In a new set of Workforce Investment Act (WIA) recommendations, CLASP advocates for significant changes to performance accountability for workforce development and adult education programs authorized under WIA. The recommendations included:
- Title I of WIA should focus on high quality education, training and related services that provide individuals with the necessary skills and experience to access jobs that pay family-supporting wages and have advancement potential.
- Title II of WIA, also known as the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, should focus on increasing the rate at which all adult education students attain career and postsecondary success.
- Title I and II should be better aligned within a career pathways framework in order to provide more intensive and integrated workforce development and adult education services that are linked to income, work and academic supports and to better connect these systems with employers and postsecondary education.
Regarding their recommendation for better alignment, CLASP would also like to see a shared accountability system across WIA and other workforce development and education programs like the Carl D. Perkins Act, postsecondary education, Trade Adjustment Assistance, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). This shared system of accountability would include a shared set of interim and outcome measures, consistent definitions of units of service that can be used across federal programs, commonly agreed upon cost-allocation methods for services funded by multiple sources, and consistent standards of data quality and data sharing.
Tags: accountability, federal legislation, Job training, WIA