POLICY STATEMENT
EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD
Effective Date: July 1, 2001.
Document Description: This policy statement informs training providers on procedures that will be used for determining training provider eligibility.
On March 28, 2001, the board, on behalf of the governor, adopted a policy that establishes the governor's procedure for determining training provider eligibility. The procedure will be used to determine the eligibility of training providers to receive Workforce Investment Act Title I-B Individual Training accounts and to train dislocated workers receiving additional unemployment insurance benefits under the state's training benefits program during the time period beginning on July 1, 2001, and ending on June 30, 2001.
Background: The Governor's Executive Order 99-02 designates the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board (WTECB) to develop criteria for eligible training providers under Title I of P.L. 105-220 (the Workforce Investment Act) and standards for measuring and reporting eligible provider performance and cost information. Under the state's training benefits program, a program must meet criteria for performance developed by the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board for the purpose of determining those training programs eligible for funding under Title I of P.L. 105-220. The performance management for continuous improvement workgroup, including representatives of local workforce development councils and training providers, assisted board staff in developing the procedures. The board distributed draft policy papers to the local workforce development councils and training providers for comment. The procedure includes three sections: (1) State required performance levels; (2) definitions of performance measures and methodology; (3) application, data submittal, denials, and appeal procedure.
State Required Performance Levels: The procedure states that in order to be eligible, a program must meet or exceed each of the following minimum performance floors: A completion rate of 20% (completion defined as percentage of all exiters from the applicable provider program who successfully complete that program); an employment rate of 45% (employment defined as percentage of all exiters from the applicable program who obtained unsubsidized employment during the third quarter after program exit); an earnings level of $2,813 in a calendar quarter (median earnings during the third quarter after exit of all participants who exited the applicable program with earnings in unsubsidized employment).
In addition, the program must achieve an average of 100% of the following performance targets: A completion rate of 30%; an employment rate of 60%; and an earnings level of $3,538 in a calendar quarter. The average shall be calculated by dividing actual performance on each measure, for which there is sufficient data, by the target for that measure, adding the results together, and dividing by the number of measures for which there is sufficient data.
If a program meets or exceeds the minimum performance floors but does not achieve an average of 100% of the performance targets, then the program's actual performance on each measure shall be adjusted by a mathematical regression model that takes into account some of the demographic characteristics of the program participants and one or more economic characteristics of the county or counties in which the participants reside. If the application of the adjustment models result in a program's average performance meeting or exceeding 100% of the performance targets, and the program meets or exceeds each of the minimum performance floors (without regression adjustment) then the program shall be determined to have satisfied the state required performance levels.
Eligible training providers must report data on program participants to the WTECB. WTECB will calculate performance using administrative records. Providers may submit supplemental data on performance in limited situations.
The full text of the procedure can be accessed at www.wa.gov/wtb/etp.pdf. For a paper copy of the procedure, please contact Barbara Mix, Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board, 128 10th Avenue S.W., P.O. Box 43105, Olympia, WA 98504-3105.
May 1, 2001
Bryan Wilson
Associate Director