Planned common performance reporting measures

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION ADVISORY SYSTEM
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Washington, D.C. 20210
CLASSIFICATION: WIA/Performance Reporting
CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL: PROTECH
DATE: February 28, 2005

TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 18-04

TO: ALL STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES; ALL STATE WORKFORCE LIAISONS

FROM: EMILY STOVER DeROCCO, Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT: Announcing the soon-to-be-published Proposed Revisions to Existing Performance Reporting Requirements for the Implementation of Common Measures for Title I of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), the Wagner-Peyser Act (Employment Service (ES)/Labor Exchange), the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act (TAA), and Title 38, Chapter 41 Job Counseling, Training, and Placement Service (Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS))

1. Purpose.

a. To inform states of the Employment and Training Administration’s (ETA) intent to implement the common measures by modifying existing reporting requirements effective July 1, 2005, for WIA, ES, and VETS programs; and October 1, 2005, for TAA programs.

b. To inform states of ETA’s intent to publish in the Federal Register proposed revisions to the performance reports for WIA, ES, VETS, and TAA programs to encompass data necessary to report outcomes against the common measures.

c. To provide advance information that ETA is seeking Office of Management and Budget (OMB) emergency clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act for the revised reporting requirements. The Federal Register Notice will include a three week opportunity for public comment. Simultaneous to publishing the request for emergency clearance, ETA will also process a request for standard clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act, which will include an initial 60-day opportunity for public comment.

d. To provide an update on the status of the ETA Management Information and Longitudinal Evaluation (EMILE) system, as announced in the Federal Register on July 16, 2004.

2. References. Wagner-Peyser Act, as amended (29 U.S.C. 49 et seq.); Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998, as amended (29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.); the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2271 et seq.); Title 38, Chapter 41 (38 U.S.C. 41 et seq, as amended by the Jobs for Veterans Act of 2002); and Training and Employment Guidance Letter 15-03, “Common Measures Policy.”

RESCISSIONS:
EXPIRATION DATE: Continuing

3. Background. ETA intends to implement a set of common performance measures that will enhance the ability of Congress, the Administration, and public officials to assess the effectiveness and impact of workforce investment programs. ETA worked with other federal agencies and OMB to develop these measures, which will be implemented across Federal job training and employment programs. These measures are a starting point for conversations about similar training and employment activities, based on the core purposes of the workforce system. Key attributes include universal language and standardized data, and employment-focused measures for adult programs and skill attainment measures for youth programs. To implement these measures, ETA will initially incorporate them into the current WIA, ES and TAA performance reporting systems.

4. Implementation of Common Measures through Existing Reporting Requirements. The benefits from using a common set of measures include:

• Focus on the core purposes of the workforce system.
• Breaking down barriers to integration of services resulting from different definitions, data, and reports for each workforce program.
• Resolution of questions raised by the Government Accountability Office and other oversight agencies regarding consistency and reliability of data.
• Eliminating confusion among customers and stakeholders about outcomes and results.

Given these benefits, ETA is moving forward to implement the common measures by modifying existing program reporting requirements. ETA plans to use the OMB Paperwork Reduction Act emergency clearance process to pursue changes to reporting requirements for the WIA and the Wagner-Peyser Act programs, which would be effective July 1, 2005, and the TAA program, to be effective October 1, 2005. (States should note that for the WIA youth programs, data collection and reporting of the literacy/numeracy common measure will be encouraged, but not required, for PY 2005.) There will be a 3-week comment period on the emergency Information Collection Request. All information will be available on ETA’s performance web site at www.doleta.gov/performance.

The common measures will not supercede current statutory performance reporting requirements for these programs. Additionally, ETA will continue to collect relevant and important data on discrete program activities, participants, and outcomes that are necessary to convey full and accurate information on the performance of workforce programs. Collection of such information will help frame and provide context to the outcomes reported through the common measures. For WIA, states will continue to negotiate performance goals for the indicators designated by statute.

5. Proposed EMILE Reporting System. While ETA works to implement common measures for the WIA, ES, VETS, and TAA programs by modifying existing reporting requirements, we will also continue taking steps toward the implementation of a comprehensive, streamlined reporting system across programs. During the initial 60-day public comment period, ETA received many comments on the EMILE proposal, announced in the Federal Register on July 16, 2004. ETA has conducted a review of these comments and is working to reconcile them with the proposal. Additionally, ETA has initiated an assessment of the startup and ongoing costs to implement EMILE as proposed. The workforce investment system should expect to see more information regarding EMILE throughout the next year.

6. Inquiries. Questions regarding this guidance should be directed to Esther R. Johnson at (202) 693-3420 or [email protected].