The Workforce Investment Act (WIA): Program-by-Program Overview and FY2006 Funding of Title I Training Programs

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA): Program-by-Program Overview and FY2006 Funding of Title I Training Programs

Order Code RS20244
Updated March 21, 2006
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
The Workforce Investment Act (WIA):
Program-by-Program Overview and FY2006
Funding of Title I Training Programs
Ann Lordeman
Specialist in Social Legislation
Domestic Social Policy Division
Summary
Title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) (P.L. 105-220) authorizes
several job training programs, including Youth, Adult, and Dislocated Worker
Activities, Job Corps, the Native American Program, the Migrant and Seasonal
Farmworker Program, and the Veterans’ Workforce Investment Program. This report,
which will be updated, briefly summarizes each WIA program and its FY2006 funding,
including the FY2006 budget request, the FY2006 appropriation (P.L. 109-149), and for
historical reference the FY2005 appropriation (P.L. 108-447).
Introduction
Title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) (P.L. 105-220) provides job
training and related services to unemployed or underemployed individuals. This report
briefly summarizes each WIA program and its FY2006 funding, including the FY2006
budget request, the FY2006 appropriation (P.L. 109-149), and for historical reference the
FY2005 appropriation (P.L. 108-447). WIA programs operate on a July 1 to June 30
program year (PY). FY2006 funding appropriations would fund programs from July 1,
2006 until June 30, 2007. Although WIA authorized funding through September 30,
2003, WIA programs continue to be funded through annual appropriations.
Congress considered two bills to reauthorize and revise WIA in the first session of
the 109th Congress. On March 2, 2005, the House passed H.R. 27 (H.Rept. 109-9), the
Job Training Improvement Act of 2005. On September 7, 2005, the Senate Committee
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions reported S. 1021 (S.Rept. 109-134), the
Workforce Investment Act Amendments of 2005. No further action has taken place. For
information on WIA reauthorization, see CRS Report RL32778, The Workforce
Investment Act of 1998 (WIA): Reauthorization of Job Training Programs in the 109th
Congress, by Ann Lordeman.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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Program-by-Program Overview of WIA Title I Programs
Except for the Job Corps and the Veterans’ Workforce Investment Program, all WIA
programs are administered by the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employment and
Training Administration (ETA). The administration of Job Corps and Veterans’
Workforce Investment is discussed below.
Youth Activities (Subtitle B, Chapter 4). This program provides training and
related services to low-income youth ages 14-21 through formula grants allocated to
states, which in turn allocate funds to local entities.
Adult Activities (Subtitle B, Chapter 5). This program provides training and
related services to individuals ages 18 and older through formula grants allocated to
states, which in turn allocate funds to local entities. Any individual may receive “core”
services (e.g., job search assistance); to receive intensive services (e.g., individual career
planning and job training), an individual must need these services to become employed
or to obtain or retain employment that allows for self-sufficiency.
Dislocated Worker Activities (Subtitle B, Chapter 5). In general, of the
funds appropriated for this program, 80% are allocated by formula grants to states (which
in turn allocate funds to local entities) to provide training and related services to
individuals who have lost their jobs and are unlikely to return to those jobs or similar jobs
in the same industry. Generally, 20% of the appropriation is reserved by DOL for a
national reserve account, which in part provides for national emergency grants to states
or local entities.
Job Corps (Subtitle C). This residential job training program provides services
to low-income individuals ages 16-24 primarily through contracts administered by DOL
with corporations and nonprofit organizations. Currently, there are 122 Job Corps centers
in 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Neither New Hampshire nor
Wyoming has a Job Corps center at this time. A total of approximately $18.0 million in
FY2005 and FY2006 funds has been appropriated for the expansion of Job Corps with
priority to be given to states that do not have a center (H.Rept. 109-337).
The FY2006 appropriations (P.L. 109-149, Section 102) directed DOL to transfer
Job Corps from ETA to the Office of the Secretary of Labor within 90 days of enactment
of the bill. This bill was enacted on December 30, 2005.
Native Americans Program (Subtitle D, Section 166). This program
provides training and related services to low-income Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, and
Native Hawaiians through formula grants to Indian tribes and reservations and other
Native American groups.
Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Program (Subtitle D, Section 167).
This program provides training and related services, including technical assistance, to
disadvantaged migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their dependents through
discretionary grants awarded to public, private, and nonprofit organizations. This
program is also referred to as the National Farmworker Jobs Program.

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Veterans’ Workforce Investment Program (Subtitle D, Section 168). This
program provides training and related services to veterans through competitive grants to
states and nonprofit organizations. It has been administered by DOL’s Veterans’
Employment and Training Service since FY2001.
Responsible Reintegration for Young Offenders (Subtitle D, Section
171). This competitive grant program funds projects that serve young offenders and
youth at risk of becoming involved in the juvenile justice system. This program, first
funded in FY2000, is specified only in annual appropriations language.
Prisoner Reentry Initiative (Subtitle D, Section 171). This competitive grant
program funds faith-based and community organizations that help recently released
prisoners find work when they return to their communities. First funded in FY2005 under
the general authority of WIA Section 171, this program is directly specified only in annual
appropriations language.
Community-Based Job Training Grants (Subtitle D, Section 171). This
competitive grant program funds entities to strengthen the capacity of community colleges
to train workers in the skills required to succeed in high-growth, high-demand industries.
In PY2005, competition was limited to community colleges. First funded in FY2005
under the general authority of WIA Section 171, this program is directly specified only
in annual appropriations language. In PY2006, one-stop career centers will also be
eligible to apply for grants as directed by the FY2006 conference report (H.Rept. 109-
337).
WIA FY2006 Budget Request
and FY2005 and FY2006 Appropriations
Under the President’s FY2006 request, aggregate funding for WIA programs would
have decreased by $252.9 million, or 4.8% compared to the FY2005 funding level of $5.3
billion. Under FY2006 appropriations, WIA programs in aggregate are funded at $5.1
billion, a decrease of aggregate funding decreased by $227.5 million, or 4.3% compared
to FY2005. Table 1 shows the FY2005 and FY2006 appropriations and the FY2006
budget request for all WIA programs and activities. The FY2006 appropriations in this
report include appropriations for both FY2006 and FY2007, and are subject to
supplementals and rescissions.
Legislative Proposals in the FY2006 Budget Request. The President
proposed a “WIA Plus Consolidated Grant Program” as part of the FY2006 budget
request. This new program would have been a formula grant program to states that
combined funding for WIA Youth, Adult, and Dislocated Worker Programs, and the
Employment Service (ES) Allotments to States and the Reemployment Grants. H.R. 27,
the Job Training Improvement Act of 2005, which passed the House on March 2, 2005,
would create a consolidated adult program by combining the state grants for the WIA
adult and dislocated worker programs with the state reemployment grants and state
employment service grants. H.R. 27 does not include the WIA youth program in its
consolidated program. The President also proposed permitting states to have the option
of consolidating other employment and training programs with the proposed consolidated
grant program. These “menu options” would have included Veteran Employment

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programs administered by DOL, Trade Adjustment Assistance Training, also administered
by DOL, Vocational Rehabilitation and Adult Education, both administered by the
Department of Education, and Food Stamps Employment and Training, administered by
the Department of Agriculture. No appropriations bill or separate legislation has
established the WIA Plus Consolidated Grant Program.
Also, in FY2006, the President proposed transferring the Youthbuild Program from
the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the Department of Labor. This
program provides disadvantaged young adults with education and employment skills
through rehabilitating and constructing housing for low-income and homeless people. No
appropriations bill or separate legislation has transferred Youthbuild to DOL.

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Table 1. WIA FY2005 and FY2006 Appropriations
and FY2006 Budget Request
($ in thousands)
FY2005
FY2006
Program
appropriationa
FY2006 request
appropriationb
WIA grand total
$5,315,961
$5,063,013
$5,088,466
Youth Activities (Formula Grants)c
986,288
950,000
940,500
Adult Activities (Formula Grants)c
889,498
865,736
864,199
Dislocated Worker Activities
1,469,714
1,343,584
1,471,903
— Formula Grants (non-add)c
1,184,784
1,074,867
1,189,811
— National Reserve (non-add)
281,930
268,717
282,092
— Community-Based Job Training
Grants (non add)d
0
0
125,000
— National Emergency Grants (non-
add)e
284,930
268,717
157,092
Job Corps
1,554,981
1,517,019
1,564,180
Native Americans
54,238
54,238
53,696
Migrants & Seasonal Farmworkerf
76,259
0
79,751
Veterans’ Workforce Investment
8,482
7,500
7,425
Responsible Reintegration for Young
49,600
0
49,104
Offenders
Prisoner Reentry Program
19,840
35,000
19,642
Community-Based Job Training Grants
124,000
250,000
0
Technical Assistance
2,958
2,000
509
Pilots, Demonstrations & Research
85,167
30,000
29,700
Evaluation
7,936
7,936
7,857
Source: FY2005 amounts for all programs, except for Veterans Employment, are compiled from data at
[http://www.doleta.gov/budget/06app$.pdf]. The FY2005 Veterans Employment amount is from the
Congressional Record, daily edition, December 13, 2005, page H11391. The FY2006 budget request is
compiled from data at [http://www.doleta.gov/budget/06req$.pdf]. The FY2006 appropriations are
compiled from data at [http://www.doleta.gov/budget/07req$.pdf]. The FY2006 Veterans Employment
amount is from the DOL FY2007 Budget Justifications. For information on the FY2007 Budget Request,
see CRS Report RS22396, The Workforce Investment Act (WIA): Program-by-Program Overview and
FY2007 Funding of Title I Training Programs, by Ann Lordeman.
a. FY2005 appropriations are adjusted for (1) the 0.80% rescission contained in P.L. 108-447; (2) the
1.0% rescission contained in P.L. 109-148, which applies to FY2006 advance funding contained in
FY2005 appropriations (P.L. 108-447); (3) the $125.0 million rescission from the community-based
job training grants contained in P.L. 109-149; and (4) the $125.0 million supplemental for National
Emergency Grants contained in P.L. 109-148.
b. FY2006 appropriations are adjusted for the 1.0% rescission contained in P.L. 109-148.
c. For state formula grant allocations, see [http://www.doleta.gov/budget/statfund.cfm].
d. P.L. 109-148 rescinded $125.0 million appropriated for FY2005 for the National Reserve.
e. P.L. 109-148 provided a supplemental appropriation of $125.0 million for National Emergency Grants
related to the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes. Funds may be used to replace grants previously obligated
to the impacted areas.
f. Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker funds include funds for technical assistance.