WORKFIRST PROGRAM, WORKFIRST EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Contact: Marie Bruin
State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
P.O. Box 42495
Olympia, WA 98504-2495
Telephone: 360.704.4360
E-mail: mbruin@sbctc.edu

State Website: http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/_e-wkforceworkfirst.aspx
Local Link: http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/workforce/workfirst_contacts_for_students.pdf

Participation: 13,516 participants received services in WorkFirst Training programs, administered by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) during July 1, 2006-June 30, 2007.

Who is Served: Eligibility depends on the type of services offered, but generally eligible participants include current and former welfare recipients and other low-income working parents earning less than 175 percent of the poverty level.

Program Description: Community and technical colleges submit an application to use the block grant funds in one or more of the following activities:

• Comprehensive evaluation.
• Customized job skills training.
• Work-based learning/WorkFirst work study.
• WorkFirst financial aid/tuition assistance.
• Other basic skills and/or job skills training.
• Post-employment services.
• Child care or other services.

Program History: There have been significant changes to the program resulting from the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA), signed in February 2006, which reauthorized TANF through 2010. Specifically, the DRA made the following changes affecting employment and training activities:

• Required the Department of Health and Human Services to more rigorously define the 12 allowable “work” activities, four of which are education and training activities.
• Changed how student participation in education and training can be counted.
• Required that all educational activities, including homework, be supervised.
• Imposed new participation verification procedures.

Planning Cycle: Annual.

Outcome Measures: The WorkFirst program is measured by:

Base Funding: A WorkFirst education and training provider must meet or exceed its own total Full-time Equivalent target from the preceding fiscal year in order to receive the same amount of base funding the next fiscal year or be subject to a 5 percent decrease.

Performance Funding:

• The number of TANF adults entering employment after training.
• Completions (degrees, certificates, high school diplomas and GEDs).
• Transitions from Basic Education to Vocational Education.

Funding and Regional Division: Community and technical colleges and WorkFirst training providers at community-based organizations and private colleges are awarded funds after submitting a WorkFirst Block Grant Plan application.

State Funding: None.

Federal Funding: $27,649,000 (July 1, 2007-June 30, 2008).

Statutory Authority: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, WorkFirst Reinvestment Funds, and State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) budget. Administered by SBCTC.