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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM-02-0467CITY OF MIAMI CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE MEMORANDU► TO: Mayor and Members of the City Com sion FROM: Alejandro Vilarello, City Attorney DATE: April 23, 2002 -% RE: South Florida EmMMyment fid Training Consortium At the City Commission Meeting of March 14, 2002, I was directed to provide an analysis of the legal parameters governing the City's participation in the South Florida Employment and Training Consortium ("SFETC") and the City's potential liability in connection herewith. The Florida workforce program is structured in accordance with the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and the Florida Workforce Innovation Act of 2000. The City participates through its membership in the SFETC, in accordance with the contractual agreements described more fully below. Those contracts allocate to the City thirty-six percent (36%) of the liability that may be incurred for "costs disallowed from contracts with Service Providers or from staff errors". A party withdrawing from participation in the SFETC maintains responsibility for financial or other obligations incurred by that party during the then current or prior fiscal years. I. LEGISLATIVE PARAMETERS A. Federal Workforce Legislation The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 ("WIA") established a system of providing workforce activities through state and local workforce systems. 29 U.S.C.A. §§ 2801-2945 (2002). For a state to be eligible for funding, the WIA charged the Governor with establishing a state workforce board and developing a plan outlining a five-year strategy for a statewide workforce system meeting the requirements of the WIA. The WIA also charged the Governor with establishing local service delivery areas throughout the state. The WIA requires that in each such local area, a local "workforce investment board" be established to set policies for the workforce system within that local area. 02- 467 Mayor and Member of t :ity Commission South Florida Employment and Training Consortium April 23, 2002 Page 2 The WIA requires the Governor to approve a request for designation as a local service delivery area from: (1) any unit of general local government with a population of 500,000 or more; (2) an area served by a rural concentrated employment program grant recipient, in certain circumstances; (3) an area that served as service delivery area of the Job Training Partnership Act in a state having a population of not more than 1,100,000 and a specified population density. The Governor may also approve a request for designation as a local service delivery area from any unit of general local government (including a combination of such units) if the state workforce board determines, and recommends to the Governor, that such area should be so designated, taking into account certain statutorily specified considerations. Generally, the chief elected official in a local area serves as the local grant recipient. The chief elected official in the local area is authorized to appoint the members of the local workforce investment board; in a case in which a local area includes more than one unit of general local government, the chief elected officials of the various units of general local government may execute an agreement that specifies their respective roles. The Governor may de -certify a local board at any time for fraud or abuse, failure to carry out the functions specified in the WIA or failure to meet the local performance measures for two consecutive program years. If the Governor determines that a local area is not in compliance with applicable administrative requirements for grants and agreements as promulgated by the Office of Management and Budget, .or, if, as a result of financial and compliance audits or otherwise, the Governor determines there is a substantial violation of a specific provision of the WIA, and corrective action has not been taken, the Governor may take remedial action including, but not limited to, de -certifying the local board. The WIA provides sanctions for a local area's failure to meet local performance measures for two consecutive program years. The Governor is authorized to require the appointment and certification of a new local board, prohibit the use of eligible providers and One -Stop partners or take such other actions as the Governor deems appropriate. A recipient of funds is required to repay to the United States any amounts found not to have been expended in accordance with the requirements of the WIA. The recipient is required to repay such amounts from funds other than funds received pursuant to the WIA, upon a determination by the Secretary of Labor that the mis-expenditure of funds was due to a willful disregard of WIA requirements, gross negligence, failure to observe accepted standards of administration or a pattern of mis-expenditure. 02- 467 Mayor and Member of t ity Commission South Florida Employment and Training Consortium April 23, 2002 Page 3 B. Florida Workforce Legislation The Workforce Innovation Act of 2000 (the "Florida Act") was Florida's response to the WIA. §§ 445.001-445.051, Fla. Stat. (2002). Signed into law on May 30, 2000, the Florida Act focused on the following six elements in implementing the WIA: streamlining services, empowering individuals, universal access to employment services, increased accountability for performance, local board and private sector leadership and local flexibility and innovations. Workforce Florida, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation created as a unit or entity of state government, is the principal workforce policy organization for the State of Florida, charged with designing and implementing strategies to help Floridians enter, remain in and advance in the workplace and with assisting and developing the state's business climate. The Workforce Florida, Inc. Board includes representatives from business and industry, the state community college system and the Florida Board of Education, as well as state agencies such as the departments of Children and Families, Labor and Employment Security, Education and Community Affairs. The Florida Act grants to Workforce Florida, Inc. a broad spectrum of powers and authorities to carry out and effectuate the purposes of the WIA. Generally, Workforce Florida, Inc. serves as the state's workforce investment board and provides policy, planning and oversight direction to the twenty-four regional workforce boards in designing and implementing programs to develop a skilled workforce. Workforce Florida, Inc. is tasked with preparing and submitting a five-year plan to implement the requirement of the WIA. It is also tasked with an annual review of each regional workforce board's performance to certify that the board is in compliance with applicable state and federal law. The twenty-four Florida regional workforce boards are largely responsible for implementing programs in their communities. Regional workforce boards have the responsibility of developing the local workforce plan and budget, providing ongoing oversight, and developing local performance measures, as well as overseeing the One -Stop delivery system in the local area. II. SOUTH FLORIDA WORKFORCE PROGRAM The Florida Governor has designated Miami -Dade and Monroe Counties as the local "workforce investment area", known as Florida Region 23. The general structure of the Region 23 workforce program is summarized in the Historical Overview from South Florida Workforce, dated March 2002, attached as Exhibit A. ©2- 467 Mayor and Member of t' 'ity Commission South Florida Employment and Training Consortium April 23, 2002 Page 4 III. CONTRACTUAL PARAMETERS FOR CITY'S PARTICIPATION A. South Florida Employment and Training Consortium The City of Miami entered into a Consortium Agreement, effective July 1, 2000, with Miami -Dade and Monroe Counties and the Cities of Hialeah and Miami Beach (the "Consortium Agreement") continuing the SFETC and allowing for regional planning and operation of a workforce program for Region 23. Pursuant to the Consortium Agreement, the SFETC represents the region's member local elected officials. It functions as the grant recipient for federal and state workforce funds allocated to Region 23. The five SFETC member governments appoint the membership of the Workforce Investment Board of South Florida (known as the "South Florida Workforce Board") according to a formula agreed to by the SFETC membership itself), and, jointly with the South Florida Workforce Board, approve the South Florida workforce plan and budget and the selection of One -Stop operators for the region's One -Stop Career Centers. The Consortium Agreement requires that the member jurisdictions contribute to SFETC liability incurred under the Consortium Agreement. More specifically, it provides for the City of Miami to assume thirty-six percent (36%) of the liability derived for "costs disallowed from contracts with Service Providers or from staff errors". A member withdrawing from the Consortium Agreement retains financial or other obligations incurred by that party during the then current or prior fiscal years. B. Interlocal Agreement: South Florida Workforce Board and the South Florida Employment and Training Consortium Board Effective April 1, 2002, the South Florida Employment and Training Consortium entered into an agreement with the South Florida Workforce Board to implement and operate workforce programs for the residents of Miami -Dade and Monroe Counties (the "Interlocal Agreement"). The Interlocal Agreement allocates authority and responsibilities between the SFETC and the South Florida Workforce Board. With regard to liability issues, the Interlocal Agreement provides that the SFETC Board shall bear financial liability for funds administered pursuant to the Interlocal Agreement. Distribution of that liability among the SFETC members is as specified in the Consortium Agreement, with the City of Miami bearing thirty-six percent (36%) of stated liabilities as described more fully in Section III. A. above. 02-- 467 Mayor and Member of t' 'ity Commission South Florida Employment and Training Consortium April 23, 2002 Page 5 IV. CONCLUSION The City of Miami's participation in Region 23 workforce programs is pursuant to a South Florida workforce structure established in accordance with the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and the Florida Workforce Innovation Act of 2000. The contractual agreements governing the City of Miami's participation in the South Florida workforce structure allocate to the City thirty-six percent (36%) of the liability for "costs disallowed from contracts with Service Providers or from staff errors". A member of the SFETC who withdraws from membership retains financial or other obligations incurred by that party during the then current or prior fiscal years. cc: Carlos A. Gimenez, City Manager Priscilla A. Thompson, City Clerk AV -IT: Community Development—General -SFETC-Commission Memo 4/23/02 02- 467 EXHIBIT A youth florida N6rk South Florida Employment and Training Consortium Historical and Service Data for the City of Miami March 2002 Historical Overview rc e Af I uatca with Womorrr liana ;r: South Florida Workforce is the structure that has been put in place in the Miami-Dade/Monroe County Region to plan for, administer and oversee approximately $114 million a year in federal and state funded employment and training programs. The structure is made up of the South Florida Workforce Board, the South Florida Employment and Training Consortium, the central administrative structure that is referred to as "South Florida Workforce" and a network of Service Providers and training agents who provide services to approximately 250,000 jobseekers a year, the Region's employers, and specific targeted populations. The authority for this structure emanates from the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and the state's Workforce Innovation Act of 2000. Through this and preceding legislation, the South Florida Workforce Board has been chartered by the State of Florida to plan for and oversee funding allocated to the Region. The South Florida Employment and Training Consortium is a consortium made up of five local governments: Miami -Dade and Monroe Counties and the Cities of Miami, Hialeah, and Miami Beach. Under an Agreement among the five governments, the Consortium represents the Region's Local Elected Officials. It functions as the grant recipient for these federal and state funds allocated to the Region. Its staff has been designated by the South Florida Workforce Board as its administrative entity, and carries out the administrative and operational functions for the South Florida Workforce Board. The five Consortium governments appoint the membership of the South Florida Workforce Board, jointly approve with the Board the South Florida Workforce Plan and Budget, and jointly approve with the Board the selection of One -Stop Operators for the network of One -Stop Career Centers through which most of the system's services are accessed. The system is funded from a number of different funding streams, including: youth, adult and dislocated worker and welfare -to -work funding that originates from the U.S. Department of Labor, Welfare Transition funding and Refugee Employment and Training funding that originates from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and additional funding from time to time from other sources. In addition, the Boards oversee staff and additional resources from the state's Agency for Workforce Innovation who assist jobseekers and employers in the One -Stops, provide food stamp employment and training services, and offer specialized services to veterans. All workforce services are provided by Service Providers selected through competitive procurement. Services are accessed by the population through a network of One -Stop Career Centers located throughout the two -county Region. Employment services are provided at the One -Stops along with case management and referral to training provided by training institutions approved to offer training in a wide array of high -demand occupational areas. In addition, providers are contracted to offer employment and training services to refugees and to at -risk youth. City of Miami Commission Page 1 of 5 3403 NW 82nd Avenue, Suite 300 Miami, fl. 33122-1019 • Telephone: (305) 594-1615 Facsimile: (305) 499-5411 r, www.southfioridaworkforce.org 0 w 467