The Florida Senate

445.009  One-stop delivery system.--

(1)  The one-stop delivery system is the state's primary customer-service strategy for offering every Floridian access, through service sites or telephone or computer networks, to the following services:

(a)  Job search, referral, and placement assistance.

(b)  Career counseling and educational planning.

(c)  Consumer reports on service providers.

(d)  Recruitment and eligibility determination.

(e)  Support services, including child care and transportation assistance to gain employment.

(f)  Employability skills training.

(g)  Adult education and basic skills training.

(h)  Technical training leading to a certification and degree.

(i)  Claim filing for unemployment compensation services.

(j)  Temporary income, health, nutritional, and housing assistance.

(k)  Other appropriate and available workforce development services.

(2)(a)  Subject to a process designed by Workforce Florida, Inc., and in compliance with Pub. L. No. 105-220, regional workforce boards shall designate one-stop delivery system operators.

(b)  A regional workforce board may designate as its one-stop delivery system operator any public or private entity that is eligible to provide services under any state or federal workforce program that is a mandatory or discretionary partner in the region's one-stop delivery system if approved by Workforce Florida, Inc., upon a showing by the regional workforce board that a fair and competitive process was used in the selection. As a condition of authorizing a regional workforce board to designate such an entity as its one-stop delivery system operator, Workforce Florida, Inc., must require the regional workforce board to demonstrate that safeguards are in place to ensure that the one-stop delivery system operator will not exercise an unfair competitive advantage or unfairly refer or direct customers of the one-stop delivery system to services provided by that one-stop delivery system operator. A regional workforce board may retain its current One-Stop Career Center operator without further procurement action where the board has established a One-Stop Career Center that has complied with federal and state law.

(3)  Beginning October 1, 2000, regional workforce boards shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Agency for Workforce Innovation for the delivery of employment services authorized by the federal Wagner-Peyser Act. This memorandum of understanding must be performance based.

(a)  Unless otherwise required by federal law, at least 90 percent of the Wagner-Peyser funding must go into direct customer service costs.

(b)  Employment services must be provided through the one-stop delivery system, under the guidance of one-stop delivery system operators. One-stop delivery system operators shall have overall authority for directing the staff of the workforce system. Personnel matters shall remain under the ultimate authority of the Agency for Workforce Innovation. However, the one-stop delivery system operator shall submit to the agency information concerning the job performance of agency employees who deliver employment services. The agency shall consider any such information submitted by the one-stop delivery system operator in conducting performance appraisals of the employees.

(c)  The agency shall retain fiscal responsibility and accountability for the administration of funds allocated to the state under the Wagner-Peyser Act. An agency employee who is providing services authorized under the Wagner-Peyser Act shall be paid using Wagner-Peyser Act funds.

(4)  One-stop delivery system partners shall enter into a memorandum of understanding pursuant to Pub. L. No. 105-220, Title I, s. 121, with the regional workforce board. Failure of a local partner to participate cannot unilaterally block the majority of partners from moving forward with their one-stop delivery system, and Workforce Florida, Inc., pursuant to s. 445.004(5)(e), may make notification of a local partner that fails to participate.

(5)  To the extent possible, regional workforce boards shall include as partners in the local one-stop delivery system entities that provide programs or activities designed to meet the needs of homeless persons.

(6)(a)  To the extent possible, core services, as defined by Pub. L. No. 105-220, shall be provided electronically, using existing systems. These electronic systems shall be linked and integrated into a comprehensive service system to simplify access to core services by:

1.  Maintaining staff to serve as the first point of contact with the public seeking access to employment services who are knowledgeable about each program located in each one-stop delivery system center as well as related services. An initial determination of the programs for which a customer is likely to be eligible and any referral for a more thorough eligibility determination must be made at this first point of contact; and

2.  Establishing an automated, integrated intake screening and eligibility process where customers will provide information through a self-service intake process that may be accessed by staff from any participating program.

(b)  To expand electronic capabilities, Workforce Florida, Inc., working with regional workforce boards, shall develop a centralized help center to assist regional workforce boards in fulfilling core services, minimizing the need for fixed-site one-stop delivery system centers.

(c)  To the extent feasible, core services shall be accessible through the Internet. Through this technology, core services shall be made available at public libraries, public and private educational institutions, community centers, kiosks, neighborhood facilities, and satellite one-stop delivery system sites. Each regional workforce board's web page shall serve as a portal for contacting potential employees by integrating the placement efforts of universities and private companies, including staffing services firms, into the existing one-stop delivery system.

(7)  Intensive services and training provided pursuant to Pub. L. No. 105-220, shall be provided to individuals through Intensive Service Accounts and Individual Training Accounts. Workforce Florida, Inc., shall develop an implementation plan, including identification of initially eligible training providers, transition guidelines, and criteria for use of these accounts. Individual Training Accounts must be compatible with Individual Development Accounts for education allowed in federal and state welfare reform statutes.

(8)(a)  Individual Training Accounts must be expended on programs that prepare people to enter high-wage occupations identified by the Workforce Estimating Conference created by s. 216.136, and on other programs as approved by Workforce Florida, Inc.

(b)  For each approved training program, regional workforce boards, in consultation with training providers, shall establish a fair-market purchase price to be paid through an Individual Training Account. The purchase price must be based on prevailing costs and reflect local economic factors, program complexity, and program benefits, including time to beginning of training and time to completion. The price shall ensure the fair participation of public and nonpublic postsecondary educational institutions as authorized service providers and shall prohibit the use of unlawful remuneration to the student in return for attending an institution. Unlawful remuneration does not include student financial assistance programs.

(c)  Workforce Florida, Inc., shall periodically review Individual Training Account pricing schedules developed by regional workforce boards and present findings and recommendations for process improvement to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(d)  To the maximum extent possible, training providers shall use funding sources other than the funding provided under Pub. L. No. 105-220. Workforce Florida, Inc., shall develop a system to encourage the leveraging of appropriated resources for the workforce system and shall report on such efforts as part of the required annual report.

(e)  Training services provided through Individual Training Accounts must be performance-based, with successful job placement triggering full payment.

(f)  The accountability measures to be used in documenting competencies acquired by the participant during training shall be literacy completion points and occupational completion points. Literacy completion points refers to the academic or workforce readiness competencies that qualify a person for further basic education, career education, or for employment. Occupational completion points refers to the career competencies that qualify a person to enter an occupation that is linked to a career program.

(9)(a)  Workforce Florida, Inc., working with the Agency for Workforce Innovation, shall coordinate among the agencies a plan for a One-Stop Electronic Network made up of one-stop delivery system centers and other partner agencies that are operated by authorized public or private for-profit or not-for-profit agents. The plan shall identify resources within existing revenues to establish and support this electronic network for service delivery that includes Government Services Direct. If necessary, the plan shall identify additional funding needed to achieve the provisions of this subsection.

(b)  The network shall assure that a uniform method is used to determine eligibility for and management of services provided by agencies that conduct workforce development activities. The Department of Management Services shall develop strategies to allow access to the databases and information management systems of the following systems in order to link information in those databases with the one-stop delivery system:

1.  The Unemployment Compensation Program of the Agency for Workforce Innovation.

2.  The public employment service described in s. 443.181

3.  The FLORIDA System and the components related to WAGES, food stamps, and Medicaid eligibility.

4.  The Student Financial Assistance System of the Department of Education.

5.  Enrollment in the public postsecondary education system.

6.  Other information systems determined appropriate by Workforce Florida, Inc.

(10)  To the maximum extent feasible, the one-stop delivery system may use private sector staffing services firms in the provision of workforce services to individuals and employers in the state. Regional workforce boards may collaborate with staffing services firms in order to facilitate the provision of workforce services. Regional workforce boards may contract with private sector staffing services firms to design programs that meet the employment needs of the region. All such contracts must be performance-based and require a specific period of job tenure prior to payment.

History.--s. 10, ch. 96-404; s. 217, ch. 99-8; s. 52, ch. 99-251; s. 53, ch. 99-399; s. 45, ch. 2000-158; s. 9, ch. 2000-165; s. 70, ch. 2001-62; s. 15, ch. 2001-98; s. 47, ch. 2003-36; s. 43, ch. 2004-357; s. 79, ch. 2005-2; s. 6, ch. 2005-255; s. 54, ch. 2006-1.

Note.--Former s. 446.604; s. 288.9951.