Workforce Development Group Summary March 13, 2007

Transcription

1 CHICAGO JOBS COUNCIL 29 E. Madison St., Suite 1700 Chicago, IL p: f: w: Workforce Development Group Summary March 13, 2007 Attendee Organization Lois Hummel Larry Bravo Asian Human Services Jessica DeVries Bethel New Life Kevin Tomlin CARES Chicago Yolanda Hill Centers for New Horizons Gloria Panama Charles A. Hayes Family Investment Center Marvin Coklow Chicago Christian Industrial League Cristina De La Rosa Chicago Federation of Labor Workers Assistance Committee Judy Lai Chicago Federation of Labor Workers Assistance Committee Rose Karasti Chicago Jobs Council Jennifer Keeling Chicago Jobs Council George Crouse CJG Communications Barbara Nimmons-Smalls Community Assistance Programs Ron Hearns DESI Sam Long DESI Warnita Jones Dime Child Larry Fitzpatrick Employment and Employer Services Stefanie Porter Goodwill Industries of Metropolitan Chicago Theresa Connell Harborquest Sandi Brown Housing Opportunities for Women Jennifer Miller Rehfeldt Inspiration Corporation LaSherrie McKinnie-Bates Jane Addams Hull House Association Joe Hankey La Casa Norte Lois Snyder League of Women Voters of Chicago Jennifer Blandford Lutheran Social Services of Illinois Jessica Very Lutheran Social Services of Illinois Grace Jenkins National Able Network Cheryl Lawrence National Able Network Laura Erving Bailey Phalanx Family Services Amanda Cage Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation Cynthia Alexander Safer Foundation Judy Davis Safer Foundation

2 Attendee Lorita Johnson Jim Zangs Divida Newson Andrew Michails Danae Kovac Meegan Bassett Amanda Hudson Organization Southwest Women Working Together St. Leonard s Ministries The CABET Group The Community Builders The Enterprising Kitchen Women Employed Wright College I. Welcome and Introductions II. FY 2008 Budget Overview and Discussion Rose told the group that she would present the major points of Governor Blagojevich s proposed budget as outlined during his budget address on 3/7. First, the Governor proposed a Tax Fairness Plan. This would replace corporate income taxes (which tax profits) with a gross receipts tax (which taxes all income). The tax would be 0.5% on goods and 0.8% on services. This tax would generate up to $6 billion in revenue annually. The Governor says the gross receipts tax is a way to ensure that businesses pay their fair share of taxes. He listed several current inequities. In 2004, 37% of businesses paid no corporate income tax. 20% of businesses pay 96% of corporate income taxes. The average income tax burden on each individual is $1,500, while the average among each of 521,000 businesses is $151. The new tax would exempt the following: businesses with less than $1 million in gross receipts, exports, and retail food and drugs. The Governor s proposed new tax structure is controversial (visit for one opposing view), and we should expect much debate in the month ahead. The second piece to the Governor s proposed budget is the Helping Kids Learn Plan. Under this plan, the Governor would invest $10 billion in education over the next four years. This includes raising the per pupil minimum by $686 to $6,020, investing $69 million in Preschool for All and full day kindergarten, investing $1.5 billion in capital construction, and increasing funding for special education and underperforming districts. The Governor would fund these initiatives with revenues generated by the gross receipts tax. Third, the Governor proposed Illinois Covered, a health insurance plan to offer coverage for all low to middle income adults. The assist portion of his plan offers insurance to those with incomes below $10,210 for singles and $13,690 for couples. The choice portion offers an affordable insurance plan for those without employer sponsored insurance coverage. The rebate portion offers lower insurance premiums to those earning between $20,000 and $80,000 (for a family of four). He also proposed to expand FamilyCare to include those earning up to 400% of the poverty level. This would also be funded with revenue generated by the gross receipts tax. The fourth major component of the Governor s proposed budget is an infusion of funding into the pension fund. He proposed to use the sale or lease of the state lottery to put $10 billion toward lowering the pension fund deficit. He also proposed pension bond refinancing, which would reduce the deficit by an additional $16 billion.

3 Rose also talked about the proposed budgets for specific state agencies. Within the DCEO budget, the JTED program was flat funded at $1.4 million. This year, DCEO spent about $900,000 for ETIP a training program that provides funding for qualifying business to provide training for their incumbent employees. There were no major cuts within the IDHS budget. Within the Division of Human Capital Development, there was a $6.3 million increase for staff and technology development. There was also a $7.1 million increase for employability development for TANF compliance and engagement of mothers with young children. Additionally, there was a new $3 million for alternative youth services, which seems focused on the diversion of at-risk youth. There was no cost of living adjustment for providers. III. Illinois Works for the Future Update Rose gave the group an update about the Illinois Works for the Future (IWF) campaign, which was launched with a press conference on 2/21. HR0106 was also introduced, and calls for the creation of a task force to realize the vision outlined by the campaign. There was strong legislative backing from Representatives Moffit, Miller, Boland, Munson, and Froelich and Senators Clayborne and Althoff. IWF is now working on a similar Senate measure. There were several media outlets in attendance, but there was no press coverage. IWF will try again for press coverage to coincide with the passage of the resolution. IWF is also continuing JTED and IDHS budget advocacy. CJC will convene interested providers to prepare testimony for the IDHS budget hearing, which is to be held on 3/22. Rose encouraged anyone interested to contact her for more information. IV. Critical Skills Shortages Initiative (CSSI) Update Jen told the group that CJC had recently met with DCEO about their CSSI evaluation. As background, Jen explained that CSSI is a three year initiative started by Governor Blagojevich to provide funds for training in high need industries. The industries identified were health care, manufacturing, and TWL. The projects received 100% state funding the first year, 50% the second and 0% the third. The goal was that projects would be able to leverage employer funds during the second and third years. As of November 2006, the initiative reported the following outcomes: Healthcare: 54 projects, $6.0 million, 2,323 customers served Manufacturing: 28 projects, $2.6 million, 796 customers served TWL: 13 projects, $1.6 million, 256 customers served The average cost per individual across all sectors was $1,700 As CSSI entered its second year, DCEO experienced some significant challenges. Some regions did not apply for second year funding because they were not able to secure the 50% leveraged funds. In general, there were far fewer applications during the second year. These challenges prompted DCEO to evaluate the initiative in two ways. First, they have hired a consulting group to assess the technical assistance needs of existing projects. DCEO hopes that this information will enable them to provide assistance that will maximize each project s success. Second, CSSI is being reviewed by the National Center on Education and the Economy. This group will be assessing the viability of CSSI as a model, seeking to determine its potential for successful replication. In addition to these evaluations, DCEO is considering other ways to improve CSSI. They are considering appointing more local coordinators. They would be staff members of local workforce boards whose job it would be to provide assistance to local projects. DCEO is also considering

4 moving to an incentive based funding model in which providers would not receive payment until they reach certain benchmarks. Finally, they are thinking about only funding new projects that follow an established best practice model of collaboration and service delivery. Jen asked the group for any questions and concerns. DCEO needs to report on how many employers have been served through the initiative and the number of people who find jobs in the industry for which they received training. The biggest problem with CSSI is that it exists outside the workforce development system. It is not well integrated with WIA services. It is also unclear how many of the people served through CSSI would have received the same (or similar) services anyway. DCEO s vision for CSSI is unclear. They need to better articulate their overall objectives and the problems they seek to address. The administration of CSSI is difficult. There are extensive reporting requirements and the turnaround time for payments to contractors is very long. The coordination between DCEO and local workforce boards is poor. There seems to be very little communication between the state, regional, and local levels, which makes it difficult for contractors. Jen told the group that CJC would raise these concerns at their next meeting with DCEO and would keep working group participants apprised of any further information. V. MOWD s WIA RFP and CJC s Comments Jen first described CJC s process to develop its comments in response to MOWD s guiding principles and RFP framework. After an initial meeting with MOWD about the RFP, CJC was given two weeks to submit comments. During that time, we had a working group discussion, solicited feedback from all current WIA contractors via , and had internal discussions. The letter sent to Commissioner Hanson reflects the comments generated through this process. CJC did not capture everyone s comments, and several providers submitted their comments directly to MOWD. CJC then met with MOWD again to hear their response to our comments. Jen explained that she was going to take the group through CJC s comment letter and incorporate MOWD s responses along the way. She invited the group to ask questions throughout. First, CJC commented on how to best serve job seekers and business. CJC recommended that MOWD assess their current employer engagement services, including the Business Service Teams, Workforce Solutions staff, and TIFWorks staff. MOWD agreed that this is important, and will undertake this assessment. They are also considering other ways to creatively use TIF money and to foster systemic integration. We also suggested that MOWD examine the Workforce Centers for Business ability to meet the needs of WIA registered job seekers. CJC urged MOWD to use findings from the upcoming evaluation of these centers to inform their expansion strategy. MOWD told us that the centers currently have to serve 25% WIA registrants. Several working group participants were concerned that this percentage was too low. Since these centers are funded with public dollars, it is important that they better meet the dual need of business and job seekers. Jen suggested that participants interested in the upcoming evaluation of the sector centers (to be done through the workforce board) should contact her to remain informed about that effort.

5 CJC also offered comments about MOWD s proposed affiliate structure and effectiveness. CJC suggested a credit system to encourage referrals among WIA contractors. MOWD said that this would be too complicated to implement, and that for now they may ask contractors to self report their referral numbers. CJC also recommended that MOWD require affiliates to serve 50% of their WIA registrants from their target population or area. MOWD agreed, saying they had already made the decision to lower the percent requirement from 80% to 50%. CJC suggested that to encourage a diverse pool of new applications, that MOWD outreach to organizations in underserved areas, asking them to apply. MOWD said that they could not do this, but would be happy if CJC did it. CJC agreed to work with MOWD to develop a list of potential organizations and contact them. Finally, CJC urged MOWD to consider these as two year contracts. MOWD agreed. Contracts will be awarded this year, and extended next year based on performance. Next, CJC proposed a range of technical assistance opportunities that MOWD could offer to providers. MOWD agreed that they needed to offer a wider range of TA, and agreed to work with CJC to determine what types of trainings would be most appropriate. Finally, CJC stressed the importance of continuous assessment and systemic improvement throughout this transition year. CJC plans to revamp its provider survey in the fall, and will begin collecting more detailed information from WIA contractors about how the system is functioning. MOWD was receptive to this, and looks forward to receiving this feedback from providers via CJC s surveys and quarterly meetings. In addition to addressing CJC s specific comments, MOWD told us about several other things they want applicants to know. They encourage providers to consider applying for One-Stop contracts (especially large providers who have not applied in the past). They encourage organizations to apply as targeted community affiliates if they are willing to relocate or open a new location in one of the target communities (either on their own or in partnership with an existing provider). In general, MOWD encourages providers to think creatively and innovatively. Jen asked for comments or questions. One participant asked if there would be an administrative cost allowance for organizations that propose to relocate. Jen said she wasn t sure, but she assumed there would not be. In the guiding principles document, MOWD said they would require contractors to leverage 25% of funding, which may be problematic for many organizations. Jen said that MOWD has since decided not to make this a requirement, but instead, to give organizations that can leverage funds an extra point in the application review process. DCEO is offering a training in April in Springfield. One participant suggested that a similar training be offered in Chicago as a technical assistance opportunity. Jen thanked the group for their thoughts and reminded them that the RFP will likely be released either 3/16 or 3/19. VI. Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Presentation Jen introduced Clyde Murphy, the Executive Director of the Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (CLC), who would tell the group about one of his organization s projects.

6 Clyde explained that CLC is a civil rights law firm. Their Employment Opportunity Project seeks to address employment discrimination within the African American and Latino communities. The goal of this project is to identify and deal with this discrimination as well as encourage collaboration between these two communities around common employment issues. To do this, CLC is sponsoring clinics within the communities, to be hosted by a local organization. The Spanish Coalition for Jobs has already hosted one clinic and has agreed to host 5 more. At the clinics, lawyers talk with clients who have experienced discrimination and help them choose an appropriate course of action. This may mean teaching them how to respond in the work setting, filing an administrative complaint, or pursuing litigation. Ultimately, CLC hopes to identify any patterns of discrimination among certain employers and industries. CLC is looking for organizations to host another 6 clinics. Clyde asked that people contact him for more information. VII. Announcements Marvin Coklow announced that the Chicago Christian Industrial League (CCIL) is having an open house on 3/16 to showcase their new facility and give providers a chance to network. It will be held at CCIL (2750 W. Roosevelt Road) from 9:30-11:30am. Contact him at for more information. Kevin Tomlin announced that CARES Chicago has an open Employment Specialist position. It is posted at LaSherrie McKinnie-Bates announced that the Jane Addams Hull House Association has received a grant to partner with Kennedy King College to offer employment services. They are having a job fair on 4/19 from 10am-4pm. Contact her at lmckinniebates@hullhouse.org for more information.