The Florida Senate

414.027  WAGES Program annual statewide program plan.--

(1)  The WAGES Program State Board of Directors shall submit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives an annual statewide plan for the WAGES Program established under this chapter. At a minimum, the annual statewide program plan must include:

(a)  Performance standards, measurement criteria, and contract guidelines for all services provided under the WAGES Program whether by state employees or contract providers. The plan must include performance standards and objectives, measurement criteria, measures of performance, and contract guidelines for all local WAGES coalitions related to the following issues:

1.  Work participation rates by type of activity;

2.  Caseload trends;

3.  Recidivism;

4.  Participation in diversion and relocation programs;

5.  Employment retention; and

6.  Other issues identified by the WAGES Program State Board of Directors.

(b)  A description of:

1.  Cooperative agreements and partnerships between local WAGES coalitions and local community agencies and not-for-profit organizations described in s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;

2.  Efforts by local WAGES coalitions to provide WAGES applicants, recipients, and former recipients with information on the services and programs available to them, including diversion programs, relocation assistance, and other services that may be obtained without receiving monthly cash assistance;

3.  Efforts by local WAGES coalitions to overcome transportation barriers to employment; and

4.  Other issues determined by the WAGES Program State Board of Directors.

(c)  An evaluation of the performance of each local WAGES coalition based on the performance measures and guidelines.

(d)  Directives for creating and chartering local WAGES coalitions to plan and coordinate the delivery of services under the WAGES Program at the local level.

(e)  The approval of the implementation plans submitted by local WAGES coalitions.

(f)  Recommendations for clarifying, or if necessary, modifying the roles of the state agencies charged with implementing the WAGES Program so that all unnecessary duplication is eliminated.

(g)  Recommendations for modifying compensation and incentive programs for state employees in order to achieve the performance outcomes necessary for successful implementation of the WAGES Program.

(h)  Criteria for allocating WAGES Program resources to local WAGES coalitions. Such criteria must include weighting factors that reflect the relative degree of difficulty associated with securing employment placements for specific subsets of the welfare transition caseload.

(i)  The development of a performance-based payment structure to be used for all WAGES Program services, which takes into account the following:

1.  The degree of difficulty associated with placing a WAGES Program participant in a job;

2.  The quality of the placement with regard to salary, benefits, and opportunities for advancement; and

3.  The employee's retention of the placement.

The payment structure shall provide not more than 50 percent of the cost of services provided to a WAGES participant prior to placement, 25 percent upon employment placement, and 25 percent if employment is retained for at least 6 months. The payment structure should provide bonus payments to providers that experience notable success in achieving long-term job retention with WAGES Program participants. The board shall consult with the Workforce Development Board in developing the WAGES Program annual statewide program plan.

(j)  Specifications for WAGES Program services that are to be delivered through local WAGES coalitions, including the following:

1.  Referral of participants to diversion and relocation programs;

2.  Preplacement services, including assessment, staffing, career plan development, work orientation, and employability skills enhancement;

3.  Services necessary to secure employment for a WAGES participant;

4.  Services necessary to assist participants in retaining employment, including, but not limited to, remedial education, language skills, and personal and family counseling;

5.  Desired quality of job placements with regard to salary, benefits, and opportunities for advancement;

6.  Expectations regarding job retention;

7.  Strategies to ensure that transition services are provided to participants for the mandated period of eligibility;

8.  Services that must be provided to the participant throughout an education or training program, such as monitoring attendance and progress in the program;

9.  Services that must be delivered to WAGES participants who have a deferral from work requirements but wish to participate in activities that meet federal participation requirements; and

10.  Expectations regarding continued participant awareness of available services and benefits.

(2)  The board of directors shall update the statewide implementation plan annually and submit quarterly progress reports to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The annual updated plan must contain proposals for implementing the goals and objectives of the WAGES Program during the succeeding 3-year period.

History.--s. 7, ch. 96-175; s. 44, ch. 97-98; s. 3, ch. 97-173; s. 4, ch. 99-241.