Community-Based Workforce Development Act

Bill: 117-s-5308
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]
Introduced: 2022-12-20
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Latest action: action_date: 2022-12-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Summaries:
action_date: 2022-12-20
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Community-Based Workforce Development Act</b></p> <p>This bill provides grants to expand workforce training programs for high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors.</p>

tv_txt: II 117th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 5308 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. Short title This Act may be cited as the Community-Based Workforce Development Act . 2. Sectoral employment through career training for occupational readiness program, or sector program Subtitle D of title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3221 et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following: 173. Sectoral employment through career training for occupational readiness program, or sector program (a) In general From amounts appropriated under subsection (e)(1), and not reserved under subsection (e)(2), the Secretary shall— (1) use 80 percent of such amounts to award grants under subsection (b) to each State to develop, convene, expand, or implement industry or sector partnerships; and (2) use 20 percent of such amounts to award grants under subsection (c), on a competitive basis, to eligible industry or sector partnerships for the purposes of expanding workforce development and employment opportunities for high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors or occupations, as determined by the Secretary. (b) Formula grants (1) Distribution of funds (A) State allotment From the amount determined by the Secretary under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall allot funds to each State on the basis of the relative allotment the State received under section 132(b) for such fiscal year, compared to the total amount allotted to all States under section 132(b) for such fiscal year. (B) Local area allocations The Governor of the State shall use an amount allotted under subparagraph (A) to provide for the activities described in paragraph (2) by— (i) reserving funds for the State board; and (ii) distributing the remainder by— (I) allocating funds to each local area of the State on the basis of the relative allocation the local area received under section 133(b) for such fiscal year, compared to the total amount allocated to all local areas in the State under section 133(b) for such fiscal year; or (II) allocating funds to local areas of the State that have the highest rates of unemployment or low-income individuals, the highest numbers of dislocated workers, or the highest numbers of individuals with barriers to employment, in the State. (2) Use of funds The funds awarded under paragraph (1) may be used by the State board or a local area to— (A) develop, convene, or implement eligible industry or sector partnerships, as authorized under section 134(c)(1)(A)(v) or to expand the partnerships; (B) regularly convene such industry or sector partnerships in a collaborative structure to identify, develop, improve, expand, or implement training, employment, and growth opportunities for high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors or occupations, including directly providing, or arranging for the provision of, the training or services described in subparagraph (B) or (C) of subsection (c)(3), in connection with those opportunities; and (C) strengthen the coordination between eligible industry or sector partnerships and the one-stop partners described in section 121, regarding activities carried out under this subsection and programs administered under subtitle B. (c) Competitive grants (1) Grants authorized From the amount determined by the Secretary under subsection (a)(2), the Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible industry or sector partnerships to carry out programs for the purposes described in subsection (a)(2). (2) Application (A) Form and procedure To receive a grant under this subsection, the lead applicant on behalf of an eligible industry or sector partnership shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as specified by the Secretary, including a description of the training leading to the credentials described in paragraph (3)(B). (B) Contents An application submitted under paragraph (1) shall contain at a minimum each of the following: (i) An identification of the high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sector or occupation on which such partnership is focused. (ii) A description of the activities to be carried out under the grant. (iii) A description of the workers that will be targeted for recruitment as program participants, how priority of service will be provided under the grant to unemployed individuals, low-income individuals, dislocated workers, or individuals with barriers to employment (with the 4 types of individuals referred to in this clause as covered individuals ), and how the activities will be designed to maximize access and eliminate barriers to entry to training and other related activities for such covered individuals. (iv) A description of other Federal or non-Federal resources that will be leveraged in support of the eligible industry or sector partnership (including through cash or in-kind contributions from private sector partners). (3) Uses of funds An eligible industry or sector partnership awarded a grant under this subsection shall use such grant funds— (A) to engage and regularly convene stakeholders in a collaborative structure to identify, develop, improve, expand, or implement training, employment, and growth opportunities for the high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sector or occupation on which such partnership is focused; (B) to directly provide, or arrange for the provision of, high-quality, evidence-based training for the high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sector or occupation on which such partnership is focused, which shall include training that leads to the attainment of nationally or regionally portable and stackable recognized postsecondary credentials for the industry sector or occupation described in subparagraph (A) and which shall include— (i) training services authorized under section 134(c)(3)(D); (ii) apprenticeship programs or pre-apprenticeship programs; or (iii) training provided through labor organizations or joint labor-management partnerships; and (C) to directly provide, or arrange for the provision of, services to help individuals with barriers to employment and other participants complete and successfully transition out of training described in subparagraph (B), which services shall include career services, supportive services, and the provision of needs-related payments authorized under subsections (c)(2), (d)(2), and (d)(3) of section 134. (4) Priority in selection of grants The Secretary shall give priority consideration to applications that demonstrate the ability of the partnership involved to serve eligible individuals in targeted economic regions that— (A) are experiencing high poverty; (B) have traditionally been underserved by regional economic development and sector partnership activities (including rural areas); (C) are facing or at risk of facing significant worker dislocation due to a disruption or change in the regional or State economy or labor market; or (D) have high numbers of— (i) disadvantaged youth (as defined in section 127(b)(2)(C)) and disadvantaged adults (as defined in section 132(b)(1)(B)(v)(IV)); and (ii) unemployed individuals, within the meaning of section 6(b)(1)(B) of the Wagner-Peyser Act ( 29 U.S.C. 49e(b)(1)(B) ) and unemployed individuals in areas of substantial unemployment, within the meaning of section 127(b)(1)(C)(ii)(I). (5) Definitions In this subsection: (A) Area of substantial unemployment The term area of substantial unemployment has the meaning given the term in section 127(b)(2)(B). (B) Evidence-based The term evidence-based , used with respect to an activity, means an activity that meets the requirements of clause (i) or (ii) of section 8101(21)(A) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 7801(21)(A) ). (C) Preapprenticeship program The term preapprenticeship program means a program that prepares participants for, and articulates to, an apprenticeship program. (D) Supportive services The term supportive services includes— (i) the provision of direct support services (such as child care, transportation, and mental health and substance use disorder treatment); (ii) assistance in obtaining health insurance coverage; and (iii) assistance in accessing benefits through the supplemental nutrition assistance program established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq. ), benefits through the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children established by section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 ( 42 U.S.C. 1786 ), housing, and other benefits, as appropriate. (d) Program accountability and evaluation (1) In general The Secretary shall annually measure the performance of grant recipients carrying out activities under grants awarded under this section on— (A) the primary indicators of performance covered by clauses (i) through (iv) of section 116(b)(2)(A) and expected levels of performance relating to such indicators; and (B) such additional measures as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, which may include measures of skills attainment, wage or career progression, and training-related employment, and additional job quality measures. (2) Evaluation Not later than 2 years after the first award of funds under this section is made the Secretary (acting through the Chief Evaluation Officer) shall design and conduct an evaluation to evaluate the effectiveness of the program carried out under this section. (3) Publication The Secretary shall— (A) publish on a publicly accessible website the outcomes for grant recipients on the measurements conducted under paragraph (1) and the evaluation conducted under paragraph (2); and (B) submit a report containing the outcomes on the measurements and evaluation to the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. (e) Authorization of appropriations; reservations (1) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section— (A) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2023; (B) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024; (C) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025; (D) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026; (E) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2027; and (F) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2028. (2) Reservation of funds Of the funds appropriated under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the Secretary may reserve not more than 5 percent, which— (A) may be used for administration of the program described in this section, in addition to any other funds available for such administration, including providing comprehensive technical assistance, targeted outreach to eligible industry or sector partnerships serving local areas with high unemployment rates or high percentages of low-income individuals, dislocated workers, or individuals with barriers to employment, and oversight to support eligible industry or sector partnerships; and (B) shall be used for the measurement, evaluation, publication, and reporting described in subsection (d). (f) Definitions In this section: (1) Apprenticeship The term apprenticeship means a position in an apprenticeship program. (2) Apprenticeship program The term apprenticeship program means an apprenticeship program registered with the Office of Apprenticeship of the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor or a State apprenticeship agency recognized by the Office of Apprenticeship pursuant to the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known as the National Apprenticeship Act ; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq. ). (3) Eligible industry or sector partnership The term eligible industry or sector partnership means— (A) an industry or sector partnership, which shall, at a minimum, include multiple representatives described in each of clauses (i) through (iii) of paragraph (26)(A) of section 3; or (B) a partnership, of multiple entities described in section 3(26) and a State board or local board, that is in the process of establishing an industry or sector partnership described in subparagraph (A) for the purposes of carrying out activities under a grant awarded under this section. (4) Lead applicant The term lead applicant means a nonprofit applicant for a grant under this section that is— (A) a State board, local board, institution of higher education (as defined in section 101 or 102(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1001 , 1002(c))), joint labor-management partnership, labor organization, industry association, intermediary, or community-based organization; or (B) another State or regional nonprofit organization with experience in developing, convening, expanding, and implementing an industry or sector partnership. (g) Special rule Any funds made available under this section that are used to fund an apprenticeship or apprenticeship program shall only be used for, or provided to, an apprenticeship or apprenticeship program that meets the definition of such term in this section, including any funds awarded through grants, or the development, implementation, or administration, of an apprenticeship or an apprenticeship program. . 3. Table of contents The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 172, the following: Sec. 173. Sectoral employment through career training for occupational readiness program, or sector program. .