Attachment E: Section 171 And172 Of The Workforce Investment Act Of 1998

ATTACHMENT E: SECTION 171 AND172 OF THE

WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT OF 1998

Section 171 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998

SEC. 171. DEMONSTRATION, PILOT, MULTISERVICE, RESEARCH, AND

MULTISTATE PROJECTS.

(a) STRATEGIC PLAN.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—After consultation with States, localities, and other interested parties, the Secretary shall, every 2 years, publish in the Federal Register, a plan that describes the demonstration and pilot (including dislocated worker demonstration and pilot), multiservice, research, and multistate project priorities of the Department of Labor concerning employment and training for the 5-year period following the submission of the plan. Copies of the plan shall be transmitted to the appropriate committees of Congress.

(2) FACTORS.—The plan published under paragraph (1) shall contain strategies to address national employment and training problems and take into account factors such as—

(A) the availability of existing research (as of the date of the publication);

(B) the need to ensure results that have interstate validity;

(C) the benefits of economies of scale and the efficiency of proposed projects; and

(D) the likelihood that the results of the projects will be useful to policymakers and stakeholders in addressing employment and training problems.

(b) DEMONSTRATION AND PILOT PROJECTS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Under a plan published under subsection (a), the Secretary shall, through grants or contracts, carry out demonstration and pilot projects for the purpose of developing and implementing techniques and approaches, and demonstrating the effectiveness of specialized methods, in addressing

employment and training needs. Such projects shall include the provision of direct services to individuals to enhance employment opportunities and an evaluation component and

may include—

(A) the establishment of advanced manufacturing technology skill centers developed through local partnerships of industry, labor, education, community-based organizations, and economic development organizations to meet unmet, high-tech skill needs of local communities;

(B) projects that provide training to upgrade the skills of employed workers who reside and are employed in enterprise communities or empowerment zones;

(C) programs conducted jointly with the Department of Defense to develop training programs utilizing computer based and other innovative learning technologies;

(D) projects that promote the use of distance learning, enabling students to take courses through the use of media technology such as videos, teleconferencing computers, and the Internet;

(E) projects that assist in providing comprehensive services to increase the employment rates of out-of-school youth residing in targeted high poverty areas within empowerment zones and enterprise communities;

(F) the establishment of partnerships with national organizations with special expertise in developing, organizing, and administering employment and training services, for individuals with disabilities, at the national, State, and local levels;

(G) projects to assist public housing authorities that provide, to public housing residents, job training programs that demonstrate success in upgrading the job skills and promoting employment of the residents; and

(H) projects that assist local areas to develop and implement local self-sufficiency standards to evaluate the degree to which participants in programs under this title are achieving self-sufficiency.

Section 172 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998

SEC. 172. EVALUATIONS.

(a) Programs and Activities Carried Out Under This Title. For the purpose of improving the management and effectiveness of programs and activities carried out under this title, the Secretary shall provide for the continuing evaluation of the programs and activities, including

those programs and activities carried out under section 171. Such evaluations shall address--

1. the general effectiveness of such programs and activities in relation to their cost,

including the extent to which the programs and activities--

1. improve the employment competencies of participants in comparison to

comparably-situated individuals who did not participate in such programs and

activities; and

2. to the extent feasible, increase the level of total employment over the level that would have existed in the absence of such programs and activities;

2. the effectiveness of the performance measures relating to such programs and activities;

3. the effectiveness of the structure and mechanisms for delivery of services through such programs and activities;

4. the impact of the programs and activities on the community and participants involved;

5. the impact of such programs and activities on related programs and activities;

6. the extent to which such programs and activities meet the needs of various demographic groups; and

7. such other factors as may be appropriate.

(b) Other Programs and Activities.--The Secretary may conduct evaluations of other federally funded employment-related programs and activities under other provisions of law.

(c) Techniques.--Evaluations conducted under this section shall utilize appropriate methodology and research designs, including the use of control groups chosen by scientific random assignment methodologies. The Secretary shall conduct as least 1 multisite control group

evaluation under this section by the end of fiscal year 2005.

(d) Reports.--The entity carrying out an evaluation described in subsection (a) or (b) shall prepare and submit to the Secretary a draft report and a final report containing the results of the evaluation.

(e) Reports to Congress.--Not later than 30 days after the completion of such a draft report, the Secretary shall transmit the draft report to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the

House of Representatives and the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate. Not later than 60 days after the completion of such a final report, the Secretary shall transmit the final report to such committees of the Congress.

(f) Coordination.--The Secretary shall ensure the coordination of evaluations carried out by States pursuant to section 136(e) with the evaluations carried out under this section.