Working Group Accomplishments

Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development (MOWD) Policies and Implementation

Each year, MOWD negotiates with contractors regarding the number of clients they will serve. Through the working group, CJC solicited feedback to inform MOWD’s management of this process in future years. CJC was able to relay this information to MOWD at a quarterly meeting, and MOWD agreed to incorporate as much of this feedback as possible into their contract negotiation process in subsequent years.

For PY 2007, MOWD developed a new set of guiding principles that they will use to shape the WIA system in the coming years. Working group members shared their thoughts and concerns about these principles and their implementation implications. CJC discussed these at a meeting called by MOWD specifically to hear about provider feedback. Based on this discussion, MOWD revised and clarified many of their principles.

Youth Council

CJC has a seat on the newly reconstituted Chicago Workforce Board Youth Council. This is the oversight body for WIA Youth funds, which are administered by the Department of Children and Youth Services (CYS). At the first Youth Council meeting, the council was charged with establishing appropriate subcommittees to address specific issues related to youth in the WIA system. Working group participants shared their thoughts on what subcommittees should be formed, and CJC will include their feedback in the upcoming Youth Council discussion.

New Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) Requirements / Work Verification Plan 

In June 2006 the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued new TANF regulations. These regulations define the activities that are countable toward the work participation rate requirements, describe how the states must monitor and verify the hours that TANF recipients participate, and specify who must be included in the work participation rate calculation, including some previously excluded. Throughout FY 2007, working group participants examined the possible impact of these regulations and informed CJC’s advocacy with IDHS about the implementation of these requirements. In part because of this advocacy, the plan that IDHS initially submitted to HHS sought to maximize flexibility within the constraints of these onerous new requirements.

IDHS Budget Brief Advocacy 

With a survey tool developed in the Welfare-to-Work group in early 2006, CJC collected information from IDHS contractors, many of whom are regular working group participants.  The information was analyzed and used in a budget brief distributed to the Governor’s Office and legislators advocating for an additional $13.4 million for mixed strategy services, $5 million for Transitional Jobs, and $5 million for Bridge Programs in the IDHS budget. Working group members offered their thoughts on CJC’s strategy for this advocacy, and their perspectives were valuable in our work with legislators during the spring session in Springfield.  Written testimony was submitted to the House Human Services Appropriations Committee.

WIA Survey Ad Hoc and Survey Results

In the wake of federal WIA funding cuts, the working group decided to create an ad hoc committee to collect information from providers. The goal of this effort was to bolster CJC’s advocacy for more investment in workforce development by learning about real program costs, job seeker needs, and the impact of WIA funding cuts. The entire working group reviewed the draft survey tool developed by the ad hoc committee and offered suggestions for its improvement. Many working group participants also responded to the survey, helping CJC collect a wealth of valuable information from WIA providers across the state. The results of this working group informed survey have helped shape CJC’s ongoing state level advocacy efforts.

Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) State WIA Plan

DCEO submitted a new WIA state plan to the USDOL. During the development of this plan, the IWIB was concerned about two measures that DCEO wanted to include: 1) a comprehensive One-Stop waiver and 2) a minimum training expenditure requirement. Working group participants and members of an ad hoc committee shared their concerns about each of these provisions, which CJC subsequently shared with IWIB task force members.

Illinois Works for the Future Campaign

Early in FY 2007, CJC, the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, and the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability led a group of advisors to shape an agenda for a statewide campaign aimed at achieving increased investment in and better alignment between the workforce and economic development systems. Working group participants offered their feedback on the contents of this agenda and suggested possible strategies for moving forward. Later in FY 2007, the Illinois Works for the Future campaign was officially launched. Working group members have continued to provide input and feedback throughout the early stages of the campaign. As a result of this work, HJR 49, calling for a bipartisan task force to pursue the goals identified by the campaign, was passed.