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WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT POLICY ENCOMPASSES A BROAD ARRAY OF FEDERAL AND STATE PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO FOSTER IMPROVED WORKFORCE UTILIZATION, MAINTENANCE, AND DEVELOPMENT. FEDERALISM IN US WORKFORCE POLICY IS EXAMINED IN TERMS OF THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT ENACTED IN 1998 AUTHORIZING TWO OF THE MORE IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF NATIONAL WORKFORCE POLICY: JOB TRAINING AND WORK-RELATED EDUCATION. COERCIVE FEDERALISM IN WORKFORCE POLICY BEGAN IN THE LATE 1970S AND IS EXPECTED TO PERSIST INTO THE FUTURE, EVEN AS STATES SERVE AS "LABORATORIES OF DEMOCRACY." THE COMPREHENSIVENESS OF NATIONAL WORKFORCE POLICY, INCLUDING BROAD CONCERNS OVER EFFICIENCY, HAS YET TO ADDRESSED FULLY.

Concern for performance management has increased sharply in recent decades in both the public and private sectors.This has been particularly true in the management of state and federally funded human resource development programs. Legislative purpose, level of use, the role of performance standards, appropriate measures of performance, target groups, and general implementation policies are key issues that cut across the major publicly funded job training and placement programs. This report examines these program design and implementation issues in relation to Job Training Partnership Act programs, state-administered job placement and labor exchange programs, postsecondary vocational education,welfare-to-work programs for recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children, and the new state-run food stamp employment and training programs. Various contextual issues are discussed, including grant-in-aid programs, enhanced state discretion, market bias,ambiguous goals, appropriate actors/levels of use, appropriate groups, target groups, the role of standards, and adjustment processes. General recommendations to federal and state level policymakers and program-specific recommendations for addressing performance management issues are included ; National Commission for Employment Policy ; Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources

At the direction of the Texas Legislature, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin are conducting an evaluation of efforts by Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) programs of the Texas Department of Commerce (Commerce) to coordinate with the Texas Department of Human Services (DHS) and other agencies in delivering employment and training services to Aid For Dependent Children (AFDC) caretakers during the period from 1985 to 1989. This evaluation will provide recommendations for enhanced program design and improved coordination between OHS, Commerce and other agencies implementing the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program in Texas. Research findings will be presented in a series of three interim reports with a final project report scheduled for completion in August 1991. This is the first of the interim reports and presents preliminary findings on coordination initiatives at the state level and also those observed at the local level during site visits. ; Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources

Researchers al the Center for the Study of Human Resources conducted exploratory research on return-to-work (RTW) patterns and programs for injured workers covered by workers' compensation in Texas. This study was requested by the Legislature in passing the Texas Workers' Compensation Act of 1989. Several different methodologies were utilized in this research. including: descriptive statistical analysis of agency records for individual workers' compensation claimants provided by the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission and the Texas Department of Insurance, matched to their employment and earnings information from the Texas Employment Commission; mail/telephone surveys of RTW programs/services offered by employers, insurance carriers and private rehabilitation providers; case studies of selected RTW efforts; and focus groups with RTW participants. ; Texas Workers Compensation Research Center ; Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources

Researchers al the Center for the Study of Human Resources conducted exploratory research on return-to-work (RTW) patterns and programs for injured workers covered by workers' compensation in Texas. This study was requested by the Legislature in passing the Texas Workers' Compensation Act of 1989. Several different methodologies were utilized in this research. including: descriptive statistical analysis of agency records for individual workers' compensation claimants provided by the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission and the Texas Department of Insurance, matched to their employment and earnings information from the Texas Employment Commission; mail/telephone surveys of RTW programs/services offered by employers, insurance carriers and private rehabilitation providers; case studies of selected RTW efforts; and focus groups with RTW participants ; Texas Workers Compensation Research Center ; Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources

In 1989, during and in preparation for the 71st regular session of the Texas Legislature, oversight hearings were conducted to examine the performance of and coordination among various welfare-to-work programs at the state and local level. Ultimately, the Legislature directed the Texas Department of Commerce--the state Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) entity--to contract with the University of Texas at Austin for an evaluation of public and private coordination efforts affecting the delivery of training and related services to Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients, especially those targeted for service under the new Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program. The evaluation began in October 1989. ; Texas Department of Commerce ; Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources

In 1995, the Texas Legislature enacted H. B. 1863, which formed the basis for Texas' waiver from existing Federal laws governing the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. This paper discusses policy recommendations to reduce welfare recidivism and to reinforce the efforts of poor Texas families to avoid receipt of AFDC. ; Texas Department of Human Services ; Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources

The Texas JOBS evaluation began in December 1988 and continued through November 1989. The work took place in two phases. In the first phase (through mid-April 1989), planning documents were prepared to support DHS in its shortened planning for the Texas legislative and appropriations process. Texas, unlike most states, was compelled to shorten its decision making in order to secure state appropriations for welfare reform from the regularly scheduled session of the Texas legislature ending in June 1989. Unfortunately, this shortened timeline also meant that most critical program decisions had to be finalized 6 months before the issuance of final federal regulations for the JOBS program. Phase One products included planning and issues papers concerning the size and characteristics of potential participant populations in AFDC-Basic and the AFDC Unemployed Parent (UP) programs, the demand for services, and others. Phase Two research resulted in additional estimates of current and projected Basic and UP participants, critical reviews of the current DHS welfare employment initiative -REFOCUS which began as a pilot effort in three regions in April 1988 and will be operating statewide by the end of 1989 -- labor market demand analyses, recommendations for JOBS county selection, and others. ; Texas Department of Human Services ; Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources

This report summarizes the results of the revised benefits/costs analysis for the Texas Information and Referral Network. As in our previous report on this network, we found that state appropriations for a comprehensive Texas Health and Human Services Information & Referral Network will create more benefits than cost and will return a net value to society. Despite an increase in total cost for the Network, we estimate that the unadjusted net benefit to society rose by nearly $0.3 million to $14.7 million and that the share of the total costs borne by the state government dropped more than $1.0 million. State cost reductions are the result of increased local contributions to this collaborative public/private effort. To arrive at these estimates, we reviewed previous and additional assumptions related to our valuation formulas. We decided that the basic conceptual cost/benefits model used to arrive at our original estimates retained validity. We incorporated the new information into our model to produce the revised estimates. ; Texas Health and Human Services Commission ; Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources

The Center for the Study of Human Resources (Center), a research facility of the LBJ School of Public Affairs of the University of Texas at Austin, was requested by the Texas Department of Health (TDH) to assist in planning and evaluation activities associated with the delivery of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) services in Texas. The long-term goal of these activities, initiated in response to language contained in the federal Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act of 1990 (CARE Act) and existing state legislation, focused on developing and implementing an evaluation of the cost effectiveness of services delivered to individuals with HIV disease through programs administered by TDH and funded with state and federal monies. The more immediate purpose of this report is to provide a baseline description of the emergent HIV service delivery system in Texas. ; Texas Department of Health ; Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources