Title
In the Board of Supervisors role as the Chief Elected Official of the Monterey County Workforce development area,
a. Approve the Monterey County Workforce Development Board’s Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Four-Year Regional Planning Unit for the North Central Coast Region and related Monterey County Local Plan and authorize their submittal to the California Workforce Development Board; and
b. Authorize the Chair of the Board to sign the Monterey County Local Plan
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors, in its role as the Chief Elected Official of the Monterey County workforce development area,
a. Approve the Monterey County Workforce Development Board’s Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Four-Year Regional Planning Unit for the North Central Coast Region and related Monterey County Local Plan and authorize their submittal to the California Workforce Development Board; and
b. Authorize the Chair of the Board to sign the Monterey County Local Plan
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
Background:
The California Workforce Development Board (State Board) and the State of California Employment Development Department (EDD) issued a directive on January 29, 2021 requiring that local workforce development boards develop both regional and local plans, as mandated by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014. The WIOA, designed to strengthen and improve the public workforce system and put job seekers back to work by helping them to acquire the skills employers need and help employers access the talent pool needed to compete in a global economy, also mandated that the State complete a Unified State Plan among the State agencies responsible for the core programs of the WIOA, including the State of California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency, Community College Chancellor’s Office, Department of Rehabilitation, and EDD. This Unified State Plan identified policy objectives, threaded throughout the plans, and strategies that inform the regional (strategies 1-3) and local (strategies 4-7) plans:
State Plan’s policy objectives:
1. Fostering demand-driven skills attainment
2. Enabling upward mobility for all Californians
3. Aligning, coordinating, and integrating programs and services
State Plan’s seven policy strategies:
1. Sector strategies - employer-driven partnerships of industry, education and training, and other stakeholders that focus on the workforce needs of key industries in a regional labor market;
2. Career pathways - process that supports workers’ transitions from education into and through the workforce;
3. Regional alignment - to ensure alignment between partners and programs within a common labor market and with common industry sectors;
4. Earn and learn - the provision of paid work experiences and use of alternative training models including on-the-job training;
5. Supportive services - to provide services and support to promote program retention and completion among education and training recipients;
6. Creating cross-system data capacity - enable tracking of common performance outcomes for workforce development and education, programs including placements, training-related employment, and credential attainment; and
7. Integrated service delivery - efforts to streamline and coordinate services among partners.
Plan Development:
Monterey County Workforce Development Board (WDB) staff and contracted researchers collected input from a variety of sources including research reports, interviews, and public meetings as part of the Regional and Local Plan development process to ensure the plans address the following goals and objectives:
• Collection and analysis of regional labor market data;
• Establishing regional service strategies;
• Developing and implementing sector initiatives for in-demand industry sectors and occupations;
• Promoting industry-valued credential attainment;
• Understanding job quality considerations for the region; and
• Ensuring accessibility and inclusivity in regional programs and services.
A 30-day public comment period started on March 26, 2021 with drafts of the Regional and Local Plans made available via the WDB’s website. The WDB hosted two Local Plan Stakeholder Engagement session via Zoom on March 15 and 17, 2021 and a Regional Stakeholder Engagement Session that was held on March 17, 2021. The three sessions provided workforce partners and the public an opportunity to review the plans and provide input and comment. The attached Local and Regional Plans, approved by the WDB on April 8, 2021, reflect comments submitted during the public comment process that ended April 26, 2021.
Regional Plan:
Regional Plans and partnerships function under the State Plan as the primary mechanisms for aligning educational and training provider services with regional industry sector needs in California’s 15 WIOA Regional Planning Units (RPU). Since the submittal of the 2017-2020 Regional Plan, the State has reviewed and updated the previous RPU boundaries and has designated a new North Central Coast RPU including the Santa Cruz County, Monterey County, and San Benito County workforce development areas, with Monterey County WDB acting as the lead WDB in the development and submission of the Regional Plan.
This edition of the 4-year Regional Plan comes at a crucial time for the North Central Coast region and its local components. The COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented impacts on the regional workforce and economy, and strategic recovery efforts can help ensure that the region rebuilds towards a more prosperous and equitable future. This Regional Plan aims to align Regional Planning Unit (RPU) members along specific approaches to achieve the vision and objectives provided in the State Plan. Fulfilling this vision will require partners to collaborate regularly across agencies, programs, and funding streams to align strategic efforts, investments, and service delivery activities to meet shared outcomes within common in-demand industry sectors.
Local Plan:
The Local Plan must coordinate with the North Central Coast RPU Regional Plan, making the Regional and State policy strategies actionable, with a focus on customer-centered service delivery through the America’s Job Center of California (AJCC) / One-Stop system. The Local Plan draws upon the collaboration with workforce partners described in the Partner Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for customer-centered service delivery and positions the AJCC as an access point to a menu of services that creates an “on-ramp” to regional sector strategies. The Local Plan also addresses required information, including:
1. Analytical background concerning labor market needs, the workforce education system operating in the region, and priority industry sectors and clusters;
2. Vision, goals, and strategy of the Local Board and its partners (employer engagement, aligning career pathways and sector strategies, and system alignment and accountability);
3. Local program alignment to implement State Plan policy strategies;
4. Services, resources, and delivery strategies, including the use of technology;
5. Information pertaining to the AJCCs in Monterey County;
6. Programs, populations, and partners;
7. Supportive services;
8. Training activities, including staff professional development;
9. Common intake and case management efforts; and
10. Public transparency, accessibility, and inclusivity information.
Approval Timeline:
Plans are due to the State Board no later than April 30, 2021 and must be submitted as separate, accessible PDF files copied to a USB flash drive. If the signature of the Chief Elected Official cannot be obtained by the submittal deadline, the Local Board shall submit a blank signature page with an explanation and a date by which the signed copy will be provided. It is anticipated that the State Board will review and approve, conditionally if changes/additions are deemed necessary, both plans by June 30, 2021. Should the State Board identify any deficiencies, local areas will be notified
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The Workforce Development Boards of Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, as well as education partners from regional community colleges, EDD, and other interested organizations have reviewed the North Central Coast RPU Regional Plan and the Monterey County workforce development area Local Plan.
FINANCING:
There is no impact on the Monterey County General Fund as WIOA activities are fully financed by federal funds.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
√ Economic Development
√ Administration
√ Health & Human Services
Prepared by: Elizabeth Kaylor, Management Analyst II, Ext. 5385
Approved by: Christopher Donnelly, Executive Director, Ext. 6644
ATTACHMENTS:
§ Board Report
§ North Central Coast RPU Regional Plan
§ Monterey County Workforce Development Board Local Plan