisions of

WIA.

      (e) Job-development fund responsibilities.

      (1) The board shall allocate monies from the job-development fund for projects to

implement the recommendations of the board consistent with the statewide employment-and-

training plan established pursuant to § 42-102-6(a).

      (f) Unified workforce development system report.

      (1) The board shall produce and submit an annual, unified, workforce-development

system report to the governor, the speaker of the house, the president of the senate, and the

secretary of state. The report shall be submitted annually on November 15. The report shall cover

activity having taken place the preceding fiscal year ending June 30 and shall include:

      (i) A fiscal and programmatic report for the governor's workforce board covering the

previous fiscal year including:

      (A) A summary of the board's activities and accomplishments during the previous fiscal

year;

      (B) A summary of clerical, administrative, professional, or technical reports received by

the board during the previous fiscal year, if applicable;

      (C) A briefing on anticipated activities in the upcoming fiscal year;

      (D) A consolidated financial statement of all funds received, and expended, by the board,

including the source of funds, during the previous fiscal year;

      (E) A listing of any staff supported by these funds;

      (ii) A unified, expenditure-and-program report for statewide employment-and-training

programs and related services including:

      (A) Expenditures by agencies for programs included in § 42-102-6(b)(1), including

information regarding the number of individuals served by each program; demographic

information by gender, race and ethnicity; outcome and program-specific performance

information as determined by the board, and such other information as may be determined by the

board, including, but not limited to, the attainment of credentials;

      (2) Beginning November 15, 2015, program expenditures included in the unified,

workforce-development-system report shall be categorized as administrative, program delivery,

or other costs; the report shall further include information on the cost-per-individual served

within each program, through a manner determined by the board;

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      (3) All state and local agencies, departments, or council or similar organizations within

the coordinated-programs system, shall be required to provide the board with the information

necessary to produce the unified workforce-development-system report.

     SECTION 2. Section 42-102-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-102 entitled "Rhode

Island Human Resource Investment Council" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     42-102-10. State Career Pathways System. [Effective February 1, 2015.] -- The

workforce board ("board") shall support and oversee statewide efforts to develop and expand

career pathways that enable individuals to secure employment within a specific industry or

occupational sector and to advance over time to successively higher levels of education and

employment in that sector. Towards this purpose the board shall convene an advisory committee

comprised of representatives from business, labor, adult education, secondary education, higher

education, the department of corrections, the executive office of health and human services, the

department of behavioral healthcare, development disabilities and hospitals, the office of library

and information services, community-based organizations, consumers, and the public-workforce

system.

     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - GOVERNOR'S WORKFORCE

BOARD

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     This act would require the governor's workforce board to expand job and career

opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In addition, it would

add representatives from the department of behavioral healthcare and developmental disabilities

and hospitals to the advisory committee of the state career pathways systems.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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