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RWB–6 Request of Waiver re 50% ITA Expenditures

 

 A request for a waiver of the 50% expenditure requirement of WIA Adult and Dislocated

Worker funds, to 25% expenditure requirement.

Presented to

Workforce Florida, Inc. Waiver Review Committee

January 30, 2013

by

Sheryl Rehberg

Executive Director

North Florida Workforce Development Board

January 2013

   

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January 30, 2013

To the WFI Waiver Review Committee:

Thank you for your invitation to apply for this waiver. Your consideration is greatly appreciated by our Regional Workforce Board and the Region 6 Workforce Consortium.

This document will show the North Florida Workforce region, and requested information in support of a waiver of the 50% expenditure requirement. It will also inform the committee of the impact of the 50% requirement, and recent negative impacts of loss of funds, as well as propose some positive impact of receiving the waiver to 25%.

We believe “loosening up” of some of the WIA adult program funds will allow its use in keeping other required services in place. The largest impact on WIA customers will be in providing some assistance with the “other costs” of attending training. Under the current definition of ITA expenditures, transportation and other costs are not allowed in the Individual Training Account (ITA) cost category. Those services, if provided, must come from the rest of the funding left over after setting aside 50% for eligible training costs.

In this document, we will try to show you the organizational set-up of our RWB, and give you an idea of who we are and how we go about delivering workforce services in this purely rural area. All of the RWB counties are within the North Central Critical Area of Economic Concern, or RACEC.

The committee will also see how services other than training programs will suffer shortage of staff and overhead if the RWB is not allowed a waiver. Budget documents are included.

Should the committee need further information or clarification, the Executive Director will be available for discussion.

Sincerely,

________________________________ J. Douglas Whitaker, RWB Chair

________________________________ Rick Davis, Region 6 Workforce Consortium Representative

 

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All six of the counties are located within the North Central RACEC:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking of the RACEC, this RWB has been a strong supporter and contributor to the partnership that is the designated manager of the RACEC initiative, the North Florida Economic Development Partnership. Board members have attended training and meetings of the NFEDP, participated in targeted recruitment of businesses (jobs), and the Executive Director serves as the Workforce Board representative in the partnership at the approval of all RWBs included in the North Central area. Most recently, this RWB has been a vital partner in working to recruit a large new manufacturing company to the region, which will locate in the catalyst site in Suwanee County and bring a large number of jobs later this year.

Workforce services provided to this larger economic development region are of untold importance to job creation and retention for North Florida. Participation in this partnership is not seen as an option, and continued financial support at a reasonable level is needed.

 

The loc

al populatioon informattion and labbor market iinformationn:

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Some information about our customers and services:

FY11-12 FY12-13 so far

Job Orders Entered by Staff 491 345

Does not reflect jobs in other data bases we refer job seekers to

Positions available 1552 678

Applicants to those positions 15,822 5,854

Job Placements 1441 727

This number would include those who received training services

WIA ITA Accounts 31 90.9% placement* 48 Significant increase

Other services to Adult WIA enrollees 86

100%

placement 123

Does not reflect the time spent advising potential training participants,

Funds obligated to ITAs $61,136 $57,156 Significant increase

Funds obligated to employer-based training

$72,034(actually invoiced) $105,000*

*Approximately $125,000 in potential contracts in the process at this time

Number of trainees in employer-based training 25 22 42 so far *amount obligated does not necessarily mean it will all be invoiced and paid

List of training programs where our participants go, all approved on our Targeted Occupations List:

Healthcare: LPN, RN, Surgical Tech, Physical Therapy Assistant, Medical Secretary, EMT/Paramedic

Information Technology: Systems Administrator; Computer Information Technology

Manufacturing: Welding Transportation: CDL Truck Drivers. Auto Technician Public Safety: Law Enforcement, Fire Fighter Other: Water/Waste Management Operators; Culinary Arts

We have individuals in training programs from Tallahassee to Gainesville, in Lake City, Perry, Madison and Live Oak.

It isn’t difficult to see the focus of our services to job seekers and the reflection of what they need from us. It doesn’t reflect the time staff spends screening, testing, and

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reviewing applications for our businesses in order to provide them the best talent available. We are, however, making progress toward more expenditures on training our businesses’ workforce. These figures also do not reflect all of the work we do with Welfare Transition customers, or WIA Youth program customers. While those two categories of services are not funded by WIA adult funds, those programs are impacted by the availability of funds from those streams to support overhead and administrative costs. Over the last few years, as funding allocations have decreased and our need for services has increased, we have taken steps to automate and streamline some services to our job seekers:

Automated orientation to training programs, to reduce staff time needed to provide overview information-done in-house to keep costs low

Electronic applications on our web site so job/training seekers have access to information without having to come into the office as they make decisions about training options

Training program videos to showcase training options within our region that is distributed to all high school counselors

Cross-training staff so that more of them know more of the various training resources available

Reduction of pages in application and intake process forms, a timesaver How the “other 25%” of funds will be spent on serving our job seekers and businesses. 

• WIA ITA could be used first, ahead of PELL, with State “hold harmless” guarantee

– Customers may have more flexibility in choice of provider • Increased opportunities for EWT/OJT/Skills Upgrade and Retraining • ITA Diverted (waivered) funds pay for personnel and One-Stop costs to meet the

demand of our customers for job services.

– Economic Development/Employer Services Staff – Labor Exchange/Resource Room Staff – Soft Skills Training/Education Staff – More workshops for job seekers – Increased outreach activities and materials for job seekers and

businesses – Increase resources for automation of processes (possibly purchasing an

electronic records system) – Supportive Services for training program participants* – Other One Stop Costs

*Supportive services: MORE REAL COSTS OF ATTENDANCE

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TRANSPORTATION: in a six-county rural area such as ours, training participants may have to travel up to 60 miles one-way to get to a training institution. We can pay tuition all day long, but if our customers can’t get there, it is wasted. FEES NOT PAID TO TRAINING PROVIDERS: our customers in the healthcare occupational training, in particular, must bear their own testing costs, as the schools do not cover that in those fees to testing providers and licensure agencies. Once again, there is also transportation involved in traveling to a testing site, and many times test prep resources are needed to assure passing of licensing exams. These do not meet the definition of “eligible training costs” per legislation. Some funding is needed to assure completion of the WIA goals for our customers. How the waiver will help our ability to help meet the Governor’s goals in job placement. We see three ways we are addressing the Governor’s goals:

Short-term: placing people in jobs, matching them to the best available per their skills

Long-term: training people for entry, re-entry, and advancing in jobs to meet the business needs of our communities.

Long-term: assisting young people as they finish high school or go back to high school in an alternative setting, and transition to post-secondary training and/or employment.

More of our customers come in for job search and other assistance in locating employment, than the ones who come in requesting training. Although we have ramped up our recruiting efforts to training programs, many of our job seekers are reluctant to look into training for various reasons. In most instances, a jobseeker requires extensive core and intensive services (as WIA requires) prior to enrolling in training. Since this intensive pre-training enrollment and placement into jobs is not an eligible ITA expenditure, it doesn’t count for the 50% requirement. It is not unusual for jobseekers to work with a WIA career consultant for 3-6 months before choosing training. It should be noted that in the daily job placement ranking over the last couple of months, Region 6 has remained fairly consistently high on that chart. We believe we are doing our part to contribute to the success of getting Florida back to work, even though we are a small population with fewer large employers. The vacancies we experience in our region that create the most difficulty in filling for our larger employers continue to be in the area of engineering. Our larger employers do recruit from outside our region, and even outside the state of Florida, looking for talent to fill those higher level skill jobs. Our employers with the most job vacancies, though not necessarily the “high-skill” jobs:

Pilgrim’s Pride, poultry processing: an average of 100 applications per month PCS Phosphate Corporation, mining operation: fewer applications, maybe 10-15

openings per year which would generate hundreds of applications due to higher pay and low turnover

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Buckeye Cellulose Plant (wood/paper): same as PCS, but usually 600-700 applications per job due to the higher pay and low turnover

Snyder-Lance, potato chip plant: 5-10 openings per month City/County Governments, State Prisons and School Districts are our other

“usual suspects” with job openings, along with many small businesses. As we increase our training program enrollments, we believe we are addressing the skills in demand occupations, and our efforts with economic development and training partners in the region will lead to addressing the long-term unemployment issues and the filling of jobs created in our region by retiring of a “graying” workforce.  

Efforts to increase demand for training services:

Demand for training services has increased over the past 6 months and fall enrollees should have even greater access to workforce services. We have out-stationed WIA staff to training providers’ campuses within the region, increased our information dissemination strategies, and continue with every means available to us (with restricted availability of funds to do so). However, we are still far short of a 50% expenditure rate for ITA eligible services. Other efforts include:

All job seekers are presented information on education/training at every visit Veterans are given priority of service for training participation and funding Employer Services Reps routinely present education/training opportunities and

encourage businesses to engage Blast emails go out to job seekers and business customers Web site announcements; facebook and twitter; multiple community collaborative

meetings every month with business and economic development partners Increased participation in local social services events, job fairs hosted by

partners, etc. Brochures, training videos and other media materials distributed to all county

high schools and other training providers

Services to our Employers:

• Economic Development/Employer Services – 14,748 documented Services for: Employer Visits/Follow-ups, Job Order

Postings, Specialized Services (screening, testing), Business Meetings/Presentations, Economic Development Meetings, Job Fairs/Mass Recruitment, Job Referrals, Job Placements/Obtained Employments. These services continue to grow in demand, and additional staff in this area would benefit our businesses and help to expedite responses to our job seekers.

– Over 50 responses to inquiries and requests for information from Economic Development partners, most within the region and some outside the region

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and in the NFEDP (RACEC) area, and assistance to partners in grant writing efforts (LMI and demographic data)

– Job Matching, to try and place the best talent in the businesses

The RWB has become the “go-to” place for economic development organizations when they need information for business proposals in their recruitment efforts. This is a highly-valued partnership within the North Florida region.

Efforts to adapt to loss of funding: This fiscal year, the RWB sustained a significant loss of funds.

• For F/Y 2012-13, the RWB reduced its staff by 4.5 positions: – Outsourced financial and cash management services (to reduce the

expenditure rate on administrative services) – Eliminated quality assurance ½ time position – Did not fill vacancies created by individuals leaving for other jobs

• The schedule for mobile services was reduced. • Staff has “doubled up” on duties to cover required services. • Fewer staff means even harder “crunch” when individuals are out on leave. • The restrictive use of WIA adult funding streams has created a hardship in budgeting

to retain the level of services our job seekers and businesses deserve.

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Budget Information. Current and proposed budget for FY 2013:

BUDGET BUDGET Category Description 2012-2013 2012-2013 Personnel Services: 50% 25%

Staff Salaries $ 920,229.00 $ 955,229.00 1 addn'l

staff Payroll Taxes $ 70,397.00 $ 72,937.00

Insurance & Retirement Benefits $ 186,688.00 $ 188,688.00 UC & Workers Comp Insurance $ 23,500.00 $ 24,500.00

Staff Travel $ 32,500.00 $ 33,500.00 Staff Training & Conferences $ 14,200.00 $ 14,200.00

Processing Fees $ 3,200.00 $ 3,200.00 Facilities Costs:

Rent $ 87,378.00 $ 87,378.00 Insurance $ 10,379.00 $ 10,379.00

Repairs & Maint. $ 12,000.00 $ 12,000.00 Utilities $ 31,000.00 $ 31,000.00

Mobile Unit Operating Expenses $ 30,000.00 $ 30,000.00 Capital Expenditures $ 12,000.00 $ 12,000.00 IT/Communications

IT/Communications $ 47,250.00 $ 47,250.00 Data Backup Services $ 6,000.00 $ 6,000.00

ITA/Support Services - WIA & WTP

ITA $ 475,966.73 $ 237,983.00

WIA Adult/DW Training Support Services $ 80,000.00

Goal: 80 ITA's

@$1,000 ea

WTP Training & Support Services $ 85,000.00 $ 85,000.00

Indirect/Overhead Costs Postage $ 3,500.00 $ 3,500.00

Printing Costs $ 3,850.00 $ 6,850.00 Professional Fees $ 7,500.00 $ 7,500.00

Publications $ 200.00 $ 200.00 Rental Fees $ 2,400.00 $ 2,400.00

Dues & Memberships $ 5,500.00 $ 5,500.00

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Copier Use & Maintenance $ 6,000.00 $ 8,000.00 General Liability - D&O Liability $ 7,411.00 $ 7,411.00

Supplies & Other Program Costs $ 321,268.27 $ 321,269.00 Equipment <$5k $ 1,500.00 $ 1,500.00

Outreach & Awareness/Job Fairs $ 2,000.00 $ 4,000.00

Youth Program Direct Costs Youth Incentives & Program Support $ 18,500.00 $ 18,500.00

Supplies $ 10,800.00 $ 10,800.00 Youth Salaries & Taxes $ 192,000.00 $ 192,000.00

Other Administrative Costs

Board Member Training/Conferences $ 2,400.00 $ 2,400.00 Board Member Travel $ 3,600.00 $ 3,600.00

Service Fees (Audit, Legal) $ 25,000.00 $ 25,000.00 Accounting/Financal Processing Fees $ 34,000.00 $ 34,000.00

Other Projects

Electronic Records System; Special Projects for Target Groups,

$ 109,443.00

Totals $ 2,695,117.00 $ 2,695,117.00

Requested information on staffing costs:

Supervisory: Number Salary: Taxes Benefits Total: %

Management Team 4* $ 113,436 $ 8,385 $ 16,933 $ 138,754 22

Support Team 2 $ 37,863 $ 2,785 $ 7,100 $ 47,748 26

Staff Members 22 $ 314,220 $ 23,114 $ 75,374 $ 412,708 31

(Direct Services)

Total: $ 465,519 $ 34,284 $ 99,407 29

Grand Total: $ 599,210

*The number of managing supervisory staff has now decreased to 3, effective January 1st, due to low funding in the Welfare Transition program. Our team is to a bare minimum for a region spread out like we are. Our front line staff is also the bare

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minimum to cover all the service area with two offices and two mobile career centers deployed to outlying areas.

Requested Information on Professional Fees and Travel:

3rd & 4th Quarter - Professional Fees

Professional Fees Total: $ 45,946

Includes fees for: legal, financial, auditing and IT technical assistance

3rd & 4th Quarter -Travel REG CONF/SEMINAR

JUL $ 1,925

AUG $ 1,483 $ 302

SEPT $ 2,067 $ 106

OCT $ 2,260 $ 336

NOV $ 2,475 $ 389

DEC $ 1,977 $ 1,649

TOTAL: $ 12,187 $ 2,782

GRAND TOTAL: $ 14,969

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Organizational Chart:

North Florida Workforce Development

I.T. DIRECTOR

DEPUTY C OOPERATIONS

DIRECTOR EMPLOYER

SERVICES

PUBLIC

RELATIONS

SPECIAL

PROJECTS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

MOBILE

SERVICES

CUSTOMER

SERVICES

VETS

WTP

WIA ADULT

WIA DISLOCATED

WORKER

Executive

Assistant

MISSION STATEMENT

To be responsible and active partners in sharing resources for the North Florida  

Region so communities will be confident in quality solutions that strengthen the 

workforce and enhance economic development.