The Florida Senate

288.9956  Implementation of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998.--

(1)  WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT PRINCIPLES.--The state's approach to implementing the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Pub. L. No. 105-220, should have six elements:

(a)  Streamlining Services.--Florida's employment and training programs must be coordinated and consolidated at locally managed One-Stop Career Centers.

(b)  Empowering Individuals.--Eligible participants will make informed decisions, choosing the qualified training program that best meets their needs.

(c)  Universal Access.--Through One-Stop Career Centers, every Floridian will have access to employment services.

(d)  Increased Accountability.--The state, localities, and training providers will be held accountable for their performance.

(e)  Local Board and Private Sector Leadership.--Local boards will focus on strategic planning, policy development, and oversight of the local system, choosing local managers to direct the operational details of their One-Stop Career Centers.

(f)  Local Flexibility and Integration.--Localities will have exceptional flexibility to build on existing reforms. Unified planning will free local groups from conflicting micromanagement, while waivers and WorkFlex will allow local innovations.

(2)  FIVE-YEAR PLAN.--The Workforce Development Board shall prepare and submit a 5-year plan, which includes secondary vocational education, to fulfill the early implementation requirements of Pub. L. No. 105-220 and applicable state statutes. Mandatory federal partners and optional federal partners, including the WAGES Program State Board of Directors, shall be fully involved in designing the plan's One-Stop Career Center system strategy. The plan shall detail a process to clearly define each program's statewide duties and role relating to the system. Any optional federal partner may immediately choose to fully integrate its program's plan with this plan, which shall, notwithstanding any other state provisions, fulfill all their state planning and reporting requirements as they relate to One-Stop Career Centers. The plan shall detail a process that would fully integrate all federally mandated and optional partners by the second year of the plan. All optional federal program partners in the planning process shall be mandatory participants in the second year of the plan.

(3)  FUNDING.--

(a)  Title I, Workforce Investment Act of 1998 funds; Wagner-Peyser funds; and NAFTA/Trade Act funds will be expended based on the Workforce Development Board's 5-year plan. The plan shall outline and direct the method used to administer and coordinate various funds and programs that are operated by various agencies. The following provisions shall also apply to these funds:

1.  At least 50 percent of the Title I funds for Adults and Dislocated Workers that are passed through to regional workforce development boards shall be allocated to Individual Training Accounts unless a regional workforce development board obtains a waiver from the Workforce Development Board. Tuition, fees, and performance-based incentive awards paid in compliance with Florida's Performance-Based Incentive Fund Program qualify as an Individual Training Account expenditure, as do other programs developed by regional workforce development boards in compliance with the Workforce Development Board's policies.

2.  Fifteen percent of Title I funding shall be retained at the state level and shall be dedicated to state administration and used to design, develop, induce, and fund innovative Individual Training Account pilots, demonstrations, and programs. Eligible state administration costs include the costs of: funding of the Workforce Development Board and Workforce Development Board's staff; operating fiscal, compliance, and management accountability systems through the Workforce Development Board; conducting evaluation and research on workforce development activities; and providing technical and capacity building assistance to regions at the direction of the Workforce Development Board. Notwithstanding s. 288.9952, such administrative costs shall not exceed 25 percent of these funds. Seventy percent of these funds shall be allocated to Individual Training Accounts for: the Minority Teacher Education Scholars program, the Certified Teacher-Aide program, the Self-Employment Institute, and other Individual Training Accounts designed and tailored by the Workforce Development Board, including, but not limited to, programs for incumbent workers, displaced homemakers, nontraditional employment, empowerment zones, and enterprise zones. The Workforce Development Board shall design, adopt, and fund Individual Training Accounts for distressed urban and rural communities. The remaining 5 percent shall be reserved for the Incumbent Worker Training Program.

3.  The Incumbent Worker Training Program is created for the purpose of providing grant funding for continuing education and training of incumbent employees at existing Florida businesses. The program will provide reimbursement grants to businesses that pay for preapproved, direct, training-related costs.

a.  The Incumbent Worker Training Program will be administered by a private business organization, known as the grant administrator, under contract with the Workforce Development Board.

b.  To be eligible for the program's grant funding, a business must have been in operation in Florida for a minimum of 1 year prior to the application for grant funding; have at least one full-time employee; demonstrate financial viability; and be current on all state tax obligations. Priority for funding shall be given to businesses with 25 employees or fewer, businesses in rural areas, businesses in distressed inner-city areas, or businesses whose grant proposals represent a significant upgrade in employee skills.

c.  All costs reimbursed by the program must be preapproved by the grant administrator. The program will not reimburse businesses for trainee wages, the purchase of capital equipment, or the purchase of any item or service that may possibly be used outside the training project. A business approved for a grant may be reimbursed for preapproved, direct, training-related costs including tuition and fees; books and classroom materials; and administrative costs not to exceed 5 percent of the grant amount.

d.  A business that is selected to receive grant funding must provide a matching contribution to the training project, including but not limited to, wages paid to trainees or the purchase of capital equipment used in the training project; must sign an agreement with the grant administrator to complete the training project as proposed in the application; must keep accurate records of the project's implementation process; and must submit monthly or quarterly reimbursement requests with required documentation.

e.  All Incumbent Worker Training Program grant projects shall be performance-based with specific measurable performance outcomes, including completion of the training project and job retention. The grant administrator shall withhold the final payment to the grantee until a final grant report is submitted and all performance criteria specified in the grant contract have been achieved.

f.  The Workforce Development Board is authorized to establish guidelines necessary to implement the Incumbent Worker Training Program.

g.  No more than 10 percent of the Incumbent Worker Training Program's appropriation may be used for administrative purposes.

h.  The grant administrator is required to submit a report to the Workforce Development Board and the Legislature on the financial and general operations of the Incumbent Worker Training Program. Such report will be due before December 1 of any fiscal year for which the program is funded by the Legislature.

4.  At least 50 percent of Rapid Response funding shall be dedicated to Intensive Services Accounts and Individual Training Accounts for dislocated workers and incumbent workers who are at risk of dislocation. The Workforce Development Board shall also maintain an Emergency Preparedness Fund from Rapid Response funds which will immediately issue Intensive Service Accounts and Individual Training Accounts as well as other federally authorized assistance to eligible victims of natural or other disasters. At the direction of the Governor, for events that qualify under federal law, these Rapid Response funds shall be released to regional workforce development boards for immediate use. Funding shall also be dedicated to maintain a unit at the state level to respond to Rapid Response emergencies around the state, to work with state emergency management officials, and to work with regional workforce development boards. All Rapid Response funds must be expended based on a plan developed by the Workforce Development Board and approved by the Governor.

(b)  The administrative entity for Title I, Workforce Investment Act of 1998 funds, and Rapid Response activities, will be determined by the Workforce Development Board, except that the administrative entity for Rapid Response for fiscal year 1999-2000 must be the Department of Labor and Employment Security. The administrative entity will provide services through a contractual agreement with the Workforce Development Board. The terms and conditions of the agreement may include, but are not limited to, the following:

1.  All policy direction to regional workforce development boards regarding Title I programs and Rapid Response activities shall emanate from the Workforce Development Board.

2.  Any policies by a state agency acting as an administrative entity which may materially impact local workforce boards, local governments, or educational institutions must be promulgated under chapter 120.

3.  The administrative entity will operate under a procedures manual, approved by the Workforce Development Board, addressing: financial services including cash management, accounting, and auditing; procurement; management information system services; and federal and state compliance monitoring, including quality control.

4.  State Career Service employees in the Department of Labor and Employment Security may be leased or assigned to the administrative entity to provide administrative and professional functions.

(4)  FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS, EXCEPTIONS AND REQUIRED MODIFICATIONS.--

(a)  The Workforce Development Board may provide indemnification from audit liabilities to regional workforce development boards that act in full compliance with state law and the board's policies.

(b)  The Workforce Development Board may negotiate and settle all outstanding issues with the United States Department of Labor relating to decisions made by the Workforce Development Board and the Legislature with regard to the Job Training Partnership Act, making settlements and closing out all JTPA program year grants before the repeal of the act June 30, 2000.

(c)  The Workforce Development Board may make modifications to the state's plan, policies, and procedures to comply with federally mandated requirements that in its judgment must be complied with to maintain funding provided pursuant to Pub. L. No. 105-220. The board shall notify in writing the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives within 30 days of any such changes or modifications.

(5)  The Department of Labor and Employment Security shall phase-down JTPA duties before the federal program is abolished July 1, 2000. Outstanding accounts and issues shall be promptly closed out after this date.

(6)  LONG-TERM CONSOLIDATION OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.--

(a)  The Workforce Development Board may recommend workforce-related divisions, bureaus, units, programs, duties, commissions, boards, and councils that can be eliminated, consolidated, or privatized.

(b)  By December 31, 1999, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability shall review the workforce development system, identifying divisions, bureaus, units, programs, duties, commissions, boards, and councils that could be eliminated, consolidated, or privatized. The office shall submit preliminary findings by December 31, 1999, and its final report and recommendations by January 31, 2000, to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. As part of the report, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability shall specifically identify, by funding stream, indirect, administrative, management information system, and overhead costs of the Department of Labor and Employment Security.

(7)  TERMINATION OF SET-ASIDE.--For those state and federal set-asides terminated by the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, the Department of Education, the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development within the Executive Office of the Governor, and the Department of Elder Affairs shall keep all unexpended JTPA 123 (Education Coordination), JTPA III (Dislocated Workers), or JTPA IIA (Services for Older Adults) funds to closeout their education and coordination activities. The Workforce Development Board shall develop guidelines under which the departments may negotiate with the regional workforce development boards to provide continuation of activities and services currently conducted with the JTPA Section 123 or JTPA IIA funds.

History.--s. 57, ch. 99-251.