February 2016 WASHINGTON UPDATE...Apprenticeship Training Fund: Renewing his request from the 2016...
Transcript of February 2016 WASHINGTON UPDATE...Apprenticeship Training Fund: Renewing his request from the 2016...
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In this Issue Fiscal Year 2017
Budget Analysis…1
Federal agencies
release final
requirements for
WIOA unified,
combined plans…9
DOL announces
revised submission
dates for WIOA state
plans, updates on
final rules…11
NSC submits
comments on DOL’s
Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking on Equal
Employment
Opportunity in
Apprenticeship…12
New grant will provide
childcare to parents
in training
programs…13
“The budget also
includes substantial
changes to the Pell
Grant program, calls
for Carl D. Perkins
Act (Perkins)
reauthorization…”
Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Analysis
On February 9, President Obama unveiled his fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget request,
outlining the Administration’s spending priorities for federal programs and activities,
beginning October 1, 2017.
The FY 2017 budget renews several major workforce and education proposals that
were included in the President’s FY 2016 budget, while providing modest increases or
level funding for most existing workforce programs. The budget also includes
substantial changes to the Pell Grant program, calls for Carl D. Perkins Act (Perkins)
reauthorization, and proposes increases to the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) block grant, along with policy changes that could expand access to
training. The President also proposes investments in expanding apprenticeship,
significant increases in funding for workforce data investments, and a focus on
“opportunity youth.”
While most of the new funding and policy proposals in the budget request are unlikely
to be part of the final 2017 funding bill, the budget does reinforce the importance of
skills investments as part of the President’s overall economic development legacy, and
helps lay the groundwork for key policy discussions that are likely to carry over into
the next Congress and Administration.
The President’s overall discretionary budget request is consistent with the budget
levels established under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 which increased budget
caps over sequestration levels by $50M in 2016 and $30M in FY 2017. However, the
revised FY 2017 funding levels under BBA are not significantly higher than current FY
2016 funding levels, so overall discretionary funding for workforce programs is
unlikely to see major increases.
Key Congressional leaders, including new Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), have expressed
interest in moving a joint budget resolution that is consistent with the BBA caps in an
effort to avoid the year-end spending battles that have characterized the
appropriations process in recent years. However, resistance from fiscal conservatives
February 2016
WASHINGTON UPDATE
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“The Administration
requested $3.525
billion in
discretionary
funding for ”Training
and Employment
Services” –
including WIOA
formula grants and
national programs
under DOL’s
Employment and
Training
Administration…”
who voted against the increased budget caps last year may complicate these efforts,
meaning that Congress may be unable to complete all of the FY 2017 bills by the end of
September. If lawmakers cannot complete work on appropriations before the start of
the fiscal year, it is likely that Congress will roll spending into a short-term continuing
resolution (CR) at current funding levels at least through the November elections, and
may potentially delay final funding decisions until early 2017 to allow the next
Administration to weigh in on spending priorities.
While uncertainty around the budget and appropriations process is nothing new for
the workforce field, the ongoing implementation of the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (WIOA), and potential reauthorizations for the Higher Education Act
and the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, make it more important
than ever for advocates to educate policymakers on the need for adequate workforce
and education investments.
National Skills Coalition hosted a webinar on Wednesday, February 17th with more
information on the President’s budget proposals and provided a preview of federal
skills policy in 2016. We will continue to provide updates to the field as the budget and
appropriations process unfolds.
Department of Labor
Overall, the President’s Budget Request would provide the Department of Labor
(DOL) with $12.8 billion in discretionary funding, an increase of about $627 million
over FY 2016 enacted levels. The Administration requested $3.525 billion in
discretionary funding for ”Training and Employment Services” – including WIOA
formula grants and national programs under DOL’s Employment and Training
Administration - an increase of about $320 million compared to FY 2016 enacted levels.
The budget would provide modest increases for a range of existing DOL workforce
programs, including $138 million in additional funding for the WIOA Title I state
formula grants. The budget also includes proposals for significant new investments in
employment and training programs on the mandatory side of the budget (which do
not count against discretionary budget caps), though as noted above these investments
are unlikely to be adopted by Congress in the final appropriations process.
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Existing DOL Programs
WIOA Adult Formula Grants – the administration requests $842.4 million for the
WIOA adult program, $26.8 million above FY 2016 levels and consistent with statutory
authorized levels. The administration would maintain the Governor’s Reserve for
statewide activities at 15 percent across all three formula grants.
WIOA Dislocated Worker Formula Grants – the Administration requests $1.3 billion,
$92.4 million above FY 2016 levels and consistent with authorized levels.
WIOA Youth Formula Grants – the Administration requests $902.1 million, $28.7
million above FY 2016 levels and consistent with authorized levels, to help respond to
high needs among youth for job placement, career counseling, and skills training
services.
Wagner-Peyser Employment Services – the Administration requests $680 million in
Employment Service state grants, consistent with FY 2016 levels. The FY 2017 budget
does not renew a $400 million proposal in the President’s FY 2016 request which
would have supported supplemental grants to states for intensive reemployment
services to dislocated workers.
Workforce Data Quality Initiative (WDQI) and State Data Longitudinal Systems
Grants – the Administration requests $40 million, an increase of $34 million over FY
2016 levels for WDQI grants. For more information on the President’s workforce data
requests, see the Workforce Data Quality Campaign blog.
Apprenticeship Grants: the Administration requested $90 million in funding, which
would build on the $90 million in funding included in the FY 2016 omnibus. The
Administration anticipates half of this funding would be targeted at apprenticeship
state funds, $22.5 million for intermediary funding, $13.5 million in funding for
community based organizations and workforce intermediaries and $9 million for
national activities such as promoting apprenticeship, conducting outreach and
delivering technical assistance. As in his FY 2016 budget, the Administration also
proposes eliminating funding for Women in Apprenticeship and Non-Traditional
Occupations (WANTO), intending grants provided under the funding for community
based organizations and workforce intermediaries to fund innovative strategies for
increasing women –and other underrepresented populations – in apprenticeship.
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“This $5.5 billion in
mandatory funding
would target job
and skill training
opportunities for
youth, including
$3.5 billion in
formula funding for
partnerships with
employers and
communities to
support up to one
million summer job
opportunities...”
Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) – the Administration requests $450 million in
funding for the TAA program, reauthorized in 2015 through June 30, 2021. This would
be a $58.5 million increase over FY 2016 TAA training fund levels.
Reintegration of Ex-Offenders – the Administration requests $95 million, an increase
of $7 million over FY 2016 enacted levels. The additional resources would support
expanded programs serving adult and juvenile offender in areas most impacted by
recent “unrest.”
Indian and Native American Program – the Administration requests $52 million, an
increase of $2 million over the FY 2016 enacted levels.
Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Program – the Administration requests
$81,896,000 million, consistent with FY 2016 levels.
YouthBuild: the President’s request would fund YouthBuild at $84,534,000, consistent
with FY 2016 levels.
New Investments in Education and Training
Opening Doors for Youth: The President’s budget request included important
emphasis on youth. Right now, there are about six million youth (ages 16-24) who are
not in school or working. The President’s proposal would encourage focusing funding
on these out of school youth, an important target population under WIOA, as
Congress continues to fund the implementation of the law. This $5.5 billion in
mandatory funding would target job and skill training opportunities for youth,
including $3.5 billion in formula funding for partnerships with employers and
communities to support up to one million summer job opportunities and 150,000 year-
round work experiences for out-of-school youth; and a $2 billion competitive grant
program for communities that would be administered jointly be the Departments of
Labor and Education and would focus on dropout recovery strategies.
America’s Talent Compact: The president’s budget request continues to call for a focus
on industry and sector partnerships, key elements of WIOA and part of the
Administration’s 2014 job-driven action plan. This $3 billion request for mandatory
funding over five years will build off of the Administration’s job-driven action plan,
targeting regional partnerships to train workers to meet local employers’ demand. The
Administration proposes linking these efforts to the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act requirements to focus and develop industry and sector training
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“The budget
proposes using $1.3
billion for increasing
state-led strategies
for increasing the
number of
employers using
apprenticeship as a
training system...”
strategies. The Talent Compact would fund 50-60 regions a year, through competitive
grants, to increase collaborations between workforce boards, employers, CTE
programs, community colleges and economic development organizations. While
significant, this proposal is less than the $16 billion the President requested in FY 2016
for High Growth Sector Training and Credentialing Grants.
Workforce Data Science and Innovation Fund: The President requested $500 million in
mandatory funding to invest in tracking and updating data on workforce needs and
trends. The system would be based on Health and Human Services Open Health Data
Initiative and include partnership with Department of Commerce to share data
collected. The Workforce Data Quality Campaign has more information in their blog
post on the President’s 2017 budget request.
Apprenticeship Training Fund: Renewing his request from the 2016 budget request, the
President asked for $2 billion to expand apprenticeship, consistent with the
Administration’s goal of doubling the number of apprentices nationally by 2019. This
fund would include a new $200 million proposal targeting youth apprenticeship and
pre-apprenticeship, requiring elements of both classroom and on-the-job training. The
budget proposes using $1.3 billion for increasing state-led strategies for increasing the
number of employers using apprenticeship as a training system and $500 million
targeting local and national partnerships to support apprenticeship.
Career Navigators: The president’s budget includes $1.5 billion over 5 years in
mandatory funds to create a network of Career Navigators to specifically work with
long-term unemployed and those who have left the labor force. The Administration
estimates that at these funding levels, Career Navigators could provide intense
services to up to one million participants a year.
Department of Education
The President’s budget request for the Department of Education would provide $69.4
billion in discretionary funding for FY 2017. This increase of $1.3 billion over 2016
levels would be coupled with $139.7 million in new mandatory funding over the next
ten years under the Administration’s budget request. The budget reflects additional
implementation costs if Congress is able to reauthorize the Higher Education Act and
the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act before October 1, 2016.
The budget would level fund WIOA Title II Adult Basic Education state grants and
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“…the
Administration
requests $22.5 billion
in discretionary
funding for federal
Pell grants,
consistent with FY
2016 discretionary
funding levels.”
Perkins Career and Technical Education Title I state grants, meaning that both
programs remain well below FY 2010 funding levels despite increasing demands for
services. The budget request also calls for expansions of the Pell Grant program to
make it easier for incarcerated individuals and other non-traditional students to access
funds.
Existing ED Programs
Career and Technical Education – the Administration requests $1.12 billion for CTE
state grants, consistent with FY 2016 levels. The President’s budget also includes $75
million in funding to support the American Technical Training Fund (ATTF), which
was included in the President’s FY 2016 budget request at $100 million in funding. The
President’s budget request calls for reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Act of 2006,
and includes a request for $80 million in competitive grants for partnerships between
local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, businesses, and other
entities to support college and career readiness.
NSC submitted Perkins Act reauthorization recommendations to the Senate HELP
committee and House Education and Workforce Committee in October 2015, and has
called for Congress to include dedicated funding for industry partnerships as part of
the reauthorization process.
Adult Education State Grants – the President’s request proposes $582 million for adult
basic and literacy education state grants, consistent with FY 2016 levels but below
WIOA authorized levels of $635.2 million. The budget calls for $24.7 million for
national leadership activities, an increase of $11 million compared to FY 2016.
Pell Grants – the Administration requests $22.5 billion in discretionary funding for
federal Pell grants, consistent with FY 2016 discretionary funding levels. The total
maximum award will be $5,935 for the 2017-2018 school year, an increase of $20 over
2016-2017.
The President’s budget request would make significant policy changes to the Pell
program, reinstating “year-round” Pell Grant that would allow students to access a
second award during an academic year, but capping the total available aid at 150
percent of the maximum annual award level. To be eligible for year-round Pell,
participants would be required to have completed a full-time course load of 24 credits.
The request also encourages students accelerating their degree by awarding a $300 Pell
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“While America’s
College Promise
would make higher
education a reality
for millions of
students, the
proposal in its
current form would
not benefit working
adults who are only
able to attend
school less-than half
time.”
bonus award to students participating in 15 credits a semester and 30 semester hours
in an academic year. The budget calls for lifting the restrictions on providing Pell
Grants to incarcerated individuals, consistent with the Administration’s Second
Chance Pell proposal.
New Investments in Education and Training
American College Promise: Originally proposed in the FY 2016 budget request,
America’s College Promise would make up to two years of community college tuition-
free for all interested individuals who meet certain eligibility requirements. Funds
could be used to support enrollment in either academic programs that fully transfer to
public four-year colleges and universities or for occupational training programs with
high graduation rates that lead to certificates or degrees in demand by employers.
Participating states would also commit to maintaining support for current investments
in higher education, improve coordination between secondary and postsecondary
systems to reduce the need for remediation, and allocate at least some funding on the
basis of performance, rather than enrollment. While America’s College Promise would
make higher education a reality for millions of students, the proposal in its current
form would not benefit working adults who are only able to attend school less-than
half time.
Community College Partnership Tax Credit: The President proposes a business tax
credit of up to $5,000 for each community college graduate an employer hires to fill
skill gaps. Employers would be required to establish partnerships with community
colleges and donate instructors and equipment and make work-based learning
opportunities available to students. The proposal would make $500 million in credits
available for each year from 2017-2021.
Health and Human Services
The President’s budget request targets critical updates to Temporary Assistance to
Needy Families (TANF) by increasing the funding for the TANF block grant program
for the first time in twenty years and calls for new investments in systems
interoperability.
Existing Programs
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): the President’s budget requests an
increase to the TANF overall state block grant by $8 billion over the next five years and
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would require states to spend at least 55 percent of combined federal and state funds
on core benefits, including work activities. The request would repurpose the current
TANF Contingency Fund to, among other things, establish the $473 million Pathways
to Jobs Initiative and invest $100 million in two-generation demonstration projects.
The budget also calls for the establishment of a $2 billion TANF Economic Response
Fund, similar to the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund, established under the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
NSC submitted TANF reauthorization recommendations to the House Ways and
Means Committee in July 2015, including calls for increased funding for the TANF
block grant and increased investments in innovative workforce strategies.
New Investments in Education and Training
Advancing Human Services Interoperability: the President’s budget request proposes
$10 million in discretionary funding to establish a Systems Innovation Center, to
improve interoperability between programs including TANF, Child Care, Child
Welfare and SNAP. The President’s proposal also includes $50 million in mandatory
funding to create a Statewide Human Services Data System Grant Program intending
to support states management of longitudinal data. The Workforce Data Quality
Campaign has more information on this request and other data requests in the
President’s budget.
Training and Employment Services Omnibus FY 2016
Appropriation
Levels
President’s FY
2017 Budget
Request
Department of Labor
Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act Title I – State
Formula Grants1
$2,709,832,000 $2,847,861,000
WIOA Adult $815,556,000 $842,376,000
WIOA Dislocated Worker2 $1,241,719,000 $1,334,205,000
1 Sum of WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth grants 2 Includes Dislocated Worker National Reserve
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WIOA Youth $873,416,000 $902,139,000
Wagner-Peyser/Employment Service
Grants
$680,000,000 $680,000,000
Workforce Data Quality Initiative
Grants
$6,000,000 $40,000,000
Apprenticeship Grants $90,000,000 $90,000,000
Native American Programs $50,000,000 $52,000,000
Ex-Offender Activities $88,078,000 $95,078,000
Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers $81,896,000 $81,896,000
Youth Build $84,534,000 $84,534,000
Department of Education
Career and Technical Education State
Grants
$1,117,598,000 $1,117,598,000
American Technical Training Fund N/A $75,000,000
Adult Education and Family Literacy
State Grants
$581,955,000 $581,955,000
Federal agencies release final requirements for WIOA unified, combined
plans On February 22, the US Department of Labor, in coordination with the US
Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, and Housing and
Urban Development, released the final requirements for State Unified or Combined
Plans as required under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The
information collection (IC) outlines all of the elements that must be included in a state
plan, including the basic requirements for a Unified Plan that covers only the six
“core” programs under Titles I-IV of WIOA, and additional elements that are required
for a Combined plan that includes the core programs and at least one additional
workforce or education program described in (§) 103 of WIOA.
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The agencies released a draft of the state plan requirements for public comment in
August 2015, and National Skills Coalition submitted recommendations in response to
this draft in September 2015. The agencies have posted a “supporting statement” that
outlines the comments received from NSC and other organizations, and modifications
to the August draft IC made in response to those recommendations. Among other
things, the agencies accepted NSC’s recommendations to:
Require states to provide clear descriptions of the industry or sector
partnerships and career pathways that will be implemented in the state,
including descriptions of how core programs and other partner programs are
aligned to support sector partnerships.
Require states to include a description in the state plans of the methods used
for joint planning and coordination across core and partner programs.
Expand the requirement that states describe efforts to engage community
colleges and area career and technical education (CTE) schools to include other
education and training providers, including training programs on the state
eligible training provider list and adult education providers.
Clarify that accessibility requirements for the one-stop system, including
physical accessibility requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act,
apply to all one-stop partner programs and operators.
The revised IC and supporting statement also:
Provides that states will not be required to include one-stop infrastructure cost-
sharing agreements (as described under section 121(h) of WIOA) in their first
WIOA plan, but will be required to include their cost-sharing guidelines in
their 2018 plan modifications;
Adds a requirement that states describe how they will ensure accessibility in
the one-stop system for individuals with limited English proficiency;
Provides that assessments of the effectiveness of core programs and one-stop
partner programs (as required under section 102(b)(2)(C)) will not be required
until states submit plan modifications in 2018;
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“…the later
submission date for
state plans may
provide states and
stakeholders with
additional
opportunities to
ensure that plans
are inclusive of key
partners and
strategies
highlighted under
the law.”
Includes a requirement that states identify criteria for approval of local
transfers of funds between Title I Adult and Dislocated Worker programs.
DOL announces revised submission dates for WIOA state plans, updates
on final rules
On January 21, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued updated information about the
deadlines for state plans under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. By
statute, unified or combined state plans must be submitted by March 3 of this year, but
the department has indicated that it will accept plans as timely if they are submitted
by April 1st.
DOL also states that they are working with the Department of Education and other
Federal agencies to release final regulations for WIOA in June 2016. Under WIOA, the
final rules were supposed to be released not later than January 22, 2016; DOL indicates
that the volume of comments received in response to draft regulations released in
April 2015 - as well as comments received in response to a state plan information
collection request (ICR) instrument in August – is responsible for the delay. National
Skills Coalition submitted comments on both the draft rules and the state plan ICR,
with a particular focus on ensuring that the final rules adequately supported the
expansion of sector partnerships and career pathways strategies, and ensuring that
outcome requirements under WIOA supported high-quality services for job seekers
and employers.
While the delayed release of the final rules is disappointing, the later submission date
for state plans may provide states and stakeholders with additional opportunities to
ensure that plans are inclusive of key partners and strategies highlighted under the
law. National Skills Coalition has released a range of publications and materials on
realizing the potential of WIOA, including our “Aligned by Design” webinar series on
aligning WIOA state plans with career and technical education under the Perkins Act,
adult education programs under WIOA Title II, Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF), and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education &
Training (SNAP E&T).
National Skills Coalition encourages the agencies to ensure that states and local
stakeholders are provided with sufficient guidance to support the continued
implementation of the law, particularly as we head into the second year of
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implementation. We will continue to monitor developments on regulatory process and
will provide updates to the field as new information becomes available.
NSC submits comments on DOL’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on
Equal Employment Opportunity in Apprenticeship On January 4th, National Skills Coalition submitted comments on the Department of
Labor’s (DOL) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking(NPRM) on Equal Employment
Opportunity (EEO) in registered apprenticeship programs.
Under the National Apprenticeship Act of 1937, the Department of Labor (DOL) is
tasked with promoting standards necessary to “safeguard the welfare of apprentices,”
which the agency interprets as including EEO in apprenticeship. The relevant
regulations, found at 29 CFR 30, address the potentially discriminatory impact of
recruitment, selection and hiring, and retention policies within apprenticeship
programs registered with DOL and State Apprenticeship Agencies. These regulations
are intended to further DOL’s goal to promote and protect opportunity for all workers
and all employers by removing barriers to fair workplaces.
The proposed rule would be the first update to the regulations since 1978 and would
make two major changes: (1) add age (40 or older), genetic information, sexual
orientation, and disability as protected bases upon which a sponsor of an
apprenticeship program cannot discriminate, and (2) update affirmative action
requirements for sponsors of registered apprenticeship programs. The proposed rules
would also align the regulations with other changes to EEO laws in the past 37 years.
Overall, NSC supports DOL’s proposed rules. NSC’s comments focus on the potential
linkage between the registered apprenticeship system and the workforce development
system, given the recent passage and implementation of the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (WIOA), and the importance of quality pre-apprenticeship programs
as a part of a career pathway leading to registered apprenticeship.
Specifically, NSC encourages DOL to issue updated guidance on what qualifies as a
quality pre-apprenticeship program, adding specific references to WIOA and best
practices on linkages between quality pre-apprenticeship programs and industry or
sector partnerships.
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NSC also encourages DOL to suggest registered apprenticeship sponsors partner with
pre-apprenticeship training programs, working with the pre-apprenticeship training
providers to tailor programming to sponsors’ needs and leading to more efficient –as
well as diverse –recruitment outcomes for sponsors.
You can read the entirety of NSC’s comments here.
New grant will provide childcare to parents in training programs On December 17th, 2015, the Department of Labor announced the availability of
$25,000,000 in grants under the Strengthening Working Families (SWF) Initiative. The
Initiative will award up to $4,000,000 in funds to partnerships between the workforce
development system, education providers (including community colleges, community
based organizations, and tech boot camps), child care providers and employers.
Funded by H-1B visa funds, the program is intended to address barriers related to
child care that workers face in maintaining employment and engaging in training.
Applicants will be required to show their partnership’s capacity to improve access to
child care resources in a way that supports both parents’ current attachment to the
workforce and benefits the long-term success of the child. The grants may offer
recipients the chance to support career pathways in their region, as required under the
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), by funding services that improve
access to child-care services, a key element of many career pathways.
Partnerships are required to include at least three employer partners or an employer
industry association with at least three employer members. As states and regions set
up and expand industry or sector partnerships, as required under WIOA, these
partnerships may be integral for applicants’ success under the SWF Initiative.
This grant program is an element of the Administration’s Job-Driven Action Plan,
which includes goals to maximize the use of limited resources by creating new or
expanding existing partnerships between key workforce stakeholders and to provide
critical supportive services to ensure all individuals can succeed in the labor market.