Latest News
ACTE Resources, Positions & Statements
External Resources
Background Information
Latest News:
The Senate held its first 2009 hearing on the WIA reauthorization on Thursday, June 16. Before the hearing, ACTE submitted priorities in conjunction with the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (see below).
Archived Updates & Historical Information
ACTE Resources, Positions & Statements:
ACTE & NASDCTEc Joint Priorities for the Reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act
External Resources:
AACC's WIA Reauthorization Priorities
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Background Information
Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in 1998 as P.L. 105-220. It 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 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 people 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 limited business engagement in the system and complicated negotiations among partner agencies regarding funding and service delivery.
The Workforce Investment Act was originally scheduled for reauthorization in 2003, but numerous delays have occurred, and a new law has not been finalized.