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In many states, this is not only the season to celebrate the holidays, but also the season to review a draft Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) State Plan. A number of states have officially released their draft plan for public comment. Other states will release their draft plan later this month or in January. Final state plans must be submitted to the feds by March 3, 2016.
California has announced an extensive process to allow stakeholders to review and comment on their draft plan, the WIOA State Plan: Roadshow for Public Input. The Roadshow will include five events around the state between December 4 and December 18. In November, Washington State’s Workforce Board approved a draft version of the state's strategic plan that was preceded by eight public forums around the state to gather input. The draft Washington strategic plan is available for public comment here. The initial draft of Indiana’s Unified State Plan is available for comment until December 23. In other states, interested parties should check out their state’s workforce development board website to find out when their draft state plan will be available for review.
The window of opportunity may be short. Workforce development officials, practitioners, and other stakeholders should make certain they take advantage of the opportunity to review and comment on their state’s draft plan before it becomes final.
NSC suggests reviewing the draft plan against the recommendations in Realizing Innovation and Opportunity in WIOA: A Playbook for Creating Effective State Plans. In the Playbook, NSC explains how states can incorporate key strategies into their WIOA plan. Bly including language consistent with the Playbook’s recommendations on sector partnerships, career pathways, cross-agency data and measurement, and job-driven investments, states can use their WIOA plan to establish strategies that close the skill gap and help workers and businesses succeed.
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