St. Lawrence County Workforce Investment Area's
Functional Alignment Addendum to the Comprehensive Three-Year Local Plan
Narrative
1. Describe the current level of WIA Title 1B and Wagner-Peyser services integration in your One-Stop Centers and local system.
St. Lawrence County has one One-Stop Career Center and two Wagner-Peyser access/affiliate sites. One of these two sites will be physically moved into the One-Stop Center by June 2006. The current One-Stop Center has one LSR available four out of five days per week to provide mandated Wagner-Peyser Services. This LSR does all initial data input of OSOS registrants with the exception of a very few WIA participants who enter directly into WIA staff assisted Core, Intensive or Training Services.
The current integration between Wagner-Peyser and WIA also has a Veterans’ Representative and a Wagner-Peyser Supervisor at the One-Stop one day per week. WIA staff is attending RSO meetings at the two existing Wagner-Peyser access sites. WIA Business Services staff also assists with soliciting job listings for the Wagner-Peyser Program. Rapid Response and job fairs are attended by staff from both programs. Informational services to businesses are provided individually and through consultation with partner staff.
Referrals are currently made on a frequent basis from Wagner-Peyser staff to WIA staff for significant staff-assisted core services and for all intensive and training services. WIA staff currently refers some of their participant pool to Wagner-Peyser job listings. Some sharing of entered employment information is also made.
Currently the level of “integration” is more of cooperation between partner agencies. With integration, we are moving to being “one”, that is, we will be working together functionally to achieve the same goals (measured by the new Common Measures) and working together to align functions and services.
Supervision of staff has remained the responsibility of the program that funds each staff member. There has been very little formal cross-training of staff on WIA or W-P specific regulatory or reporting procedures. All staff, however, is cross trained on how to use the resources we have available for job search purposes. Outreach, intake [which may include worker profiling referral services (WPRS)] and orientation to the One Stop Center and system:
2. What goals does the local area seek to achieve through this functional alignment plan?
a. How will the local system move beyond co-location of staff at One-Stop Centers to achieve even greater functional alignment of WIA Title 1B and Wagner-Peyser program services.
b. How will the planned WIA Title 1B and Wagner-Peyser service integration help to increase the number of customers that can be served and improve the quality of services provided in you local system?
c. In analyzing the resources available to operate the local One-Stop Centers after July 1, 2006, and the cost to maintain the current operations of the local One-Stop Centers, is there a gap? If there is a gap, how will your planned functional alignment of WIA 1B and Wagner-Peyser resources and service help to close this gap?
As of July 1, 2006, the local workforce system will have a shared customer pool as Common Measures define and require and is further clarified through TA #06-04. That is, all individuals reporting to the One-Stop Career Center in Canton, New York or reporting to a Wagner-Peyser access or affiliate site including self help or information only customers, will be registered and enrolled W-P and WIA.
Both sites will follow the Customer Flow chart Attachment A included in this Functional Alignment Addendum; data element validation will be a shared responsibility of WIA and W-P staff depending on which staff is providing staff assistance beyond self service and/or informational activities.
There will be cross-training of partner staff (WIA and W-P minimally) through scheduled presentations Attachment B by WIA and W-P supervisory and “key” staff to other staff for the purpose of training each other in the provision of WIA and Wagner-Peyser mandatory services and for the data requirements and tracking to meet Common Measures. Management staff will seek out appropriate training opportunities through webinars in Common Measures, OSOS, Customer Service, Business Services and other service delivery methods within a six month timeframe in order to align staff functionally as service integration leads to system integration. The cost of webinar training is nominal and can easily be absorbed at this time of diminished resources.
The following functional service units have been identified as necessary for effective delivery of employment and training services. The first functional unit will be the Workforce Orientation and Information Unit. This unit will be staffed by both WIA and Wagner-Peyser Staff. Individuals will be greeted and asked “What has brought you to the Center or Affiliate site today?” They will also be asked if they are currently registered in OSOS. If self-service or informational service is the reason for their visit they will be shown the tools to provide service for themselves with minimal assistance. This Unit will also function to provide orientation to services. Unit staff will see that required data elements for participants receiving self-service have been gathered as defined in TA #06-04. This information may be entered by the participant or by the unit staff into OSOS.
If participant now or later needs staff assistance through being informed or oriented to system services, the Workforce Orientation and Information Unit will collect data element validation information and create a full mandatory electronic registration with a hard copy file of OSOS registration and data validation (such as DOB and Selective Service Registration). Providing in depth information specific to the customer will be done by this unit. Customer needs will then be determined and an assessment of needs will be provided in the form of an interview or participant self assessment. Participants will be shown directly to the appropriate staff in one of the next three units. If the customer cannot or does not want to be seen immediately, an appointment will be made at the customer’s convenience.
The next two functional units will be the Job Search Unit and the Career Development Units. Both Units will be staffed by WIA and Wagner-Peyser staff. The Job Search Unit will explore the customer’s needs, interests, and current skill levels and then work with the customer to find employment as quickly as possible through individual instruction and by providing job search techniques, job referral, resume development, marketing, and interviewing skills.
The customer may be referred directly to the Career Development Unit (who will collect information for eligibility for Intensive and Training Services) if they are in need of career counseling, assessment, and/or prevocational services and/or training services. Or, the individual may be referred from the Job Search Unit if efforts to get a job with their current skill set are unsuccessful. The Career Development Unit may use further assessment tools such as O’NET Ability Profiler, etc. Career counseling and advisement based on test results and labor market conditions might then be provided. If intensive services are justifiable, the customer can access an intensive or training service and an ITA will be issued for use with an eligible training provider.
The last functional unit will be the Business Services Unit. This unit will be staffed by both a WIA and a Wagner-Peyser staff member. Above and beyond the services provided directly under WIB Services and Economic Development Services, participants in the performance pool will receive On-the-Job and Customized Training, as well as incumbent Worker Training (collection of income and eligibility information for training services will be collected at this point if not previously collected). This unit will also work with the performance participant pool to provide applicant screening and referral, and to provide unscreened applicant pool candidates for interviewing. Refer to Attachment C, the Business Customer Chart, for further Business Services that will not directly impact the participant pool, but will add to the economic vitality of the community being served.
Functional leadership and supervision will first and foremost be addressing the training needs of all staff to be cross-trained. This will be the joint responsibility of the WIA One-Stop Manager and the ES Manager who will develop training outlines and assign appropriate staff or methods to deliver such training. Recommendations to the WIB for improved service delivery and performance will be jointly made.
Next, the WIA Sr. Employment Coordinator and Senior LSR will be responsible for the correct data entry into OSOS and data validation for both self-service and for intensive and training services. These two people will manage the self-service pool for proper placement in this pool. Together these two people will provide the analysis of Common Performance Measures and make written recommendations to the One-Stop Manger and ES Manager on increasing the quality and quantity of services to meet or improve Common Performance Measures.
Each Functional Unit will have one functional supervisor making decisions on services being delivered and recorded into OSOS. Currently, we have three “front line” supervisors, one from Wagner-Peyser and two from WIA who can be assigned by the Managers (WIA and W-P) to these Units.
The Business Customer Chart Attachment C defines those services currently being offered by both Wagner-Peyser and WIA Staff. Wagner-Peyser and WIA direct-line staff will be assigned under this chart to responsibilities that are business related with and without participant participation. Participant activities will be recorded into OSOS by this functional unit. This alignment will increase our ability to respond to businesses in a timely and coordinated fashion.
The One Stop Operating System (OSOS) will be used to coordinate services to participants and prevent duplication of services. Wagner-Peyser and WIA will record under OSOS all activities as of July 1, 2006, so that all staff will now see all services/activities being provided to participants. OSOS will be used to tally numbers to be sure that the shared participant pool is serving greater numbers of individuals without a disproportionate number of individuals assigned to the self-service pool.
It is anticipated that this functional alignment is going to create a much larger performance pool in particular for the Workforce Investment Act program. The number of Wagner-Peyser participants not receiving services should decrease and as we become adept at managing performance through interventions with staff and services, common measure performance should steadily improve to show an increase in numbers of employed and retained individual who also have increased earnings. The number of credentialed individuals will initially drop as OJT credentials will not be counted; however, the percentage will remain the same or increase.
With full functional integration, the staff will no longer identify the program that they are paid through, but will identify themselves as the person responsible for the functional delivery of certain services. From a customer perspective, this will make sense, and it will also give the customer one or more staff who will act as contact points to address their needs. The “flow” will be as uninterrupted as possible as the functional units develop an easy and quick means of communication. The anticipated co-location of the Massena W-P program with the Canton One-Stop will immediately help to promote a more rational delivery of service from the customer perspective. See Attachment A Customer Flow Chart.
The current resources to operate the local One-Stop Career Center are very limited. There are four WIA Counselor positions that where filled last year that are now left vacant as a direct response to diminished resources. The functional alignment plan will immediately increase the number of direct line staff available to provide participant and business services. In addition, the co-location of the ES staff from the Massena Access/Affiliate site will contribute dollars to the infrastructure cost of the One Stop Facilities. Both of these measures will directly help the One-Stop Career Center to close existing gaps and help to offset the reductions in formula money for the new program year beginning July 1, 2006.
3. What new unified policies and procedures and/or changes to existing policies and procedures need to be put in place by the Local Board and Chief Local Elected Officials(s) to support the local/regional functional alignment plans and goals?
Revise policy and procedures as it pertains to On-the-Job Training, Customized Training, Supportive Services, Training Related Services and Classroom Training, Core and Intensive Services. Changes in policies will reflect functional alignment.
4. How will the Local Board strengthen the authority and accountability of its One-Stop Operator(s) to help achieve WIA Title 1B and Wagner-Peyser resource and service integration? What revisions will need to be made to the One-Stop Operator Agreement(s) and system level Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)?
The WIB will implement new strategies and procedures in collaboration with Wagner-Peyser within the existing One-Stop Operator Agreement to reflect changes in roles, responsibilities, and Common Measure’s outcomes in the functional alignment of service delivery. Where necessary, modifications to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will take place when new budget allocations are complete.
5. What changes will occur based on the implementation of the new Common Measures to support greater resource and service integration?
The implementation of Common Measures brings about the sharing of resources. The Wagner-Peyser Massena affiliate site will co-locate on or before June 1, 2006 to the St. Lawrence County One-Stop Career Center. This will reduce infrastructure costs. Common Measures will no longer require dual data entry in OSOS after July 1, 2006 and implementation of a common participant pool will reduce service duplication.
6. If the local area is exploring a regional strategy beyond the boundaries of the current LWIA to align the provision of services with other adjoining local areas or units of government, provide an update on discussions held and next steps being planned. If the LWIB, in concert with the Chief Elected Official(s), seeks to merge with another workforce area or unit of government, refer to Attachments F and G for information on the process and form for requesting re-designation.
We have no plans for merger.
Attachment D - Functional Alignment Budget
Attachment E - Signature Page - Local Chief Elected Official
Attachment F - Signature Page - Local Board Chair
Attachment G - Local WIB Director/Regional Administrator
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