The Florida Senate

¹446.601  Short title; legislative intent.--

(1)  This section may be cited as the "Workforce Florida Act of 1996."

(2)  The goal of this section is to utilize the workforce development system to upgrade dramatically Floridians' workplace skills, economically benefiting the workforce, employers, and the state.

(3)  These principles should guide the state's efforts:

(a)  Floridians must upgrade their skills to succeed in today's workplace.

(b)  In business, workforce skills are the key competitive advantage.

(c)  Workforce skills will be Florida's key job-creating incentive for business.

(d)  Budget cuts, efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability mandate the consolidation of program services and the elimination of unwarranted duplication.

(e)  Streamlined state and local partnerships must focus on outcomes, not process.

(f)  Locally designed, customer-focused, market-driven service delivery works best.

(g)  Job training curricula must be developed in concert with the input and needs of existing employers and businesses, and must consider the anticipated demand for targeted job opportunities, as specified by the Occupational Forecasting Conference under s. 216.136.

(h)  Job placement, job retention, and return-on-investment should control workforce development expenditures and be a part of the measure for success and failure.

(i)  Success will be rewarded and failure will have consequences.

(j)  Job placement success will be publicly measured and reported to the Legislature.

(k)  Apprenticeship programs, pursuant to s. 446.011, which provide a valuable opportunity for preparing citizens for productive employment, will be encouraged.

(4)  The workforce development strategy shall be designed by the Enterprise Florida Jobs and Education Partnership pursuant to ²s. 288.0475, and shall be centered around the four integrated strategic components of One-Stop Career Centers, School-to-Work, Welfare-to-Work, and High Skills/High Wage Jobs.

(a)  One-Stop Career Centers are the state's initial customer-service contact strategy for offering every Floridian access, through service sites, telephone, or computer networks, to the following services:

1.  Job search, referral, and placement assistance.

2.  Career counseling and educational planning.

3.  Consumer reports on service providers.

4.  Recruitment and eligibility determination.

5.  Support services, including child care and transportation.

6.  Employability skills training.

7.  Adult education and basic skills training.

8.  Technical training leading to a certification and degree.

9.  Claim filing for unemployment compensation services.

10.  Temporary income, health, nutritional, and housing assistance.

11.  Child care and transportation assistance to gain employment.

12.  Other appropriate and available workforce development services.

(b)  School-to-Work is the state's youth and adult workforce education strategy for coordinating business, education, and the community to support students in achieving long-term career goals, and for ensuring the workforce is prepared with the academic and occupational skills required for success.

(c)  Welfare-to-Work is the state's strategy for encouraging self-sufficiency and minimizing dependence upon public assistance by emphasizing job placement and transition support services for welfare recipients.

(d)  High Skills/High Wage is the state's strategy for aligning education and training programs with the Occupational Forecasting Conference under s. 216.136, for meeting the job demands of the state's existing businesses, and for providing a ready workforce which is integral to the state's economic development goal of attracting new and expanding businesses.

(5)  The workforce development system shall utilize a charter process approach aimed at encouraging local design and control of service delivery and targeted activities. The Enterprise Florida Jobs and Education Partnership shall be responsible for granting charters to Regional Workforce Development Boards which have a membership consistent with the requirements of federal and state law and which have developed a plan consistent with the state's workforce development strategy and with the strategic components of One-Stop Career Centers, School-to-Work, Welfare-to-Work, and High Skills/High Wage. The plan shall specify methods for allocating the resources and programs in a manner that eliminates unwarranted duplication, minimizes administrative costs, meets the existing job market demands and the job market demands resulting from successful economic development activities, ensures access to quality workforce development services for all Floridians, and maximizes successful outcomes. As part of the charter process, the Enterprise Florida Jobs and Education Partnership shall establish incentives for effective coordination of federal and state programs, outline rewards for successful job placements, and institute collaborative approaches among local service providers. Local decisionmaking and control shall be important components for inclusion in this charter application.

History.--s. 1, ch. 96-404.

¹Note.--Section 13, ch. 96-404, provides that "[i]t is the intent of the legislature that the transfer of functions to the Enterprise Florida Jobs and Education Partnership and to the Regional Workforce Development Boards occur with minimal disruption of services provided to the public. It is further the intent of the legislature that the charter process provided for in the Workforce Florida Act of 1996 consider and specify a transition date and plan for the transfer of functions to each Regional Workforce Development Board."

²Note.--Section 288.0475 was amended and transferred to s. 288.9620, and the Enterprise Florida Jobs and Education Partnership was redesignated as the workforce development board by s. 112, ch. 96-320.