FINANCE
The
information below provides background information on federal
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funding for workforce and business
development in Ventura County.
INTRODUCTION
TO WIA FUNDING
The
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 supports Ventura County
workforce and business development by:
-
Promoting
an increase in employment, job retention, earnings,
and occupational skills development for program participants,
resulting in an overall improvement of workforce quality,
reduced welfare dependence, and increased national productivity
and competitiveness
-
Administering
funding for programs and services in Ventura County
through the Workforce investment Board of Ventura County,
as authorized by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors
HISTORICAL
PERSPECTIVE ON WIA FUNDING
The
Employment Development Department has prepared an historical
perspective of Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funding at the
national and California levels.
Total
WIA funding to California has decreased by approximately $309.3
million or 51%, while funding at the national level has dropped
about $775.5 million or 21.9%. Documents are attached
as PDF:
-
Funding
History: SFY 2000-01 through 2007-08: a year-to-year
analysis of the amount of WIA funds appropriated nationally
and then allotted to California, showing California’s
share of the national amounts each year and changes from
one year to the next
From
the inception of WIA, California ’s relative share of total
WIA has declined steadily for adult and youth programs and dropped
steeply for dislocated worker programs. For example, California
’s share of the national adult and youth funding streams in
PY 2000-01 was about 17% of the WIA program, while the share
for PY 2008-09 is approximately 14.6%. California ’s share of
the dislocated worker program in the first year was about 19%
and will fall to 14% for PY 2008-2009.
Without
the same minimum and maximum funding protections as WIA provides
for the adult and youth programs, California 's share of the
national dislocated worker funding has decreased almost three
times as much as the youth and adult programs. In real
terms, California's allotment of dislocated worker funds has
dropped from $298 million to $101 million ($197 million or 66%)
over the same time period, even though the national dislocated
worker account has lost approximately $326.3 million or 21%.
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FEDERAL ALLOTMENTS
OF WIA FUNDS TO STATES
The Workforce
Investment Act (WIA) prescribes the formula the federal government
must use in allotting adult, youth and dislocated worker funds
to States. Using the formula for each funding stream,
the federal government determines the share of national funding
that each State will receive in a given year. Two primary
factors determine a State allocation:
-
The State’s
economic and demographic statistics as a relative share
of those statistics for all states
In
addition, WIA establishes minimum and maximum amounts by which
a State’s share of total adult and youth funding may change
from the prior year. This provision protects States from
losing too much of their relative share from year to year.
There is no similar provision for the dislocated worker funding
stream.
Following is a description
of the allotment formula for each funding stream:
Adult
Program Formula
-
1/3:
State’s relative share of unemployed individuals in
areas of substantial unemployment areas with greater
than 6.5 percent unemployment)
-
1/3:
State’s relative share of excess unemployed (in excess
of 4.5 percent unemployment)
-
1/3:
State’s relative share of economically disadvantaged
adults
Youth
Program Formula
-
1/3:
State’s relative share of unemployed individuals in
areas of substantial unemployment (areas with greater than
6.5 percent unemployment)
-
1/3:
State’s relative share of excess unemployed (in excess
of 4.5 percent unemployment)
-
1/3:
State’s relative share of economically disadvantaged
youth
Dislocated
Worker Formula
Source:
California Employment Development Department (May 2007)
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