The Impact of a Reauthorized Workforce Investment Act

By Guest Contributor Ryon Lane

“America cannot lead in the 21st Century unless we have the best educated, most competitive workforce in the world.”—President Barack Obama, April 24, 2009 
Congress writes a variety of federal legislation with the intention of regularly revising it (i.e., reauthorizing) in response to ongoing societal changes. That is to say, as time progresses and our national needs change, some of our laws are designed to change with us. Without such change, it’s easy to conceive of how stagnant laws might hinder national, communal or even individual development and growth.

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) was signed into law in 1998 and was scheduled for reauthorization in 2003. However, that reauthorization never took place (while the House and Senate drafted and voted on reauthorization proposals in committee politics prevented the bills from being passed out of either chamber). WIA now operates on a “continued” basis, meaning that the last three sessions of Congress have simply renewed the legislation under generally the same terms which it was initially passed rather than passing an amended reauthorization of the legislation in order to make it more effectively meet our current needs. 

The Workforce Investment Act reauthorized the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), which was established to coordinate a national network of employment assistance networks. WIA is designed to assist people in finding, keeping, and advancing in employment opportunities. The system supports local “one stop” where employees and job-seekers, including young professionals, people with disabilities, dislocated workers, low-income adults can assess education and employment training and support services. With the recent economic crisis and the changes in the economy more people have turned to the workforce development system for support and guidance. The system has been responsible for assisting the many more workers who have been laid off, returned from service oversees or who are looking to upgrade their skills. WIA has served more individuals without signifinant increases in funding to accommodate additional infrastructure improvements, such as modernized technology. In fact, funding for WIA, including inflation, budgetary cuts and growth in service needs, has been on a steady decline since 2001. 

The current economic downturn, escalation in state deficits leading to additional funding cuts, and rising unemployment underscore the need for a modernized federal workforce system that can provide workers with the necessary training and employers with the highly skilled employees they need. The current workforce investment system is incapable of meeting 21st Century challenges.

How then would a reauthorized WIA improve the educational and job opportunities available to those jobseekers in need of a modernized federal workforce development program? What impact would an amended, “21st Century WIA” have on President Obama’s goal to ‘lead in the 21st Century’? 

A reauthorized WIA should incorporate amendments to modernize the federal workforce development program to strengthen and improve employment and training opportunities to those young professionals, people with disabilities, dislocated workers, low-income adults, and middle-class working Americans in need of education and employment training opportunities. Only by funding increased access to and improvement of these services can we ensure that American workers have the skills needed to be successful in the 21st century labor market.

WIA should retain its current, successful, federally funded and locally managed One-Stop delivery system infrastructure. The reauthorization should focus upon the delivery of improved and modified services. The Act could be improved by strengthening collaboration among federal agencies, including the Departments of Labor, Education and Health and Human Services, and among regional and local businesses, education systems and labor markets. Such collaboration would only help to streamline federal programs to help them work effectively at the local level. For example, the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration can work the department of Education to ensure all jobseekers should have access to federally supported education and training programs through community colleges.

Additionally, under a new WIA, the revised purpose of One-Stops could be expanded to create a greater impact to the jobseekers of their communities—especially to those in low-income and minority communities. While the primary purpose of WIA should ultimately be to help jobseekers find and retain employment, One-Stops could also strive to simultaneously increase postsecondary success, strengthen families and communities, and even increase civic and community participation. Each of these things will lead to the further development of social structure and jobs—particularly in the presence of continued and expanded career pathway programs tied to community business sectors.

Support services can improve the delivery of services and technology can be used to increase access. These are only a few of the improvements and modifications that would greatly expand the employment and training opportunities to young professionals, people with disabilities, dislocated workers, low-income adults, and middle-class working Americans in need education and employment support. Effective programs must be expanded, service delivery improved and collaboration increased to ensure that jobseekers have the support needed to find and maintain 21st century employment.

Born and raised in Grants Pass, Oregon, Ryon Lane studied at the University of Washington and later at Seattle University School of Law. A member of Cherokee Nation, Ryon co-founded a chapter of the Native American Law Student Association (NALSA) during law school. In September 2008, Ryon suffered a broken neck in a diving accident, but miraculously avoided paralysis, and has since developed a strong passion for disability rights issues. Upon moving to Washington, D.C. in the fall of 2009, Ryon expanded his focus of interest to policy issues closely related to disability rights, such as labor and veterans affairs, and is currently looking for a place of employment through which he can have an positive impact on such issues.