Chapter 176
2016 -- S 2476 AS AMENDED
Enacted 06/28/2016

A N   A C T
RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- GOVERNOR'S WORKFORCE BOARD RHODE ISLAND

Introduced By: Senators Conley, Lombardo, Archambault, McCaffrey, and Metts
Date Introduced: February 11, 2016

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
     SECTION 1. Sections 42-102-6 and 42-102-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-102
entitled "Governor's Workforce Board Rhode Island" are hereby amended to read as follows:
     42-102-6. Powers and duties. -- (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
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
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
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 Bboard;
      (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, developmental, or other significant
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;
      (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;
      (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.
     42-102-10. State Career Pathways System. -- 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, developmental disabilities and hospitals, the office of library and information services,
community-based organizations, consumers, and the public-workforce system.
     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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