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An Overview of Utah’s Workforce Services System

An Overview of Utah’s Workforce Services System. Mike Richardson Director, Office of Service Delivery Support Utah Department of Workforce Services. What events prompted consolidation?. Leadership from State Job Training Coordinating Council (SJTCC)

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An Overview of Utah’s Workforce Services System

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  1. An Overview of Utah’s Workforce Services System Mike Richardson Director, Office of Service Delivery Support Utah Department of Workforce Services

  2. What events prompted consolidation? • Leadership from State Job Training Coordinating Council (SJTCC) • Welfare reform (block grants, time limits, and emphasis on “self- sufficiency”) • Pending workforce investment legislation (one-stop concept of service delivery) • Duplication of services (legislative audit) • Decreasing funding (doing more with less) • Lower unemployment rates and an apparent labor shortage • Customer-centered business focus

  3. Background • 1990: SJTCC formed a coordinating committee • 1992: Legislative Auditor General released his “Report on Utah’s Employment and Training Systems” • 1994: Governor’s Task Force on Workforce Services convened • 1997: Governor Mike Leavitt signed State Senate Bill 166, officially creating the Department of Workforce Services (DWS)

  4. Background (continued) • The Department of Workforce Services is a consolidation of five state and local agencies!

  5. Customers • External customers include: • Employers • Looking for qualified applicants • Seeking other “Business Services” (labor market information, layoff consultation, jobs.utah.gov, etc.) • Job Seekers • Unemployed • Underemployed • Displaced homemakers • Dislocated workers • Public assistance recipients • Our primary goal is to provide exceptional customer service to our employer and job seeker customers!

  6. Utah’s Workforce Services System Implementation Steps • Appointed State and Regional Councils on Workforce Services (July 1997) • Developed vision and mission statements, and brand/logo for the One-Stop workforce services system (July 1997) • Established service delivery system (April 1997 to July 2000) • Defined partnerships (July 1998 to June 1999) • Integrated service delivery (July 1997 to June 1999) • Enhanced management system (January 1999 to December 2000) • Building employment counseling operating system (January 2000 to October 2002)

  7. 1. State and Regional Councils on Workforce Services • State Council on Workforce Services (which includes the SJTCC) appointed by the Governor as 31 member board with private sector majority and chair (April 1997) • Eight Regional Councils on Workforce Services, appointed throughout the state by the executive director and local elected officials, as 33 member, private sector led boards (July 1997) • State Council (and Regional Councils) elect to make Utah a single service delivery area with gubernatorial approval (February 1998) • State Council certified by the Governor as the State Workforce Investment Board (SWIB) (September 1999)

  8. State Council (SWIB) Responsibilities • Oversee the workforce development system in Utah • Write the Annual State Workforce Services Plan • Review regional workforce services plans • Oversight and technical assistance to the Regional Councils • Evaluate program performance and service quality • Develop program improvements and enhancements • Marketing and outreach • Annual report to the Governor and Legislature • Coordinate with public partners (e.g. Education, Rehab, etc.) • Undertake special assignments from the Governor and Legislature

  9. Regional Councils’ (eight) Responsibilities • Draft Annual Regional Workforce Services Plans • Determine locations and staffing of “one-stop” (or Employment) Centers • Develop training priorities • Coordinate apprenticeship training • Coordinate with public partners (e.g. education, economic development, rehabilitation, etc.) • Report annually to the State Council

  10. 2. Vision, mission, and brand • Vision… “We will set national standard of a high quality workforce by being the employment connecting point for employers, job seekers, and the community.”

  11. Mission… The mission of the Utah Department of Workforce Services is to provide quality, accessible, and comprehensive employment related and supportive services responsive to the needs of employers, job seekers, and the community.

  12. 3. Service Delivery System: One-Stop Employment Centers • Reduced number of facilities from 104 to 42 (includes satellite, eligibility, and outreach facilities) • Integrated staff and minimized duplication of services • Economies of scale reduce staff from 1,868 to 1,777

  13. 3. Service Delivery: Unemployment Insurance Claims Center Centralized Unemployment Insurance for the state into the Unemployment Insurance Claims Center (UICC), a call center located in Salt Lake City

  14. 3. Service Delivery:Eligibility Technology Support • Imaged Case Files • Data Brokering • Statewide Helpdesk • Statewide Procedures and Policy on Internet • Statewide Resource and Referral on Internet

  15. 4. Partnerships • Identify partners • Education • Vocational rehabilitation • Economic development • Human services • Advocacy Groups • Formalize relationships • Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) • Regional Councils develop local partnership agreements based on the MOUs • Work together

  16. 5. Integration • Developed a service delivery plan (Strategic Five Year State Workforce Investment Plan) that integrates and meets requirements for the Wagner-Peyser and Workforce Investment Acts • Wrote curriculum consistent with the Utah service delivery model and provided training to all employment counselors, supervisors, managers, and administrators

  17. WIA adult WIA dislocated worker WIA youth Employment service Adult education Welfare-to-work Trade adjustment assistance NAFTA transitional adjustment assistance Unemployment insurance Migrant and seasonal farmworker programs Youth opportunity grants Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) USDA Food Stamp Employment and Training Programs DWS contains most Workforce Investment Act (WIA) programs

  18. RMTS Strikes (SFY2002 YTD Average)

  19. 6. Enhanced Management System • Identify key business processes with the SWIB • Determine key outcome indicators (measures) of performance that impact key business processes • Measure indicators of performance and give regular feedback to SWIB and management teams for continuous improvement

  20. DWS has established a business planning process • It is guided by the SWIB’s vision and direction • Has a well-defined strategic direction • Is driven by the customer-defined requirements with the parameters of available funding • Integrates business planning with State and Regional Council planning and the WIA Unified Plan • Allocates resources to services and the organization’s sub-units • Focuses on performance measurement

  21. 7. UWORKS • DWS inherited several proprietary database management programs • Our internal customers required a simpler, Windows-based, Web built case management operating system that reflects our integrated service delivery system • UWORKS has been under construction for three years and in three phases, the last of which will come up in October 2002 • jobs.utah.gov is the culmination of UWORKS and the portal to online workforce services

  22. Challenges • Managing change • Integration of organizational cultures • Aligning program requirements (definitions and eligibility) • Organize state operations functionally • Disparate performance measures • Federal funding silos • Lack of information technology to support the new service delivery approach

  23. Success! • Legislative audit completed in August 2000 • Reviewed original goals of the consolidation • Results indicate: • Customer service has improved and continues to improve (annual surveys) • Duplication reduced • Management positions decreased (Reduction of 118 FTE’s realized) • Number of facilities had decreased

  24. Barriers to further integration • Inconsistent Definitions • Funding Issues • Performance Standards • Eligible Training Provider requirements • Fair Share Concept • Flexibility

  25. Secrets to success • Governor and legislative Leadership • Unique cultural development • Private sector/board leadership • Agency and constituency buy-in

  26. What does the future hold? • Expanded online services at jobs.utah.gov • Reauthorization of TANF and child care • Federal department collaboration • Helping people help themselves • Doing more with less • Continuous improvement • eREP (electronic Resource and Eligibility Product)

  27. Thank You! What other questions might you have? Mike Richardson (801) 526-4377 mikerichardson@utah.gov

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