WHEREAS, the 1998 federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) required states to establish a service delivery system that consolidates access to 17 federally funded programs through one-stop centers; and

WHEREAS, in 1999, the General Assembly established Virginia Workforce Council and created the Workforce Development Program as required by the WIA; and

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth has implemented the WIA by establishing a framework for one-stop service delivery of workforce services; and

WHEREAS, in 2000, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission directed its staff to review the efficiency and effectiveness of the Commonwealth's workforce training efforts; and

WHEREAS, item 130 E.2 of the 2002-2004 Appropriation Act directed the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to review the administration of the WIA; and

WHEREAS, in 2003, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission issued a comprehensive review of workforce training in Virginia, in which it assessed Virginia's implementation of the WIA and found that that Virginia lacked a coherent, coordinated system of workforce training and that no formal coordination among the workforce training programs existed; and

WHEREAS, in 2005, the General Assembly adopted House Joint Resolution 713, which established a joint subcommittee to study the need for greater consolidation or coordination of the workforce development and training resources available in the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, the joint subcommittee observed that over $250 million of federal and state funds are expended annually on workforce development and training efforts in Virginia, of which sum nearly $60 million is appropriated by the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, the joint subcommittee further noted that two dozen workforce programs were administered by nine state agencies in three secretariats, and many of these programs partner with the one-stop delivery system that includes 39 comprehensive and 31 satellite one-stop centers; and

WHEREAS, the joint subcommittee's findings, which were presented to the General Assembly as House Document 24 of 2006, included five recommendations to improve the provision of workforce program services to the business community; and

WHEREAS, the General Assembly has adopted several changes to its workforce development and training program since the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission issued its report in 2003, including amendments in House Bill 1043 of the 2010 Session that require the Governor to submit annual workforce development and training program evaluations; and

WHEREAS, the complexity of the service delivery system, under which the various agencies employ different metrics or are unable or unwilling to make data available, makes it difficult to gauge the value the programs provide to the citizens of the Commonwealth and prevents the identification of inefficiencies and duplications within the programs administered by the relevant agencies; and

WHEREAS, the need exists to ensure that the Commonwealth's Chief Workforce Development Officer or other designated person is able to respond in a timely and understandable manner to requests for information made by state bodies responsible for overseeing the expenditure of state funds, including the staffs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees, regarding the use of governmental funds provided for workforce training and development programs and the outcomes generated by such expenditures; and

WHEREAS, the passage of 10 years since the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission's completion of its assessment of the WIA has necessitated an update and reexamination of that assessment; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission be directed to update its 2003 report on the Commonwealth's implementation of the Workforce Investment Act.

In conducting its study, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) shall examine the level of transparency of funding of Virginia's workforce training and development programs and recommend measures to ensure that state agencies with oversight responsibilities are provided access to information regarding expenditures of workforce training and development funding and the outcomes generated by such expenditures.

All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission for this study, upon request.

The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2013, and the Chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2014 Regular Session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall state whether JLARC intends to submit to the General Assembly and the Governor a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.