Arkansas Code
Subchapter 37 - Arkansas Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
§ 15-4-3713. Local workforce development planning requirements

(a)
(1) Each local workforce development board shall develop and submit to the Governor a comprehensive four-year local workforce development plan, in partnership with the chief elected official.
(2) The local workforce development board shall support the strategy described in the state workforce development plan and be consistent with the state workforce development plan.
(3) If the local workforce development area is part of a planning region, the local workforce development board shall comply with preparation and submission of a regional plan.
(4) At the end of the first two-year period of the four-year local workforce development plan, each local workforce development board shall review the local workforce development plan, and the local workforce development board, in partnership with the chief elected official, shall prepare and submit modifications to the local workforce development plan to reflect changes in labor market and economic conditions or in other factors affecting the implementation of the local workforce development plan.

(b) The local workforce development plan shall include:
(1) A description of the strategic planning elements consisting of:
(A) An analysis of the regional economic conditions, including without limitation:
(i) Existing and emerging in-demand industry sectors and occupations; and
(ii) The employment needs of employers in those industry sectors and occupations;

(B) An analysis of the knowledge and skills needed to meet the employment needs of the employers in the region, including without limitation employment needs in in-demand industry sectors and occupations;
(C) An analysis of the workforce in the region, including without limitation current labor force employment and unemployment data, information on labor market trends, and the educational and skill levels of the workforce in the region, including without limitation individuals with barriers to employment;
(D) An analysis of the workforce development activities, including without limitation education and training in the region, and an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of such services and the capacity to provide such services to address the identified education and skill needs of the workforce and the employment needs of employers in the region;
(E) A description of the local workforce development plan's strategic vision and goals for preparing an educated and skilled workforce, including without limitation youth and individuals with barriers to employment, including goals relating to the performance accountability measures based on primary indicators of performance in order to support regional economic growth and economic self-sufficiency; and
(F) Taking into account analyses described in subdivisions (b)(1)(A)-(D) of this section, a strategy to work with the entities that carry out the core programs to align resources available to the local workforce development area, to achieve the strategic vision and goals described in subdivision (b)(1)(E) of this section;

(2) A description of the workforce development system in the local workforce development area that identifies the programs that are included in that system and how the local workforce development board will work with the entities carrying out core programs and other workforce development programs to support alignment to provide services, including programs of study authorized under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006, 20 U.S.C. § 2301 et seq., that support the strategy identified in the state workforce development plan;
(3) A description of how the local workforce development board, working with the entities carrying out core programs, will expand access to employment, training, education, and supportive services for eligible individuals, particularly eligible individuals with barriers to employment, and how the local workforce development board will facilitate the development of career pathways and co-enrollment, as appropriate, in core programs, and improve access to activities leading to a recognized postsecondary credential that is industry-recognized, portable, and stackable;
(4) A description of the strategies and services that will be used in the local workforce development area:
(A) To:
(i) Facilitate engagement of employers, including without limitation small employers and employers in in-demand industry sectors and occupations in workforce development programs;
(ii) Support a local workforce development system that meets the needs of businesses in the local workforce development area;
(iii) Better coordinate workforce development programs and economic development; and
(iv) Strengthen linkages between the one-stop delivery system and unemployment insurance programs; and

(B) That may include the implementation of initiatives designed to meet the needs of employers in the corresponding region in support of the strategy described in subdivision (b)(1)(F) of this section such as:
(i) Career pathways initiatives;
(ii) Customized training programs;
(iii) Incumbent worker training programs;
(iv) Industry and sector strategies;
(v) On-the-job training programs;
(vi) Use of effective business intermediaries; and
(vii) Other business services and strategies;

(5) A description of how the local workforce development board will coordinate workforce investment activities carried out in the local workforce development area with economic development activities carried out in the planning region or in the workforce development region in which the local workforce development area is located and promote entrepreneurial skills training and microenterprise services;
(6) A description of the one-stop delivery system in the local workforce development area, including:
(A) A description of how the local workforce development board will ensure the continuous improvement of eligible providers of services through the one-stop delivery system and ensure that the providers meet the employment needs of local employers, workers, and jobseekers;
(B) A description of how the local workforce development board will facilitate access in remote areas to services provided through the one-stop delivery system, including without limitation, in remote areas, through the use of technology and other means;
(C) A description of how entities within the one-stop delivery system, including one-stop operators and the one-stop partners, will comply with § 188 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Pub. L. No. 113-128, 29 U.S.C. § 3248, if applicable, and applicable provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., regarding the physical and programmatic accessibility of facilities, programs and services, technology, and materials for individuals with disabilities, including providing staff training and support for addressing the needs of individuals with disabilities; and
(D) A description of the roles and resource contributions of the one-stop partners;

(7) A description and assessment of the type and availability of adult and dislocated worker employment and training activities in the local workforce development area;
(8) A description of how the local workforce development board will coordinate workforce investment activities carried out in the local workforce development area with statewide rapid response activities for dislocated workers;
(9) A description and assessment of the type and availability of youth workforce investment activities in the local workforce development area, including without limitation activities for youth who are individuals with disabilities, which description and assessment shall include an identification of successful models of the youth workforce investment activities;
(10) A description of how the local workforce development board will coordinate education and workforce investment activities carried out in the local workforce development area with relevant secondary and postsecondary education programs and activities to coordinate strategies, enhance services, and avoid duplication of services;
(11) A description of how the local workforce development board will coordinate workforce investment activities with the provision of transportation, including without limitation public transportation, and other appropriate supportive services in the local workforce development area;
(12) A description of plans and strategies for and assurances concerning maximizing coordination of services provided by the state employment service under the Wagner-Peyser Act, 29 U.S.C. § 49 et seq., and services provided in the local workforce development area through the one-stop delivery system to improve service delivery and avoid duplication of services;
(13) A description of how the local workforce development board will coordinate workforce investment activities carried out under this subchapter in the local workforce development area with the provision of adult education and literacy activities in the local workforce development area, including a description of how the local workforce development board will carry out the review of local applications submitted under title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Pub. L. No. 113-128, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 3271–3275, 3291, 3292, 3301–3305, 3321–3323, and 3331–3333;
(14) A description of the replicated cooperative agreements between the local workforce development board and the local office of a designated state agency or designated state unit administering programs carried out under 29 U.S.C. § 720 et seq., with respect to efforts that will enhance the provision of services to individuals with disabilities and to other individuals, such as cross training of staff, technical assistance, use and sharing of information, cooperative efforts with employers, and other efforts at cooperation, collaboration, and coordination;
(15) An identification of the entity responsible for the disbursal of grant funds as determined by the chief elected official or the Governor under § 15-4-3711;
(16) A description of the competitive process to be used to award the subgrants and contracts in the local workforce development area;
(17) A description of the local levels of performance negotiated with the Governor and chief elected officials to be used to measure the performance of the local workforce development area and to be used by the local workforce development board for measuring the performance of the local fiscal agent, eligible providers, and the one-stop delivery system, in the local workforce development area;
(18) A description of the actions the local workforce development board will take toward becoming or remaining a high-performing board consistent with the factors developed by the Arkansas Workforce Development Board;
(19) A description of how training services will be provided, including, if contracts for the training services will be used, how the use of the contracts will be coordinated with the use of individual training accounts, and how the local workforce development board will ensure informed customer choice in the selection of training programs regardless of how the training services are to be provided;
(20) A description of the process used by the local workforce development board to provide an opportunity for public comment, including comment by representatives of businesses and comment by representatives of labor organizations, and input into the development of the local workforce development plan, prior to submission of the local workforce development plan;
(21) A description of how one-stop centers are implementing and transitioning to an integrated, technology-enabled intake and case management information system for programs carried out under this subchapter and programs carried out by one-stop partners; and
(22) Other information the Governor may require.

(c) Before the date on which the local workforce development board submits a local workforce development plan under this section, the local workforce development board shall:
(1) Make available copies of a proposed local workforce development plan to the public through electronic and other means, such as public hearings and local news media;
(2) Allow members of the public, including without limitation representatives of business, representatives of labor organizations, and representatives of education, to submit to the local workforce development board comments on the proposed local workforce development plan, not later than the end of the thirty-day period beginning on the date on which the proposed local workforce development plan is made available; and
(3) Include with the local workforce development plan submitted to the Governor under this section any comments that represent disagreement with the local workforce development plan.

(d) A local workforce development plan submitted to the Governor under this section, including a modification to a local workforce development plan, shall be considered to be approved by the Governor at the end of the ninety-day period beginning on the day the Governor receives the local workforce development plan, unless the Governor makes a written determination during the ninety-day period that:
(1) There are deficiencies in the local workforce development plan;
(2) The local workforce development plan does not comply with requirements; or
(3) The local workforce development plan does not align with the state plan.