U.S. Department of Labor FY 2011 Budget

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) FY 2011 budget request marks a transitional year in the development of DOL's new strategic framework and performance goals. As part of this transition, DOL's budget supports the Secretary's vision of good jobs for everyone and defined by five new strategic goals and its 13 supporting outcome goals.

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Federal Budget Update

On March, 15th, the House passed House Joint Resolution 48 (HJR 48), another short-term continuing resolution to provide funding through April 8th. HJR 48 includes $6 billion in funding cuts, including $125 million to the Career Pathways Innovation Fund (CPIF) and a complete zeroing out of the CPIF in 2011. We are getting mixed messages about this funding, but what we are hearing from U.S. DOL staff and our federal partners is that despite the cuts identified in HJR 48, there will be funding for the upcoming CPIF proposals. If you are in the process of developing proposals, we recommend that you still move forward and submit them. The closing date for receipt of applications is Thursday, March 31, 2011. Applications must be received no later than 4:00 PM eastern time.

Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Funding: We are hearing that the President will not sign a budget that zeroes out funding for WIA, however, we should expect to take a cut. How much of a cut exactly, and whether it will hit in PY 11 or PY 12, we don't know.

Our ability to communicate the successes and return on investment of WIA dollars will greatly shape the outcome of any potential funding cuts to the system. There is still time to TELL YOUR STORY. The template letter to Congressional members has been updated. If you haven't already done so, please get your letters faxed or emailed by the end of the week.

Skills for America's Future Initiative

On Monday, October 4th, President Barack Obama announced the launch of Skills for America’s Future, to expand innovative strategies and improve the skills of America’s workers. Skills for America’s Future aims to build “high-impact” partnerships with industry, labor unions, community colleges and other training providers in support of the President’s goal of producing five million more community college graduates and certificates by 2020. The initiative will be part of the Economic Opportunities Program at the Aspen Institute and will be spearheaded by an Executive Director, which they intend to announce on Monday, October 25th, 2010.

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Workforce Innovation Fund

The FY 2011 budget request includes the creation of a Workforce Innovation Fund (WIF), to be administered at the federal level, totaling $107,651,000. The Fund is comprised of five percent contricutions from the WIA Adult Program ($45,344,000) and the Dislocated Worker Program ($62,307,000). WIF grants will be awarded competitively through Solicitation for Grant Applications to states or localities for the demonstration of promising new ideas for the replciation of proven practices.

The federal-state-local partnership that exists under WIA has demonstrated enormous potential for exploring and testing alternative service strategies; however, there are limited resources available to fund the testing, evaluation, dissemination, and replication of these ideas. WIF resources will be used to support competitive grant opportunities targeted at the demonstration and replication of such ideas.

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Youth Innovation Fund

In 2011, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) will focus on helping youth overcome a multitude of barriers to employment, provide new opportunities for summer work experiences, and target assistance toward skills needed to secure good jobs, especially in high growth industries. The FY 2011 budget request also includes a new Youth Innovation Fund. This fund will allow ETA to support and evaluate innovative means of providing improved youth services to at-risk youth, particularly out-of-school youth.

The Youth Innovation Fund will have two components:

Summer and Year-Round Employment Opportunities

These grants will create an estimated 20,124 summer and year-round employment opportunities for youth.

Work Experience Plus Program

These competitive grants to local workforce investment boards, in partnership with youth service providers (including community-based organizations), governors and state workforce boards, will serve exclusively out-of-school youth ages 16-24.

ETA is requesting $1,025,000,000 for the WIA Youth program in FY 2011, which includes a program increase of $100,931,000 over the FY 2010 appropriation level. The increase is specifically targeted to create the Youth Innovation Fund, which will be administered at the federal level.

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Green Jobs Innovation Fund

The Green Jobs Innovation Fund is part of the Department’s vision for ensuring that workers have the necessary skills, knowledge, and abilities to succeed in a knowledge-based economy that includes high growth and emerging industry sectors, including green industries.

Through competitive grant opportunities, the Fund will help workers receive job training in green industry sectors and occupations, and access green career pathways. ETA has identified several strategies to help workers access green training and green career pathways, including: (1) enhanced pre-apprenticeship and registered apprenticeship programs in green industry sectors and occupations; (2) targeted sector strategy and partnership efforts; (3)connecting existing education opportunities in green industry sectors and occupations to green jobs; and, (4) support for existing partnerships that effectively connect community-based organizations in underserved communities with the workforce investment system to better serve targeted populations through a new focus on career advancement in green industry sectors. ETA expects to develop additional strategies, based on the lessons learned from the green investments funded by the Recovery Act.

ETA is considering a range of approaches for the $85,000,000 requested in FY 2011 for the Green Jobs Innovation Fund that will build on the successful strategies and lessons learned from grant projects funded through FY 2010 appropriations and the series of green job training grants funded by the Recovery Act. Based on these initial investments, and activities conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to define green sectors and jobs, ETA will have a clearer understanding of the workforce needs associated with green jobs for FY 2011 and will target its efforts with a focus on further development of green curricula, competency models, career pathways, and other valuable training tools.

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