Jeffrey Rowe, Program Manager, Stanislaus Department of
Employment and Training, was introduced by John Egbikuadje. Mr. Rowe welcomed
the Network members to Modesto and reviewed recent happenings in the area of
State legislation, or the lack thereof. He also reviewed the agenda for the next
two days, encouraged the group to take advantage of the various presentations,
and elaborated on their value. He noted that the City of Modesto and County of
Stanislaus have created a unique one-stop area for city/county permits and
services to provide for the other needs of the community as a whole.
Performance Measures under
W.I. A.
Maria Ramboulis, Department of Labor, Region IX
Ms. Ramboulis gave an energetic fast paced presentation on
performance measures under W.I.A. She stressed that the Malcomb-Baldridge Model
of Continuous Improvement has been adopted as the
guideline for improving quality in the delivery of services.
She noted that Performance Management is the larger universe:
Performance Measurement is narrower in scope and refocuses the entire system on
customer service and accountability.
Five consultation papers have been published on Performance
Measures; these are available on DOL’s website at
.
She suggested that it would be a good idea to visit the site at least once a
week for new material.
All of the indicators apply to all services (core, intensive,
and training services). The exception is self-service and informational items
that customers may seek. The most important question we must address is what
action or activity triggers the difference between self-service and assisted
services. Attaining a high level of customer satisfaction IS A MUST!
Defining core informational and self-service activities is a
state decision – a critical decision! This will determine who is in your
initial denominator for your calculations. The key is in the "trigger"
activity. Some states have used level of staff assistance to define the trigger
point (i.e., when do you register someone). (Can’t allow Wagner-Peyser only to
provide the core services for the purpose of determining the "trigger"
point.)
She noted that the definition of "credential" has
been a struggle and that definitions and calculations are still in the process
of being tweaked. Unemployment Insurance (UI) wages will be used to determine
success in the indication of increased earnings and retention instead of phone
surveys. Conceptually this sounds good, however there are some issues: How do we
count out of state employment? How do we count non-covered employment? – No
credit!, and self-employment isn’t reported to the UI system. In addition,
some states have very embryonic wage and hour tracking systems. If comparisons
are made the potential exists that we will be comparing apples and oranges.
Another controversial aspect of this system is the time lag. Exhausted UI
recipients are considered: NOT EMPLOYED. If you show up any state’s UI record
you are considered employed. A national "WRIS", Wage Record
Interchange System, is under development. States have to agree to be apart of
WRIS.
In the formative stage productivity tends to drop –
congress will be looking at our performance in its formative stage! This may
present a big problem as far as perceptions are concerned. Can we begin to
prepare for this? Ms. Ramboulis suggests that local areas need to get their
ducks in a row. There will be rewards for the level of partnership in which we
engage. The local WIB will get credit for what "they" do. Local areas
can review prior year’s performance and should conduct their own
"analysis" before the state comes to negotiate.
DON’T BE PASSIVE – BE PROACTIVE!
JTPA Close-Out/Transitioning to WIA
Don McMillan,
EDD, JTPD, Capacity Building Unit
Mr. McMillan provided the Network
with instruction from the State of California regarding JTPA Close-out. He
reviewed the areas of consideration for SDAs and their Service Providers. He
recommended that SDAs maintain close contact with their respective JTPD
Program/Grant Managers in order to effect close-out activities.
Developing a
W.I.A. Consumer Report
– The Stanislaus County DET Experience
DET Staff – Paul Rogers and Steve Pestana
Department of Employment and Training staff from Stanislaus
shared information regarding their activities in developing both a tracking
system for the performance of training providers in the County and a customer
satisfaction survey. Presently the information is entered into spreadsheets and
compiled. Plans are underway to create a database with this information so it
can be accessed for multiple purposes, such as marketing. An initial survey of
persons applying for services revealed that word-of-mouth is the principal
factor in the community learning of the services available to them through the
Department of Employment and Training.
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) State Legislative Update
Rona Sherriff, Legislative Aide
Ms. Sherriff provided an update on pending State legislation.
She works with Senator Patrick Johnston, whose Senate Bill 43 is intended to
implement the Workforce Investment Act in the State of California. This is
double-joined legislation. If enacted, then legislation proposed by legislators
Solis, Ducheney, and Vasconcellos would also become law which would replace the
Family Economic Security Act (FESA).
California Monitor’s Network Business Meeting
Dedre Ahl, President
President Dedre Ahl opened the business session of the
meeting by thanking Stanislaus for their excellent program. She reviewed the
amendments to the by-laws as mailed to the membership and presented them to the
membership for approval. The motion was carried.
Dedre called attention to the letterhead designs submitted by
several of the members. Ballots were distributed for a vote. The results will be
announced at a future date.
Dedre announced that Mailee Peters has investigated the
possibilities of establishing a website for the Network. The group will need
$100 in order to register a URL (Universal Resource Locator) for the site. Also,
the group was asked to inquire about the possibility of their SDA hosting the
site if the SDA has a webserver. The site would not consume a great deal of
room.
It was announced that Long Beach has offered to host the
winter meeting in February. Rick Gonzalez will be contacting members with the
date, the agenda and information regarding accommodations.
September 24, 1999
Living in the One-Stop
Larry Kennedy, Director
Mr. Kennedy presented information about issues encountered in
the development of the one-stop center in Ventura, California. He emphasized
that the key to success is communication between their co-located partners.
Situated on the campus of the local community college, partner agencies have
contributed staff to ensure that referral to is readily available to customers.
He stated that it is very important that the partners establish a committee to
deal with issues such as: safety, security, matters related to the premises, and
personnel.
"The Impossibility of it All" – The
Wellness Warriors
(An Improvisation Theater Troupe)
Dr. David Schroeder
Dr Schroeder explained that as a service to clients and the
community the troupe conducts presentations to help TANF recipients understand
and prepare for the different personalities they may encounter in the workplace
and some of the possible stresses they may encounter. The program was highly
effective and well performed.
Dedre Ahl adjourned the meeting at 11:45 A.M.
Submitted by: Vyvian M. Timm , Secretary Date: January
27, 2000
