Congress passed The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in 1998 and replaced the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) in an effort to streamline and strengthen this country's job training system. Taking full effect on July 1, 2000, WIA intended to create a locally integrated "One-Stop" delivery system of multiple employment services, job training and education programs, designed to be universally accessible to job seekers, and to meet local industry demands in communities across the county. WIA mandated the participation of partner agencies that provide such services, including the Perkins program.

Implementation of WIA has worked well in some local areas, but, overall, there has been a downward trend in the provision of employment services, particularly in the number of job seekers being referred to training programs. According to U.S. Department of Labor data analyzed by the Center for Law and Social Policy, there has been an approximate 66 percent drop in the number of person receiving training in the early years of WIA's implementation, and the last years of JTPA. Among the reasons cited for this change includes local funds being diverted from service delivery for infrastructure development in the new One-Stop system. Additional frustrations at the local level have included complicated negotiations among partner agencies regarding funding and service delivery, and limited business engagement in the system.

The Workforce Investment Act was originally scheduled for reauthorization in 2003, but numerous delays have occured and a new law has not been finalized.