WILL Act

Bill: 113-s-882
Sponsor: Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI]
Introduced: 2013-05-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Adult education and literacy
Computers and information technology
Employment and training programs
Libraries and archives
State and local government operations
Unemployment

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-07
text: 
Workforce Investments through Local Libraries Act or WILL Act - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to define &quot;digital literacy skills&quot; to mean the skills associated with using technology to enable users to find, evaluate, organize, create, and communicate information. 
 
Revises requirements for member composition of state and local workforce investment boards to include heads of public libraries.
 
Requires state workforce investment plans to include a description of the procedures states will take to assure coordination of and avoid duplication among employment and training activities, and adult education and literacy activities, provided by public libraries. Requires local workforce investment plans similarly to describe how local boards will coordinate investment activities carried out in the local area with such activities provided by public libraries.
 
Allows a human resource program operated by a one-stop partner to include programs of employment and training activities, and adult education and literacy activities, provided by public libraries. Revises state allotment eligibility requirements to allow public libraries located in local areas to operate as one-stop centers to provide such activities.
 
Allows public libraries, among other appropriate entities, to contract with the one-stop delivery system to deliver intensive services for employment and training for adults and dislocated workers supported by workforce investment funds.
 
Includes development of digital literacy skills among the intensive short-term prevocational services of a one-stop delivery system.
 
Allows demonstration and pilot, multiservice, research, and multistate projects of the Department of Labor for providing employment opportunities and training services to individuals to include the establishment of employment resource centers in public libraries to provide unemployed and underemployed individuals access to workforce investment services related to such opportunities and services.
 
Directs the Secretary of Labor to collaborate on initiatives, materials, or technology to support workforce development activities with the heads of relevant federal departments and agencies, including the Secretary of Education, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA), the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), or their designees.
 
Amends the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act to require an eligible provider receiving a grant or contract to develop, implement, and improve adult education and literacy activities to use the grant or contract to establish or operate one or more programs to promote digital literacy skills.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2013-05-07
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3165)
action_date: 2013-05-07
text: Introduced in Senate