Summary of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998

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Summary of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (See entire summary at The National Governor's Association. Below are main points and excerpts mentioning adult education.)

Summary and Description of Final Compromise

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (H.R. 1385) rewrites current federal statutes governing programs of job training, adult education and literacy, and vocational rehabilitation, replacing them with streamlined and more flexible components of workforce development systems. Early versions of the legislation were said to promote "consolidation" of federal workforce investment programs, but leaders of the House-Senate conference committee spoke only of "coordination" of the programs in the compromise bill.

For the most part, the legislation maintains silos around individual programs, keeping them separate; the only major funded programs that were consolidated are the summer and year-round youth programs now operated under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). But a major emphasis of the legislation is to strengthen the links - that is, improve coordination - between the workforce investment system and the adult education, literacy, and vocational rehabilitation programs reauthorized in the bill and the vocational education programs addressed in separate legislation (H.R.1853). The bill links those programs in several ways:

• State Board.

A newly formulated State Workforce Board, appointed by and including the Governor, will have broad authority to guide development of a state's workforce investment system and coordinate the plans of federally funded programs. Business will hold a majority of seats, and representatives of 14 programs in education, public assistance, employment security, and job training will join employers, local elected officials, state legislators, economic development officials, labor unions, and the general public as members of the state board. Some current state workforce councils are "grandfathered" and will not be replaced.

• Local Boards.

New Area Workforce Boards will be established by local elected officials to work in partnership with them in setting policy for coordinated workforce investment systems in substate regions and labor market areas. The local partnership in each area also will design and oversee job training programs for adults, youth, and dislocated workers.

• One-Stop Systems.

The local partnership will establish a one-stop delivery system through which any citizen may look for a job, explore work preparation and career development services, and access a range of employment, training, and adult and occupational education programs that are required to offer their services through one-stop centers or related electronic systems, as well as other programs that must have the opportunity to participate.

• Unified State Plan.

States may integrate planning for the use of federal funds with unified plans for two or more of 15 workforce development programs. Federal agencies may not require a separate application for a program included in a unified plan that meets the requirements of federal law and regulations for each program.

• Shared Accountability.

Accountability under the legislation is based on performance standards that states could apply to the full range of workforce development programs. Performance measures and levels will be proposed by states and negotiated with the federal agencies to specify the results expected under the state's plans. The same approach will be used to set local performance standards in negotiations between local officials and the state. New incentive grants for high performance will be awarded to states on the basis of results achieved by workforce investment, adult education and literacy, and vocational education programs combined.

• Common Terms.

Common terms and definitions for performance measures and reporting systems will be developed by special groups of public and private interests from the federal, state, and local levels and across the range of related workforce programs.

• Waivers.

States will obtain waivers of administrative and process regulations in order to bridge the boundaries between separate programs. States also may obtain authority to grant such waivers to local workforce investment programs requesting them.

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[Under National Programs]

Repealers

The bill repeals the Adult Education Act, the Job Training Partnership Act, and a half-dozen other related minor federal program statutes.

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TITLE II--ADULT EDUCATION AND FAMILY LITERACY PROGRAMS

Purpose

The bill revises the purpose of the program as to assist adults to become literate and obtain the knowledge and skills necessary for employment and self-sufficiency, assist adults who are parents to obtain the educational skills necessary to become full partners in the educational development of their children, and assist adults in the completion of a secondary school education.

Allocation Of Funds To Eligible (State) Agencies

The bill provides an initial allotment of $100,000 for each outlying area in the Pacific and $250,000 for each eligible (state) agency. An additional allotment would be distributed on the basis of a population age 16 through 60, who are without a high school diploma or the equivalent, not currently required to be enrolled in school, and not currently enrolled in secondary school. No state's allotment would be less than 90 percent of its allotment in the preceding year.

Eligible Recipients

Entities eligible to receive grants from the eligible (state) agency include a local educational agency; a community-based organization of demonstrated effectiveness; an institution of higher education; volunteer literacy organizations of demonstrated effectiveness; a public or private nonprofit agency; other nonprofit institutions which have an ability to provide literacy services to adults and families; a library; public housing authorities; and a consortium of such agencies, organizations, or institutions. Grants must be made on a competitive basis.

Use Of Funds By Eligible (State) Agency

Funds may be used at the state level to operate professional development programs to improve the quality of instruction; provide technical assistance to eligible providers; provide technology assistance, including staff training, to eligible providers; support state or regional networks of literacy resource centers; monitor and evaluate the quality of and the improvement in, activities and services authorized under this section; develop and disseminate curricula; integrate literacy instruction and occupational skill training and promoting linkages with employers; linkages with postsecondary institutions; incentives for coordination and performance awards; other activities of Statewide significance, and coordination with existing support services designed to increase enrollment in, and successful completion of, adult education and literacy activities.

The bill requires eligible (state) agencies to collaborate where possible and avoid duplicating efforts in order to maximize the impact of activities carried out under this Act. Eligible (state) agencies must use not less than 82.5 percent of available funds for local grants and may use not more than 12.5 percent for State leadership activities and not more than 5 percent or $65,000 for administrative expenses. States must reserve an unspecified amount for corrections education, primarily criminal offenders who will be released within five years.

The bill requires eligible (state) agencies to use their federal grants to supplement and not supplant other public funds spent for adult education and literacy activities. It requires the fiscal effort per student or the aggregate expenditures for adult education and literacy activities within the State to be maintained at a level not less than 90 percent of the previous year. Grants to eligible agencies would be reduced in proportion to the amount the eligible agency failed to meet this requirement, but not below the national average per capita expenditure. One quarter of the federal grant to each eligible agency would be required to be matched with non-federal funds used for adult education and literacy activities.

Priorities And Preferences

The bill requires considering the following factors in awarding grants: whether they are based on sound research; past effectiveness of the provider in improving the literacy skills of adults and families; commitment of the provider to serve those most in need of services; whether the program is of sufficient intensity and duration for participants to achieve substantial learning gains; and whether the program effectively employs technology, provides learning in real-life contexts, is staffed by well trained personnel, is coordinated with other available resources, maintains a high-quality information management system, funds communities that have a demonstrated need for English literacy programs, and establishes measurable goals for client outcomes.

Use Of Funds By Eligible Recipients

The bill requires eligible (local) recipients receiving a grant to conduct one of the following activities: adult education and literacy services, including workplace literacy services; family services; and English literacy programs. For the first time, federal law specifically allows the use of funds for family literacy programs. The bill limits to 5 percent the amount of the grant available for planning, administration, personnel development and interagency coordination.

Eligible Agency Plan Requirements

The bill requires submission of a 5-year plan that includes an assessment to determine adult education needs, a description of the use of funds, evaluation procedures, a description of how the eligible agency will develop program strategies for populations such as low-income students, individuals with disabilities, single parents, etc., and assurances of coordination of adult education and job training programs within the State. It requires awarding at least one grant to providers who offer flexible schedules and necessary support services to enable individuals to participate in adult education and literacy activities and requires an effort to coordinate funds for support services before using adult education dollars to pay for them. The eligible agency plan also is required to describe the process used for public participation and comment consistent with the Senate amendment.

National Institute for Literacy

The bill would continue the National Institute for Literacy with few changes from current law. The agreement requires the Secretary to reserve 1.5 percent of the amount appropriated, but not more than $8,000,000, for the Institute.

National Activities--Department Of Education

National leadership activities include: technical assistance, dissemination of information on successful practices, improving the quality of adult education and literacy activities, research, demonstration programs, carrying out an independent evaluation and assessment of adult education and literacy activities, support efforts aimed at capacity building, collecting data and other activities to enhance the quality of adult education and literacy nationwide. The agreement requires the Secretary to reserve 1.5 percent of the amount appropriated, but not more than $8,000,000, for national leadership and evaluation activities.

Accountability

The bill requires eligible (state) agencies receiving funds under the Adult Education title to identify, in their plan, indicators and related levels of performance to be used to measure the State's progress in meeting the State's long-term goals. Upon submission of the plan, the Secretary of Education is authorized to negotiate with each eligible agency the expected levels of performance.

Core indicators of performance for adult education and family literacy programs include achievement in reading, writing, language acquisition, problem solving, etc.; receipt of a high school diploma or its equivalent; entry into a postsecondary school, job retraining program, employment or career advancement; attainment of the literacy skills and knowledge to become more actively involved with the education of their children, and such other measures as the eligible (state) agency wishes.

Eligible (state) agencies that exceed the benchmarks or demonstrate continuing progress toward meeting them are eligible to receive incentive grant funds.

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The bill requires eligible (state) agencies to use their federal grants to supplement and not supplant other public funds spent for adult education and literacy activities. It requires the fiscal effort per student or the aggregate expenditures for adult education and literacy activities within the State to be maintained at a level not less than 90 percent of the previous year. Grants to eligible agencies would be reduced in proportion to the amount the eligible agency failed to meet this requirement, but not below the national average per capita expenditure. One quarter of the federal grant to each eligible agency would be required to be matched with non-federal funds used for adult education and literacy activities.

Use Of Funds By Eligible Recipients

The bill requires eligible (local) recipients receiving a grant to conduct one of the following activities: adult education and literacy services, including workplace literacy services; family services; and English literacy programs. For the first time, federal law specifically allows the use of funds for family literacy programs. The bill limits to 5 percent the amount of the grant available for planning, administration, personnel development and interagency coordination.

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