(The Center Square) — The Republican Governor’s Association teamed up to send a letter urging Congress to reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
The reauthorization entails the inclusion of a State Flexibility Pilot Authority. This is a provision within federal legislation that allows a select group of states to experiment with alternative approaches to program delivery by granting them greater flexibility in how they use federal funds.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry was one of 18 governors to sign the letter.
In this case, the authority would allow five states to receive their act funds as grants for five years. In addition, Senate draft section 115 of the authority would empower state legislatures to reorganize their local areas to meet their current workforce needs.
This reorganization is just considered modernizing to many states who feel their workforce programs should better serve job seekers.
The flexibility would enable these pilot states to integrate their workforce and safety net systems, breaking down what the governors consider as barriers that currently impede holistic service delivery to workers.
By integrating such systems, states could alleviate the administrative disconnect between state-run safety net programs and local workforce services.
The letter says the potential impact of the authority is demonstrated by Utah’s success with a fully integrated federal and state system for both human and workforce services, which was grandfathered into their act based on a 1997 reform.
Governors of these other Republican states feel Utah has achieved strong economic resiliency and job growth while also providing streamlined and customized service to better connect people to work.
Without the ability to streamline these services, states will continue to face problems, specifically when it comes to serving low-income individuals who have been left on the economic sidelines for too long.
The letter aspires for this authority to be an essential first step toward giving all states the tools to expand economic mobility and opportunity for every American.
The other states whose governors signed the letter are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.