ERIC Number: ED459333
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1999-Jan
Pages: 108
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
A Second Chance for the Fourth Chance: A Critique of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and a Challenge to State and Local Workforce Investment Boards. Policy Issues Monograph.
Mangum, Garth; Mangum, Stephen; Sum, Andrew; Callahan, James; Fogg, Neal
The effectiveness of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 was critiqued. WIA was praised for providing an avenue for communication among state and local agencies during development of workforce development plans, potentially allowing individuals to choose from a wider array of services and service providers, spreading the concept of one-stop career centers nationwide, and potentially providing for sharper and more meaningful focus on local outcomes. The following shortcomings of WIA were identified: (1) its "work first" commitment makes training a last resort; (2) it lacks a coherent mission; (3) it fails to provide additional monies for improved labor market information systems; and (4) its youth component limits services to the economically disadvantaged. Fifteen specific recommendations for addressing these weaknesses were presented, including the following: (1) allow training operators to serve all dislocated and disadvantaged workers otherwise unable to qualify for and obtain jobs providing family-sustaining earnings; (2) encourage states to launch their own independent workforce development crusades, utilizing federal programs as resources consistent with state objectives; and (3) make federal poverty guidelines consistent with current standards of living, national mores, and variations in the cost of living across states and local areas. (Nineteen tables and 18 references are included.) (MN)
Descriptors: Adult Basic Education, At Risk Persons, Career Centers, Delivery Systems, Education Work Relationship, Educational Finance, Employment Programs, Employment Services, Federal Legislation, Federal State Relationship, Financial Support, Guidelines, Information Systems, Integrated Services, Job Placement, Job Training, Labor Force, Labor Force Development, Labor Market, Literacy Education, Needs Assessment, Occupational Information, Older Adults, Policy Formation, Poverty, Program Effectiveness, Program Evaluation, Public Policy, Resource Allocation, Salary Wage Differentials, Systems Approach, Welfare Recipients, Young Adults, Youth Employment, Youth Problems
Sar Levitan Center, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Wyman Park Building, 5th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 ($10). Tel: 410-516-7169; Fax: 410-516-4775; Web site: http://www.levitan.org/index.html.
Publication Type: Books; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Council on Employment Policy, Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD. Sar Levitan Center for Social Policy Studies.
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: Job Training Partnership Act 1982; Workforce Investment Act 1998
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A