Joint Regional Workforce Development Planning

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

On July 1, 2015, Maricopa County and the City of Phoenix established Joint Regional Workforce Development Planning. This program was initiated primarily due to the continued commitment of Maricopa County and the City of Phoenix of providing quality workforce development services to each Local Workforce Area (LWA) under the federally funded Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). With changes to the Federal law, both the County and the City recognized the importance for strengthened joint collaborations to coordinate and align workforce development services. The overarching purpose for Joint Regional Workforce Development Planning was to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of workforce services and also service delivery throughout the Region (Maricopa County LWA and the City of Phoenix LWA). Furthermore, the program also was required to complete the following: • Address services for adults, youth, dislocated workers, and employer services including responses to layoffs; • Identify short, mid, and long-range improvements and future improvements; • Implement immediate improvements, as allowable under existing laws, regulations, and agreements; • Include a process for stakeholder input; and • Issue a summarization report to both authorizing bodies by March 31, 2016. The development and implementation of this program resulted in meeting the five (5) stated objectives of the program. Furthermore the Regional workforce service delivery strategy was developed, which provided a playbook of 47 implementable improvements in six (6) key program areas to address issues and strengthen service delivery policies and procedures in the Region. The program’s implemented strategies improved the efficiency, effectiveness, coordination, and consistency of WIOA program services for job seekers and employers that are served by the County and the City. Overall this program promoted greater intergovernmental cooperation and coordination in addressing the shared problems of the Region.