State report: WIA programs met or exceeded most performance targets in program year 2022

Janette Pipa, presenting the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIA) performance report, told the Council that Wyoming achieved strong outcomes for program year 2022 across the adult, dislocated worker and youth programs. She summarized the six WIA performance indicators and the USDOL negotiation process, and explained how "exit" and the quarters-after-exit are defined for outcome measures.

Pipa said the adult program met 96.1% of the negotiated employment-rate expectation for the second quarter after exit and achieved 158.3% of the median-earnings goal; credential attainment and measurable skills gains were also above negotiated targets (credential attainment 109.2%; measurable skills gains 99.6%). Dislocated-worker and youth indicators likewise exceeded negotiated targets in nearly every measure she reviewed.

Pipa cautioned that performance measures are negotiated with the U.S. Department of Labor and that failing to attain 90% of the negotiated target across whole programs or categories could trigger technical assistance or, for a second consecutive year, a 5% shortfall sanction on funds. She said Wyoming is not at risk of those sanctions based on the data presented.

Council members had no substantive questions during the presentation; Pipa said WIA reporting for PY22 is due and that more complete PY22 tables will be available after federal reporting windows close. The presentation was technical and focused on outcomes metrics rather than new policy recommendations.

Attribution: statements and data in this article are drawn from Janette Pipapresentation to the Council.