II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5308 

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to award grants 

to States to develop, convene, expand, or implement industry or sector 

partnerships, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 20, 2022 

Mr. CASEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

to award grants to States to develop, convene, expand, 

or implement industry or sector partnerships, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community-Based 

5 Workforce Development Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SECTORAL EMPLOYMENT THROUGH CAREER 

2 TRAINING FOR OCCUPATIONAL READINESS 

3 PROGRAM, OR SECTOR PROGRAM. 

4 Subtitle D of title I of the Workforce Innovation and 

5 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3221 et seq.) is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 173. SECTORAL EMPLOYMENT THROUGH CAREER 

8 TRAINING FOR OCCUPATIONAL READINESS 

9 PROGRAM, OR SECTOR PROGRAM. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 

11 under subsection (e)(1), and not reserved under subsection 

12 (e)(2), the Secretary shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) use 80 percent of such amounts to award 

14 grants under subsection (b) to each State to develop, 

15 convene, expand, or implement industry or sector 

16 partnerships; and 

17 ‘‘(2) use 20 percent of such amounts to award 

18 grants under subsection (c), on a competitive basis, 

19 to eligible industry or sector partnerships for the 

20 purposes of expanding workforce development and 

21 employment opportunities for high-skill, high-wage, 

22 or in-demand industry sectors or occupations, as de23 termined by the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(b) FORMULA GRANTS.— 

25 ‘‘(1) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) STATE ALLOTMENT.—From the 

2 amount determined by the Secretary under sub3 section (a)(1), the Secretary shall allot funds to 

4 each State on the basis of the relative allotment 

5 the State received under section 132(b) for such 

6 fiscal year, compared to the total amount allot7 ted to all States under section 132(b) for such 

8 fiscal year. 

9 ‘‘(B) LOCAL AREA ALLOCATIONS.—The 

10 Governor of the State shall use an amount al11 lotted under subparagraph (A) to provide for 

12 the activities described in paragraph (2) by— 

13 ‘‘(i) reserving funds for the State 

14 board; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) distributing the remainder by— 

16 ‘‘(I) allocating funds to each local 

17 area of the State on the basis of the 

18 relative allocation the local area re19 ceived under section 133(b) for such 

20 fiscal year, compared to the total 

21 amount allocated to all local areas in 

22 the State under section 133(b) for 

23 such fiscal year; or 

24 ‘‘(II) allocating funds to local 

25 areas of the State that have the highVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Jan 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5308.IS S5308

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1 est rates of unemployment or low-in2 come individuals, the highest numbers 

3 of dislocated workers, or the highest 

4 numbers of individuals with barriers 

5 to employment, in the State. 

6 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—The funds awarded 

7 under paragraph (1) may be used by the State board 

8 or a local area to— 

9 ‘‘(A) develop, convene, or implement eligi10 ble industry or sector partnerships, as author11 ized under section 134(c)(1)(A)(v) or to expand 

12 the partnerships; 

13 ‘‘(B) regularly convene such industry or 

14 sector partnerships in a collaborative structure 

15 to identify, develop, improve, expand, or imple16 ment training, employment, and growth oppor17 tunities for high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand 

18 industry sectors or occupations, including di19 rectly providing, or arranging for the provision 

20 of, the training or services described in sub21 paragraph (B) or (C) of subsection (c)(3), in 

22 connection with those opportunities; and 

23 ‘‘(C) strengthen the coordination between 

24 eligible industry or sector partnerships and the 

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1 garding activities carried out under this sub2 section and programs administered under sub3 title B. 

4 ‘‘(c) COMPETITIVE GRANTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From the amount 

6 determined by the Secretary under subsection (a)(2), 

7 the Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive 

8 basis, to eligible industry or sector partnerships to 

9 carry out programs for the purposes described in 

10 subsection (a)(2). 

11 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) FORM AND PROCEDURE.—To receive 

13 a grant under this subsection, the lead appli14 cant on behalf of an eligible industry or sector 

15 partnership shall submit to the Secretary an 

16 application at such time, in such manner, and 

17 containing such information as specified by the 

18 Secretary, including a description of the train19 ing leading to the credentials described in para20 graph (3)(B). 

21 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—An application sub22 mitted under paragraph (1) shall contain at a 

23 minimum each of the following: 

24 ‘‘(i) An identification of the high-skill, 

25 high-wage, or in-demand industry sector or 


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1 occupation on which such partnership is 

2 focused. 

3 ‘‘(ii) A description of the activities to 

4 be carried out under the grant. 

5 ‘‘(iii) A description of the workers 

6 that will be targeted for recruitment as 

7 program participants, how priority of serv8 ice will be provided under the grant to un9 employed individuals, low-income individ10 uals, dislocated workers, or individuals 

11 with barriers to employment (with the 4 

12 types of individuals referred to in this 

13 clause as ‘covered individuals’), and how 

14 the activities will be designed to maximize 

15 access and eliminate barriers to entry to 

16 training and other related activities for 

17 such covered individuals. 

18 ‘‘(iv) A description of other Federal or 

19 non-Federal resources that will be lever20 aged in support of the eligible industry or 

21 sector partnership (including through cash 

22 or in-kind contributions from private sector 

23 partners). 


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1 ‘‘(3) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible industry or 

2 sector partnership awarded a grant under this sub3 section shall use such grant funds— 

4 ‘‘(A) to engage and regularly convene 

5 stakeholders in a collaborative structure to 

6 identify, develop, improve, expand, or imple7 ment training, employment, and growth oppor8 tunities for the high-skill, high-wage, or in-de9 mand industry sector or occupation on which 

10 such partnership is focused; 

11 ‘‘(B) to directly provide, or arrange for the 

12 provision of, high-quality, evidence-based train13 ing for the high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand 

14 industry sector or occupation on which such 

15 partnership is focused, which shall include 

16 training that leads to the attainment of nation17 ally or regionally portable and stackable recog18 nized postsecondary credentials for the industry 

19 sector or occupation described in subparagraph 

20 (A) and which shall include— 

21 ‘‘(i) training services authorized under 

22 section 134(c)(3)(D); 

23 ‘‘(ii) apprenticeship programs or pre24 apprenticeship programs; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) training provided through labor 

2 organizations or joint labor-management 

3 partnerships; and 

4 ‘‘(C) to directly provide, or arrange for the 

5 provision of, services to help individuals with 

6 barriers to employment and other participants 

7 complete and successfully transition out of 

8 training described in subparagraph (B), which 

9 services shall include career services, supportive 

10 services, and the provision of needs-related pay11 ments authorized under subsections (c)(2), 

12 (d)(2), and (d)(3) of section 134. 

13 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY IN SELECTION OF GRANTS.— 

14 The Secretary shall give priority consideration to ap15 plications that demonstrate the ability of the part16 nership involved to serve eligible individuals in tar17 geted economic regions that— 

18 ‘‘(A) are experiencing high poverty; 

19 ‘‘(B) have traditionally been underserved 

20 by regional economic development and sector 

21 partnership activities (including rural areas); 

22 ‘‘(C) are facing or at risk of facing signifi23 cant worker dislocation due to a disruption or 

24 change in the regional or State economy or 

25 labor market; or 


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1 ‘‘(D) have high numbers of— 

2 ‘‘(i) disadvantaged youth (as defined 

3 in section 127(b)(2)(C)) and disadvantaged 

4 adults (as defined in section 

5 132(b)(1)(B)(v)(IV)); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) unemployed individuals, within 

7 the meaning of section 6(b)(1)(B) of the 

8 Wagner-Peyser Act (29 U.S.C. 

9 49e(b)(1)(B)) and unemployed individuals 

10 in areas of substantial unemployment, 

11 within the meaning of section 

12 127(b)(1)(C)(ii)(I). 

13 ‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

14 ‘‘(A) AREA OF SUBSTANTIAL UNEMPLOY15 MENT.—The term ‘area of substantial unem16 ployment’ has the meaning given the term in 

17 section 127(b)(2)(B). 

18 ‘‘(B) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘evi19 dence-based’, used with respect to an activity, 

20 means an activity that meets the requirements 

21 of clause (i) or (ii) of section 8101(21)(A) of 

22 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

23 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801(21)(A)). 

24 ‘‘(C) PREAPPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 

25 The term ‘preapprenticeship program’ means a 


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1 program that prepares participants for, and ar2 ticulates to, an apprenticeship program. 

3 ‘‘(D) SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.—The term 

4 ‘supportive services’ includes— 

5 ‘‘(i) the provision of direct support 

6 services (such as child care, transportation, 

7 and mental health and substance use dis8 order treatment); 

9 ‘‘(ii) assistance in obtaining health in10 surance coverage; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) assistance in accessing benefits 

12 through the supplemental nutrition assist13 ance program established under the Food 

14 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 

15 et seq.), benefits through the special sup16 plemental nutrition program for women, 

17 infants, and children established by section 

18 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 

19 U.S.C. 1786), housing, and other benefits, 

20 as appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(d) PROGRAM ACCOUNTABILITY AND EVALUA22 TION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall annu24 ally measure the performance of grant recipients 


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1 carrying out activities under grants awarded under 

2 this section on— 

3 ‘‘(A) the primary indicators of performance 

4 covered by clauses (i) through (iv) of section 

5 116(b)(2)(A) and expected levels of perform6 ance relating to such indicators; and 

7 ‘‘(B) such additional measures as the Sec8 retary determines to be appropriate, which may 

9 include measures of skills attainment, wage or 

10 career progression, and training-related employ11 ment, and additional job quality measures. 

12 ‘‘(2) EVALUATION.—Not later than 2 years 

13 after the first award of funds under this section is 

14 made the Secretary (acting through the Chief Eval15 uation Officer) shall design and conduct an evalua16 tion to evaluate the effectiveness of the program car17 ried out under this section. 

18 ‘‘(3) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) publish on a publicly accessible 

20 website the outcomes for grant recipients on the 

21 measurements conducted under paragraph (1) 

22 and the evaluation conducted under paragraph 

23 (2); and 

24 ‘‘(B) submit a report containing the out25 comes on the measurements and evaluation to 


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1 the Committee on Education and Labor of the 

2 House of Representatives and the Committee 

3 on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 

4 the Senate. 

5 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RES6 ERVATIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

9 this section— 

10 ‘‘(A) such sums as may be necessary for 

11 fiscal year 2023; 

12 ‘‘(B) such sums as may be necessary for 

13 fiscal year 2024; 

14 ‘‘(C) such sums as may be necessary for 

15 fiscal year 2025; 

16 ‘‘(D) such sums as may be necessary for 

17 fiscal year 2026; 

18 ‘‘(E) such sums as may be necessary for 

19 fiscal year 2027; and 

20 ‘‘(F) such sums as may be necessary for 

21 fiscal year 2028. 

22 ‘‘(2) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—Of the funds 

23 appropriated under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, 

24 the Secretary may reserve not more than 5 percent, 

25 which— 


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1 ‘‘(A) may be used for administration of the 

2 program described in this section, in addition to 

3 any other funds available for such administra4 tion, including providing comprehensive tech5 nical assistance, targeted outreach to eligible in6 dustry or sector partnerships serving local areas 

7 with high unemployment rates or high percent8 ages of low-income individuals, dislocated work9 ers, or individuals with barriers to employment, 

10 and oversight to support eligible industry or 

11 sector partnerships; and 

12 ‘‘(B) shall be used for the measurement, 

13 evaluation, publication, and reporting described 

14 in subsection (d). 

15 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 ‘‘(1) APPRENTICESHIP.—The term ‘apprentice17 ship’ means a position in an apprenticeship pro18 gram. 

19 ‘‘(2) APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.—The term 

20 ‘apprenticeship program’ means an apprenticeship 

21 program registered with the Office of Apprenticeship 

22 of the Employment and Training Administration of 

23 the Department of Labor or a State apprenticeship 

24 agency recognized by the Office of Apprenticeship 

25 pursuant to the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly 


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1 known as the ‘National Apprenticeship Act’; 50 

2 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 

3 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE INDUSTRY OR SECTOR PART4 NERSHIP.—The term ‘eligible industry or sector 

5 partnership’ means— 

6 ‘‘(A) an industry or sector partnership, 

7 which shall, at a minimum, include multiple 

8 representatives described in each of clauses (i) 

9 through (iii) of paragraph (26)(A) of section 3; 

10 or 

11 ‘‘(B) a partnership, of multiple entities de12 scribed in section 3(26) and a State board or 

13 local board, that is in the process of estab14 lishing an industry or sector partnership de15 scribed in subparagraph (A) for the purposes of 

16 carrying out activities under a grant awarded 

17 under this section. 

18 ‘‘(4) LEAD APPLICANT.—The term ‘lead appli19 cant’ means a nonprofit applicant for a grant under 

20 this section that is— 

21 ‘‘(A) a State board, local board, institution 

22 of higher education (as defined in section 101 

23 or 102(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

24 (20 U.S.C. 1001, 1002(c))), joint labor-man25 agement partnership, labor organization, indusVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Jan 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5308.IS S5308

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1 try association, intermediary, or community2 based organization; or 

3 ‘‘(B) another State or regional nonprofit 

4 organization with experience in developing, con5 vening, expanding, and implementing an indus6 try or sector partnership. 

7 ‘‘(g) SPECIAL RULE.—Any funds made available 

8 under this section that are used to fund an apprenticeship 

9 or apprenticeship program shall only be used for, or pro10 vided to, an apprenticeship or apprenticeship program 

11 that meets the definition of such term in this section, in12 cluding any funds awarded through grants, or the develop13 ment, implementation, or administration, of an appren14 ticeship or an apprenticeship program.’’. 

15 SEC. 3. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

16 The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Workforce 

17 Innovation and Opportunity Act is amended by inserting 

18 after the item relating to section 172, the following: 

‘‘Sec. 173. Sectoral employment through career training for occupational readiness program, or sector program.’’. 

Æ 


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