10. Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act – Section 169 (Appendix D1)

APPENDIX D1:
WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT 2014

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TITLE I—WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES
Subtitle A—System Alignment
CHAPTER 1—STATE PROVISIONS
(EXCERPT: SECTION 169)
SEC. 169. EVALUATIONS AND RESEARCH.
(a) EVALUATIONS.—
(1) EVALUATIONS OF PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT UNDER THIS TITLE.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of improving the management and effectiveness of
programs and activities carried out under this title, the Secretary, through grants, contracts, or
cooperative agreements, shall provide for the continuing evaluation of the programs and
activities under this title, including those programs and activities carried out under this section.
(B) PERIODIC INDEPENDENT EVALUATION.—The evaluations carried out under this paragraph
shall include an independent evaluation, at least once every 4 years, of the programs and
activities carried out under this title.
(2) EVALUATION SUBJECTS.—Each evaluation carried out under paragraph (1) shall address—
(A) the general effectiveness of such programs and activities in relation to their cost, including
the extent to which the programs and activities—
(i) improve the employment competencies of participants in comparison to comparablysituated individuals who did not participate in such programs and activities; and
(ii) 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;
(B) the effectiveness of the performance accountability measures relating to such programs and
activities;
(C) the effectiveness of the structure and mechanisms for delivery of services through such
programs and activities, including the coordination and integration of services through such
programs and activities;
(D) the impact of such programs and activities on the community, businesses, and participants
involved;
(E) the impact of such programs and activities on related programs and activities;
(F) the extent to which such programs and activities meet the needs of various demographic
groups; and
(G) such other factors as may be appropriate.
(3) EVALUATIONS OF OTHER PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES.—
The Secretary may conduct evaluations of other federally funded employment-related
programs and activities under other provisions of law.
(4) TECHNIQUES.—Evaluations conducted under this subsection shall utilize appropriate and
rigorous methodology and research designs, including the use of control groups chosen by
scientific random assignment methodologies. The Secretary shall conduct at least 1 multisite
control group evaluation under this subsection by the end of fiscal year 2019, and thereafter
shall ensure that such an analysis is included in the independent evaluation described in
paragraph (1)(B) that is conducted at least once every 4 years.
(5) REPORTS.—The entity carrying out an evaluation described in paragraph (1) or (2) shall
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prepare and submit to the Secretary a draft report and a final report containing the results of
the evaluation.
(6) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 days after the completion of a draft report
under paragraph (5), the Secretary shall transmit the draft report to the Committee on
Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate. Not later than 60 days after the completion of a
final report under such paragraph, the Secretary shall transmit the final report to such
committees.
(7) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 30 days after the date the Secretary transmits the
final report as described in paragraph (6), the Secretary shall make that final report available to
the general public on the Internet, on the Web site of the Department of Labor.
(8) PUBLICATION OF REPORTS.—If an entity that enters into a contract or other arrangement
with the Secretary to conduct an evaluation of a program or activity under this subsection
requests permission from the Secretary to publish a report resulting from the evaluation, such
entity may publish the report unless the Secretary denies the request during the 90-day period
beginning on the date the Secretary receives such request.
(9) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall ensure the coordination of evaluations carried out by
States pursuant to section 116(e) with the evaluations carried out under this subsection.
(b) RESEARCH, STUDIES, AND MULTISTATE PROJECTS.—
(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
research, studies, and multistate project priorities of the Department of Labor concerning
employment and training for the 5-year period following the submission of the plan. The plan
shall be consistent with the purposes of this title, including the purpose of aligning and
coordinating core programs with other one-stop partner programs. Copies of the plan shall be
transmitted to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, the
Department of Education, and other relevant Federal agencies.
(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.
(3) RESEARCH PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall, through grants or contracts, carry out research
projects that will contribute to the solution of employment and training problems in the United
States and that are consistent with the priorities specified in the plan published under
paragraph (1).
(4) STUDIES AND REPORTS.—
(A) NET IMPACT STUDIES AND REPORTS.—The Secretary of Labor, in coordination with the
Secretary of Education and other relevant Federal agencies, may conduct studies to determine
the net impact and best practices of programs, services, and activities carried out under this
Act.
(B) STUDY ON RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO ASSIST DISCONNECTED YOUTH.—The Secretary of
Labor, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, may conduct a study examining the
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characteristics of eligible youth that result in such youth being significantly disconnected from
education and workforce participation, the ways in which such youth could have greater
opportunities for education attainment and obtaining employment, and the resources available
to assist such youth in obtaining the skills, credentials, and work experience necessary to
become economically self-sufficient.
(C) STUDY OF EFFECTIVENESS OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM IN MEETING BUSINESS
NEEDS.—Using funds available to carry out this subsection jointly with funds available to the
Secretary of Commerce, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, and the
Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Labor, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce,
the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, and the Secretary of Education, may
conduct a study of the effectiveness of the workforce development system in meeting the
needs of business, such as through the use of industry or sector partnerships, with particular
attention to the needs of small business, including in assisting workers to obtain the skills
needed to utilize emerging technologies.
(D) STUDY ON PARTICIPANTS ENTERING NONTRADITIONAL OCCUPATIONS.—The Secretary of
Labor, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, may conduct a study examining the
number and percentage of individuals who receive employment and training activities and who
enter nontraditional occupations, successful strategies to place and support the retention of
individuals in nontraditional employment (such as by providing post-placement assistance to
participants in the form of exit interviews, mentoring, networking, and leadership
development), and the degree to which recipients of employment and training activities are
informed of the possibility of, or directed to begin, training or education needed for entrance
into nontraditional occupations.
(E) STUDY ON PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.—The Secretary of Labor, in coordination with the
Secretary of Education, may conduct studies to determine the feasibility of, and potential
means to replicate, measuring the compensation, including the wages, benefits, and other
incentives provided by an employer, received by program participants by using data other than
or in addition to data available through wage records, for potential use as a performance
indicator.
(F) STUDY ON JOB TRAINING FOR RECIPIENTS OF PUBLIC HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary
of Labor, in coordination with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, may conduct
studies to assist public housing authorities to provide, to recipients of public housing assistance,
job training programs that successfully upgrade job skills and employment in, and access to,
jobs with opportunity for advancement and economic self-sufficiency for such recipients.
(G) STUDY ON IMPROVING EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS FOR OLDER INDIVIDUALS.—The Secretary
of Labor, in coordination with the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Health and
Human Services, may conduct studies that lead to better design and implementation of, in
conjunction with employers, local boards or State boards, community colleges or area career
and technical education schools, and other organizations, effective evidence-based strategies
to provide services to workers who are low-income, low-skilled older individuals that increase
the workers’ skills and employment prospects.
(H) STUDY ON PRIOR LEARNING.—The Secretary of Labor, in coordination with other heads of
Federal agencies, as appropriate, may conduct studies that, through convening stakeholders
from the fields of education, workforce, business, labor, defense, and veterans services, and
experts in such fields, develop guidelines for assessing, accounting for, and utilizing the prior
learning of individuals, including dislocated workers and veterans, in order to provide the
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individuals with postsecondary educational credit for such prior learning that leads to the
attainment of a recognized postsecondary credential identified under section 122(d) and
employment.
(I) STUDY ON CAREER PATHWAYS FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS AND PROVIDERS OF EARLY
EDUCATION AND CHILD CARE.—The Secretary of Labor, in coordination with the Secretary of
Education and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall conduct a multistate study to
develop, implement, and build upon career advancement models and practices for low-wage
health care providers or providers of early education and child care, including faculty education
and distance education programs.
(J) STUDY ON EQUIVALENT PAY.—The Secretary shall conduct a multistate study to develop and
disseminate strategies for ensuring that programs and activities carried out under this Act are
placing individuals in jobs, education, and training that lead to equivalent pay for men and
women, including strategies to increase the participation of women in high-wage, high-demand
occupations in which women are underrepresented.
(K) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall prepare and disseminate to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education and the
Workforce of the House of Representatives, and to the public, including through electronic
means, reports containing the results of the studies conducted under this paragraph.
(5) MULTISTATE PROJECTS.—
(A) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may, through grants or contracts, carry out multistate projects
that require demonstrated expertise that is available at the national level to effectively
disseminate best practices and models for implementing employment and training services,
address the specialized employment and training needs of particular service populations, or
address industry-wide skill shortages, to the extent such projects are consistent with the
priorities specified in the plan published under paragraph (1).
(B) DESIGN OF GRANTS.—Agreements for grants or contracts awarded under this paragraph
shall be designed to obtain information relating to the provision of services under different
economic conditions or to various demographic groups in order to provide guidance at the
national and State levels about how best to administer specific employment and training
services.
(6) LIMITATIONS.—
(A) COMPETITIVE AWARDS.—A grant or contract awarded for carrying out a project under this
subsection in an amount that exceeds $100,000 shall be awarded only on a competitive basis,
except that a noncompetitive award may be made in the case of a project that is funded jointly
with other public or private sector entities that provide a substantial portion of assistance
under the grant or contract for the project.
(B) TIME LIMITS.—A grant or contract shall not be awarded under this subsection to the same
organization for more than 3 consecutive years unless such grant or contract is competitively
reevaluated within such period.
(C) PEER REVIEW.—
(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall utilize a peer review process—
(I) to review and evaluate all applications for grants in amounts that exceed $500,000 that are
submitted under this section; and
(II) to review and designate exemplary and promising programs under this section.
(ii) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—The Secretary is authorized to use funds provided under this
section to carry out peer review activities under this subparagraph.
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(D) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants or contracts under this subsection, priority shall be provided
to entities with recognized expertise in the methods, techniques, and knowledge of workforce
investment activities. The Secretary shall establish appropriate time limits for the duration of
such projects.
(c) DISLOCATED WORKER PROJECTS.—Of the amount made available pursuant to section
132(a)(2)(A) for any program year, the Secretary shall use not more than 10 percent of such
amount to carry out demonstration and pilot projects, multiservice projects, and multistate
projects relating to the employment and training needs of dislocated workers. Of the
requirements of this section, such projects shall be subject only to the provisions relating to
review and evaluation of applications under subsection (b)(6)(C). Such projects may include
demonstration and pilot projects relating to promoting self-employment, promoting job
creation, averting dislocations, assisting dislocated farmers, assisting dislocated fishermen, and
promoting public works. Such projects shall be administered by the Secretary, acting through
the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training.

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