WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $11.1 million in Workforce Data Quality Initiative (WDQI) grants designed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of state workforce data systems, and ultimately, the workforce programs in these states.
The Department awarded nine grants – each approximately $1 million – to eligible State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) in Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Idaho, Michigan, North Carolina, California, Maine, and Wisconsin for the development or enhancement of a state workforce longitudinal administrative database. These databases include information on programs that provide training and employment services and allow tracking of similar information on participants at multiple points in time.
In addition to these nine grants, the Department awarded $2.1 million to the Texas SWA for the integration of the state’s case management, performance reporting, and/or fiscal reporting systems with the state’s longitudinal administrative databases.
Grantees will use these longitudinal databases to conduct research and analysis aimed at determining the effectiveness of workforce and educational programs.
WDQI databases generate workforce training provider performance information and outcomes, including those relevant to Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act performance reporting, in a standardized, easy-to-understand format to help customers select the education and training programs that best suit their needs.
The Department expect grantees to achieve multiple objectives during the three-year grant period. These objectives include:
- Developing or improving their state workforce longitudinal administrative databases;
- Connecting workforce data with education data;
- Improving the quality and breadth of the data in workforce longitudinal administrative databases;
- Using longitudinal data to provide useful information about program operations;
- Evaluating the performance of education and employment training programs;
- Providing user-friendly information to consumers to help them select the education and training programs that best suit their needs; and
- Integrating performance, fiscal, and/or case management systems with the longitudinal administrative database.
| Workforce Data Quality Initiative Grantee | State | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| California Department of Employment Development | California | $1,000,000 |
| Colorado Department of Labor & Employment | Colorado | $1,000,000 |
| Idaho Department of Labor, Executive Office of the State of Idaho | Idaho | $1,000,000 |
| Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity | Illinois | $1,000,000 |
| Maine Department of Labor, Center for Workforce Research | Maine | $998,737 |
| Michigan Talent Investment Agency dba Michigan Workforce Dev | Michigan | $998,028 |
| North Carolina Department of Commerce – Division of Workforce Solutions | North Carolina | $1,000,000 |
| New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development | New Jersey | $1,000,000 |
| Texas Workforce Commission | Texas | $2,181,321 |
| Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development | Wisconsin | $1,000,000 |
