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Approve modifications to the North Bay Regional Workforce Plan
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Published Notice Required? Yes _ _ No X _ _
Public Hearing Required? Yes _ _ No _ X _
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve the final North Bay Regional Workforce Plan modifications.
SUMMARY:
The Workforce Development Board (WDB) and the Solano County Board of Supervisors approved the 5-Year Regional and Local Plans in 2017. Under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), a biennial update of regional and local workforce plans is required in order to ensure plans remain current and account for “changes in labor market and economic conditions or in other factors affecting the implementation of the local plan.” The State of California has modified their state plan, which requires that local boards update their plans to keep them consistent with the policy direction of the state plan.
The state plan, approved by the U.S. Department of Labor on June 11, 2018 can be viewed online at <https://cwdb.ca.gov/plans_policies/state-plan-modifications/>. The Solano Board of Supervisors approved the local plan revisions on April 23, 2019.
Solano County must also submit a modified regional workforce plan to the state as part of the North Bay Region. The region includes Solano, Napa, Marin, Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino Counties. The Solano Board of Supervisors has the authority to approve the regional plan on behalf of Solano County. The regional plan may also be viewed at: <http://solanoemployment.org/sites/default/files/attachments/NBEC-Workforce-Corrections-Region-Plan-Modification_Final_20190212.pdf>
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The WDB does not receive general funds from the County. The WDB submits a plan for grant activities, service levels, and use of funds, to the State of California on behalf of the County. The regional workforce planning process has been funded through Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) discretionary regional funds.
DISCUSSION:
The California Workforce Development Board (CWDB) and the Employment Development Department (EDD) released a directive outlining procedures required for a two-year modification of the regional and local workforce plans under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Research Development Associates (RDA) was contracted to complete the regional plan modifications.
The required and optional modifications to the regional workforce plan are as follows:
• Required and elective modifications to align, coordinate, and integrate reentry and workforce services to the formerly incarcerated and other justice-involved individuals.
• Required content detailing compliance with State Plan guidance and state law relating to Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3) pre-apprenticeship partnerships.
• Required self-assessment using Indicators of Regional Coordination and Alignment.
• Other changes pursuant to changes in labor market and economic conditions or in other factors affecting the implementation of regional plans.
Strategies for Serving Justice-Involved Individuals
The main focus of the regional plan is to outline engagement strategies for serving justice-involved individuals. These strategies guided the region’s proposal for the state’s Prison to Employment Initiative as well.
Below are the strategies identified for the North Bay region:
1. Develop consistent communication, collaboration, and information sharing systems among partners to promote sustainable and successful implementation of workforce-corrections services and activities.
2. Increase and improve efforts to identify, recruit, enroll, and track the progress of justice-involved individuals receiving direct employment services.
3. Increase the capacity of WDB staff and partners with training to better serve the justice-involved population.
4. Align training opportunities for justice-involved individuals with regional labor market trends and needs.
5. Align and fund services that reduce barriers for accessing employment services and maintaining employment for justice-involved individuals.
6. Provide paid “Earn & Learn” training services that will accelerate career development success and advancement for justice-involved individuals.
RDA solicited a significant amount of stakeholder engagement in each of the six North Bay counties. The regional plan was available for public comment from February 7 - March 6, 2019. No content changes or comments in disagreement were received from the public. The Solano Workforce Development Board approved the proposed regional plan modifications on May 17, 2019.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board may choose not to approve the regional plan modifications. This is not recommended because the regional workforce plan modifications have completed the Workforce Development Board approval process and public comment process.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The County Administrator’s Office has been consulted and concurs with the recommendation.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION