Pennsylvania’s Standards for High Performance lwibs Self-Assessment Format lwib lehigh Valley Workforce Investment Board, Inc

■ empowering youth with information and skills needed to be successful ■ aligning workforce development with education and economic development ■ marketing the benefits of career pathways, career and technical education and continuing education. The LVWIB has aligned its strategy with the Lehigh Valley Business/Education Partnership. (Attachment 14)

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b. The LVWIB articulates its youth strategy by not only building but maintaining a community-wide, diverse Youth Council. Our multi-faceted approach also includes marketing and programming through alignment and working partnerships with:

■ providers of youth services ■ Lehigh Valley Business/Education Partnership ■ faith based organizations ■ Society for Human Resource Management ■ regional partners ■ over 90 community-based organizations ■ Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation ■ school districts ■ parent-teacher organizations ■ career and technical schools ■ community colleges ■ colleges ■ training vendors ■ employers and ■ our workforce at large.

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c. Working relationships are developed and maintained by providing our partners with information on: ■ the workforce

■ employer hiring needs ■ employer skills and training needs ■ and by: facilitating community forums ■ cross serving on boards ■ listening to and supporting the needs of our community partners ■ hosting workforce and training initiatives and

■ adding valued programs and initiatives in our regional community.

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d. The Board ensures variety by mapping employer skills and workforce needs including: ■ partnering with CareerLink to solicit information ■ conducting employer roundtables and focus groups ■ soliciting information from the Manufacturers Resource Center and Chamber of Commerce ■ surveying over 800 human resource managers, employer organizations and career and technical advisory committees to name a few. The Youth Council responds to the needs identified and critical skill shortage areas by naming these areas of need in all youth program Request for Proposals and directs our individual training grants toward skill shortage areas and high priority occupations.

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e. We avoid funding of existing or duplicative programs and utilize partnering funds to supplement proposed services to our at-risk youth population. We have identified partners receiving local, state and/or federal funds and we collaborate and leverage our funds to offer a comprehensive system by: ■ focusing our request for proposals in critical shortage areas

■ hosting a bi-weekly job and labor market meeting ■ providing information on high priority occupations ■ skills requirements ■ jobs ■ continuing education ■ facilitating meetings of all services providers and charting the training/services they offer ■ having youth services providers on our Youth Council and LVWIB.

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f. The goals established to impact youth outcomes for our entire community include: ■ an awareness campaign to communicate business and industry’s employment options, skills sets, and educational and training requirements

■ increased awareness of jobs, industry clusters and career ladders ■ increasing the number of students selecting career and technical education, community college, college and continuing training/education ■ impacting the pipeline of students leaving high schools with the technical and soft skills needed by employers.

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g. Lehigh Valley partners have developed five information tools which educate our community: ■ Lehigh Valley At Work Web Site ■ Lehigh Valley At Work Public Television Show ■ Lehigh Valley Outlook ■ Community Forums ■ and one universal used tool for high school students called Career Cruising. Other informational tools/initiatives include: ■ CD-ROM’S, an e-media Job Skills 101 series ■ Career Awareness Month ■ Youth CareerLink Orientations ■ Educational forums on 21^st Century Literacies ■ meetings with education and training providers ■ educator workforce and skills panels ■ Lehigh Valley Workforce and Economic Development Awareness Week ■ Future Impact ■ Career Pathways ■ Career/Workforce Ladders ■ Lehigh Valley Job Fair ■ listing of WIB/CareerLink Web Sites.

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h. There are four Project 720 schools in the Lehigh Valley. The LVWIB has partnered with the Lehigh Valley Business/Education Partnership to reach out to these schools, as well as other high schools in the area that have adopted the Project 720 principles. We have: ■ conducted activities to address Project 720 goals and objectives including a Forum entitled “Dissecting the Apple” with PDE and US Dept. of Education ■ hosted a Forum entitled “Preparing the Lehigh Valley for a 21^st Century Economy: The Role of Education” and are planning a working session to assist schools in developing and implementing strategic initiatives in their schools, and ■ initiated staffing a satellite CareerLink access site at a Project 720 school.

b. A Spending Plan Report is developed for each funding source requiring LVWIB oversight on input from LVWIB and Operational staff of the Fiscal Agent.

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  The Spending Plans capture information by both account detail and function (core, intensive, training, etc.),
  
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  The reports are presented to the Finance Committee for review and discussion,
  
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  They are reviewed by the Executive Committee for recommendation for Board approval, and
  
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  Any changes to the reports follow the same process approval.
  

c. By following the process in 8.b above, LVWIB is aware of all activities being funded and are assured that the funds are being appropriately directed based on the strategic direction of the LVWIB .

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d. In addition to the Spending Plan Reports, the Finance Committee and the LVWIB receive reports showing all available revenue by funding source, current year-to-date expenditures by account and function, and the LVWIB has access to all financial data needed to ensure its strategic direction is being followed and funds are properly expended.

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e. Any additional funds the LVWIB has oversight over are processed in the same manner as WIA funds. The fiscal agent receives an annual audit and periodic monitoring sessions with the PA Department of Labor and Industry with the LVWIB staff monitor. All results from these reports are reviewed by the Finance Committee and the full LVWIB.

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b. For Program Year reviews 2003 and 2004 there were no corrective actions required by State Monitors.
If any corrective action is required, the process is as follows: Any issues identified are addressed in writing within 30 days, a Correction Plan is developed, the Corrective Action Plan is reviewed by the LVWIB staff and the Bureau of Workforce Development Partnership, and the corrective action is documented and any compliance issue(s) are made available to the LVWIB’s Accountability Committee.

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c. The LVWIB has developed a Scorecard for the CareerLink Operators that is used as an accountability tool which includes:

■ Workforce Investment Act Performance Standards ■ Market Indicators for All Operators ■ Key Initiatives ■ Industry Partnerships Planning Grants ■ Incumbent Worker Training Grants ■ Customer Satisfaction and ■ Status of Spending Plan.

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b. The LVWIB directs its funds towards not only high priority occupations within Lehigh Valley’s industry clusters but in critical workforce shortage areas. By engaging private sector leaders with community influence, the LVWIB leverages the cooperation of all workforce, education and community/faith based organizations.
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c. As employer needs are identified, funds are leveraged to meet those needs. The LVWIB communicates its priorities/expectations through: meetings, documents like the Lehigh Valley Outlook, web sites, workforce initiatives, cross-serving on economic, workforce and education committees, assisting with curriculum design through public television and community forums to name a few.

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d. The Fiscal Agent receives guidance and direction from the LVWIB by working closely with the LVWIB Executive Director and LVWIB Executive Committee. The budget is also reviewed and monitored closely by the LVWIB Finance Committee. All spending plans are reviewed and approved by the LVWIB Executive Committee on a quarterly basis.

e. An inventory of potential sources of funding is maintained including federal, state and locally driven sources that support our workforce priorities. Our work is supported by aligning our strategies and community initiatives with economic, workforce, community development and education. This allows us to leverage our collective resources in support of Valley wide issues by: teaming with SHRM in developing a funded Workforce Committee that addresses education and workforce forums; partnering with education to provide funded services at our CareerLink Centers; using private sector resources to increase the services our system can offer; teaming with all our partners in offering community forums that raise awareness about work and skills needed by employers.

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f. The LVWIB and the Fiscal Agent have internal controls in place to ensure that all funds expended are reasonable and necessary to meet the needs of the system.