Texas Workforce Investment Council

Texas Workforce Investment Council1100 San Jacinto, Suite 1.100

Austin, Texas 78701https://gov.texas.gov/organization/twic

EVALUATION 2017ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND OUTCOMES OF THE TEXAS WORKFORCE SYSTEM

The Mission of the Texas Workforce Investment Council

Assisting the Governor and the Legislature with strategic planning for and evaluation of the Texas workforce system to promote the development of a well-educated, highly skilled workforce for Texas.

1100 San Jacinto Boulevard, Austin, Texas 78701 Voice: (512) 936-8100 Fax: (512) 936-8118

January 2018

Dear Fellow Texan:

The Texas Workforce Investment Council (Council) is pleased to present the Evaluation 2017 report on the Texas workforce system. Guided by The Texas Workforce System Strategic Plan FY 2016–FY 2023, the report was approved unanimously at the Council’s December 8, 2017, meeting.

Evaluation 2017 is the second report for the system strategic plan period, providing a system perspective of the progress and achievement of partner agencies and other system stakeholders. State statutes require that the Council evaluate the workforce system and report annually to the Governor and the legislature. Statutory requirements addressed in the report include:

system strategic plan implementation formal and less formal performance measures welfare to work initiatives adult education and literacy skill standards system

The focal point of this report is a balanced scorecard that presents outcome and trend data for system performance. Through the delivery of over 18 workforce education and training programs, state and local system partners served over 4.5 million individuals in the last reporting year. Of those participating in workforce system programs and services, almost 526,000 individuals completed a degree, certificate, or other measure of educational achievement. Over 1.5 million Texans who participated in a workforce program found a job, stayed in a job, and/or enrolled in further education or training.

With the second year of implementation complete, I am pleased to report that progress was made toward achieving the system goals and objectives contained in the eight-year plan. In the year ahead, the Council and its system partners will continue efforts to address cross-agency, high-priority issues related to employers, partner engagement, system alignment, and program improvement and integration. In addition, work will continue on a major system initiative to identify and track third-party, industry-based certifications in Texas.

I commend this report to you.

Sincerely,

Wes Jurey, Chair

Wes Jurey Chair

Sharla Hotchkiss Vice Chair

Mark Barberena

Robert Cross

Bryan Daniel

Mark Dunn

Carmen Olivas Graham

Thomas Halbouty

Richard Hatfield

Robert Hawkins

Larry Jeffus

Paul Jones

Mike Morath

Raymund Paredes

Richard Rhodes

Charles Smith

Joyce Delores Taylor

Larry Temple

Lee Rector Director

Evaluation 2017 Accomplishments and Outcomes of the Texas Workforce System 

Texas Workforce Investment Council December 2017

Table of Contents 

Page 

Introduction …………………….……………………………………...………………………………………………………………………………..  1 The Council and Texas’ Workforce System …………………………………………………………………………………………..  1 Annual Evaluation …………………………………………………………………………………….............................................  2 Balanced Scorecard …………………………………………………………………………………..............................................  2 Key Performance Indicators …………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………….  3Data Treatment and Limitations ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….  4Issues Identification …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….  5

Balanced Scorecard ………………..………………..………………………………….…………...………………………………………………  7Workforce System Performance Outcomes ………………………………………………………....................................  9 Goal Area 1: Focus on Employers ………………………………………………………………….........................................  10 

Action Plan Implementation Summaries……………………………………………………………………………………..... 11 Goal Area 2: Engage in Partnerships …...………………………………………………………….......................................  22 

 Action Plan Implementation Summaries…………………………………………………………………………………….....  23 Goal Area 3: Align System Elements …...………………………………………………………….......................................  32 

 Action Plan Implementation Summaries…………………………………………………………………………………….....  33 

Goal Area 4: Improve and Integrate Programs..………………….…….…………..…..………………………………………..  Action Plan Implementation Summaries……………………………………………………………………………………..... 41 

Strategic Pillars ………………………………………………………….……….……………….…………………………………………………….  49 Strategic System Initiatives ….………..……….…….…………….………………………………………………………………………  49 Industry‐Based Certifications System Initiative…………………………………………………………………………………….  49 Developing a Grant Products Repository to Leverage Discretionary Wagner‐Peyser 7(b) Grant  

Outcomes in Texas – A System Initiative ………………………………………………………………………………………. 50 

Texas Skill Standards System ….……………………………………………………………………...............................................  53 History ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....................................  53 Transfer under Sunset Legislation …..…………………………………………………………….........................................  53 Fiscal Year 2017 Progress ………………………………...…………………………………………….......................................  54 

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Introduction 

Guided by The Texas Workforce System Strategic Plan FY 2016–FY 2023, system partners work collaboratively to ensure Texas has a workforce that achieves success in the dynamic global economy. The Evaluation 2017 report to the Governor and legislature—the second report for the strategic plan period—provides a system perspective of the progress and achievement of partner agencies and other system stakeholders. The focal point of the report is a balanced scorecard that presents outcome and trend data for system performance. 

The Council and Texas’ Workforce System 

The Texas Workforce Investment Council (Council) was created in 1993 by the 73rd Texas Legislature. The Council is charged to promote the development of a highly skilled and well‐educated workforce for Texas, and to assist the Governor and the legislature with strategic planning for and evaluation of the Texas workforce system. The 19‐member Council includes representatives from business, labor, education, community‐based organizations, and member agencies. 

The Texas workforce system is composed of the workforce programs, services, and initiatives administered by eight state agencies and 28 local workforce boards, as well as independent school districts, community and technical colleges, and local adult education providers. System partners are responsible for the delivery of 23 programs and services focused on education, workforce education, and workforce training for adults, adults with barriers, and youth. 

The Council collects and disseminates performance data and descriptive information on 18 workforce programs, as well as five academic education programs at the secondary and postsecondary levels. Information and data from these five programs assist stakeholders to understand the state’s efforts to prepare students to transition to further education or enter the workforce. 

Approved by Governor Greg Abbott, The Texas Workforce System Strategic Plan FY 2016–FY 2023 was developed by the Council and its system partners to align Texas workforce programs, services and initiatives. The plan elevates the system‐level approach established under the previous two strategic plans and guides system partners in implementing workforce strategies that are designed to achieve specific system objectives. These outcomes are based on 

Texas Workforce System Strategic PlanFY 2016–FY 2023 

Vision 

An innovative, world‐class Texas workforce system ensures success in the dynamic global economy. 

Mission 

The mission of the Texas workforce system is to position Texas as a global economic leader by growing and sustaining a competitive workforce, aligning programs with employer needs, integrating system services, and leveraging partnerships. 

System Partners 

Governor’s Office of Economic Development and Tourism 

Texas Association of Workforce Boards  Texas Department of Criminal Justice and its 

Windham School District  Texas Education Agency  Texas Health and Human Services Commission  Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board  Texas Juvenile Justice Department  Texas Veterans Commission  Texas Workforce Commission 

The system strategic plan and other Council products are posted on the Council’s website at: 

https://gov.texas.gov/organization/twic 

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Workforce System Performance Outcomes (formal measures): The first scorecard presents system performance outcomes for the four formal measures, which are essentially consistent across programs and were first approved in 2003. Thirteen‐year performance trend data are presented, as well as system and partner agency aggregate data for the most recent 12‐month program reporting period. 

Implementation of System Goals (Goals 1–4, less formal measures): The plan’s four goal areas include action plans that outline partner agencies’ strategies, activities, and timelines to achieve the less formal measures associated with each system objective. Each goal area scorecard includes data for the relevant less formal measures—the key performance indicators that provide data on agencies’ actions to accomplish the strategies outlined in the plan. Agency implementation highlights and additional data elements that help illustrate accomplishments are also presented. 

key issues identified throughout Texas, which shape the goals, system objectives, action plans, and key performance indicators of the plan. 

Annual Evaluation 

The Council is required by Texas Government Code, Chapter 2308, to monitor the state’s workforce system. As part of that responsibility, the Council annually reports to the Governor and the legislature on the degree to which the system is achieving workforce goals and objectives. This is the second evaluation report for the eight‐year strategic plan period. Statutory requirements addressed in the report include: 

system strategic plan implementation  formal and less formal performance measures  welfare to work initiatives  adult education and literacy  skill standards system 

Workforce system goals and objectives are the focus of this annual evaluation. Developed collaboratively by the Council and its system partners, many objectives require multi‐partner collaboration or alignment of programs, initiatives, and outcomes. Four goal areas address cross‐agency, high‐priority issues related to employers, partner engagement, system alignment, and program improvement and integration. 

By design, this report presents a system perspective of progress and achievement for partner agencies and other system stakeholders, and meets statutory requirements for reporting to the Governor and legislature. A balanced scorecard aligns with the plan’s structure and supports reporting and performance assessment. 

Balanced Scorecard 

Performance accountability remains a key element under the new system plan and the balanced scorecard supports Council and system partner efforts to continuously improve the workforce system’s efficiency and effectiveness. The five components—illustrated 

in the graphic at right—present system and  Balanced Scorecard Componentsgoal‐specific performance outcomes attributable to the efforts and actions of partner agencies and their delivery agents. 

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Key Performance Indicators 

Two types of measures were included in the system strategic plan: formal and less formal. The measures meet the statutory requirement for the Council to conduct performance measurement by developing and maintaining a comprehensive system of data gathering and reporting. The formal and less formal measures are presented in the table below. 

Formal and Less Formal Measures 

Formal – Workforce System Performance Outcomes 

Educational attainment 

Entered employment 

Employment retention 

Customers served 

Less Formal – Goal Area 1: Focus on Employers 

Rate of employer satisfaction 

Percentage of revised career and technical education programs of study reviewed by business and industry 

Type and number of third‐party, industry‐based certifications successfully completed by program participants 

Certification success rate: total successfully completed certification assessments divided by total attempted certification assessments 

Less Formal – Goal Area 2: Engage in Partnerships 

Percentage of consumers participating in integrated work‐based learning activities 

Percentage of individuals co‐enrolled in vocational rehabilitation and workforce programs 

Percentage of individuals co‐enrolled in adult education and workforce programs 

Educational attainment rate of students successfully completing Accelerate Texas programs at community and technical colleges 

Entered employment rate of students successfully completing Accelerate Texas programs at community and technical colleges 

Rate of employer satisfaction 

Less Formal – Goal Area 3: Align System Elements 

Percentage of grade twelve secondary students who receive career and technical education dual credit, enroll in a two‐year institution, and receive credit at the institution 

Career and technical education time to degree 

Percentage of students and youth with disabilities who participated in transition services and subsequently enrolled in postsecondary education and training 

Percentage of students and youth with disabilities who participated in transition services and subsequently entered competitive integrated employment 

Percentage of community and technical college students who receive program‐of‐study‐based course credit who transfer to another two‐year institution and have that credit recognized 

Percentage of career and technical education programs approved for dual credit  

Percentage of students successfully completing dual credit career and technical education courses 

Less Formal – Goal Area 4: Improve and Integrate Programs 

Percentage of students using technology for course content delivery 

Utilization of labor market information products 

Utilization of self‐service options 

Utilization of online professional development courses 

Percentage of consumers served who have identified as veterans with disabilities 

Percentage of consumers served with intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental health conditions, autism, and deaf‐blindness who subsequently enter competitive integrated employment 

Percentage of child care providers who are certified as Texas Rising Star providers 

Entered employment rate of parents receiving child care 

Employment retention rate of parents receiving child care 

Formal Measures: Four measures approved in 2003 and 2009 were incorporated in the FY 2016–FY 2023 strategic plan: educational achievement, entered employment, employment retention, and customers served. These system 

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measures, which cross workforce programs and are outcome‐oriented, establish responsibility for end outcomes or outputs that are central to the system’s success. 

Formal measures are included in agency legislative appropriation requests, and may or may not be specified as key measures1. A formal measure is required to be reported to the Council if it is determined to be a significant intended outcome for a workforce program. As required by statute, program‐level data are submitted to the Council by six partner agencies for 23 programs focused on education, workforce, and workforce training services. 

Less Formal Measures: This type of measure provides information and feedback that is essential in both the development and the implementation of the system strategic plan. Less formal measures may apply to some or all agency partners. Usually aligned with actions considered critical in determining implementation of a plan strategy, these measures demonstrate success of the plan over time. 

Twenty‐five less formal measures are specified in the plan, with measures related to the adult education referral system to be developed at a later date. For some measures, data will become available in future years for different reasons, e.g.: (1) partner agencies need to build or modify data collection and reporting mechanisms, (2) measure definition and methodology will be beta‐tested during a pilot period, or (3) measure(s) will be developed later in the plan period. 

Data Treatment and Limitations 

Agency Negotiation: Data definitions and methodologies were first negotiated with agencies in 2004. To achieve a higher degree of consistency when aggregating data across programs, the Council requested that federal common definitions be adopted for the formal measures where relevant, and that similar program periods also be used. After renegotiation in 2009, definitions and program periods continued to differ slightly from those used during the previous strategic plan period. 

In 2016, Council staff worked with partner agencies to review and update the formal measure definitions and methodologies, and to further align them with Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act requirements. Both entered employment and employment retention are essentially consistent across partner agencies and, where required, the program periods for reporting were adjusted based on federal guidance. Also of note, during the 84th legislative session the Windham School District was granted the authority to award high school diplomas. Definitions and methodologies for all less formal measures were also negotiated with partner agencies. 

Technical Document: Additional information is available by request, including a list of the 23 programs included in formal measures reporting; program‐level data by formal measure, by agency; and less formal measures data by goal area, by agency. 

Program‐Level Data: Formal measures data are reported by program by each partner agency as required by statute. For the purpose of this evaluation report, these data are aggregated and reported as system‐level data. Measures are presented as both an absolute number and as a percentage, and are from the most recent 12‐month reporting period available. As noted above, program‐level data are included in the technical document that is available by request. 

Unduplicated Data: In most cases, data are unduplicated and conform to reporting definitions and methodologies agreed to by partner agencies. Where known, totals are adjusted to provide an unduplicated count. For example, educational achievement data may include duplicate data where a participant has outcomes for both education and training programs. 

1 Key measures indicate the extent to which a state agency is achieving its goals or objectives and consist of the outcome, output, efficiency, and explanatory measures referenced in the General Appropriations Act for each agency. [Legislative Budget Board, Performance Reporting for New Key Measures (December 2015)] 

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Data Revisions: In October 2017, TWC submitted data revisions for formal and less formal measures for 2016. In addition,TWC reported that its case management systems offer few ways to track post-exit enrollment in education/training programs and historically there has been little need to track this information making it largely unavailable for reporting this year. TWC will be modifying the case management systems over the next year to capture this information and is exploring matching with external data.  

Rounding Convention: A rounding convention has been applied to the formal and less formal measures data displayed as a percentage: .001 to .004 has been rounded down to .00; .005 to .009 has been rounded up to the next highest hundredth. Rounding rules are applied after completion of all applicable mathematical operation(s) such as division or subtraction. 

Data Ownership: Some partner agencies process their own data, while others have interagency agreements with other partner agencies for data processing. Raw data are confidential records owned by the applicable agency. 

Unemployment Insurance Records: 

Time Lag – There is a significant delay in receiving and analyzing unemployment insurance wage records for measuring employment performance. For example, employment retention is based on participants’ status a full year following program completion. Several factors must be considered, including the time allowed for employers to submit data to the Texas Workforce Commission and the time necessary for agencies to process and report the data to the Council. This means that the performance data reported each year reflects the outcomes of people who exited services one or two years prior. 

Coverage – An unknown number of program exiters obtain jobs that are not covered by the Texas unemployment insurance system. For example, those who are self‐employed or in other contract work, those who relocate and become employed in another state, and those who live in Texas but are employed across state lines are not reported. This lack of coverage results in lower levels of documented employment, reflected in lower outcomes when education and training programs are evaluated. More complete data sets may be available where the agency can use other databases—such as the Wage Record Interchange System or the Federal Employment Data Exchange System—to identify employment with employers who do not file unemployment insurance wages in Texas. 

Issues Identification 

System partners operate in a complex, changing economic environment as they strive to provide employers, current workers, and future workers with services that are comprehensive, timely, and relevant. By 2025, the Texas population is projected to exceed 30.7 million people, with almost 12 million workers being 25 to 54 years of age. The demographic composition is expected to continue to change, with Hispanic growing to the largest percentage of the population (43.55 percent) and the number of females slightly exceeding that of males.2 

Growth in middle‐skills jobs—those that require more than a high school degree but less than a four‐year degree—continues to increase the demand for workers with industry‐based certifications. The Texas workforce employed in middle‐skill occupations in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields is projected to increase by 24 percent to nearly 1.5 million workers in the next decade. This growth will include significant increases in healthcare, construction, and manufacturing fields. 3 In Texas, future workers will also be needed in the growing

2 Texas State Data Center, based on the 0.5 migration scenario (http://demographics.texas.gov/, October 2017).  3 Texas Workforce Investment Council, Defining Middle‐Skill STEM Occupations in Texas (December 2015). 

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industries of computer systems design and related services, as well as service‐related  industries.4 

The Council is charged with facilitating the development of a systemic, integrated approach to the delivery of programs and services that meet the needs of employers and individuals. This task is accomplished in part through identifying issues and working with system partners to achieve issue resolution. Over the eight‐year plan period, issues directly related to the scope as outlined above are included in the annual evaluation report. 

The Council also identifies and works to address issues related to the state’s workforce system through other strategies and methods, including: 

Council Strategy and Listening Sessions – Convened in addition to, or in conjunction with, regular Council  meetings in order to identify and address systemic issues. 

Issue Briefs and Reports – Produced periodically to address specific workforce issues or to provide 

demographic profiles for population segments such as mature workers, people with disabilities, and veterans. 

Stakeholder Roundtables or Surveys – Conducted periodically to obtain feedback regarding system stakeholder

needs and to assess workforce system usage and satisfaction levels.

4 Texas Workforce Commission LMCI Tracer, Texas Fastest Growing Industries (www.tracer2.com/, October 2017). 

6

Balanced Scorecard 

The balanced scorecard framework complements the system strategic plan’s structure and supports reporting and performance assessment. By design, a balanced scorecard provides a framework for developing, implementing, and managing strategy by linking objectives, measures, and initiatives to the strategy. The structure of the  FY 2016–FY 2023 system plan readily aligns with a balanced scorecard framework—based on four goal areas that address cross‐agency, high‐priority issues determined critical to achieving the plan’s vision and mission. 

The Council believes the balanced scorecard supports both Council and system partner efforts to continuously improve the workforce system’s efficiency and effectiveness. The components incorporate narrative and graphics to illustrate achievements by both the system and partner agencies, as reported that fiscal year (FY). This evaluation design also supports communication between the Council and its partner agencies and provides an assessment of progress and outcomes to internal and external customers, including the Governor, legislature, and other system stakeholders. 

The balanced scorecard presents formal and less formal measures data reported to the Council by six partner agencies: 

Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and its Windham School District  Texas Education Agency (TEA)  Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)  Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD)  Texas Veterans Commission (TVC)  Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) 

7

Workforce System Perform

ance Outcomes 

2017 

System Partner 

Educational Achievement (EA) 

Entered Employm

ent (EE) 

Employm

ent Retention (ER

) Customers Served (CS) 

Criminal Justice 

1,560 

n/a 

n/a 

3,301 

Education 

482,363 

143,973 

n/a 

2,939,735 

Higher Education 

33,220 

109,374 

92,147 

654,817 

Juvenile Justice 

586 

n/a 

n/a 

3,645 

Veterans 

n/a 

14,636 

14,046 

16,650 

Workforce 

9,497 

621,760 

523,432 

915,044 

Total 

525,666 

922,627 

629,625 

4,529,891 

Percent 

77.73% 

73.57% 

84.41% 

n/a 

2005

2007

2009

2011

2013

2015

2017

EA80.59%

77.23%

74.40%

78.22%

80.46%

81.34%

77.73%

EE75.86%

78.27%

77.62%

67.74%

70.89%

76.26%

73.57%

ER82.38%

82.54%

83.21%

80.48%

82.55%

84.02%

84.41%

CS

4,581,652

4,756,333

5,237,860

5,249,693

5,035,053

4,962,054

4,529,891

4,000,000

4,200,000

4,400,000

4,600,000

4,800,000

5,000,000

5,200,000

5,400,000

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Form

al M

easures 2004‐2017

Destin

ation2010

(FY0

4‐09)

Advancing Texas 

(FY1

0‐15)

(FY1

6‐23

) 

Texa

s Sys

tem

St

rate

gic Plan

Fiscal Year 2017 Outcomes 

525,666 (7

7.73 percent) individuals

completed a degree, certificate, or other 

measure of educational achievement 

922,627 (73.57 percent) individuals

entered employm

ent and/or were en

rolled in

 ed

ucation or training after program

 exit 

629,625 (84.41 percent) individuals

retained

 employm

ent and/or were en

rolled 

in education or training after program

 exit 

4,529,891 individuals received

 services

through

 the Texas workforce system 

8

Workforce System Performance Outcomes 

To further align formal measures with Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act requirements, last year Council staff worked with partner agencies to review and update the formal measure definitions and methodologies. Both entered employment and employment retention are essentially consistent across partner agencies and, where required, the program periods for reporting were adjusted based on federal guidance. The new federal regulations significantly affected the reported outcomes of certain programs such as Adult Education – WIOA, Title II. Despite these changes, system trends remain consistent when considering funding levels and economic factors.

The recession and ensuing recovery were contributing factors to changes in the longitudinal trend lines over the 13‐year period displayed for formal measures. As noted in Evaluation 2013, data reported for all formal measures had shown the effects during and since recovery from the economic recession. This was true to some degree in Evaluation 2009 for customers served, and began to be evidenced later for the employment‐related measures due to delay in receiving and analyzing unemployment insurance wage records for measuring performance. 

Minor changes occur across programs and over time. However, key changes that affect the trend lines include federal or state legislation and policy changes, and significant increases or decreases in federal or state funding levels—including funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5). Customers served, which is the most volatile trend line, clearly shows customer growth during the recession and a decline thereafter. During the recession, more Texans needed workforce programs and services, just as more students accessed higher education. Combined with the influx of federal recovery funding available through Texas’ workforce system, a significant increase in demand for services is evident during the period 2009 to 2011. 

The longitudinal trend lines for educational achievement, entered employment, and employment retention demonstrate comparatively consistent performance across time. The recessionary period is evident in data reported by agencies from 2009 through 2011. Despite the fact that Texas fared far better than most states during the recession, both entered employment and employment retention moved downward during this period. In 2012 and 2013, these data trends had not yet returned to their pre‐recession highs. While there is no definitive causal information to which this movement can be attributed, it is likely that higher unemployment, business contraction, and significantly reduced hiring by employers during that period were contributing factors.  

While these employment measures were trending lower during the recession, educational achievement was trending higher before declining in 2015 and remaining relatively unchanged this year. Higher enrollment in  postsecondary institutions is often evidenced during periods of economic contractions or recession, and this is consistent with patterns during previous recessionary periods. 

Data Notes 

Most programs are designed to serve participants that meet specific eligibility criteria and have unique needs. Program objectives and desired outcomes vary, and approved definitions and methodologies are program‐specific. Additionally, integrated service delivery strategies may result in duplication of customer counts across programs. Data subsets (duplicates) include Postsecondary Community and Technical College Corrections – Academic and Technical, which has been adjusted to provide unduplicated counts for educational achievement and customers served. 

In October 2016, TWC notified the Council that Apprenticeship Chapter 133 educational achievement data were  not available and that prior year data (2004–2015) were invalid. The agency determined that the current dataset did not allow differentiation between participants completing a year in the program versus completing the program. TWC is making data collection improvements in order to report consistently with the approved definition and methodology. Program data have been removed from the educational achievement trend line. 

9

Goa

l Are

a 1:

Focus on Employers 

Wha

t are th

e ob

jectives? 

How

 are sy

stem

 partners a

ddressing them

? Wha

t was accom

plishe

d this yea

r? 

Increase business and industry 

Involvem

ent. 

TVC is expanding outreach program

s to employers to 

assist veterans in finding quality em

ploym

ent. 

Employer satisfaction data was not reported

. 

TEA is involving business and industry in

 Texas Essen

tial 

Knowledge and Skills review and program

s of study. 

In applicable years, TEA

 will rep

ort the number of 

revised career and technical education program

s of 

study review

ed by business and industry. 

Expand licensure and industry 

certification. 

Five system partners are using third‐party, industry‐

based

 certifications where relevant as an education or 

training outcome to connect graduate competen

cies to 

job skill requirem

ents: TEA

, THEC

B, TVC, TWC, and 

Windham

. 

125,285 third‐party, industry‐based

 certifications 

successfully completed by program

 participants: 

72,777 (TEA) 

21,535 (TH

ECB) 

3,260 (TW

C), including 263 awarded

 to 

veterans 

27,713 (Windham

) 

Certification success rate: 

80.0 percen

t (TEA

) 

82.1 percen

t (W

indham

) 

By accessing critical education and labor data sets, employers can

 better find and plan for skilled

 workers to m

eet their needs in both the im

med

iate 

timeframe and the future. Through

 greater engagemen

t with employers, education and training providers can better design career and technical education 

content and delivery options that are m

ore aligned

 with industry needs. Providers can m

ake adjustmen

ts in

 program

 content to ben

efit employers and 

studen

ts, as well as address both state and regional economic needs. 

10

Focus on Employers:  Action Plan Implementation Summaries 

By improving access to critical education and labor data sets, employers can better find and plan for skilled workers to meet their needs in both the immediate timeframe and the future. Through greater engagement with employers, education and training providers can better design career and technical education content and delivery options that are more aligned with industry needs. Providers can make adjustments in program content to benefit employers and students, as well as address both state and regional economic needs. 

System Partner Strategy  Agency  System Objective  System Goal 

Expand outreach programs to employers to assist veterans to find quality employment.  

TVC 

Increase business and industry involvement. 

Focus on employers 

Involve business and industry in Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills review and programs of study.  

TEA 

Use third‐party, industry‐based certifications where relevant as an education or training outcome to connect graduate competencies to job skill requirements.  

TWC TEA THECB TVC TDCJ 

Expand licensure and industry certification. 

Align career and technical education program content and outcomes with third‐party, industry‐based certifications. 

TEA THECB 

Five partner agencies are focused on increasing business and industry involvement, as well as expanding licensure and industry certification to more effectively assist employers in finding skilled talent. 

The following pages include action plan reports from each of the partner agencies. Please note that the reports contain information verbatim as submitted by the agencies.   

11

Age

ncy

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xas

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cati

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ust

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ssen

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12

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Edu

cati

on

Age

ncy

Go

al A

rea

1

– F

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s o

n E

mp

loye

rs

Stra

tegy

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se t

hir

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arty

, in

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ed

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tifi

cati

on

s w

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as a

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ect

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t 1

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ual

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into

pro

gram

s o

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y as

exa

mp

les.

13

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Edu

cati

on

Age

ncy

Go

al A

rea

1

– F

ocu

s o

n E

mp

loye

rs

Stra

tegy

A

lign

car

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and

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ical

ed

uca

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am c

on

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d o

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es

wit

h t

hir

d-p

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, in

du

stry

-bas

ed c

erti

fica

tio

ns.

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t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

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e

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On

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g FY

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19

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rogr

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In

clu

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xam

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aliz

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igh

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oo

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g FY

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ess

09

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esig

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at id

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ll in

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to p

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g FY

20

19

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

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y A

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of

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cati

on

has

pu

blis

hed

a p

rop

ose

d T

EKS

revi

ew s

ched

ule

. Beg

inn

ing

in 2

01

9-2

02

0, s

elec

ted

CTE

Car

eer

Clu

ster

TEK

S w

ill b

e re

view

ed

an

d a

do

pte

d e

very

yea

r. T

he

firs

tcl

ust

ers

to b

e re

view

ed w

ill b

e ST

EM a

nd

Hea

lth

Sci

ence

. Wh

ere

rele

van

t, in

du

stry

bas

ed

cer

tifi

cati

on

s w

ill b

e al

ign

ed.

-Th

e co

llege

an

d c

aree

r p

lan

nin

g gu

ides

will

be

up

dat

ed

du

rin

g 2

01

7-2

01

8 a

nd

will

incl

ud

e in

du

stry

cer

tifi

cati

on

s as

exa

mp

les.

-Beg

inn

ing

in F

ebru

ary

20

18

, rep

ort

s o

f in

du

stry

cer

tifi

cati

on

s o

ffe

red

by

Earl

y C

olle

ge H

igh

Sch

oo

ls w

ill b

e av

aila

ble

.-A

pro

cess

fo

r id

enti

fyin

g in

du

stry

cer

tifi

cati

on

s an

d li

cen

ses

for

pro

gram

s o

f st

ud

y is

in p

rogr

ess.

14

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Hig

her

Ed

uca

tio

n C

oo

rdin

atin

g B

oar

d

Go

al A

rea

1

– F

ocu

s o

n E

mp

loye

rs

Stra

tegy

U

se t

hir

d-p

arty

, in

du

stry

-bas

ed

cer

tifi

cati

on

s w

her

e re

leva

nt

as a

n e

du

cati

on

or

trai

nin

g o

utc

om

e to

co

nn

ect

grad

uat

e co

mp

eten

cies

to

job

ski

ll re

qu

irem

ents

.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

Id

enti

fy a

nd

inco

rpo

rate

ind

ust

ry-b

ased

cer

tifi

cati

on

s as

mile

sto

ne

s in

pro

gram

s o

f st

ud

y.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

9

No

t st

arte

d

09

/19

C

on

sid

er in

du

stry

-bas

ed c

erti

fica

tio

ns

as p

ote

nti

al s

ucc

ess

po

ints

in f

orm

ula

/per

form

ance

fu

nd

ing.

FY

20

19

FY

20

19

In p

rogr

ess

04

/17

R

evis

e ex

isti

ng

Wo

rkfo

rce

Edu

cati

on

Co

urs

e M

anu

al c

ou

rse

revi

ew p

roce

ss t

o

incl

ud

e d

isci

plin

e-s

pec

ific

pro

fess

ion

al d

evel

op

men

t to

en

cou

rage

sta

tew

ide

ado

pti

on

an

d u

se o

f in

du

stry

-bas

ed c

erti

fica

tio

ns.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

9

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

The

Wo

rkfo

rce

Edu

cati

on

Co

urs

e M

anu

al A

dvi

sory

Co

mm

itte

e (W

ECM

-AC

) w

as e

stab

lish

ed b

y th

e B

oar

d in

Ap

ril 2

01

7.

The

WEC

M-A

C h

ad t

hei

r fi

rst

mee

tin

g th

is s

um

mer

. Th

e C

om

mit

tee

has

b

een

tas

ked

to

dev

elo

p a

co

urs

e re

visi

on

pro

cess

th

at is

no

t ti

ed t

o a

per

iod

ic r

evie

w c

ycle

, bu

t th

at is

mo

re r

esp

on

sive

to

th

e n

eed

s o

f b

usi

ne

ss a

nd

ind

ust

ry.

The

Co

mm

itte

e h

as b

een

tas

ked

to

inco

rpo

rate

rec

om

men

dat

ion

s fo

r in

du

stry

bas

ed

cer

tifi

cati

on

s as

par

t o

f th

e co

urs

e re

view

pro

cess

. Th

is t

ask

is o

ngo

ing.

15

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Hig

her

Ed

uca

tio

n C

oo

rdin

atin

g B

oar

d

Go

al A

rea

1

– F

ocu

s o

n E

mp

loye

rs

Stra

tegy

A

lign

car

eer

and

tec

hn

ical

ed

uca

tio

n p

rogr

am c

on

ten

t an

d o

utc

om

es

wit

h t

hir

d-p

arty

, in

du

stry

-bas

ed c

erti

fica

tio

ns.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

D

evel

op

dis

cip

line

-sp

ecif

ic s

tate

wid

e ad

viso

ry g

rou

ps

to p

rovi

de

inp

ut

con

cern

ing

skill

s, c

erti

fica

tio

ns,

an

d li

cen

ses

req

uir

ed b

y b

usi

nes

s an

d in

du

stry

. V

arie

s b

y p

rogr

am

dis

cip

line

s

FY 2

01

9

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

C

on

stru

ct p

roce

sses

to

de

velo

p a

nd

rev

ise

pro

gram

s o

f st

ud

y th

at id

enti

fy r

elev

ant

ind

ust

ry-b

ased

cer

tifi

cati

on

s an

d li

cen

ses,

as

wel

l as

the

occ

up

atio

nal

info

rmat

ion

th

at

can

be

inco

rpo

rate

d in

to t

ho

se p

rogr

ams.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

9

No

t st

arte

d

09

/18

P

rovi

de

stat

ewid

e p

rofe

ssio

nal

dev

elo

pm

ent

wo

rksh

op

s, b

y d

isci

plin

e, t

o s

har

e b

est

p

ract

ices

an

d im

pro

ve s

tud

ent

ou

tco

mes

. FY

20

18

FY

20

19

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

As

dis

cuss

ed p

revi

ou

sly,

th

e W

ECM

-AC

has

just

beg

an t

he

pro

cess

of

revi

sin

g th

e W

ECM

co

urs

e re

view

pro

cess

to

incl

ud

e in

du

stry

bas

ed c

erti

fica

tio

n. I

nfo

rmat

ion

will

nee

d t

o b

e m

ade

avai

lab

le t

o t

he

colle

ges

and

th

eir

facu

lty

as t

he

revi

sio

n p

roce

ss is

imp

lem

en

ted

. P

rofe

ssio

nal

dev

elo

pm

ent

will

be

incl

ud

ed

in t

he

con

vers

atio

ns

wit

h t

he

WEC

M-A

C.

Co

ord

inat

ing

Bo

ard

sta

ff

will

co

nti

nu

e to

co

mm

un

icat

e w

ith

th

e tw

o-y

ear

colle

ges

as t

hes

e p

roce

sses

evo

lve.

16

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Vet

eran

s C

om

mis

sio

n

Go

al A

rea

1

– F

ocu

s o

n E

mp

loye

rs

Stra

tegy

Ex

pan

d o

utr

each

pro

gram

s to

em

plo

yers

to

ass

ist

vete

ran

s to

fin

d q

ual

ity

emp

loym

ent.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

0

8/1

7

Inte

grat

e w

ith

Tex

as W

ork

forc

e C

om

mis

sio

n b

usi

nes

s se

rvic

e u

nit

s ac

ross

th

e s

tate

. O

ngo

ing

FY 2

01

9

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

0

8/1

7

Par

tner

wit

h e

mp

loye

rs a

nd

vet

eran

ser

vice

org

aniz

atio

ns

on

hir

ing

even

ts.

On

goin

g FY

20

19

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

0

8/1

7

Par

tici

pat

e in

co

rpo

rate

eve

nts

, pan

el d

iscu

ssio

ns,

an

d p

rese

nta

tio

ns.

O

ngo

ing

FY 2

01

9

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

0

8/1

7

Par

tner

wit

h e

mp

loye

r o

rgan

izat

ion

s, t

he

Soci

ety

for

Hu

man

Res

ou

rce

Man

agem

ent,

an

d

cham

ber

s o

f co

mm

erce

. O

ngo

ing

FY 2

01

9

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

0

8/1

7

Co

nd

uct

sem

i-an

nu

al e

mp

loye

r sa

tisf

acti

on

su

rvey

s, a

nal

yze

surv

ey d

ata,

an

d e

valu

ate

way

s to

imp

rove

ou

trea

ch p

rogr

ams

to e

mp

loye

rs.

On

goin

g FY

20

19

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

Ou

r Lo

cal V

eter

ans

Employm

ent

Rep

rese

nta

tive

s lo

cate

d w

ith

in e

ach

Lo

cal W

ork

forc

e D

evel

op

men

t A

rea

con

tin

ue

to a

dvo

cate

fo

r ve

tera

n e

mp

loym

ent

thro

ugh

outrea

ch t

o e

mp

loye

rs. T

he

Texa

s V

eter

ans

Co

mm

issi

on

pro

vid

es a

dd

itio

nal

ser

vice

s to

em

plo

yers

in a

ll as

pec

ts o

f em

plo

ymen

t. D

uri

ng

FY 1

7 t

he

Texa

s V

eter

ans

Co

mm

issi

on

ho

sted

a s

erie

s o

f jo

b f

airs

wit

h t

he

Cu

sto

ms

and

Bo

rder

Pro

tect

ion

Age

ncy

in f

ive

dif

fere

nt

loca

tio

ns

thro

ugh

ou

t th

e st

ate

of

Texa

s. W

e co

nti

nu

e to

mai

nta

in a

str

on

g re

lati

on

ship

wit

h t

he

Hir

ing

ou

r H

ero

es o

rgan

izat

ion

wit

h t

he

U. S

. C

ham

ber

of

Co

mm

erce

org

aniz

ing

hir

ing

even

ts a

nd

ed

uca

tin

g em

plo

yers

on

vet

eran

's s

kills

. We

wo

rk c

lose

ly w

ith

th

e Te

xas Workforce

Co

mm

issi

on

to

bec

om

e m

ore

clo

sely

inte

grat

ed w

ith

th

e B

usi

nes

s Service

Un

its,

th

e Te

xas

Vet

eran

s Le

ader

ship

Pro

gram

, an

d C

om

mis

sio

ner

Ru

th R

. Hu

ghs

and

th

e "W

e H

ire

Vet

s" in

itia

tive

.

17

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Vet

eran

s C

om

mis

sio

n

Go

al A

rea

1

– F

ocu

s o

n E

mp

loye

rs

Stra

tegy

U

se t

hir

d-p

arty

, in

du

stry

-bas

ed

cer

tifi

cati

on

s w

her

e re

leva

nt

as a

n e

du

cati

on

or

trai

nin

g o

utc

om

e to

co

nn

ect

grad

uat

e co

mp

eten

cies

to

job

ski

ll re

qu

irem

ents

.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

0

8/1

7

Wo

rk w

ith

reg

ula

tory

age

nci

es

to u

se t

he

Texa

s D

epar

tmen

t o

f Li

cen

sure

an

d

Reg

ula

tio

n’s

pri

mer

fo

r d

eve

lop

ing

serv

ice

cred

it f

or

occ

up

atio

nal

lice

nsi

ng

as a

gu

ide

for

accu

rate

ly e

valu

atin

g m

ilita

ry s

ervi

ce c

red

it b

y d

evel

op

ing

stan

dar

diz

ed t

rain

ing

for

oth

er r

egu

lato

ry a

gen

cie

s to

ad

op

t an

d t

ailo

r fo

r th

eir

spec

ific

age

ncy

.

On

goin

g FY

20

19

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

0

8/1

7

Wo

rk w

ith

reg

ula

tory

age

nci

es

to e

stab

lish

a p

roce

ss f

or

a m

ilita

ry s

erv

ice

mem

ber

or

vete

ran

to

su

bm

it a

n a

pp

licat

ion

fo

r a

licen

se o

r ap

pre

nti

cesh

ip a

nd

to

ob

tain

cre

dit

fo

r ve

rifi

ed m

ilita

ry e

xper

ien

ce, s

ervi

ce, t

rain

ing,

or

edu

cati

on

.

On

goin

g FY

20

19

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

0

8/1

7

Wo

rk w

ith

reg

ula

tory

age

nci

es

to p

ost

th

ose

Mili

tary

Occ

up

atio

nal

Sta

nd

ard

cla

ssif

icat

ion

s o

r d

esig

nat

ors

th

at c

orr

esp

on

d t

o li

cen

sed

occ

up

atio

ns

to e

stab

lish

a c

lear

su

pp

ort

sys

tem

to

en

sure

as

man

y ve

tera

ns

as p

oss

ible

are

aw

are

of

job

op

tio

ns.

On

goin

g FY

20

19

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

Texa

s D

epar

tmen

t o

f Li

cen

sure

an

d R

egu

lati

on

s is

an

inte

grat

ed p

artn

er a

nd

wo

rkgr

ou

p c

om

mit

tee

mem

ber

in t

he

Texa

s C

oo

rdin

atin

g C

ou

nci

l fo

r V

eter

ans

Serv

ies.

Th

e Te

xas

Vet

eran

s C

om

mis

sio

n w

ork

s cl

ose

ly w

ith

oth

er a

gen

cie

s th

at h

ave

licen

sin

g o

r ap

pre

nti

cesh

ip a

uth

ori

ty t

o e

nsu

re t

hat

th

e eq

uiv

ilen

t m

ilita

ry e

xper

ien

ce is

ap

pro

pri

ate

ly c

on

sid

ered

.

18

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Wo

rkfo

rce

Co

mm

issi

on

Go

al A

rea

1

– F

ocu

s o

n E

mp

loye

rs

Stra

tegy

U

se t

hir

d-p

arty

, in

du

stry

-bas

ed

cer

tifi

cati

on

s w

her

e re

leva

nt

as a

n e

du

cati

on

or

trai

nin

g o

utc

om

e to

co

nn

ect

grad

uat

e co

mp

eten

cies

to

job

ski

ll re

qu

irem

ents

.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Fin

aliz

ed

01

/15

1

2/1

6

Exp

and

tra

inin

g st

rate

gies

an

d o

pti

on

s to

incr

ease

ind

ust

ry-b

ased

cer

tifi

cati

on

s o

ffer

ed in

re

spo

nse

to

em

plo

yer-

de

fin

ed

nee

ds

by

wo

rkin

g th

rou

gh lo

cal w

ork

forc

e b

oar

ds

to

iden

tify

cer

tifi

cati

on

s th

at s

up

po

rt lo

cal e

mp

loye

rs a

nd

bu

ildin

g ca

pac

ity

to p

rovi

de

tho

se

cert

ific

atio

ns.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

7

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

Exp

and

tra

inin

g st

rate

gies

an

d o

pti

on

s to

incr

ease

ind

ust

ry-b

ased

cer

tifi

cati

on

s…

In J

anu

ary

20

15

, th

e C

om

mis

sio

n d

istr

ibu

ted

$2

.5 m

illio

n t

o t

he

loca

l wo

rkfo

rce

dev

elo

pm

ent

bo

ard

s fo

r an

Ind

ust

ry R

eco

gniz

ed S

kills

Init

iati

ve.

Cer

tifi

cati

on

s w

ere

awar

ded

in a

nu

mb

er o

f ar

eas

such

as

man

ufa

ctu

rin

g, h

ealt

hca

re, c

on

stru

ctio

n, i

nfo

rmat

ion

tec

hn

olo

gy, a

nd

tra

nsp

ort

atio

n.

Ove

r 2

50

cer

tifi

cati

on

s w

ere

rece

ived

in m

anu

fact

uri

ng

in a

reas

su

ch a

s 5

5 M

anu

fact

uri

ng

Skill

Sta

nd

ard

s C

ou

nci

l, 2

0 N

atio

nal

Inst

itu

te f

or

Met

alw

ork

ing

Skill

s, 1

9 C

om

pu

teri

zed

Nu

mer

ical

C

on

tro

l mac

hin

ists

, 11

9 A

mer

ican

Wel

din

g So

ciet

y w

eld

ers,

etc

. In

th

e h

ealt

hca

re f

ield

23

7 c

erti

fica

tio

ns

wer

e aw

ard

ed

, su

ch a

s 1

10

reg

iste

red

nu

rse

s, 2

0 li

scen

sed

vo

cati

on

al n

urs

es,

71

ce

rtif

ied

nu

rse

aid

es/c

erti

fied

me

dic

atio

n a

ide

s, a

nd

12

me

dic

al c

od

ing.

In

co

nst

ruct

ion

, 13

cer

tifi

cati

on

s w

ere

awar

de

d in

HV

AC

, 2 in

plu

mb

ing,

9 in

pip

efit

tin

g, a

nd

10

in m

aso

nry

. Fo

rty-

thre

e ce

rtif

icat

ion

s w

ere

awar

ded

in in

form

atio

n t

ech

no

logy

, 14

0 in

tra

nsp

ort

atio

n, 1

25

in h

ealt

h a

nd

saf

ety

fiel

ds,

an

d 3

8 in

a v

arie

ty o

f fi

eld

s. I

n t

ota

l, o

ver

85

0 c

erti

fica

tio

ns

wer

e re

ceiv

ed.

19

Age

ncy

W

ind

ham

Sch

oo

l Dis

tric

t (T

exas

Dep

artm

ent

of

Cri

min

al J

ust

ice)

Go

al A

rea

1

– F

ocu

s o

n E

mp

loye

rs

Stra

tegy

U

se t

hir

d-p

arty

, in

du

stry

-bas

ed

cer

tifi

cati

on

s w

her

e re

leva

nt

as a

n e

du

cati

on

or

trai

nin

g o

utc

om

e to

co

nn

ect

grad

uat

e co

mp

eten

cies

to

jo

b s

kill

req

uir

emen

ts.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

C

on

tin

ue

to d

evel

op

an

d m

ain

tain

par

tner

ship

s b

etw

een

ind

ust

ry a

nd

th

e W

ind

ham

Sc

ho

ol D

istr

ict

in o

rder

to

pro

vid

e ce

rtif

icat

ion

s to

stu

den

ts t

hat

will

fu

lfill

job

re

qu

irem

ents

in t

he

curr

ent

wo

rkfo

rce

mar

ket.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

6

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

Ex

pan

d t

he

nu

mb

er o

f ca

reer

an

d t

ech

nic

al e

du

cati

on

cla

sses

pro

vid

ing

ind

ust

ry s

tan

dar

d

cert

ific

atio

ns.

FY

20

16

FY

20

19

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

Ex

pan

d t

he

care

er a

nd

tec

hn

ical

ed

uca

tio

n p

rogr

ams

off

ere

d b

y W

ind

ham

Sch

oo

l Dis

tric

t,

and

eva

luat

e p

rogr

am e

ffec

tive

nes

s.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

9

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

WSD

wo

uld

like

to

re

qu

est

to

ch

ange

th

e e

nd

dat

e fo

r t

he

firs

t lin

e ac

tio

n (

beg

ins

wit

h "

Co

nti

nu

e to

dev

elo

p a

nd

mai

nta

in p

artn

ersh

ips"

) to

FY

20

20

. Dev

elo

pm

ent

wit

h in

du

stry

co

mp

anie

s is

o

n-g

oin

g. C

urr

entl

y 2

5 p

artn

ersh

ips

hav

e b

een

dev

elo

ped

wit

h in

du

stry

co

mp

anie

s. A

s a

resu

lt, p

artn

ers

assi

sted

WSD

Car

eer

and

Tec

hn

ical

Ed

uca

tio

n s

taff

in m

od

ifyi

ng

curr

icu

lum

. Im

pro

vem

ent

incl

ud

ed a

dd

ing

curr

ent

ind

ust

ry p

ract

ices

wh

ich

hel

p s

tud

ents

pre

par

e fo

r th

e w

ork

forc

e.

WSD

has

exp

and

ed

th

e fo

llow

ing

CTE

pro

gram

s at

th

e St

ate

Jail

faci

litie

s:

Elec

tro

nic

Sys

tem

s Te

chn

icia

n, a

nd

Sci

ence

, Tec

hn

olo

gy, E

ngi

ne

eri

ng

and

Mat

h (

STEM

) P

rogr

ams-

-In

tro

du

ctio

n t

o T

elec

om

mu

nic

atio

ns

Co

nn

ecti

on

s,C

op

per

Cab

ling,

En

ergy

M

anag

eme

nt,

Fib

er O

pti

cs C

ablin

g an

d A

ud

io/V

isu

al S

yste

ms

Exp

and

ed C

om

pu

ter

Nu

mer

ical

Co

ntr

ol M

ach

inin

g (5

Axi

s an

d M

illin

g) a

t St

ate

Jails

an

d In

stit

uti

on

al D

ivis

ion

. Ex

pan

ded

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on

stru

ctio

n F

un

dam

enta

ls, a

nd

Saf

ety

pro

gram

s at

Sta

te J

ails

, In

stit

uti

on

al D

ivis

ion

an

d T

ran

sfer

Fac

iliti

es.

WSD

eva

luat

es

ou

r p

rogr

am e

ffe

ctiv

enes

s b

y th

e in

crea

se in

ind

ust

ry c

erti

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tio

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m 1

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in S

Y 1

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o 2

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76

in S

Y 1

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YTD

). T

he

Win

dh

am S

cho

ol D

istr

ict

Pro

gram

Eva

luat

ion

Rep

ort

, p

ub

lish

ed in

Jan

uar

y 2

01

7 in

clu

des

th

e b

ien

nia

l eva

luat

ion

of

ou

r C

TE p

rogr

ams.

Th

e re

po

rt m

ay b

e fo

un

d a

t:

htt

p:/

/ww

w.w

sdtx

.org

/im

age

s/P

DF/

legi

slat

ive_

req

uir

ed_r

ep

ort

s/8

5/W

ind

ham

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ho

ol_

Dis

tric

t_P

rogr

am_E

valu

atio

n_R

epo

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20

This page intentionally left blank.

21

Goa

l Are

a 2:

Engage

 in Partnerships 

Wha

t is the

 objectiv

e? 

How

 are sy

stem

 partners a

ddressing it?

 Wha

t was accom

plishe

d this yea

r? 

Expand partnerships with system 

partners and stakeholders to promote 

collaboration, joint planning, and 

enhanced participant outcomes. 

TWC is working to im

prove reh

abilitation employm

ent 

outcomes by establishing additional partnerships with 

secondary and postsecondary en

tities, and with 

employers. 

TWC is creating greater access and effective services by 

promoting collaboration and regional planning. 

THEC

B and TWC are increasing access to, referral 

between, and outcomes of adult education program

s and services. 

1.37 percent of vocational reh

abilitation consumers 

participated

 in integrated

, work‐based

 learning 

activities 

10.19 percent of individuals in vocational 

rehabilitation program

s were co‐enrolled in 

workforce program

s 

7.21 percent of individuals in adult education 

program

s were co‐enrolled in workforce program

s (TWC) 

Of studen

ts successfully completing a community 

and technical college Accelerate Texas program

 that 

integrated

 basic skills with career and technical 

pathways: (TH

ECB) 

7.94 percent received

 a Level 1 or Level 2 

certificate or an

 associate’s degree 

81.73 percent entered employm

ent and/or 

were en

rolled in education or training 

Through

 collaborative and transparen

t processes, w

orkforce system

 partners focus on outcomes that im

prove the em

ployability of all program

 participants—from across a wide spectrum of capabilities and experiences—

to m

eet em

ployer needs. The leveraging of partnerships to enhance system 

alignmen

t and outcomes dep

ends on trust, a culture of collaboration both within and external to the workforce system

, deep working relationships, and 

technical capacity to communicate to share needs, data, and inform

ation. Partnerships can provide for common planning, intake, and rep

orting on 

outcomes, as well as en

sure a “no wrong door” approach to the provision of workforce program

s and services. 

Win

dh

am is

est

ablis

hin

g an

d le

vera

gin

g re

gio

nal

em

plo

yer

par

tner

ship

s to

ben

efit

stu

den

ts p

re-

and

p

ost

- re

leas

e.

 Em

plo

yer

sati

sfac

tio

n d

ata

was

no

t re

po

rted

.

22

Engage in Partnerships: Action Plan Implementation Summaries 

Through collaborative and transparent processes, workforce system partners focus on outcomes that improve the employability of all program participants—from across a wide spectrum of capabilities and experiences—to meet employer needs. The leveraging of partnerships to enhance system alignment and outcomes depends on trust, a culture of collaboration both within and external to the workforce system, deep working relationships, and technical capacity to communicate to share needs, data, and information. Partnerships can provide for common planning, intake, and reporting on outcomes, as well as ensuring a “no wrong door” approach to the provision of workforce programs and services.  

System Partner Strategy  Agency  System Objective  System Goal 

Improve rehabilitation employment outcomes by establishing additional partnerships with secondary and postsecondary entities, and employers.  

TWC 

Expand partnerships with system partners and stakeholders to promote collaboration, joint planning, and enhanced participant outcomes. 

Engage in partnerships 

Create greater access and effective services by promoting collaboration and regional planning.  

TWC 

Increase access to, referral between, and outcomes of adult education programs and services.  

TWC THECB 

Establish and leverage regional employer partnerships to benefit students pre‐ and post‐release.  

TDCJ 

Three agencies are committed to expanding partnerships to better serve employers and workforce program participants 

The following pages include action plan reports from each of the partner agencies. Please note that the reports contain information verbatim as submitted by the agencies.

23

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Hig

her

Ed

uca

tio

n C

oo

rdin

atin

g B

oar

d

Go

al A

rea

2

– E

nga

ge in

Par

tner

ship

s

Stra

tegy

In

crea

se a

cce

ss t

o, r

efe

rral

be

twee

n, a

nd

ou

tco

me

s o

f ad

ult

ed

uca

tio

n p

rogr

ams

and

ser

vice

s.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

In p

rogr

ess

09

/10

0

8/1

9

Incr

ease

th

e n

um

ber

of

com

mu

nit

y an

d t

ech

nic

al c

olle

ges

pro

vid

ing

targ

eted

ad

ult

ed

uca

tio

n s

ervi

ces

that

tra

nsi

tio

n s

tud

ents

into

hig

her

ed

uca

tio

n.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

9

In p

rogr

ess

01

/11

0

8/1

9

Pro

vid

e st

atew

ide

pro

gram

su

pp

ort

an

d p

rofe

ssio

nal

dev

elo

pm

ent

to im

pro

ve t

arge

ted

ad

ult

ed

uca

tio

n s

ervi

ces

pro

vid

ed t

hro

ugh

co

mm

un

ity

and

tec

hn

ical

co

llege

s.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

9

In p

rogr

ess

09

/10

0

8/1

9

Incr

ease

th

e n

um

ber

of

com

mu

nit

y an

d t

ech

nic

al c

olle

ges

par

tner

ing

wit

h lo

cal a

du

lt

edu

cati

on

an

d li

tera

cy p

rovi

der

s to

su

pp

ort

th

e tr

ansi

tio

n o

f st

ud

ents

into

an

d t

hro

ugh

h

igh

er e

du

cati

on

.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

9

In p

rogr

ess

10

/16

D

evel

op

an

d im

ple

men

t a

stu

den

t re

ferr

al s

yste

m b

etw

een

fed

eral

ly f

un

ded

ad

ult

ed

uca

tio

n a

nd

lite

racy

pro

vid

ers

and

co

mm

un

ity

and

tec

hn

ical

co

llege

s to

ass

ist

ind

ivid

ual

s se

ekin

g ad

ult

ed

uca

tio

n s

ervi

ces

fin

d a

pro

gram

res

po

nsi

ve t

o t

hei

r n

eed

s. If

de

emed

ap

pro

pri

ate,

co

nsi

der

inte

grat

ion

of

com

mu

nit

y-b

ased

pro

vid

ers

into

th

e re

ferr

al s

yste

m.

(Ref

erra

l sys

tem

mea

sure

to

be

dev

elo

ped

pri

or

to im

ple

me

nta

tio

n.)

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

9

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

•In

FY

20

11

, TH

ECB

fu

nd

ed 8

co

mm

un

ity

colle

ge s

yste

ms

to d

o t

arge

ted

ad

ult

ed

uca

tio

n s

ervi

ces

to t

ran

siti

on

stu

den

ts t

o in

tegr

ated

ed

uca

tio

n a

nd

tra

inin

g an

d in

ten

sive

co

llege

rea

din

ess

pro

gram

s. B

y th

e st

art

of

FY2

01

6, 2

7 d

istr

icts

had

rec

eive

d o

r w

ere

still

fu

nd

ed t

o s

up

po

rt a

du

lt e

du

cati

on

ser

vice

s th

at s

up

po

rted

stu

den

t tr

ansi

tio

n.

•A

t th

e cl

ose

of

FY 2

01

7, 2

4 d

istr

icts

are

co

nti

nu

ing

to r

ecei

ve f

un

din

g.•

To m

eet

the

nee

ds

of under-prepared

stu

den

ts w

ho

fal

l far

bel

ow

co

llege

rea

din

ess

on

th

e Te

xas

Succ

ess

Init

iati

ve A

sses

smen

t (T

SIA

), a

ll 5

0 c

om

mu

nit

y co

llege

dis

tric

ts a

re r

equ

ired

to

hav

eo

n-c

amp

us

pro

gram

s fo

r st

ud

ents

in n

eed

of

adu

lt e

du

cati

on

ser

vice

s o

r b

e in

par

tner

ship

wit

h a

du

lt e

du

cati

on

ser

vice

s in

th

e co

mm

un

ity.

•Fr

om

FY

20

11

th

rou

gh F

Y 2

01

6, T

HEC

B h

eld

tw

o t

ech

nic

al a

ssis

tan

ce m

eeti

ngs

per

yea

r fo

r fu

nd

ed a

nd

no

n-f

un

ded

co

mm

un

ity

and

tec

hn

ical

co

llege

s, p

artn

erin

g w

ork

forc

e b

oar

ds,

an

d s

oci

alse

rvic

e ag

enci

es w

ork

ing

wit

h a

du

lt le

arn

ers

on

su

pp

ort

ing

the

tran

siti

on

an

d c

red

enti

al c

om

ple

tio

n o

f st

ud

ents

iden

tifi

ed a

s el

igib

le f

or

adu

lt e

du

cati

on

ser

vice

s.•

In F

Y 2

01

7, T

HEC

B s

up

po

rted

fo

ur

stat

ewid

e re

gio

nal

mee

tin

gs a

nd

invi

ted

all

com

mu

nit

y an

d t

ech

nic

al c

olle

ges

in t

he

regi

on

to

lear

n a

bo

ut

eval

uat

ion

ou

tco

mes

of

the

THEC

B-f

un

ded

A

ccel

erat

e TX

pro

gram

fro

m 2

01

4 t

hro

ugh

20

17

.•

Hel

d in

itia

l mee

tin

g w

ith

TW

C’s

AEL

pro

gram

ab

ou

t th

e re

ferr

al s

yste

m; T

WC

ind

icat

ed t

hat

th

ey h

ave

the

pro

vid

er d

irec

tory

ho

use

d a

t TC

ALL

fo

r an

yon

e to

use

to

iden

tify

pro

vid

ers

by

zip

co

de,

cit

y, o

r se

rvic

es. A

lso

hel

d a

mee

tin

g w

ith

rep

rese

nta

tive

s fr

om

th

e Te

xas

Co

nn

ecto

r w

ho

are

wo

rkin

g w

ith

TW

C’s

AEL

pro

gram

to

pilo

t th

e C

on

nec

tor

wit

h a

few

AEL

pro

vid

ers

to s

up

po

rtco

nn

ecti

ng

stu

den

ts t

o s

oci

al s

ervi

ce p

rovi

der

s an

d o

ther

ser

vice

s in

th

eir

regi

on

. Wit

ho

ut

fun

ds,

it is

no

t p

oss

ible

to

exp

lore

a m

ore

ro

bu

st r

efer

ral s

yste

m t

hat

allo

ws

stu

den

ts t

o a

cces

sm

ult

iple

ser

vice

s in

on

e p

lace

an

d t

o s

har

e th

eir

his

tory

or

serv

ices

an

d a

ctiv

itie

s w

ith

hig

her

ed

uca

tio

n a

dvi

sors

.•

Furt

her

, as

of

the

85

th T

exas

Leg

isla

ture

(2

01

7),

TH

ECB

no

lon

ger

has

fu

nd

s to

su

pp

ort

tar

gete

d a

du

lt e

du

cati

on

ser

vice

s an

d t

ran

siti

on

pro

gram

s in

co

ord

inat

ion

wit

h c

om

mu

nit

y an

d

tech

nic

al c

olle

ges.

24

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Wo

rkfo

rce

Co

mm

issi

on

Go

al A

rea

2

– E

nga

ge in

Par

tner

ship

s

Stra

tegy

Im

pro

ve r

ehab

ilita

tio

n e

mp

loym

ent

ou

tco

me

s b

y es

tab

lish

ing

add

itio

nal

par

tner

ship

s w

ith

sec

on

dar

y an

d p

ost

seco

nd

ary

enti

ties

, an

d e

mp

loye

rs.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

In p

rogr

ess

01

/17

D

evel

op

an

d e

xpan

d p

artn

ersh

ips

wit

h s

yste

m p

artn

ers,

incl

ud

ing

ind

epen

den

t sc

ho

ol

dis

tric

ts, e

du

cati

on

al s

ervi

ce c

ente

rs, c

om

mu

nit

y an

d t

ech

nic

al c

olle

ges,

sta

keh

old

ers,

an

d

emp

loye

rs t

o in

crea

se t

he

avai

lab

ility

an

d c

oo

rdin

atio

n o

f in

tegr

ated

wo

rk-b

ased

lear

nin

g o

pp

ort

un

itie

s su

ch a

s w

ork

exp

erie

nce

, pre

-ap

pre

nti

cesh

ip, a

pp

ren

tice

ship

, in

tern

ship

, jo

b s

had

ow

ing,

an

d o

n-t

he-

job

tra

inin

g.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

8

In p

rogr

ess

09

/17

D

evel

op

an

d im

ple

men

t a

coo

rdin

ated

ap

pro

ach

to

ser

vin

g em

plo

yers

th

rou

gh

colla

bo

rati

on

wit

h lo

cal w

ork

forc

e b

oar

ds

and

wo

rkfo

rce

cen

ters

. FY

20

16

FY

20

19

In p

rogr

ess

09

/15

Ex

pan

d c

olla

bo

rati

on

wit

h s

tate

an

d f

eder

al p

artn

ers

to in

crea

se e

nga

gem

ent

of

emp

loye

rs, i

ncl

ud

ing

fed

eral

co

ntr

acto

rs, t

o p

rom

ote

aw

are

nes

s, r

ecru

itm

ent,

hir

ing,

an

d

rete

nti

on

of

qu

alif

ied

ind

ivid

ual

s w

ith

dis

abili

ties

.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

7

In p

rogr

ess

09

/15

Ex

pan

d p

artn

ersh

ips

wit

h f

eder

al, s

tate

, an

d lo

cal p

artn

ers,

su

ch a

s th

e V

eter

ans

Ad

min

istr

atio

n a

nd

co

mm

un

ity

men

tal h

ealt

h s

erv

ice

pro

vid

ers,

to

en

han

ce c

olla

bo

rati

on

an

d c

oo

rdin

atio

n o

f se

rvic

es f

or

vete

ran

s w

ith

dis

abili

ties

.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

9

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

Dev

elo

p a

nd

exp

and

par

tner

ship

s…

The

Co

mm

issi

on

ap

pro

ved

a V

oca

tio

nal

Reh

abili

tati

on

Pat

hw

ays

to C

aree

rs In

itia

tive

(P

CI)

on

Jan

uar

y 3

1, 2

01

7. P

CI w

ill e

xpan

d P

re-E

mp

loym

ent

Tran

siti

on

Se

rvic

es (

Pre

-ETS

) to

Tex

as s

tud

ents

w

ith

dis

abili

ties

an

d b

uild

up

on

th

e P

re-E

TS a

ctiv

itie

s al

read

y u

nd

erw

ay.

PC

I will

eff

ecti

vely

pre

par

e st

ud

ents

wit

h d

isab

iliti

es t

o a

chie

ve c

om

pet

itiv

e, in

tegr

ated

em

plo

ymen

t th

rou

gh

par

tici

pat

ion

in e

mp

loya

bili

ty s

kills

an

d w

ork

rea

din

ess

tra

inin

g, c

aree

r e

xplo

rati

on

act

ivit

ies,

wo

rk e

xper

ien

ce, a

nd

po

stse

con

dar

y e

du

cati

on

. P

CI i

ncl

ud

es f

ive

new

str

ateg

ies

com

pri

sed

of

two

st

atew

ide

stra

tegi

es

and

th

ree

de

mo

nst

rati

on

pro

ject

s: S

um

mer

Ear

n a

nd

Lea

rn, C

har

tin

g th

e C

ou

rse:

Pla

nn

ing

for

Life

an

d C

aree

rs a

fter

Hig

h S

cho

ol,

Car

eer

Pat

hw

ays

Aca

dem

ies,

Exp

lore

ST

EM!,

an

d T

ran

siti

on

Pla

nn

ing

for

Stu

de

nts

in P

riva

te a

nd

Ho

me

Sch

oo

ls. T

he

stra

tegi

es

will

be

imp

lem

en

ted

in F

isca

l Yea

rs 2

01

7 a

nd

20

18

.

The

firs

t P

CI s

trat

egy

to

be

imp

lem

ente

d is

Su

mm

er E

arn

an

d L

earn

. La

un

ched

in M

ay 2

01

7, t

his

str

ateg

y is

a w

ork

-bas

ed

pro

gram

co

nd

uct

ed in

par

tner

ship

wit

h t

he

twen

ty-e

igh

t Lo

cal

Wo

rkfo

rce

Dev

elo

pm

ent

Bo

ard

s an

d t

hei

r em

plo

yer

par

tner

s. T

hro

ugh

Su

mm

er E

arn

an

d L

earn

, mo

re t

han

1,5

00

Tex

as s

tud

ents

wit

h d

isab

iliti

es p

arti

cip

ated

in e

mp

loya

bili

ty s

kills

tra

inin

g an

d a

fiv

e to

eig

ht-

wee

k p

aid

wo

rk e

xper

ien

ce a

ssig

nm

ent.

25

The

Tex

as

Wo

rkfo

rce

Syst

em S

tra

teg

ic P

lan

FY

201

6–F

Y 2

023

: A

ctio

n P

lan

Re

po

rts

for

Eva

lua

tio

n 2

017

D

evel

op

an

d im

ple

men

t a

coo

rdin

ated

ap

pro

ach

to

ser

vin

g em

plo

yers

…

In F

Y 2

01

7, T

WC

lau

nch

ed a

sta

tew

ide

Hir

eA

bili

ty c

amp

aign

to

ed

uca

te e

mp

loye

rs o

n t

he

ben

efit

s o

f h

irin

g p

erso

ns

wit

h d

isab

ilit

ies.

Th

e ca

mp

aign

beg

an in

Sep

tem

ber

20

16

, an

d f

eatu

red

in

form

atio

nal

pu

blic

atio

ns

and

oth

er r

eso

urc

es, s

uch

as

vid

eo t

esti

mo

nia

ls t

o a

ssis

t em

plo

yers

in h

irin

g in

div

idu

als

wit

h d

isab

ilite

s. V

oca

tio

nal

Reh

abili

tati

on

(V

R)

staf

f, in

co

ord

inat

ion

wit

h

com

mu

nit

y p

artn

ers

an

d lo

cal w

ork

forc

e d

evel

op

me

nt

bo

ard

s al

so c

on

du

cte

d a

var

iety

of

Hir

eAb

ility

eve

nts

in t

hei

r co

mm

un

itie

s, in

clu

din

g jo

b f

airs

, stu

de

nt

care

er e

xpo

s an

d e

mp

loye

r d

isab

iltiy

aw

aren

ess

pre

sen

tati

on

s an

d e

ven

ts.

Thes

e H

ireA

bili

ty e

ven

ts w

ere

con

du

cted

in O

cto

ber

20

16

, in

co

nju

nct

ion

wit

h N

atio

nal

Dis

abili

ty E

mp

loym

ent

Aw

aren

ess

Mo

nth

.

Exp

and

co

llab

ora

tio

n w

ith

sta

te a

nd

fed

eral

par

tner

s to

incr

ease

en

gage

men

t o

f em

plo

yers

…

In F

Y 2

01

7, T

WC

VR

co

nti

nu

ed t

o c

oo

rdin

ate

wit

h t

he

U.S

. De

par

tmen

t o

f La

bo

r’s

Off

ice

of

Fed

eral

Co

ntr

act

Co

mp

lian

ce P

rogr

ams

(OFC

CP

), t

he

Vet

eran

s A

dm

inis

trat

ion

, an

d lo

cal w

ork

forc

e d

evel

op

me

nt

bo

ard

s to

pla

n a

nd

co

nd

uct

join

t h

irin

g ev

ents

fo

r fe

der

al c

on

trac

tors

an

d s

ub

con

trac

tors

to

su

pp

ort

of

the

ir im

ple

men

tati

on

of

Sect

ion

50

3 o

f th

e R

ehab

ilita

tio

n A

ct o

f 1

97

3, a

s am

end

ed

(Se

ctio

n 5

03

) an

d t

he

Vie

tnam

Era

Vet

eran

s’ R

ead

just

me

nt

Ass

ista

nce

Act

(V

EVR

AA

) re

gula

tio

ns.

Sec

tio

n 5

03

req

uir

es

fed

era

l co

ntr

acto

rs a

nd

su

bco

ntr

acto

rs t

o p

roac

tive

ly r

ecru

it,

emp

loy,

tra

in, a

nd

pro

mo

te q

ual

ifie

d in

div

idu

als

wit

h d

isab

iliti

es.

VEV

RA

A r

equ

lati

on

s st

ren

gth

en t

he

pro

visi

on

s th

at r

equ

ire

con

trac

tors

to

rec

ruit

an

d h

ire

pro

tect

ed

vet

eran

s an

d im

pro

ve

job

op

po

rtu

nit

ies

for

pro

tect

ed

vet

eran

s. I

n F

Y 2

01

6 a

nd

FY

20

17

to

dat

e, o

ver

30

0 f

eder

al c

on

trac

tors

hav

e p

arti

cip

ate

d in

dis

abili

ty a

war

enes

s an

d h

irin

g ev

ents

aro

un

d t

he

stat

e an

d m

any

hav

e h

ired

per

son

s w

ith

dis

abili

ties

. Eve

nts

su

ch a

s b

usi

ne

ss s

ymp

osi

um

s an

d t

arge

ted

job

fai

rs f

or

fed

eral

co

ntr

acto

rs h

ave

off

ered

val

uab

le jo

b s

earc

h o

pp

ort

un

itie

s fo

r al

mo

st 3

,00

0 V

R

cust

om

ers.

TW

C V

R is

wo

rkin

g to

exp

and

th

is e

ffo

rt b

y co

ord

inat

ing

mo

re c

lose

ly w

ith

th

e V

eter

ans

Car

eer

Ad

viso

rs a

nd

Em

plo

yer

Liai

son

s in

th

e W

ork

forc

e So

luti

on

s O

ffic

es.

Exp

and

par

tner

ship

s w

ith

fed

eral

, sta

te, a

nd

loca

l par

tner

s…

TWC

VR

co

nti

nu

es t

o w

ork

wit

h t

he

Vet

eran

s A

dm

inis

trat

ion

an

d c

om

mu

nit

y m

enta

l hea

lth

pro

vid

ers

to

co

ord

inat

e se

rvic

es

for

vete

ran

s w

ith

dis

abili

ties

; ho

wev

er, t

he

dev

elo

pm

ent

an

d

imp

lem

enta

tio

n o

f ad

dit

ion

al p

artn

ersh

ips

or

stra

tegi

es h

as b

een

del

ayed

to

FY

20

18

.

26

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Wo

rkfo

rce

Co

mm

issi

on

Go

al A

rea

2

– E

nga

ge in

Par

tner

ship

s

Stra

tegy

C

reat

e gr

eate

r ac

cess

an

d e

ffec

tive

ser

vice

s b

y p

rom

oti

ng

colla

bo

rati

on

an

d r

egio

nal

pla

nn

ing.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Fin

aliz

ed

09

/15

0

8/1

7

Co

nd

uct

reg

ion

al id

enti

fica

tio

n a

nd

pla

nn

ing

in c

oo

per

atio

n w

ith

loca

l wo

rkfo

rce

bo

ard

s, in

ac

cord

ance

wit

h t

he

Wo

rkfo

rce

Inn

ova

tio

n a

nd

Op

po

rtu

nit

y A

ct.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

7

Fin

aliz

ed

07

/15

0

8/1

7

Co

nd

uct

pla

nn

ing

in c

oo

per

atio

n w

ith

vo

cati

on

al r

ehab

ilita

tio

n s

ervi

ces,

in a

cco

rdan

ce

wit

h t

he

Wo

rkfo

rce

Inn

ova

tio

n a

nd

Op

po

rtu

nit

y A

ct.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

6

In p

rogr

ess

03

/16

C

olla

bo

rate

wit

h t

he

Texa

s H

igh

er E

du

cati

on

Co

ord

inat

ing

Bo

ard

an

d t

he

Texa

s Ed

uca

tio

n

Age

ncy

on

init

iati

ves

to in

crea

se a

cces

s to

co

nsu

mer

info

rmat

ion

an

d t

o d

evel

op

, im

ple

men

t, a

nd

su

pp

ort

eff

ect

ive

edu

cati

on

an

d t

rain

ing

mo

del

s.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

9

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

Co

nd

uct

reg

ion

al id

enti

fica

tio

n a

nd

pla

nn

ing…

Texa

s’ B

oar

ds

are

curr

entl

y ac

com

plis

hin

g th

e W

ork

forc

e In

no

vati

on

an

d O

pp

ort

un

ity

Act

’s e

xpec

tati

on

s fo

r re

gio

nal

pla

nn

ing.

Te

xas'

Lo

cal W

ork

forc

e D

evel

op

men

t A

rea

(LW

DA

) co

nfi

gura

tio

n la

rgel

y su

pp

ort

s re

gio

nal

ism

. A

nd

in a

reas

wit

h s

ingl

e co

un

ty c

ove

rage

, lo

cal p

artn

ers

hip

s ex

ist

to s

up

po

rt r

egi

on

al c

olla

bo

rati

on

. Lo

ng

bef

ore

a f

eder

al r

equ

irem

en

t ex

iste

d,

Bo

ard

s ac

ross

Tex

as h

ad a

dem

on

stra

ted

his

tory

of

colla

bo

rati

on

bey

on

d t

he

des

ign

ate

d w

ork

forc

e ar

eas.

Th

ese

regi

on

al c

olla

bo

rati

ve e

ffo

rts

hav

e re

sult

ed in

wo

rkfo

rce

syst

em le

ader

s p

artn

erin

g to

alig

n w

ork

forc

e p

olic

ies

and

ser

vice

s w

ith

re

gio

nal

eco

no

mie

s an

d s

up

po

rtin

g se

rvic

e d

eliv

ery

str

ate

gie

s ta

ilore

d t

o t

he

se n

eed

s. B

ased

up

on

th

is, T

WC

no

ted

in t

he

WIO

A

Co

mb

ined

Sta

te P

lan

th

at t

he

exis

tin

g LW

DA

co

nfi

gura

tio

n a

cco

mp

lish

ed t

he

WIO

A in

ten

t fo

r re

gio

nal

pla

nn

ing.

Th

e D

ep

artm

en

ts o

f La

bo

r an

d E

du

cati

on

hav

e ap

pro

ved

th

is p

lan

. Ex

amp

les

of

regi

on

al c

olla

bo

rati

on

incl

ud

e:

The

Cap

ital

Are

a B

oar

d h

as p

arti

cip

ated

in t

he

Acc

ele

rati

ng

Co

nn

ect

ion

s to

Em

plo

ymen

t (A

CE)

Nat

ion

al E

valu

atio

n s

tud

y, f

un

ded

by

DO

L’s

Wo

rkfo

rce

Inn

ova

tio

n F

un

d.

AC

E is

dri

ven

by

a co

nso

rtiu

m o

f n

ine

wo

rkfo

rce

inve

stm

ent

bo

ard

s, t

en

co

mm

un

ity

colle

ges,

an

d e

mp

loye

r p

artn

ers

acr

oss

fo

ur

stat

es, t

aske

d w

ith

re

du

cin

g p

ove

rty

by

linki

ng

ed

uca

tio

n, t

rain

ing,

an

d

wo

rkfo

rce

serv

ices

to

cre

ate

skill

-bu

ildin

g o

pp

ort

un

itie

s an

d c

aree

r p

ath

way

s fo

r lo

w-s

kille

d, l

ow

-in

com

e in

div

idu

als.

The

Ru

ral W

ork

forc

e N

etw

ork

(R

WN

) C

on

sort

ium

Bio

tech

no

logy

/Lif

e Sc

ien

ces–

Me

dic

al T

arge

ted

Ind

ust

rie

s P

roje

ct w

as d

esig

ne

d t

o f

urt

her

bu

ild c

apac

ity

to m

eet

the

skill

s re

adin

ess

and

ski

lls

trai

nin

g n

eed

s o

f em

plo

yers

an

d jo

b s

eeke

rs in

th

e R

WN

re

gio

n, t

hro

ugh

an

un

der

stan

din

g o

f em

plo

yers

’ nee

ds,

ass

essm

ents

of

job

see

kers

’ ski

lls, a

nd

th

e cr

eati

on

an

d c

red

en

tial

ing

of

a w

ork

-re

ady

wo

rkfo

rce.

Fiv

e B

oar

ds—

Co

nch

o V

alle

y, W

est

Cen

tral

Tex

as, P

erm

ian

Bas

in, N

ort

h T

exa

s, a

nd

So

uth

Pla

ins—

fou

r em

plo

yers

, an

d n

ine

pu

blic

co

llege

s p

arti

cip

ated

in t

his

pro

ject

.

The

Gre

ate

r D

alla

s, N

ort

h C

entr

al T

exas

, an

d T

arra

nt

Co

un

ty B

oar

ds

hav

e cr

eate

d t

he

Dal

las/

Fort

Wo

rth

Reg

ion

al W

ork

forc

e Le

ader

ship

Co

un

cil (

RW

LC),

th

e d

rivi

ng

forc

e fo

r a

coo

per

ativ

e ap

pro

ach

to

pro

mo

tin

g th

e re

gio

n’s

str

on

gest

ind

ust

ries

an

d s

up

po

rtin

g th

e re

gio

n’s

key

clu

ster

s. R

WLC

wo

rks

to m

eet

ind

ust

rie

s’ n

eed

s th

rou

gh t

he

colla

bo

rati

on

of

the

Bo

ard

s w

ith

ch

amb

ers

of

com

mer

ce a

nd

bu

sin

ess

lead

ers.

27

The

Tex

as

Wo

rkfo

rce

Syst

em S

tra

teg

ic P

lan

FY

201

6–F

Y 2

023

: A

ctio

n P

lan

Re

po

rts

for

Eva

lua

tio

n 2

017

Co

nd

uct

pla

nn

ing

in c

oo

per

atio

n w

ith

vo

cati

on

al r

ehab

ilita

tio

n s

ervi

ces…

TWC

has

en

gage

d in

op

po

rtu

nit

ies

to c

on

du

ct p

lan

nin

g in

co

llab

ora

tio

n w

ith

Vo

cati

on

al R

ehab

ilita

tio

n (

VR

). F

rom

Ju

ly t

hro

ugh

Se

pte

mb

er 2

01

5, a

ser

ies

of

seve

n p

ub

lic m

eeti

ngs

acr

oss

th

e st

ate

rega

rdin

g W

IOA

pla

n d

eve

lop

men

t an

d t

he

tran

siti

on

of

Vo

cati

on

al R

ehab

ilita

tio

n (

VR

) se

rvic

es f

rom

th

e Te

xas

Dep

artm

ent

of

Ass

isti

ve a

nd

Reh

abili

tati

ve S

ervi

ces

(DA

RS)

to

TW

C w

ere

con

du

cted

. Th

ese

mee

tin

gs a

llow

ed f

or

valu

able

inp

ut

fro

m s

take

ho

lder

s o

n b

oth

to

pic

s. L

oca

tio

ns

incl

ud

ed

Au

stin

, Dal

las,

McA

llen

, Ho

ust

on

, Tyl

er, L

ub

bo

ck, a

nd

El P

aso

. In

ad

dit

ion

to

th

e co

mm

ents

rec

eive

d a

dd

ress

ing

wo

rkfo

rce

pla

nn

ing

elem

ents

, th

ere

wer

e m

any

com

men

ters

wh

o p

rovi

ded

inp

ut

on

th

e u

pco

min

g tr

ansi

tio

n o

f vo

cati

on

al r

ehab

ilita

tio

n t

o T

WC

. TW

C a

lso

hel

d

add

itio

nal

mee

tin

gs le

adin

g u

p t

o t

he

crea

tio

n o

f a

new

Vo

cati

on

al R

ehab

ilita

tio

n D

ivis

ion

. TW

C a

lso

co

nd

uct

ed s

even

pu

blic

mee

tin

gs in

Jan

uar

y 2

01

7 t

o p

rovi

de

the

pu

blic

wit

h t

he

op

po

rtu

nit

y to

off

er c

om

men

ts a

bo

ut

the

com

bin

atio

n o

f th

e fo

rmer

DA

RS

Div

isio

n f

or

Reh

abili

tati

on

Ser

vice

s an

d D

ivis

ion

fo

r B

lind

Ser

vice

s in

to o

ne

com

bin

ed d

ivis

ion

.

Co

llab

ora

te w

ith

th

e Te

xas

Hig

he

r Ed

uca

tio

n C

oo

rdin

atin

g B

oar

d a

nd

th

e Te

xas

Edu

cati

on

Age

ncy

…

In M

arch

20

16

, Go

vern

or

Ab

bo

tt e

stab

lish

ed t

he

Tri-

Age

ncy

Wo

rkfo

rce

Init

iati

ve a

nd

tas

ked

th

e C

om

mis

sio

ner

s o

f th

e Te

xas

Edu

cati

on

Age

ncy

(TE

A),

th

e Te

xas

Hig

he

r Ed

uca

tio

n C

oo

rdin

atin

g B

oar

d (

THEC

B),

an

d t

he

Texa

s W

ork

forc

e C

om

mis

sio

n (

TWC

) to

wo

rk t

oge

ther

on

sev

eral

ch

arge

s ce

nte

red

on

dev

elo

pin

g st

ron

g lin

ks b

etw

een

ed

uca

tio

n a

nd

ind

ust

ry.

The

Co

mm

issi

on

ers

of

the

thre

e ag

enci

es

hel

d e

igh

t re

gio

nal

me

eti

ngs

in M

idla

nd

, San

An

ton

io, H

ou

sto

n, D

alla

s, E

l Pas

o, M

cAlle

n, T

yler

, an

d A

ust

in f

rom

Ap

ril t

hro

ugh

Ju

ne

20

16

. Th

e p

urp

ose

o

f th

e m

eeti

ngs

was

to

se

ek in

pu

t fr

om

ind

ust

ry le

ader

s, b

usi

nes

s ex

ecu

tive

s, IS

D s

up

erin

ten

den

ts, e

con

om

ic a

nd

wo

rkfo

rce

dev

elo

pm

ent

lead

ers,

dir

ecto

rs o

f co

mm

un

ity

and

no

np

rofi

t o

rgan

izat

ion

s, e

lect

ed

off

icia

ls, h

igh

er e

du

cati

on

ad

min

istr

ato

rs, a

nd

oth

er s

take

ho

lder

s. F

ollo

win

g th

e re

gio

nal

mee

tin

gs, t

he

agen

cies

dev

elo

pe

d a

set

of

reco

mm

end

atio

ns

and

maj

or

init

iati

ves

to a

dd

ress

th

e G

ove

rno

r's

char

ges

and

su

bm

itte

d t

he

Tri-

Age

ncy

Rep

ort

to

th

e O

ffic

e o

f th

e G

ove

rno

r. S

taff

of

the

thre

e ag

enci

es

con

tin

ue

to m

eet

regu

larl

y. S

om

e in

itia

tive

s re

sult

ing

fro

m t

he

Tri-

age

ncy

wo

rk in

clu

de:

Inte

rnsh

ip C

hal

len

ge

The

Texa

s In

tern

ship

Ch

alle

nge

is a

sta

tew

ide

cam

pai

gn t

o in

crea

se a

nd

pro

mo

te in

tern

ship

s fo

r st

ud

en

ts in

Tex

as.

Lau

nch

ed in

Fe

bru

ary

20

17

by

Texa

s Tr

i-A

gen

cy P

artn

ers,

TW

C, T

EA, a

nd

TH

ECB

, th

e ca

mp

aign

ch

alle

nge

s in

du

stry

an

d e

mp

loye

r p

artn

ers

to o

ffer

mo

re p

aid

inte

rnsh

ips;

un

iver

siti

es a

nd

co

llege

s to

pro

mo

te t

he

cam

pai

gn a

nd

gra

nt

acad

emic

cre

dit

fo

r in

tern

ship

o

pp

ort

un

itie

s; a

nd

to

stu

de

nts

to

ap

ply

fo

r in

tern

ship

s. T

he

corn

ers

ton

e o

f th

e ca

mp

aign

is t

he

inte

rnsh

ip p

ort

al, T

exas

Inte

rnsh

ip C

hal

len

ge, a

fre

e w

eb

site

wh

ere

em

plo

yers

can

po

st

po

siti

on

s an

d s

tud

en

ts c

an a

pp

ly f

or

them

.

Op

erat

ion

Wel

com

e H

om

e TW

C is

par

tner

ing

wit

h t

he

Texa

s W

ork

forc

e So

luti

on

s n

etw

ork

to

ass

ist

rece

ntl

y se

par

ated

ser

vice

mem

ber

s w

ho

are

exp

erie

nci

ng

chal

len

ges

in t

ran

slat

ing

thei

r m

ilita

ry s

kills

into

civ

ilian

te

rms,

loca

tin

g em

plo

ymen

t, c

om

ple

tin

g tw

o-

to f

ou

r-ye

ar c

olle

ge p

rogr

ams

or

ob

tain

ing

the

app

rop

riat

e lic

en

sure

or

cert

ific

atio

ns

to c

om

pet

e in

th

e jo

b m

arke

t. U

p t

o $

4 m

illio

n o

f th

e Sk

ills

Dev

elo

pm

ent

Fun

d w

ill b

e m

ade

avai

lab

le t

o t

rain

ap

pro

xim

atel

y 2

,00

0 t

ran

siti

on

ing

serv

ice

mem

ber

s o

ver

two

yea

rs.

Trai

nin

g w

ill t

arge

t h

igh

-dem

and

occ

up

atio

ns

iden

tifi

ed

in t

he

loca

l b

oar

d's

tar

gete

d a

nd

hig

h-d

eman

d o

ccu

pat

ion

s lis

ts.

Ther

e w

ill b

e n

o c

ost

fo

r th

e tr

ain

ing

to t

he

serv

ice

mem

ber

or

the

mili

tary

. In

ad

dit

ion

, th

e M

ilita

ry F

amily

Su

pp

ort

pro

gram

pro

vid

es $

1

mill

ion

in g

ran

ts t

o f

un

d e

mp

loym

ent

assi

stan

ce f

or

mili

tary

sp

ou

ses

incl

ud

ing

enh

ance

d jo

b s

earc

h a

ssis

tan

ce, a

sses

smen

t o

f sk

ills,

lab

or

mar

ket

info

rmat

ion

, an

d r

esu

me

wri

tin

g an

d

inte

rvie

w s

kills

ass

ista

nce

.

Texa

s In

du

stry

Clu

ster

Inn

ova

tive

Aca

dem

y P

artn

ersh

ip D

emo

nst

rati

on

TW

C p

rovi

ded

$3

.2M

in p

artn

ersh

ip w

ith

TEA

an

d T

HEC

B f

or

the

Texa

s In

du

stry

Clu

ster

Inn

ova

tive

Aca

dem

y P

artn

ersh

ip D

emo

nst

rati

on

.

In a

dd

itio

n, T

WC

is w

ork

ing

wit

h t

he

Texa

s H

igh

er

Edu

cati

on

Co

ord

inat

ing

Bo

ard

re

gard

ing

arti

cula

tio

n p

artn

ersh

ips

bet

we

en t

wo

or

mo

re e

du

cati

on

al in

stit

uti

on

s d

ocu

men

tin

g tr

ansf

er

po

licie

s fo

r sp

ecif

ic a

cad

emic

pro

gram

s o

r d

egre

es, a

nd

allo

w r

egis

tere

d a

pp

ren

tice

ship

tra

inin

g p

rogr

ams

acro

ss t

he

stat

e to

be

reco

gniz

ed a

nd

gai

n c

olle

ge c

red

it a

nd

a p

ath

way

to

war

ds

an

asso

ciat

e's

deg

ree.

28

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Wo

rkfo

rce

Co

mm

issi

on

Go

al A

rea

2

– E

nga

ge in

Par

tner

ship

s

Stra

tegy

In

crea

se a

cce

ss t

o, r

efe

rral

be

twee

n, a

nd

ou

tco

me

s o

f ad

ult

ed

uca

tio

n p

rogr

ams

and

ser

vice

s.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

In p

rogr

ess

09

/15

En

han

ce c

olla

bo

rati

on

bet

wee

n f

eder

ally

fu

nd

ed a

du

lt e

du

cati

on

an

d li

tera

cy g

ran

tees

an

d

loca

l wo

rkfo

rce

bo

ard

s.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

9

In p

rogr

ess

09

/15

Im

pro

ve t

he

cap

acit

y o

f co

mm

un

ity-

bas

ed p

rovi

der

s n

ot

rece

ivin

g ad

ult

ed

uca

tio

n a

nd

lit

erac

y fu

nd

s to

pro

vid

e ad

ult

ed

uca

tio

n a

nd

lite

racy

ser

vice

s an

d t

o e

ffec

tive

ly c

oo

rdin

ate

serv

ices

wit

h f

eder

ally

fu

nd

ed a

du

lt e

du

cati

on

an

d li

tera

cy g

ran

tees

.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

7

In p

rogr

ess

09

/15

D

evel

op

an

d im

ple

men

t a

stu

den

t re

ferr

al s

yste

m b

etw

een

fed

eral

ly f

un

ded

ad

ult

ed

uca

tio

n a

nd

lite

racy

pro

vid

ers

and

co

mm

un

ity

an

d t

ech

nic

al c

olle

ges

to a

ssis

t in

div

idu

als

seek

ing

adu

lt e

du

cati

on

ser

vice

s fi

nd

a p

rogr

am r

esp

on

sive

to

th

eir

nee

ds.

If d

eem

ed

app

rop

riat

e, c

on

sid

er in

tegr

atio

n o

f co

mm

un

ity-

bas

ed p

rovi

der

s in

to t

he

refe

rral

sys

tem

. (R

efer

ral s

yste

m m

easu

re t

o b

e d

evel

op

ed p

rio

r to

imp

lem

en

tati

on

.)

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

9

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

Enh

ance

co

llab

ora

tio

n b

etw

een

fed

eral

ly-f

un

ded

AEL

gra

nte

es…

In 2

01

5, T

WC

co

nd

uct

ed 1

0 r

egio

nal

wo

rkfo

rce

and

ad

ult

ed

uca

tio

n in

tegr

atio

n m

eet

ings

. TW

C p

rovi

ded

$1

60

,00

0 t

o B

oar

ds

to f

urt

her

loca

l AEL

an

d w

ork

forc

e in

tegr

atio

n o

pp

ort

un

itie

s.

Bo

ard

s u

se t

he

stre

ngt

hs,

wea

knes

ses,

op

po

rtu

nit

ies

and

th

reat

s an

alys

is a

nd

so

luti

on

str

ateg

ies

dev

elo

ped

du

rin

g th

e 2

01

5 r

egi

on

al w

ork

forc

e an

d a

du

lt e

du

cati

on

inte

grat

ion

init

iati

ve

mee

tin

gs t

o le

ad p

olic

y an

d p

roce

du

ral e

nh

ance

me

nt

effo

rts,

th

at in

corp

ora

te in

tegr

atio

n o

f A

EL o

bje

ctiv

es in

to B

oar

d s

trat

eg

ic in

itia

tive

s, e

mp

loye

r en

gage

men

t an

d c

on

trac

tor

pro

ced

ure

s.

Thes

e co

llab

ora

tio

ns

are

furt

her

ref

lect

ed in

loca

l bo

ard

pla

ns.

In

Oct

ob

er a

nd

Dec

emb

er 2

01

6, T

WC

issu

ed lo

cal p

lan

nin

g gu

idan

ce t

o p

rovi

de

Bo

ard

s w

ith

info

rmat

ion

an

d g

uid

ance

on

th

e d

evel

op

me

nt

and

su

bm

issi

on

of

loca

l pla

ns.

Bo

ard

s w

ere

req

uir

ed t

o in

clu

de

a d

escr

ipti

on

of

ho

w t

hey

pla

nn

ed

to

co

ord

inat

e W

IOA

Tit

le I

wo

rkfo

rce

inve

stm

ent

acti

viti

es w

ith

ad

ult

ed

uca

tio

n

and

lite

racy

act

ivit

ies

un

der

WIO

A T

itle

II.

TWC

’s t

hre

e-m

emb

er C

om

mis

sio

n a

pp

rove

d t

he

Bo

ard

pla

ns

on

May

23

, 20

17

. Th

e p

lan

s w

her

e th

en r

evie

wed

an

d a

pp

rove

d b

y th

e TW

IC o

n J

un

e 9

, 2

01

7.

Each

of

the

pla

ns

wer

e su

bse

qu

entl

y ap

pro

ved

by

the

Go

vern

or

on

Ju

ne

30

, 20

17

.

The

Wo

rkfo

rce

Inn

ova

tio

n a

nd

Op

po

rtu

nit

y A

ct (

WIO

A)

pro

vid

es n

um

ero

us

colla

bo

rati

ve o

pp

ort

un

itie

s fo

r th

e Te

xas

Wo

rkfo

rce

Syst

em t

o h

elp

job

see

kers

sec

ure

em

plo

ymen

t, e

du

cati

on

, tr

ain

ing

and

su

pp

ort

se

rvic

es t

hat

alig

n w

ith

mar

ket-

dri

ven

fo

rces

. To

fac

ilita

te t

hes

e co

llab

ora

tio

ns,

TW

C h

ost

ed f

ou

r W

IOA

Reg

ion

al F

oru

ms

in O

cto

ber

20

16

to

hig

hlig

ht

som

e o

f th

e ke

y el

emen

ts o

f W

IOA

, an

d t

he

new

acc

ou

nta

bili

ty a

nd

per

form

ance

mea

sure

men

t sy

stem

.

Staf

f fr

om

acr

oss

ou

r Te

xas

Wo

rkfo

rce

Solu

tio

ns

par

tner

s, in

clu

din

g B

oar

ds

and

th

eir

serv

ice

pro

vid

ers,

AEL

pro

vid

ers

and

vo

cati

on

al r

ehab

ilita

tio

n s

taff

att

end

ed t

he

fo

llow

ing

sess

ion

s:

• W

IOA

’s im

pac

t o

n T

exas

Wo

rkfo

rce

Solu

tio

ns

par

tner

s, in

clu

din

g b

oar

d p

lan

s, r

efer

rals

an

d y

ou

th p

rogr

am c

han

ges

• W

IOA

an

d t

he

Vo

cati

on

al R

ehab

ilita

tio

n p

rogr

am•

AEL

Inte

grat

ed E

du

cati

on

an

d T

rain

ing

29

• P

erfo

rman

ce A

cco

un

tab

ility

in t

he

Wo

rld

of

WIO

A, i

ncl

ud

ing

ou

tco

mes

, tar

get

sett

ing

and

mea

sure

res

ult

s.

Trai

nin

g se

ssio

ns

loca

tio

ns

and

dat

es:

• D

alla

s: T

hu

rsd

ay, O

ct. 6

, 20

16

• Lu

bb

ock

: Fri

day

, Oct

. 7, 2

01

6•

Au

stin

: Th

urs

day

, Oct

. 13

, 20

16

• H

ou

sto

n: T

ues

day

, Oct

. 1

8, 2

01

6

Imp

rove

th

e ca

pac

ity

of

com

mu

nit

y-b

ase

d p

rovi

der

s n

ot

rece

ivin

g A

EL f

un

ds…

TWC

ap

pro

ved

ove

r $

50

0,0

00

fo

r a

com

pet

itiv

e gr

ant

solic

itat

ion

to

pro

vid

e p

rofe

ssio

nal

dev

elo

pm

ent

to t

uto

rs, i

nst

ruct

ors

, pro

gram

ad

min

istr

ativ

e st

aff,

an

d t

rain

ers

of

no

n-p

rofi

t ad

ult

lit

erac

y o

rgan

izat

ion

s in

Tex

as.

Pro

fess

ion

al d

evel

op

me

nt

serv

ices

incl

ud

e tr

ain

ing

on

lite

racy

vo

lun

teer

man

agem

ent,

wh

ich

may

incl

ud

e vo

lun

teer

rec

ruit

men

t, t

rain

ing,

pla

cem

en

t,

mo

nit

ori

ng,

an

d r

ete

nti

on

; lo

w li

tera

cy in

stru

ctio

n/t

uto

rin

g fo

r ei

ther

nat

ive

Engl

ish

or

no

n-n

ativ

e En

glis

h s

pea

kers

; d

eve

lop

ing

colla

bo

rati

ve p

artn

ersh

ips

that

ben

efi

t st

ud

ents

wit

h A

du

lt

Edu

cati

on

an

d L

iter

acy

gran

t re

cip

ien

ts, i

ncl

ud

ing

dat

a sh

arin

g re

lati

on

ship

s; a

nd

oth

er a

reas

bas

ed

on

th

e re

sult

s o

f th

e n

ee

ds

asse

ssm

ent

and

inp

ut

fro

m t

he

com

mit

tee.

Th

e gr

ante

e p

lan

ned

7 t

rain

ing

eve

nts

an

d e

stim

ated

85

0 t

o b

e se

rve

d.

Dev

elo

p a

nd

imp

lem

ent

a st

ud

ent

refe

rral

sys

tem

bet

wee

n f

eder

ally

fu

nd

ed A

EL p

rovi

de

rs a

nd

co

mm

un

ity

and

tec

hn

ical

co

llege

s…

TWC

has

ch

arge

d A

EL g

ran

tees

wit

h im

pro

vin

g co

nn

ecti

on

s w

ith

po

st-s

eco

nd

ary

op

po

rtu

nit

ies.

TW

C h

as e

stab

lish

ed

per

form

ance

exp

ecta

tio

ns

for

bo

th C

aree

r P

ath

way

s an

d In

tegr

ated

Ed

uca

tio

n a

nd

Tra

inin

g o

ffer

ings

. So

me

exam

ple

s o

f lo

cal i

nit

iati

ves,

incl

ud

e:

• In

th

e A

lam

o a

rea,

th

e R

egio

n 2

0 E

du

cati

on

al S

ervi

ce C

ente

r (E

SC)

AEL

co

nso

rtiu

m a

nd

th

e A

lam

o C

olle

ges

Aca

dem

ic S

ucc

ess

off

ice

crea

ted

a u

niv

ersa

l ref

erra

l fo

rm f

or

stu

de

nts

in

dev

elo

pm

en

tal e

du

cati

on

pro

gram

s w

ho

co

uld

ben

efit

at

no

-co

st f

rom

AEL

rem

edia

l ser

vice

s. A

lam

o C

olle

ges’

ad

viso

rs r

efer

stu

den

ts t

o t

he

Reg

ion

20

ESC

AEL

co

nso

rtiu

m in

wh

ich

stu

de

nts

re

ceiv

e ta

rget

ed

rem

ed

ial s

ervi

ces

inte

grat

ed

wit

h a

co

llege

kn

ow

led

ge c

urr

icu

lum

, at

no

co

st, s

up

po

rtin

g a

rap

id t

ran

siti

on

bac

k to

Ala

mo

Co

llege

s. S

yste

m p

artn

ers

are

curr

en

tly

dev

elo

pin

g a

join

t o

nlin

e u

niv

ers

al r

efer

ral f

orm

th

at a

ll ag

en

cies

can

use

to

ref

er c

ust

om

ers

to t

he

syst

em.

• A

mar

illo

Co

llege

, in

th

e Te

xas

Pan

han

dle

, ref

ers

inco

min

g co

llege

stu

den

ts w

ho

te

st lo

w o

n t

he

Texa

s Su

cces

s In

itia

tive

Ass

essm

ent

(TSI

A)

for

enro

llmen

t in

th

e n

o-c

ost

AEL

Co

llege

On

-R

amp

pro

gram

fro

m w

hic

h t

hey

ben

efit

by

colle

ge a

nd

res

ou

rce

inte

grat

ion

, wo

rkfo

rce

inte

grat

ion

, an

d d

igit

al li

tera

cy s

kills

fo

r th

ose

en

teri

ng

inte

grat

ed

ed

uca

tio

n a

nd

tra

inin

g. A

mo

ng

the

top

ics

cove

red

in t

ran

siti

on

cla

sses

are

car

eer

cou

nse

ling;

tim

e m

anag

eme

nt;

no

te-

and

tes

t-ta

kin

g sk

ills;

tea

m b

uild

ing;

TSI

A p

rep

arat

ion

; rap

id r

evie

w m

ath

, aca

de

mic

rea

din

g, a

nd

wri

tin

g,in

clu

din

g su

pp

ort

s fo

r En

glis

h la

ngu

age

lear

ner

s; d

atab

ase

rese

arch

; wo

rk-c

itin

g sk

ills;

mat

h la

b u

se; M

icro

soft

Wo

rd f

orm

atti

ng

for

Mo

der

n L

angu

age

Ass

oci

atio

n/A

mer

ican

Psy

cho

logi

cal

Ass

oci

atio

n s

tyle

s; o

nlin

e sy

stem

’s B

lack

bo

ard

use

; an

d f

inan

cial

aid

co

un

selin

g.

• In

th

e So

uth

east

Tex

as w

ork

forc

e ar

ea, t

he

Bo

ard

an

d A

EL p

rovi

de

r, R

egio

n 5

ESC

, hav

e d

eve

lop

ed jo

int

serv

ice

arra

nge

men

ts t

hat

incl

ud

e sh

are

d a

sse

ssm

en

ts, c

ross

-ref

erra

l op

tio

ns,

wo

rkfo

rce

trai

nin

g th

rou

gh W

IOA

Tit

le I

fun

ds,

tra

inin

g, c

ase

man

agem

ent,

ch

ild c

are,

tra

nsp

ort

atio

n a

ssis

tan

ce, w

ork

forc

e p

rep

arat

ion

act

ivit

ies,

an

d jo

b p

lace

men

t. T

o f

urt

her

pro

gram

inte

grat

ion

, th

e B

oar

d p

rovi

ded

Reg

ion

5 E

SC t

rain

ing

on

usi

ng

the

Texa

s W

ork

forc

e In

form

atio

n S

yste

m o

f Te

xas

and

th

e B

oar

d a

nd

Reg

ion

5 E

SC h

ave

a d

ata

shar

ing

agre

eme

nt

to f

acili

tate

re

ferr

als

and

co

-en

rollm

en

t. T

hro

ugh

a s

ep

arat

e d

iscr

etio

nar

y gr

ant

man

age

d b

y th

e B

oar

d, A

EL

stu

de

nts

rec

eiv

ed w

ork

forc

e tr

ain

ing

to p

rep

are

for

the

Ch

ild D

evel

op

men

t A

sso

ciat

e ce

rtif

icat

ion

.

• R

ura

l are

as a

re p

erh

aps

the

mo

st s

tret

che

d f

or

reso

urc

es.

Tw

o A

EL p

rovi

der

s—C

om

mu

nit

y A

ctio

n, I

nco

rpo

rate

d, a

nd

An

gelin

a C

olle

ge—

hav

e im

ple

men

ted

cro

ss-r

efe

rral

sys

tem

s ac

ross

ru

ral a

reas

in t

hei

r re

spec

tive

wo

rkfo

rce

area

s, W

ork

forc

e So

luti

on

s R

ura

l Cap

ital

Are

a an

d W

ork

forc

e So

luti

on

s D

eep

Eas

t Te

xas.

Cu

sto

mer

s w

ho

are

bas

ic-s

kills

def

icie

nt

par

tici

pat

e in

a

com

pre

hen

sive

se

rvic

e m

od

el t

hat

incl

ud

es u

tilit

y as

sist

ance

, wo

rkfo

rce

pre

par

atio

n a

ctiv

itie

s, c

hild

car

e, a

nd

fo

od

an

d t

ran

spo

rtat

ion

fo

r el

igib

le c

ust

om

ers.

30

Age

ncy

W

ind

ham

Sch

oo

l Dis

tric

t (T

exas

Dep

artm

ent

of

Cri

min

al J

ust

ice)

Go

al A

rea

2

– E

nga

ge in

Par

tner

ship

s

Stra

tegy

Es

tab

lish

an

d le

vera

ge r

egi

on

al e

mp

loye

r p

artn

ersh

ips

to b

enef

it s

tud

ents

pre

- an

d p

ost

-rel

ease

.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

D

evel

op

par

tner

ship

s w

ith

em

plo

yers

an

d im

ple

men

t p

re-e

mp

loym

ent

care

er a

nd

te

chn

ical

ed

uca

tio

n p

rogr

ams

to m

eet

ne

eds

of

em

plo

yers

fo

r p

ote

nti

al s

tud

ent

emp

loym

ent.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

9

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

Ex

pan

d o

pp

ort

un

itie

s fo

r o

ffe

nd

ers,

pre

- an

d p

ost

-rel

ease

, th

rou

gh c

aree

r ex

po

s an

d

reen

try

job

fai

rs t

o a

cce

ss s

erv

ice

pro

vid

ers

and

em

plo

yme

nt

in o

rder

to

ree

nte

r so

ciet

y su

cce

ssfu

lly.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

8

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

C

on

tin

ue

to p

rovi

de

acce

ss a

nd

dev

elo

p a

war

enes

s o

f em

plo

ymen

t o

pp

ort

un

itie

s, s

ervi

ce

pro

vid

ers,

an

d e

mp

loye

r su

rvey

s o

n t

he

Win

dh

am S

cho

ol D

istr

ict

web

site

. FY

20

16

FY

20

19

No

t st

arte

d

10

/17

Es

tab

lish

se

mi-

ann

ual

em

plo

yer

surv

ey o

n p

re-e

mp

loym

ent

care

er a

nd

tec

hn

ical

ed

uca

tio

n a

ctiv

itie

s an

d h

irin

g ex

per

ien

ces.

FY

20

16

FY

20

19

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

WSD

has

par

tner

ed w

ith

co

mp

anie

s in

SY

17

res

ult

ing

in C

TE d

epar

tmen

t cu

rric

ulu

m c

han

ges

to e

nh

ance

stu

den

t em

plo

yab

ility

ski

lls.

For

SY 1

7 W

SD h

ost

ed

eig

ht

care

er e

xpo

s in

th

e st

ate

jail

and

inst

itu

tio

nal

div

isio

n f

acili

ties

an

d W

SD w

as r

epre

sen

ted

at

six

po

st r

elea

se jo

b f

airs

fo

r o

ffen

der

s.

WSD

dis

trib

ute

s in

form

atio

n c

ard

s to

off

end

ers,

th

eir

fam

ilies

an

d t

o o

ur

par

tner

ship

co

mp

anie

s d

uri

ng

grad

uat

ion

s, c

aree

r e

xpo

s an

d jo

b f

airs

. W

e al

so h

ave

the

job

view

kio

sk lo

cate

d in

se

ven

sta

te ja

il fa

cilit

ies

. W

SD t

each

ers

inst

ruct

th

e st

ud

ents

on

ho

w t

o s

earc

h f

or

job

s o

fflin

e u

sin

g ke

y w

ord

s, p

er W

SD c

urr

icu

lum

. Th

e jo

bvi

ew k

iosk

lin

k is

als

o lo

cate

d o

n t

he

WSD

web

site

. Th

e co

mb

ined

nu

mb

er o

f w

ebsi

te a

nd

kio

sk v

iew

s fo

r SY

17

is 4

1,4

91.

09

/01

/17

Dev

elo

pe

d c

om

pan

ies

wit

h p

artn

ersh

ip in

SY

17

an

d w

ill d

evel

op

su

rvey

fo

r em

plo

yers

to

fill

ou

t su

rvey

.

Sch

edu

led

sta

rt o

f ac

tio

n it

em 4

was

del

ayed

du

e to

an

em

ph

asis

on

dev

elo

pin

g p

artn

ersh

ips

wit

h c

om

pan

ies.

31

Goa

l Are

a 3:

Align System Elements 

Wha

t are th

e ob

jectives? 

How

 are sy

stem

 partners a

ddressing them

? Wha

t was accom

plishe

d this yea

r? 

Improve and enhance services, 

program

s, and policies to facilitate 

effective and efficient transitions. 

TEA and THEC

B are developing and im

plemen

ting 

program

s  of study in community and technical colleges 

and aligning them

 with secondary program

s of study. 

20.42 percent of grade 12 secondary studen

ts who 

received

 career and technical education dual credit 

enrolled in

 and received credit at a tw

o‐year 

institution (TEA) 

Excess sem

ester credit hours for career and 

technical education tim

e to degree (THEC

B) 

25 hours – Certificate Level 1 

36 hours – Certificate Level 2 

30 hours – Associate’s degree 

TWC is enhancing transition services for studen

ts and 

youth with disabilities to competitive integrated

 em

ploym

ent or to postsecondary ed

ucation and 

training followed

 by competitive integrated

 em

ploym

ent. 

Of studen

ts and youth with disabilities who 

participated

 in transition services: 

18.56 percent subsequen

tly en

rolled in

 postsecondary ed

ucation and training 

59.33 percent subsequen

tly en

tered 

competitive integrated

 employm

ent 

Develop and im

plemen

t policies and 

processes to ensure portable and 

transferrable credit and creden

tials. 

THEC

B is working to ensure consisten

t cred

it transfer 

based

 on program

s of study and common technical core 

curriculum. 

65.50 percent of community and technical college 

studen

ts who received program

‐of‐study‐based

 course cred

it transferred to another two‐year 

institution and had

 that credit recognized

 

TJJD is expanding career and technical education 

courses to provide additional opportunities for dual 

cred

it. 

Data reporting for tw

o m

easures began

 this year: 

7.14 percen

t  of career and technical education 

program

s approved for dual credit 

3.11 percen

t of studen

ts successfully 

completing dual credit career and technical 

education courses 

By im

proving transitions, aligning program

s, and ensuring portability and transferability, Texas im

proves access and the ability of all participants to complete 

program

s of study, earn creden

tials, transition to further education, and gain critical employability skills. Texas employers are better positioned

 to find and 

hire the em

ployees they need through

 an enhanced education and training pipeline. 

32

Align System Elements: Action Plan Implementation Summaries 

By improving transitions, aligning programs, and ensuring portability and transferability, Texas improves access and the ability of all students to complete programs of study, earn credentials, transition to further education, and gain critical employability skills. Through the implementation of a common technical core curriculum that is recognized statewide, programs of study can enhance delivery efficiency, dual‐credit effectiveness, and improve student outcomes and transitions. Texas employers are better positioned to find and hire the employees they need through an enhanced education and training pipeline. 

Four agencies are focused on aligning policies, processes, services, and programs to more effectively serve workforce system participants and facilitate system outcomes. 

The following pages include action plan reports from each of the partner agencies. Please note that the reports contain information verbatim as submitted by the agencies. 

System Partner Strategy  Agency  System Objective  System Goal 

Develop and implement programs of study in community and technical colleges and align with secondary programs of study.  

TEA THECB 

Improve and enhance services, programs, and policies to facilitate effective and efficient transitions. 

Align system elements 

Enhance transition services for students and youth with disabilities to competitive integrated employment or to postsecondary education and training followed by competitive integrated employment.  

TWC 

Ensure consistent credit transfer based on programs of study and common technical core curriculum.  

THECB Develop and implement policies and processes to ensure portable and transferrable credit and credentials. 

Expand career and technical education courses to provide additional opportunities for dual credit.  

TJJD 

33

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Edu

cati

on

Age

ncy

Go

al A

rea

3

– A

lign

Sys

tem

Ele

men

ts

Stra

tegy

D

evel

op

an

d im

ple

men

t p

rogr

ams

of

stu

dy

in c

om

mu

nit

y an

d t

ech

nic

al c

olle

ges

and

alig

n w

ith

se

con

dar

y p

rogr

ams

of

stu

dy.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

C

olla

bo

rate

wit

h t

he

Texa

s H

igh

er E

du

cati

on

Co

ord

inat

ing

Bo

ard

to

dev

elo

p a

nd

im

ple

men

t p

rogr

ams

of

stu

dy

to f

acili

tate

sec

on

dar

y to

po

stse

con

dar

y st

ud

ent

tran

siti

on

. O

ngo

ing

FY 2

01

9

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

A

lign

se

con

dar

y an

d p

ost

seco

nd

ary

pro

gram

s o

f st

ud

y sy

ste

ms

by

wo

rkin

g w

ith

th

e Te

xas

Hig

her

Ed

uca

tio

n C

oo

rdin

atin

g B

oar

d.

On

goin

g FY

20

19

No

t st

arte

d

09

/17

C

olla

bo

rate

wit

h t

he

Texa

s H

igh

er E

du

cati

on

Co

ord

inat

ing

Bo

ard

to

dev

elo

p a

nd

ad

op

t p

olic

ies

and

pro

ced

ure

s th

at f

acili

tate

co

nsi

sten

t cr

edit

tra

nsf

er

fro

m s

eco

nd

ary

to

po

stse

con

dar

y-b

ased

pro

gram

s o

f st

ud

y.

On

goin

g FY

20

19

In p

rogr

ess

09

/17

En

han

ce p

rogr

ams

of

stu

dy

by

incl

ud

ing

stat

ewid

e-a

rtic

ula

ted

, Ad

van

ced

Tec

hn

ical

C

red

it, a

nd

Wo

rkfo

rce

Edu

cati

on

Co

urs

e M

anu

al c

ou

rse

s.

On

goin

g FY

20

19

In p

rogr

ess

09

/17

P

rovi

de

trai

nin

g to

se

con

dar

y ad

min

istr

ato

rs, c

ou

nse

lors

, an

d t

each

ers

in t

he

pro

per

use

o

f p

rogr

ams

of

stu

dy.

O

ngo

ing

FY 2

01

9

Sub

stan

tial

ly c

om

ple

te

09

/16

0

8/1

7

Co

llab

ora

te w

ith

rel

evan

t st

ate

agen

cies

to

alig

n p

olic

ies

rela

ted

to

wo

rkfo

rce

edu

cati

on

. O

ngo

ing

FY 2

01

9

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

-Ad

viso

ry c

om

mit

tees

hav

e b

een

dev

elo

ped

fo

r th

e H

ealt

h S

cien

ce a

nd

Arc

hit

ectu

re a

nd

Co

nst

ruct

ion

car

eer

clu

ster

s. T

hes

e co

mm

itte

es a

re c

om

po

sed

of

facu

lty

fro

m s

eco

nd

ary,

po

st-

seco

nd

ary,

an

d r

epre

sen

tati

ves

fro

m b

usi

nes

s an

d in

du

stry

. As

the

com

mit

tees

co

nti

nu

e to

wo

rk t

o d

evel

op

pro

gram

s o

f st

ud

y th

ey w

ill b

e as

ked

to

iden

tify

key

ind

ust

ry c

erti

fica

tio

ns

as

app

rop

riat

e.-A

n a

dvi

sory

co

mm

itte

e has

bee

n n

amed

to

man

age

the

WEC

M c

ou

rse

revi

ew p

roce

ss. T

he

com

mit

tee

has

met

on

ce a

nd

is in

th

e p

roce

ss o

f d

evel

op

ing

its

wo

rk p

lan

fo

r re

view

ing

the

cou

rse

inve

nto

ry.

-TH

ECB

will

be

con

tact

ed t

o b

egin

co

llab

ora

tio

n f

or

ado

pti

ng

po

licie

s an

d p

roce

du

res

rega

rdin

g cr

edit

tra

nsf

er o

n p

rogr

ams

of

stu

dy.

-Tra

inin

g w

ill b

e p

rovi

ded

du

rin

g Le

ader

ship

Aca

dem

y. C

on

sid

erin

g th

e ad

dit

ion

of

a sl

ide

sho

w w

ith

au

dio

to

th

e Te

xas

CTE

Res

ou

rce

Cen

ter.

-Go

vern

or'

s Tr

i-A

gen

cy g

rou

p is

wo

rkin

g o

n w

ork

forc

e ed

uca

tio

n.

34

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Hig

her

Ed

uca

tio

n C

oo

rdin

atin

g B

oar

d

Go

al A

rea

3

– A

lign

Sys

tem

Ele

men

ts

Stra

tegy

D

evel

op

an

d im

ple

men

t p

rogr

ams

of

stu

dy

in c

om

mu

nit

y an

d t

ech

nic

al c

olle

ges

and

alig

n w

ith

se

con

dar

y p

rogr

ams

of

stu

dy.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

D

evel

op

an

d a

do

pt

pro

gram

s o

f st

ud

y th

at p

rovi

de

a co

ord

inat

ed n

on

-du

plic

ativ

e se

qu

ence

o

f se

con

dar

y an

d p

ost

seco

nd

ary

acad

emic

an

d c

aree

r an

d t

ech

nic

al e

du

cati

on

co

urs

es

des

ign

ed t

o h

elp

stu

den

ts t

ran

siti

on

sea

mle

ssly

fro

m h

igh

sch

oo

l to

a p

ub

lic c

om

mu

nit

y o

r te

chn

ical

co

llege

.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

9

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

Ex

pan

d a

nd

su

pp

ort

pro

gram

of

stu

dy

init

iati

ves

and

ad

op

tio

n r

ate

of

a co

mm

on

gro

up

of

Wo

rkfo

rce

Edu

cati

on

Co

urs

e M

anu

al c

ou

rse

s p

er d

isci

plin

e.

FY 2

01

7

FY 2

01

7

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

A

lign

se

con

dar

y an

d p

ost

seco

nd

ary

pro

gram

s o

f st

ud

y sy

ste

ms

by

wo

rkin

g w

ith

th

e Te

xas

Edu

cati

on

Age

ncy

. FY

20

18

FY

20

19

No

t st

arte

d

09

/18

Fa

cilit

ate

con

sist

ent

cred

it t

ran

sfer

fro

m s

eco

nd

ary

to p

ost

seco

nd

ary

bas

ed o

n p

rogr

ams

of

stu

dy

by

wo

rkin

g w

ith

th

e Te

xas

Edu

cati

on

Age

ncy

to

dev

elo

p a

nd

ad

op

t re

leva

nt

po

licie

s,

pro

ced

ure

s, a

nd

ru

les.

On

goin

g FY

20

19

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

Ad

viso

ry c

om

mit

tees

hav

e b

een

dev

elo

ped

fo

r th

e H

ealt

h S

cien

ce a

nd

Arc

hit

ectu

re a

nd

Co

nst

ruct

ion

car

eer

clu

ster

s. T

hes

e co

mm

itte

es a

re c

om

po

sed

of

facu

lty

fro

m s

eco

nd

ary,

po

st-

seco

nd

ary,

an

d r

epre

sen

tati

ves

fro

m b

usi

nes

s an

d in

du

stry

. As

the

com

mit

tees

co

nti

nu

e to

wo

rk t

o d

evel

op

pro

gram

s o

f st

ud

y th

ey w

ill b

e as

ked

to

iden

tify

key

ind

ust

ry c

erti

fica

tio

ns

as

app

rop

riat

e.

An

ad

viso

ry c

om

mit

tee has

bee

n n

amed

to

man

age

the

WEC

M c

ou

rse

revi

ew p

roce

ss. T

he

com

mit

tee

has

met

on

ce a

nd

is in

th

e p

roce

ss o

f d

evel

op

ing

its

wo

rk p

lan

fo

r re

view

ing

the

cou

rse

inve

nto

ry.

35

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Hig

her

Ed

uca

tio

n C

oo

rdin

atin

g B

oar

d

Go

al A

rea

3

– A

lign

Sys

tem

Ele

men

ts

Stra

tegy

En

sure

co

nsi

sten

t cr

edit

tra

nsf

er b

ased

on

pro

gram

s o

f st

ud

y an

d c

om

mo

n t

ech

nic

al c

ore

cu

rric

ulu

m.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

So

licit

inp

ut

fro

m b

usi

ne

ss a

nd

ind

ust

ry in

th

e id

enti

fica

tio

n o

f es

sen

tial

kn

ow

led

ge, s

kills

, an

d a

bili

ties

req

uir

ed f

or

each

pro

gram

of

stu

dy.

O

ngo

ing

FY 2

01

9

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

C

on

du

ct d

isci

plin

e-s

pe

cifi

c w

ork

sho

ps

wit

h f

acu

lty

to id

enti

fy c

om

mo

n p

rogr

am-l

eve

l le

arn

ing

ou

tco

me

s an

d c

om

mo

n s

equ

ence

s o

f co

urs

es.

FY

20

16

FY

20

19

No

t st

arte

d

09

/18

P

ub

lish

sta

tew

ide

pro

gram

s o

f st

ud

y o

n t

he

Texa

s H

igh

er E

du

cati

on

Co

ord

inat

ing

Bo

ard

’s

web

site

s, d

istr

ibu

te w

idel

y to

oth

er s

tate

age

nci

es, a

nd

lin

k to

oth

er c

aree

r an

d t

ech

nic

al

edu

cati

on

an

d w

ork

forc

e ac

tivi

tie

s.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

9

No

t st

arte

d

09

/18

R

evis

e ex

isti

ng

rule

s, p

olic

ies,

an

d p

roto

cols

to

incl

ud

e ad

op

tio

n o

f p

rogr

ams

of

stu

dy.

FY

20

16

FY

20

16

No

t st

arte

d

09

/18

R

edu

ce n

um

ber

of

Wo

rkfo

rce

Ed

uca

tio

n C

ou

rse

Man

ual

co

urs

es o

ffer

ed a

t o

nly

on

e o

r tw

o c

olle

ges.

FY

20

18

FY

20

19

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

Pro

gram

of

Stu

dy

Ad

viso

ry C

om

mit

tees

hav

e b

egu

n t

he

wo

rk r

elat

ed t

o t

he

dev

elo

pm

ent

of

Pro

gram

s o

f St

ud

y. N

o P

rogr

ams

of

Stu

dy

hav

e b

een

fu

lly d

evel

op

ed a

nd

ap

pro

ved

by

the

Co

ord

inat

ing

Bo

ard

. On

ce t

hey

are

ap

pro

ved

th

ey w

ill b

e p

ost

ed o

n t

he

web

site

an

d in

form

atio

n w

ill b

e d

istr

ibu

ted

to

th

e tw

o-y

ear

colle

ge s

ecto

r.

36

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Juve

nile

Ju

stic

e D

epar

tmen

t

Go

al A

rea

3

– A

lign

Sys

tem

Ele

men

ts

Stra

tegy

Ex

pan

d c

aree

r an

d t

ech

nic

al e

du

cati

on

co

urs

es t

o p

rovi

de

add

itio

nal

op

po

rtu

nit

ies

for

du

al c

red

it.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Fin

aliz

ed

04

/16

0

5/1

6

Co

nta

ct lo

cal c

om

mu

nit

y co

llege

s an

d t

ech

nic

al s

cho

ols

to

bro

ker

wo

rkin

g re

lati

on

ship

s an

d b

egin

dis

cuss

ion

s re

gard

ing

du

al c

red

it o

pp

ort

un

itie

s.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

6

Fin

aliz

ed

05

/16

0

6/1

6

Mee

t w

ith

co

mm

un

ity

colle

ge a

nd

tec

hn

ical

sch

oo

l rep

rese

nta

tive

s to

ou

tlin

e re

qu

irem

ents

ne

eded

to

ass

ess

du

al c

red

it o

pp

ort

un

itie

s.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

6

Fin

aliz

ed

06

/16

0

6/1

6

Gat

her

an

d p

rovi

de

teac

her

cre

den

tial

an

d o

ther

info

rmat

ion

an

d m

ater

ial r

equ

est.

FY

20

16

FY

20

16

Fin

aliz

ed

05

/16

0

7/1

6

Co

ord

inat

e an

d h

ost

mee

tin

gs b

etw

een

inst

ruct

ors

of

elig

ible

car

eer

and

tec

hn

ical

ed

uca

tio

n p

rogr

ams

and

co

llege

or

tech

nic

al s

cho

ol r

epre

sen

tati

ves

to a

dd

ress

cu

rric

ulu

m

and

dat

a re

po

rtin

g.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

6

Fin

aliz

ed

08

/16

0

9/1

6

Imp

lem

ent

du

al c

red

it c

ou

rse

s fo

r el

igib

le s

tud

ents

. Ti

mel

ine

: up

on

co

mp

leti

on

of

inst

ruct

or

accr

edit

atio

n b

y th

e C

om

mis

sio

n o

n C

olle

ges

of

the

Sou

ther

n

Ass

oci

atio

n o

f C

olle

ges

and

Sch

oo

ls.

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

Cu

rren

tly

thre

e TJ

JD S

cho

ols

off

er d

ual

cre

dit

in t

he

ir w

eld

ing

cou

rses

.

37

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Wo

rkfo

rce

Co

mm

issi

on

Go

al A

rea

3

– A

lign

Sys

tem

Ele

men

ts

Stra

tegy

En

han

ce t

ran

siti

on

ser

vice

s fo

r st

ud

ents

an

d y

ou

th w

ith

dis

abili

ties

to

co

mp

etit

ive

inte

grat

ed e

mp

loym

ent

or

to p

ost

seco

nd

ary

ed

uca

tio

n a

nd

tr

ain

ing

follo

wed

by

com

pet

itiv

e in

tegr

ated

em

plo

ymen

t.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

Ev

alu

ate,

iden

tify

, an

d im

ple

men

t re

visi

on

s to

vo

cati

on

al r

ehab

ilita

tio

n p

rogr

am p

olic

y,

pro

ced

ure

s, a

nd

sta

ffin

g st

rate

gie

s to

imp

rove

co

nsi

sten

cy a

nd

eff

ecti

ven

ess

in t

he

del

iver

y o

f tr

ansi

tio

n s

ervi

ces

for

stu

den

ts a

nd

yo

uth

wit

h d

isab

iliti

es.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

6

In p

rogr

ess

09

/15

D

evel

op

an

d d

eplo

y a

core

gro

up

of

sub

ject

mat

ter

exp

erts

to

ass

ist

in im

ple

men

tati

on

of

pro

gram

imp

rove

men

ts in

tra

nsi

tio

n s

ervi

ces,

incl

ud

ing

the

dev

elo

pm

ent

and

co

ord

inat

ion

o

f tr

ain

ing

and

gu

idan

ce t

o in

crea

se s

taff

cap

acit

y to

ass

ist

stu

den

ts a

nd

yo

uth

wit

h

dis

abili

tie

s.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

7

In p

rogr

ess

09

/15

C

olla

bo

rate

wit

h o

ther

sta

tes,

pro

vid

ers,

an

d s

yste

m p

artn

ers

to

dev

elo

p p

olic

y, c

urr

icu

lum

, re

sou

rces

, an

d s

taff

cap

acit

y to

en

han

ce p

rovi

sio

n o

f tr

ansi

tio

n s

ervi

ces

for

stu

den

ts a

nd

yo

uth

wit

h d

isab

iliti

es. [

Tran

siti

on

ser

vice

s in

clu

de

bu

t ar

e n

ot

limit

ed t

o c

are

er e

xplo

rati

on

, w

ork

-bas

ed le

arn

ing

exp

erie

nce

s, c

ou

nse

ling

on

op

po

rtu

nit

ies

for

po

stse

con

dar

y ed

uca

tio

n

and

tra

inin

g, jo

b r

ead

ines

s sk

ills

trai

nin

g, a

nd

sel

f-ad

voca

cy in

stru

ctio

n.]

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

9

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

Eval

uat

e, id

enti

fy, a

nd

imp

lem

en

t re

visi

on

s to

vo

cati

on

al r

ehab

ilita

tio

n p

rogr

am p

olic

y…

TWC

VR

po

licie

s p

erta

inin

g to

tra

nsi

tio

n s

ervi

ces

for

stu

den

ts w

ith

dis

abili

ties

hav

e b

een

rev

ised

in F

Y 2

01

7 t

o r

efle

ct t

he

chan

ges

con

tain

ed w

ith

in t

he

fin

al r

egu

lati

on

s fo

r W

IOA

an

d t

o

pro

vid

e ad

dit

ion

al g

uid

ance

to

sta

ff r

egar

din

g se

rvic

es t

o s

tud

en

ts.

In A

ugu

st 2

01

7, T

WC

issu

ed a

rev

ised

an

d e

xpan

de

d G

uid

an

ce M

emo

ran

du

m t

o V

R s

taff

to

pro

vid

e gu

idan

ce o

n t

he

po

licy

chan

ges

as w

ell a

s ac

com

pan

yin

g ch

ange

s in

pro

ced

ure

s. In

FY

20

17

TW

C a

lso

cre

ated

th

e st

ruct

ure

fo

r th

e co

mb

ined

VR

Div

isio

n, a

s re

qu

ired

by

Sen

ate

Bill

20

8 (

84

th T

exas

Leg

isla

ture

). T

he

com

bin

ed s

tru

ctu

re w

ill b

e ef

fect

ive

on

Oct

ob

er 1

, 20

17

an

d in

clu

des

th

e re

dis

trib

uti

on

an

d c

lass

ific

atio

n o

f 2

7 v

acan

t p

osi

tio

ns

as T

ran

siti

on

Vo

cati

on

al R

ehab

ilita

tio

n C

ou

nse

lor

po

siti

on

s.

This

sta

ffin

g st

rate

gy w

ill in

crea

se t

he

nu

mb

er o

f V

R c

ou

nse

lors

fo

cusi

ng

excl

usi

vely

on

ser

vin

g st

ud

ents

wit

h d

isab

iliti

es.

At

the

stat

e le

vel,

in D

ecem

ber

20

16

TW

C V

R c

reat

ed a

fo

ur-

mem

ber

te

am o

f st

atew

ide

tran

siti

on

pro

gram

sp

ecia

lists

to

fo

cus

exc

lusi

vely

on

po

licy,

tec

hn

ical

ass

ista

nce

, fie

ld c

on

sult

atio

n, a

nd

str

ateg

y d

evel

op

me

nt

for

serv

ice

s to

stu

den

ts a

nd

yo

uth

.

Dev

leo

p a

nd

de

plo

y a

core

gro

up

of

sub

ject

mat

ter

exp

erts

to

ass

ist

in im

ple

me

nta

tio

n o

f p

rogr

am im

pro

vem

ents

…

The

stat

e o

ffic

e te

am o

f tr

ansi

tio

n p

rogr

am s

pec

ialis

ts, a

lon

g w

ith

th

e re

gio

nal

tra

nsi

tio

n t

eam

s co

mp

rise

d o

f th

e re

gio

nal

tra

nsi

tio

n p

rogr

am s

pec

ialis

t an

d t

ran

siti

on

co

un

selo

rs, c

on

stit

ute

th

e co

re g

rou

p o

f su

bje

ct m

atte

r ex

per

ts e

nvi

sio

ned

by

this

act

ion

pla

n.

Th

e te

am is

act

ive

ly w

ork

ing

to s

up

po

rt im

pro

vem

ents

to

ser

vice

s fo

r st

ud

en

ts w

ith

dis

abili

tie

s. I

n S

epte

mb

er

and

Oct

ob

er

of

20

16

, th

e le

ad S

tate

Pro

gram

Sp

ecia

list

for

Tran

siti

on

met

wit

h t

he

tran

siti

on

tea

ms

in e

ach

reg

ion

to

co

nd

uct

tra

inin

g an

d a

co

llab

ora

tive

wo

rk s

essi

on

on

th

e re

gula

tio

ns

and

po

licy

38

The

Tex

as

Wo

rkfo

rce

Syst

em S

tra

teg

ic P

lan

FY

201

6–F

Y 2

023

: A

ctio

n P

lan

Re

po

rts

for

Eva

lua

tio

n 2

017

gu

idan

ce is

sue

d b

y th

e R

ehab

ilita

tio

n S

ervi

ces

Ad

min

istr

atio

n (

RSA

) o

n W

IOA

Pre

-Em

plo

ymen

t Tr

ansi

tio

n S

ervi

ces.

In

FY

20

17

th

e le

ad S

tate

Pro

gram

Sp

ecia

list

for

Tran

siti

on

att

end

ed

mee

tin

gs o

f tr

ansi

tio

n c

ou

nse

lors

in f

ou

r o

f th

e si

x re

gio

ns

to p

rovi

de

guid

ance

an

d s

har

e in

form

atio

n.

Tran

siti

on

Str

ateg

ies

Trai

nin

g w

as d

evel

op

ed

in t

he

fall

of

20

16

an

d t

hre

e gr

ou

ps

wer

e tr

ain

ed

in t

he

spri

ng

of

20

16

, to

talli

ng

alm

ost

hal

f o

f th

e sc

ho

ol-

assi

gned

co

un

selo

rs in

th

e R

eh

abili

tati

on

Ser

vice

s D

ivis

ion

. Th

e co

re g

rou

p c

on

tin

ues

to

co

llab

ora

te t

o p

rovi

de

assi

stan

ce a

nd

co

nsu

ltat

ion

re

gard

ing

the

late

st g

uid

ance

on

Pre

-ETS

an

d o

the

r tr

ansi

tio

n s

trat

egie

s. I

n a

dd

itio

n t

o t

he

core

gro

up

, eac

h w

eek

a le

ader

ship

tea

m c

om

pri

sed

of

the

VR

Op

erat

ion

s D

irec

tor,

a

Reg

ion

al D

irec

tor,

sta

tew

ide

tran

siti

on

pro

gram

sp

ecia

lists

, a p

rogr

am m

anag

er, a

nd

oth

er p

rogr

am s

pec

ialis

ts, m

eets

by

con

fere

nce

cal

l to

ad

dre

ss q

ues

tio

ns

fro

m t

he

fiel

d a

nd

iden

tify

o

pp

ort

un

itie

s to

imp

rove

ser

vice

s.

Co

llab

ora

te w

ith

oth

er s

tate

s, p

rovi

der

s, a

nd

sys

tem

par

tner

s to

dev

elo

p p

olic

y…

TWC

VR

sta

ff c

oo

rdin

ates

wit

h E

du

cati

on

Ser

vice

Cen

ters

to

dev

elo

p g

rou

p s

kills

tra

inin

g o

pp

ort

un

itie

s fo

r b

lind

an

d v

isu

ally

imp

aire

d s

tud

ents

. In

ad

dit

ion

TW

C V

R s

taff

are

act

ivel

y p

arti

cip

atin

g in

tra

inin

g ev

ents

an

d c

on

fere

nce

s co

nd

uct

ed

by

TWC

an

d s

tate

tra

nsi

tio

n a

sso

ciat

ion

s, s

uch

as

the

Texa

s A

sso

ciat

ion

of

Vo

cati

on

al A

dju

stm

ent

Co

un

selo

rs (

TAV

AC

), t

o p

rovi

de

trai

nin

g an

d c

apac

ity

bu

ildin

g fo

r st

aff

rega

rdin

g th

e p

rovi

sio

n o

f tr

ansi

tio

n s

ervi

ces

to s

tud

ents

an

d y

ou

th w

ith

dis

ablit

ies.

In

FY

20

17

, TW

C V

R a

lso

co

nd

uct

ed a

n o

pen

en

rollm

ent

solic

itat

ion

to

exp

and

th

e n

um

ber

of

Co

mm

un

ity

Reh

abili

tati

on

Pro

gram

s (C

RP

s) o

ffer

ing

Pre

-ETS

ser

vice

s to

stu

de

nts

wit

h d

isab

iliti

es.

TWC

an

tici

pat

es t

hat

it w

ill e

nte

r in

to p

rovi

der

co

ntr

acts

wit

h a

t le

ast

40

CR

Ps

to p

rovi

de

add

itio

nal

ser

vice

s to

stu

den

ts.

The

stat

e o

ffic

e tr

ansi

tio

n t

eam

reg

ula

rly

par

ticp

ates

in m

eeti

ngs

of

the

Co

un

cil o

f St

ate

Ad

min

istr

ato

rs o

f V

oca

tio

nal

Reh

abili

tati

on

(C

SAV

R)

Tran

siti

on

Co

mm

itte

e, a

s w

ell a

s ca

lls le

d b

y o

ther

st

ates

to

co

llab

ora

te o

n t

ran

siti

on

ser

vice

s st

rate

gie

s. T

he

pu

rpo

se o

f th

ese

calls

is t

o s

har

e ch

alle

nge

s, b

est

pra

ctic

es,

idea

s fo

r im

ple

men

tin

g tr

ansi

tio

n s

ervi

ces,

an

d s

ucc

essf

ul s

trat

egie

s fo

r im

ple

me

nti

ng

Pre

-ETS

acr

oss

th

e co

un

try.

Th

e TW

C s

tate

off

ice

tran

siti

on

an

d le

ader

ship

tea

ms

hav

e al

so c

on

sult

ed

wit

h t

he

RSA

-fu

nd

ed

nat

ion

al W

ork

forc

e In

no

vati

on

Net

wo

rk T

ech

nic

al

Ass

ista

nce

Ce

nte

r (W

INTA

C)

to id

enti

fy p

rom

isin

g st

rate

gies

in o

ther

sta

tes

and

to

see

k cl

arif

icat

ion

on

th

e fi

nal

WIO

A r

egu

lati

on

s fo

r P

re-E

TS.

TWC

has

tw

ice

invi

ted

WIN

TAC

to

co

me

to T

exas

to

pro

vid

e tr

ain

ing

and

a n

atio

nal

per

spec

tive

on

Pre

-ETS

, in

clu

din

g th

e al

l man

ager

s m

eeti

ng

in J

uly

20

16

an

d a

Po

st-F

oru

m t

rain

ing

sess

ion

fo

r a

cro

ssec

tio

n o

f m

ore

th

an 1

60

VR

sta

ff in

Ap

ril

20

17

. Fi

nal

ly, T

WC

VR

sta

ff c

on

tin

ue

d t

o w

ork

wit

h t

he

Texa

s Ed

uca

tio

n A

gen

cy in

FY

20

17

to

dev

elo

p a

new

Mem

ora

nd

um

of

Un

de

rsta

nd

ing

that

will

gu

ide

TWC

VR

an

d L

oca

l Ed

uca

tio

n

Age

ncy

co

ord

inat

ion

eff

ort

s in

th

e co

min

g ye

ars.

Th

e n

ew M

OU

will

be

exec

ute

d in

th

e fa

ll o

f 2

01

7.

39

Goa

l Are

a 4:

Improve

 and In

tegrate Program

s 

Wha

t is the

 objectiv

e? 

How

 are sy

stem

 partners a

ddressing it?

 Wha

t was accom

plishe

d this yea

r? 

Employ en

hanced or alternative 

program

 and service delivery methods. 

TJJD and TWC are iden

tifying and im

plementing 

new

, relevant technology and service delivery 

options to expand program

 and service outcomes. 

TWC is increasing competitive integrated

 em

ploym

ent outcomes by increasing aw

aren

ess of 

vocational reh

abilitation services and better 

serving underserved

 populations. 

TWC is enhancing the quality of and increasing 

access to quality child

 care to support paren

ts in

 obtaining and retaining em

ploym

ent. 

49.69 percent of studen

ts that using technology for course content 

delivery (TJJD) 

1,238,951 utilized

 labor market inform

ation products (TWC) 

1,160,135 utilized

 the WorkInTexas self‐service resource (TWC)

2,829 child

 care providers utilized

 online professional developmen

t courses (TW

C) 

3,980 adult education providers utilized

 online professional 

developmen

t courses (TW

C) 

53.89 percent of consumers served

 with intellectual and 

developmen

tal disabilities, m

ental health conditions, autism

, and 

deaf‐blindness subsequen

tly en

tered competitive integrated

 em

ploym

ent 

12.55 percent of child

 care providers were certified as Texas Rising 

Star providers 

Of paren

ts receiving child

 care: 

70.36 percent en

tered employm

ent and/or were 

enrolled in

 education or training 

84.77 percent retained

 employm

ent and/or were 

enrolled in

 education or training 

Accelerate em

ploym

ent and im

prove efficiencies through

 shared

 resources that can

 be leveraged to create new

, relevant, and innovative opportunities that 

serve the needs of all stakeholders. By addressing high‐priority program

matic needs through

 an integrated

 strategy, decision‐m

aking at the system

, partner, 

and participant levels is im

proved and system service delivery is enhanced. The changing economic and educational landscapes provide opportunities to 

share relevant data through

 appropriate “push” mechanisms in an organized

 manner to key stakeholders who rely on inform

ation gen

erated

 by system

 partners. 

40

Improve and Integrate Programs: Action Plan Implementation Summaries 

Accelerate employment and improve efficiencies through shared resources that can be leveraged to create new, relevant, and innovative opportunities that serve the needs of all stakeholders. By addressing high‐priority programmatic needs through an integrated strategy, decision‐making at the system, partner, and participant levels is improved and system service delivery is enhanced. The changing economic and educational landscapes provide opportunities to share relevant data through appropriate “push” mechanisms in an organized manner to key stakeholders who rely on information generated by system partners.   

System Partner Strategy  Agency  System Objective  System Goal 

Identify and implement new, relevant technology and service delivery options to expand program and service outcomes.  

TJJD TWC 

Employ enhanced or alternative program and service delivery methods. 

Improve and integrate programs 

Increase competitive integrated employment outcomes by increasing awareness of vocational rehabilitation services and better serving underserved populations. 

TWC 

Enhance quality of and increase access to quality child care to support parents in obtaining and retaining employment. 

TWC 

Two agencies are working to increase system outcomes by designing, planning, and implementing alternative delivery methods. 

The following pages include action plan reports from each of the partner agencies. Please note that the reports contain information verbatim as submitted by the agencies. 

41

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Juve

nile

Ju

stic

e D

epar

tmen

t

Go

al A

rea

4

– Im

pro

ve a

nd

Inte

grat

e P

rogr

ams

Stra

tegy

Id

enti

fy a

nd

imp

lem

ent

new

, rel

eva

nt

tech

no

logy

an

d s

ervi

ce d

eliv

ery

op

tio

ns

to e

xpan

d p

rogr

am a

nd

ser

vice

ou

tco

me

s.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

In p

rogr

ess

08

/17

0

1/1

8

Iden

tify

an

d im

ple

men

t a

web

des

ign

co

urs

e th

at c

an b

e ta

ugh

t w

ith

in a

co

rrec

tio

nal

in

fras

tru

ctu

re.

On

goin

g FY

20

16

Sub

stan

tial

ly c

om

ple

te

08

/15

0

2/1

6

Imp

lem

ent

a b

len

ded

lear

nin

g en

viro

nm

ent

wit

h a

se

cure

stu

den

t w

irel

ess

net

wo

rk d

rive

n

by

Go

ogl

e A

pp

s fo

r ed

uca

tio

n a

nd

mo

bile

dev

ice

s.

On

goin

g FY

20

16

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

Cu

rren

tly

on

ly o

ne

faci

lity

is a

ble

to

off

er w

irel

ess

acce

ss a

nd

it's

on

ly in

on

e cl

assr

oo

m w

her

e st

ud

en

ts a

re u

tiliz

ing

Ch

rom

e B

oo

ks f

or

inst

ruct

ion

. Ex

pan

sio

n t

o m

ore

th

an o

ne

clas

sro

om

is

un

der

way

. Fu

nd

ing

rest

rict

ion

s cu

rren

tly

pro

hib

it im

ple

me

nta

tio

n o

f w

irel

ess

acce

ss a

t o

ther

TJJ

D f

acili

ties

.

42

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Wo

rkfo

rce

Co

mm

issi

on

Go

al A

rea

4

– Im

pro

ve a

nd

Inte

grat

e P

rogr

ams

Stra

tegy

Id

enti

fy a

nd

imp

lem

ent

new

, rel

eva

nt

tech

no

logy

an

d s

ervi

ce d

eliv

ery

op

tio

ns

to e

xpan

d p

rogr

am a

nd

ser

vice

ou

tco

me

s.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

In p

rogr

ess

09

/15

Ex

pan

d s

elf-

serv

ice

and

dis

tan

ce le

arn

ing

op

tio

ns

for

the

del

iver

y o

f w

ork

forc

e se

rvic

es,

in

clu

din

g ad

ult

ed

uca

tio

n a

nd

lite

racy

se

rvic

es

and

pro

fess

ion

al d

evel

op

men

t fo

r ch

ild c

are

pro

vid

ers

and

ad

ult

ed

uca

tio

n a

nd

lite

racy

ser

vice

pro

vid

ers.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

9

In p

rogr

ess

09

/15

En

han

ce e

ase

of

acce

ss t

o a

nd

use

of

lab

or

mar

ket

info

rmat

ion

to

ols

to

ad

dre

ss t

he

nee

ds

of

mu

ltip

le a

ud

ien

ces,

incl

ud

ing

job

see

kers

, em

plo

yers

, stu

den

ts, r

ese

arch

ers,

an

d o

ther

wo

rkfo

rce

stak

eho

lder

s.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

7

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

Exp

and

sel

f-se

rvic

e an

d d

ista

nce

lear

nin

g o

pti

on

s fo

r th

e d

eliv

ery

of

wo

rkfo

rce

serv

ices

…

TWC

has

pro

vid

ed a

pp

roxi

mat

ely

$2

50

,00

0 o

ver

the

last

th

ree

year

s to

man

age

AEL

pro

fess

ion

al d

eve

lop

men

t re

gist

rati

on

, do

cum

enta

tio

n, a

nd

in-h

ou

se t

rain

ing

mat

eria

ls w

hile

at

the

sam

e ti

me

pro

vid

ing

a p

latf

orm

fo

r o

n-d

eman

d c

ou

rsew

are

and

vir

tual

inte

ract

ive

trai

nin

g. T

he

LMS

is a

clo

ud

-bas

ed

, fu

ll-fe

atu

red

, off

-th

e-sh

elf

sec

ure

sys

tem

wit

h c

ou

rse

regi

stra

tio

n a

nd

m

anag

emen

t fo

r in

-pe

rso

n, h

ybri

d, a

nd

on

line

trai

nin

g ev

ents

. Fu

nd

s al

so s

up

po

rt a

cces

s to

a c

lou

d-b

ase

d c

ou

rse

libra

ry a

nd

inte

ract

ive

reso

urc

es, a

web

co

nfe

ren

cin

g in

tegr

ated

ad

d-i

n, a

nd

tr

ain

ing

fee

s to

su

ffic

ien

tly

acco

mm

od

ate

the

nec

essa

ry in

stru

cto

rs, a

dm

inis

trat

ors

, an

d s

oft

war

e co

nte

nt

to p

rovi

de

a fu

ll ar

ray

of

pro

fess

ion

al d

evel

op

me

nt

serv

ices

acr

oss

Tex

as.

TWC

ap

pro

ved

$5

00

,00

0 f

or

an in

itia

tive

to

pro

vid

e fu

nd

ing

to im

ple

me

nt

a ca

ll ce

nte

r to

su

pp

ort

Tex

as a

du

lts

stru

gglin

g in

mat

he

mat

ics.

Th

e fo

cus

is t

o p

rovi

de

live

tuto

r su

pp

ort

fo

r h

igh

sc

ho

ol e

qu

ival

en

cy e

xam

s (G

ED, H

iSet

, an

d T

ASC

) an

d o

the

r ga

tew

ay t

ests

, in

clu

din

g th

e Te

xas

Succ

ess

Init

iati

ve A

sses

smen

t (T

SIA

) an

d t

he

Arm

ed

Se

rvic

es V

oca

tio

nal

Ap

titu

de

Bat

tery

(A

SVA

B).

Cal

l cen

ter

staf

f u

tiliz

e o

nlin

e tu

tori

ng

soft

war

e to

pro

vid

e vi

sual

su

pp

ort

to

stu

de

nts

in a

dd

itio

n t

o p

ho

ne

sup

po

rt.

In M

arch

20

15

, TW

C a

pp

rove

d f

un

din

g fo

r A

EL p

rovi

der

s to

su

pp

ort

a m

ore

ro

bu

st e

xpan

sio

n o

f d

ista

nce

lear

nin

g. T

he

pro

ject

incl

ud

ed a

sp

ecia

l em

ph

asis

on

th

e u

se o

f d

ista

nce

lear

nin

g so

ftw

are

and

rel

ated

co

sts

to a

dd

ress

th

e ri

gor

of

the

GED

20

14

te

st, T

exas

Cer

tifi

cate

of

Hig

h S

cho

ol E

qu

ival

ency

.

Reg

ard

ing

dis

tan

ce le

arn

ing

op

po

rtu

nit

ies

to s

up

po

rt c

hild

car

e p

rovi

der

s, T

exas

Agr

i-Li

fe E

xten

sio

n S

ervi

ce d

evel

op

ed

on

-lin

e tr

ain

ing

cou

rses

fo

r ch

ild c

are

pro

vid

ers

wit

h f

un

din

g p

revi

ou

sly

pro

vid

ed f

rom

TW

C (

20

10

). T

WC

als

o c

on

trac

ted

wit

h D

FPS

to e

nh

ance

an

d e

xpan

d t

he

child

car

e tr

ain

ing

off

erin

gs (

20

14

). A

ll o

f th

ese

child

car

e o

nlin

e tr

ain

ing

reso

urc

es c

on

tin

ue

to b

e av

aila

ble

on

th

e A

griL

ife

Exte

nsi

on

web

site

at

htt

p:/

/ext

ensi

on

on

line.

tam

u.e

du

/co

urs

es/c

hild

_car

e.p

hp

.

TWC

has

als

o p

artn

ered

wit

h t

he

Ch

ildre

n’s

Lea

rnin

g In

stit

ute

, par

t o

f th

e U

T H

ealt

h S

cie

nce

Cen

ter,

to

su

pp

ort

ch

ild c

are

pro

vid

ers

wh

o a

re d

esig

nat

ed a

s Te

xas

Ris

ing

Star

(TR

S) p

rovi

der

s.

CLI

’s o

nlin

e En

gage

pla

tfo

rm h

ttp

s://

clie

nga

ge.o

rg/p

ub

lic/

pro

vid

es

a co

mp

reh

ensi

ve, i

nte

grat

ed s

et

of

reso

urc

es t

hat

pro

vid

es

on

line

pro

fess

ion

al d

eve

lop

men

t, in

clu

din

g vi

deo

-bas

ed

dem

on

stra

tio

ns

of

effe

ctiv

e in

stru

ctio

nal

pra

ctic

es.

Pro

vid

ers

als

o h

ave

acce

ss t

o p

rovi

de

earl

y ch

ildh

oo

d t

each

ers

trai

nin

g h

ou

rs n

eed

ed t

o a

pp

ly f

or

the

Ch

ild D

evel

op

men

t A

sso

ciat

e (C

DA

) C

red

enti

al T

M.

TWC

pla

ns

to e

xpan

d a

cces

s to

th

e o

nlin

e En

gage

pro

fess

ion

al d

evel

op

men

t re

sou

rces

to

ch

ild c

are

pro

vid

ers

wh

o a

pp

ly t

o b

eco

me

TRS-

cert

ifie

d.

43

In a

cco

rdan

ce w

ith

Rid

er 3

0, A

rtic

le V

II, G

ener

al A

pp

rop

riat

ion

s A

ct (

GA

A),

84

th T

exas

Leg

isla

ture

(2

01

4),

an

d R

ider

29

, Art

icle

VII

-40

, GA

A, 8

5th

Tex

as L

egis

latu

re (

20

15

), T

WC

ded

icat

ed

$5

00

,00

0 in

eac

h y

ear

of

the

bie

nn

ium

fo

r p

rogr

ams

that

en

cou

rage

ear

ly c

hild

ho

od

pro

fess

ion

als

incr

ease

d p

arti

cip

atio

n in

co

nti

nu

ing

pro

fess

ion

al d

eve

lop

men

t fo

r e

arly

ch

ildh

oo

d

pro

fess

ion

als.

Th

ese

fun

ds

are

com

pet

itiv

ely

pro

curr

ed.

In 2

01

6-2

01

7, t

he

Texa

s A

sso

ciat

ion

fo

r th

e Ed

uca

tio

n o

f Yo

un

g C

hild

ren

(TA

EYC

) w

as s

elec

ted

to

pro

vid

e p

rofe

ssio

nal

dev

elo

pm

en

t o

pp

ort

un

itie

s fo

r ch

ild c

are

pro

fess

ion

als.

Enh

ance

eas

e o

f ac

cess

to

an

d u

se o

f LM

I…

Wo

rk b

egan

wit

h a

Lab

or

Mar

ket

and

Car

eer

Info

rmat

ion

(LM

CI)

web

site

re

des

ign

in S

ep

tem

ber

20

15

an

d c

on

tin

ued

th

rou

gh F

Y 2

01

7.

To d

ate,

in a

dd

itio

n t

o t

he

red

esi

gned

LM

CI h

om

e p

age,

th

e la

bo

r m

arke

t in

form

atio

n a

nd

car

eer

dev

elo

pm

en

t su

b-p

ages

wer

e re

do

ne;

th

e R

ealit

y C

hec

k w

eb a

pp

licat

ion

was

rew

ritt

en

; th

e Te

xas

CA

RES

car

eer

exp

lora

tio

n t

oo

l was

rep

lace

d b

y Te

xas

Car

eer

Ch

eck;

th

e Te

xas

Wag

es w

eb s

ite

was

rew

ritt

en; a

ne

w w

ork

forc

e su

pp

ly-d

eman

d t

oo

l, Te

xas

Lab

or

An

alys

is, i

s u

nd

er d

evel

op

men

t fo

r la

un

ch in

Dec

emb

er 2

01

7; a

nd

init

ial

dev

elo

pm

en

tal a

ctiv

itie

s ar

e u

nd

erw

ay t

o r

epla

ce t

he

TRA

CER

2 d

ata

retr

ieva

l sit

e. I

n a

dd

itio

n, t

he

mo

nth

ly T

exas

Lab

or

Mar

ket

Rev

iew

was

red

esig

ned

; th

e Te

xas

Inte

rnsh

ip C

hal

len

ge s

ite

was

la

un

che

d; a

nd

th

e tr

i-ag

en

cy s

tud

ent-

ed

uca

tor

po

rtal

, Tex

as O

nC

ou

rse,

was

dev

elo

pe

d.

Als

o, n

um

ero

us

pri

nte

d p

ub

licat

ion

s w

ere

rew

ritt

en a

nd

incl

ud

e fu

lly a

cces

sib

le e

lect

ron

ic v

ersi

on

s.

44

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Wo

rkfo

rce

Co

mm

issi

on

Go

al A

rea

4

– Im

pro

ve a

nd

Inte

grat

e P

rogr

ams

Stra

tegy

In

crea

se c

om

pet

itiv

e in

tegr

ated

em

plo

ymen

t o

utc

om

es

by

incr

easi

ng

awar

ene

ss o

f vo

cati

on

al r

ehab

ilita

tio

n s

ervi

ces

and

bet

ter

serv

ing

un

der

serv

ed p

op

ula

tio

ns.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

C

on

du

ct r

esea

rch

an

d c

olla

bo

rate

wit

h s

take

ho

lder

s, p

rovi

der

s, a

nd

par

tner

s to

iden

tify

b

est

and

pro

mis

ing

pra

ctic

es in

th

e p

rovi

sio

n o

f vo

cati

on

al r

ehab

ilita

tio

n s

ervi

ces

to

un

der

serv

ed p

op

ula

tio

ns,

incl

ud

ing

tho

se w

ith

au

tism

, in

telle

ctu

al a

nd

dev

elo

pm

enta

l d

isab

iliti

es,

men

tal h

ealt

h c

on

dit

ion

s, a

nd

ind

ivid

ual

s w

ho

are

dea

f-b

lind

.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

8

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

D

evel

op

, pilo

t, a

nd

imp

lem

ent

new

or

revi

sed

ser

vice

s an

d/o

r se

rvic

e d

eliv

ery

met

ho

ds

to in

crea

se e

mp

loym

ent

ou

tco

me

s fo

r u

nd

erse

rved

po

pu

lati

on

s.

FY 2

01

7

FY 2

01

9

No

t st

arte

d

10

/17

B

uild

sta

ff a

nd

pro

vid

er c

apac

ity

to e

ffec

tive

ly s

erve

un

der

serv

ed p

op

ula

tio

ns

thro

ugh

d

evel

op

men

t an

d im

ple

men

tati

on

of

po

licy,

sta

nd

ard

s, g

uid

ance

, an

d t

rain

ing.

FY

20

18

FY

20

19

In p

rogr

ess

09

/16

C

olla

bo

rate

wit

h s

take

ho

lder

s an

d r

esea

rch

bes

t p

ract

ice

s to

iden

tify

an

d im

ple

men

t im

pro

vem

ents

in t

he

coo

rdin

atio

n o

f in

form

atio

n a

nd

ser

vice

s to

vet

eran

s w

ith

dis

abili

ties

. FY

20

16

FY

20

19

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

Co

nd

uct

res

earc

h a

nd

co

llab

ora

te w

ith

sta

keh

old

ers,

pro

vid

ers

, an

d p

artn

ers

to id

en

tifi

y b

est

and

pro

mis

ing

pra

ctic

es…

Cu

sto

mer

s w

ith

Ne

uro

dev

elo

pm

enta

l Dis

ord

ers

are

the

larg

est

po

pu

lati

on

th

at V

oca

tio

nal

Reh

abili

tati

on

ser

ves.

TW

C V

R h

as d

evel

op

ed a

nd

imp

lem

en

ted

po

licy

and

ser

vice

s to

imp

rove

su

cces

sfu

l ou

tco

mes

fo

r in

div

idu

als

wit

h N

eu

rod

evel

op

men

tal D

iso

rder

s, s

uch

as

Au

tism

Sp

ectr

um

Dis

ord

er a

nd

Inte

llect

ual

an

d D

evel

op

men

tal D

isab

iliti

es.

VR

co

un

selo

rs r

ece

ive

trai

nin

g o

n

Neu

rod

evel

op

me

nta

l Dis

ord

ers

ann

ual

ly t

hro

ugh

six

re

gio

nal

tra

inin

g se

ssio

ns.

In

ad

dit

ion

, a n

ew s

ervi

ce a

vaila

ble

to

VR

cu

sto

mer

s w

ith

Neu

rod

evel

op

men

tal D

iso

rder

s is

th

e En

viro

nm

enta

l W

ork

Ass

essm

ent,

wh

ich

ass

ess

es

ho

w a

cu

sto

mer

res

po

nd

s to

var

iab

les

in a

wo

rk e

nvi

ron

men

t. R

esu

lts

of

this

ass

essm

ent

ide

nti

fy t

ho

se v

aria

ble

s th

at im

pac

t th

e p

erso

n’s

ab

ility

to

per

form

su

cces

sfu

lly in

a g

iven

wo

rk e

nvi

ron

men

t. A

ccu

rate

ass

ess

me

nt

of

the

corr

elat

ion

s b

etw

een

a c

ust

om

er’s

per

form

ance

an

d e

nvi

ron

men

tal v

aria

ble

s is

cri

tica

l to

his

or

her

ob

tain

ing

and

m

ain

tain

ing

emp

loym

ent.

Dev

elo

p, p

ilot,

an

d im

ple

men

t n

ew

or

revi

sed

se

rvic

es a

nd

/or

serv

ice

del

iver

y m

eth

od

s…

In F

Y 2

01

7, T

WC

VR

res

tru

ctu

red

th

e d

eafb

lind

pro

gram

to

incr

ease

res

ou

rce

s av

aila

ble

to

dea

fblin

d c

ust

om

ers,

wit

h t

he

goal

to

incr

ease

cu

sto

mer

s se

rved

an

d im

pro

ve e

mp

loym

ent

ou

tco

mes

. M

ost

of

the

dea

fblin

d p

rogr

am a

nd

sta

ff b

ecam

e p

art

of

the

Cri

ss C

ole

Reh

abili

tati

on

Ce

nte

r, w

hic

h b

ette

r en

able

s d

eafb

lind

cu

sto

mer

s to

su

cces

sfu

lly p

arti

cip

ate

in a

wid

er a

rray

o

f tr

ain

ing

op

po

rtu

nit

ies.

In

ad

dit

ion

, TW

C e

xpan

de

d t

rain

ing

faci

litie

s fo

r d

eafb

lind

cu

sto

mer

s b

y in

crea

sin

g th

e n

um

ber

of

apar

tmen

ts u

sed

fo

r sk

ills

trai

nin

g fr

om

on

e to

tw

o.

The

rem

ain

der

o

f d

eafb

lind

pro

gram

sta

ff w

ere

assi

gned

to

wo

rk a

t th

e re

gio

nal

leve

l, b

ette

r p

osi

tio

nin

g th

em t

o s

erve

dea

fblin

d c

ust

om

ers

and

co

nsu

lt w

ith

VR

co

un

selo

rs s

ervi

ng

dea

fblin

d c

ust

om

ers.

45

Co

llab

ora

te w

ith

sta

keh

old

ers

an

d r

esea

rch

be

st p

ract

ice

s to

ide

nti

fy a

nd

imp

lem

ent

imp

rove

me

nts

…

In F

Y 2

01

5, V

R e

stab

lish

ed a

Vet

era

ns

Thin

k Ta

nk

to r

evie

w p

rogr

am p

olic

y an

d d

iscu

ss s

trat

egi

es f

or

imp

rovi

ng

serv

ices

to

vet

eran

s w

ith

dis

abili

ties

. P

arti

cip

ants

incl

ud

ed

VR

Co

un

selo

rs,

par

tner

s fr

om

th

e V

A, r

ep

rese

nta

tive

s fr

om

th

e Te

xas

Co

ord

inat

ing

Co

un

cil f

or

Vet

eran

s Se

rvic

es,

an

d t

he

Hea

lth

an

d H

um

an S

ervi

ces

Co

mm

issi

on

. To

pic

s d

iscu

sse

d in

clu

de

d s

trat

egie

s th

at

wo

uld

incr

ease

th

e n

um

ber

of

vete

ran

s w

ho

ap

ply

fo

r se

rvic

es a

nd

str

ateg

ies

and

to

ols

th

at le

ad t

o s

ucc

essf

ul c

losu

res.

In

FY

20

16

, new

VR

po

licy

was

cre

ated

an

d im

ple

me

nte

d t

o p

rovi

de

guid

ance

to

co

un

selo

rs.

Wo

rkin

g re

lati

on

ship

s h

ave

bee

n e

stab

lish

ed w

ith

th

e V

A t

o c

oo

rdin

ate

serv

ices

bet

we

en V

R a

nd

th

e V

A t

o s

erve

mu

tual

cu

sto

mer

s.

46

Age

ncy

Te

xas

Wo

rkfo

rce

Co

mm

issi

on

Go

al A

rea

4

– Im

pro

ve a

nd

Inte

grat

e P

rogr

ams

Stra

tegy

En

han

ce q

ual

ity

of

and

incr

ease

acc

ess

to q

ual

ity

child

car

e to

su

pp

ort

par

ents

in o

bta

inin

g an

d r

etai

nin

g em

plo

ymen

t.

Par

t 1

–Sta

tus

Up

dat

e f

or

Act

ion

s

Act

ual

[m

m/y

y]

Spec

ifie

d in

Pla

n

FY 2

01

7 S

tatu

s St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

Act

ion

St

art

Dat

e

End

Dat

e

In p

rogr

ess

09

/15

In

crea

se t

he

nu

mb

er o

f ch

ild c

are

pro

vid

ers

cert

ifie

d a

s m

eet

ing

the

Texa

s R

isin

g St

ar o

r o

ther

rec

ogn

ized

qu

alit

y ra

tin

g sy

ste

m s

tan

dar

ds

in t

he

child

car

e sy

ste

m.

FY 2

01

6

FY 2

01

9

In p

rogr

ess

09

/15

Fa

cilit

ate

the

em

plo

ymen

t o

utc

om

es

of

par

ents

th

rou

gh a

cces

s to

ch

ild c

are.

FY

20

16

FY

20

19

Par

t 2

–FY

20

17

Ke

y A

ctiv

itie

s

Incr

ease

th

e n

um

ber

of

child

car

e p

rovi

der

s ce

rtif

ied

as

mee

tin

g th

e TR

S…

Texa

s R

isin

g St

ar p

rovi

der

s h

ave

incr

ease

d f

rom

83

5 o

n S

epte

mb

er 1

, 20

15

, to

nea

rly

1,1

00

by

May

1, 2

01

7.

In A

ugu

st 2

01

6, t

he

Co

mm

issi

on

ap

pro

ved

$2

50

,00

0 in

Ch

ild C

are

and

Dev

elo

pm

ent

Fun

din

g (C

CD

F) t

o s

up

po

rt t

he

use

of

Texa

s Ea

rly

Ch

ildh

oo

d P

rofe

ssio

nal

Dev

elo

pm

ent

Syst

em’s

Tex

as

Wo

rkfo

rce

Reg

istr

y (T

WR

) b

y Te

xas

Ris

ing

Star

(TR

S) c

erti

fie

d p

rovi

der

s o

r ch

ild c

are

pro

vid

ers

app

lyin

g fo

r an

d w

ork

ing

wit

h T

RS

me

nto

r to

ach

ieve

TR

S ce

rtif

icat

ion

. T

WR

is a

web

-bas

ed

app

licat

ion

fo

r ea

rly

child

ho

od

ed

uca

tio

n (

ECE)

pro

fess

ion

als

wh

o w

ork

wit

h c

hild

ren

bir

th t

o a

ge 8

, to

kee

p t

rack

of

thei

r e

du

cati

on

an

d e

mp

loym

ent

his

tory

, an

d t

rain

ing

ho

urs

. Th

e TW

R is

ad

min

iste

red

by

the

Texa

s H

ead

Sta

rt C

olla

bo

rati

on

Off

ice

of

the

Ch

ildre

n’s

Lea

rnin

g In

stit

ute

(C

LI).

This

fu

nd

ing

incr

ease

d s

taff

su

pp

ort

fo

r TW

R, s

ign

ific

antl

y re

du

ced

th

e an

nu

al r

egi

stry

fee

s, a

nd

incr

ease

d a

war

en

ess

and

ben

efit

s o

f th

e TW

R f

or

ECE

pro

fess

ion

als

and

ch

ild c

are

cen

ter

dir

ecto

rs.

The

pro

ject

will

allo

w a

ll TR

S p

rovi

der

s in

th

e st

ate

to u

se t

he

regi

stry

to

su

bm

it s

taff

ed

uca

tio

n a

nd

cre

den

tial

info

rmat

ion

fo

r va

lidat

ion

an

d s

cori

ng

by

the

TRS

asse

sso

rs.

The

IAC

wit

h C

LI w

as e

xecu

ted

on

Ap

ril 1

2, 2

01

7 w

ith

a s

ched

ule

d f

ull

imp

lem

en

tati

on

in J

anu

ary

20

18

.

In F

Y20

15

TW

C im

ple

men

ted

su

bst

anti

al c

han

ges

to t

he

TRS

cert

ific

atio

n s

yste

m.

Thes

e ch

ange

s st

ren

gth

ened

th

e ce

rtif

icat

ion

cri

teri

a to

pro

vid

e a

hig

her

leve

l of

qu

alit

y st

and

ard

s. T

WC

als

o

pro

vid

es a

dd

itio

nal

fu

nd

s to

Bo

ard

s to

hir

e TR

S m

en

tors

an

d a

sse

sso

rs t

o p

rovi

de

add

itio

nal

ass

ista

nce

to

pro

vid

ers

in m

eet

ing

the

hig

her

TR

S st

and

ard

s. T

RS

con

tin

ues

to

pro

vid

e o

ngo

ing

fun

din

g to

Bo

ard

s fo

r TR

S as

sess

or

and

men

tor

staf

fin

g as

wel

l as

fun

din

g to

imp

rove

th

e q

ual

ity

of

child

car

e se

rvic

es.

Faci

litat

e th

e em

plo

ymen

t o

utc

om

es o

f p

aren

ts…

Effe

ctiv

e O

cto

ber

20

16

an

d p

urs

uan

t to

th

e C

CD

BG

Rea

uth

ori

zati

on

, TW

C a

men

ded

th

e ch

ild c

are

rule

s to

re

qu

ire

that

a c

hild

’s e

ligib

ility

fo

r ch

ild c

are

serv

ices

co

nti

nu

e fo

r 1

2 m

on

ths

rega

rdle

ss o

f an

y te

mp

ora

ry c

han

ge in

th

e p

aren

t’s

emp

loym

ent

stat

us.

Th

e ch

ange

als

o r

equ

ires

3-m

on

ths

of

con

tin

ued

car

e if

th

e p

aren

t ex

per

ien

ces

a p

erm

anen

t lo

ss o

f em

plo

ymen

t d

uri

ng

the

12

-mo

nth

elig

ibili

ty p

erio

d.

This

ch

ange

is e

xpec

ted

to

pro

vid

e gr

eate

r st

abili

ty f

or

con

tin

ued

ch

ild c

are

serv

ices

in o

rder

to

ass

ist

par

ents

in m

ain

tain

ing

emp

loym

ent

or

bec

om

ing

re-e

mp

loye

d d

uri

ng

the

12

-mo

nth

per

iod

. It

sh

ou

ld b

e n

ote

d t

hat

eve

n t

ho

ugh

th

is w

ill p

rovi

de

grea

ter

child

car

e st

abili

ty, t

he

req

uir

emen

t fo

r 1

2-m

on

ths

of

child

car

e w

ill a

lso

res

ult

in f

ewer

ch

ildre

n b

ein

g se

rved

.

47

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48

Strategic Pillars 

To achieve the vision of an innovative, world‐class Texas workforce system, the Council identified three core competencies, or imperatives, that must be strengthened across the system: customer service and satisfaction, data‐driven program improvement, and continuous improvement and innovation. These three imperatives serve as the foundational pillars upon which the system’s capacity to identify and respond to changing market conditions and the needs of all system customers are enhanced. Examples of related system and partner agency initiatives are outlined below. 

Strategic System Initiatives 

The Council’s approach to develop and implement strategic system initiatives is structured around six phases in the life cycle of an initiative, including research, launch, proof of concept, plan, execute, and institutionalize the innovation and learning developed through the process. This approach provides the Council with direct oversight in the planning and management of each phase of any system initiative and the flexibility to introduce new initiatives or adapt, merge, and scale promising practices into system initiatives over the strategic plan period. 

Industry‐Based Certifications System Initiative 

At the June 2016 meeting, the Council approved the project scope and primary objectives for its first strategic system initiative following extensive research on middle‐skill occupations and industry‐based STEM certifications. This initiative would seek to identify and track third‐party, industry‐based certifications in Texas. The overarching goal is to increase the system’s capacity to help students and workers earn credentials of value in the Texas labor market. With two distinct project cycles, the initiative addresses all three strategic pillars. It is directly aligned to the employer‐related strategy to use industry‐based certification as an education or training outcome to connect graduate competencies to job skill requirements in order to expand licensure and industry certification in the state.  

Based on the Council research, the initiative focuses on two issues: the changing demand for middle‐skill workers and the increasing demand for workers with industry‐based certifications. Council research has shown that workers with STEM skills at all levels of educational attainment experience stronger employment outcomes and higher lifetime earnings.1 The work is further supported by Council research reports that define third‐party, industry‐based certifications; define and identify middle‐skill STEM occupations; and link those occupations with associated certifications.2 An initial list of industry‐based certifications for middle‐skill STEM occupations in Texas has been compiled, based on the definition in the research. 

The Council charged a task group to lead the development and execution of the first cycle of the project. Task group members included representatives from employers, external stakeholders, and partner agencies. The group designed a replicable process to analyze and reduce the list of approximately 1,500 industry‐based certifications that support middle‐skill STEM occupations in Texas. In September 2017, acting on recommendations from the task group, the Council endorsed a process that would engage Texas employers through the local workforce boards to determine which of the certifications have value in the hiring process.  

The local board executive directors and board chairs were briefed and strongly supported the approach to facilitate feedback by employers in each region of the state. The middle‐skill STEM occupations have been assigned to each of the 28 local workforce development areas (WDA). Each WDA will receive a regional profile that will include instructions for the data collection and feedback submission process as well as fillable forms for each occupation, the associated industry‐based certifications, the value question, and directions to guide the 

1 Texas Workforce Investment Council, “STEM as a Workforce Advantage,” Research to Support Strategic Planning (June 2014). 2 Texas Workforce Investment Council, Tracking Industry‐Based Certifications (June 2015), Defining Middle‐Skill STEM Occupations in Texas (December 2015), and Identifying Industry‐Based Certifications for Middle‐Skill STEM Occupations in Texas (February 2016). 

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employers. The occupations included in each regional profile match those indicated in the local board plan’s demand and target occupations lists. Additional occupations may also be assigned using supplemental labor market information (projected employment by WDA 2014–2024) and based upon a percentage increase of 10 percent growth or more for the WDA.  

In fiscal year 2018, the local boards will implement the statewide employer feedback process to determine which industry‐based certifications for an occupation make a positive difference in the hiring process.  Additional information will be collected to allow the responses to be analyzed in aggregate and by company size and location, to consider distinctions between urban and rural labor markets. The resulting list of certifications will serve as a resource for system partners in the development, review, and enhancement of education and training programs that align with regional and state occupational demand.  

The second cycle in this system initiative will focus on developing a system to capture the types and numbers of third‐party, industry‐based certifications and licenses across state workforce education and training programs. In time, the workforce system would ideally be able to provide data on third‐party, industry‐based certifications that support employment and increased wages, and potentially link individuals with certifications to the state labor exchange and labor market information systems. 

Developing a Grant Products Repository to Leverage Discretionary Wagner‐Peyser 7(b) Grant Outcomes in  Texas – A System Initiative  

Valuable products in the form of curricula, assessments, training models, and other resources are developed each year to support workforce programs and services that are funded through competitive grants. When similar needs develop in other industries, workforce populations, or regions of the state, system partners may be able to reuse or repurpose these products. Research was conducted to determine whether other states allocate Wagner‐Peyser 7(b) funding through competitive grants, and if so, whether and how grant products are collected, stored, and disseminated to support other initiatives. When no examples could be found, the Council launched its second strategic system initiative at its meeting in June 2017 to create a vehicle for collecting, storing, and managing grant products that have been created through the Wagner‐Peyser 7(b) grants program and making the products directly available to the workforce development community.  

The goal of this system initiative is to leverage effective products created with grant funding to accelerate specific objectives in future grants and workforce programs to reduce any duplication of time and effort. This would make content that has demonstrated success in a previous grant available to future grant recipients and other system partners. The size and scope of the Wagner‐Peyser 7(b) grant program offers an opportunity to capture innovative products and practices and initiate the development of a repository. An information repository stores information in a centralized place to provide a single resource where stakeholders can directly access information that is useful to the work being conducted. The grant products repository will be designed to help grant applicants and system partners locate products that can be reused or repurposed to jump start future programs and services. 

The primary users of this repository would be grant applicants, system partners, and stakeholders that may include state agencies; local workforce development boards; institutions of higher education–particularly community and technical colleges; local school districts; and economic development, faith‐based, and other not‐for‐profit community‐based organizations. Potential applicants and other workforce education and training providers would be able to access the repository to identify available resources that support workforce development needs and grant application proposals. 

In collaboration with the Texas Workforce Commission, changes were introduced in the 2017 grant application and contracts to prepare the program to begin collecting products. The revised application directly references the types of products that will be collected, the format in which the product must be remitted, and the deadline by which the products will be due. Wagner‐Peyser 7(b) grants provide funding for one year and the contract language

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requires that products will be due no later than 60 days prior to the end of the grant. The state will begin receiving products in the latter part of 2018 as the grant contracts close. 

For the current and future grant cycles, all products that are created using grant funds are required to be remitted at the end of the contract; however, not all products from all grants would be stored in the repository. Retention  will be based upon indicators of the quality of each product. To develop a product repository that promotes continuous improvement, a process will be developed to evaluate the products and determine which products contribute to successful outcomes and may be useful to future grants. The evaluation process will be implemented as grant products are received, and only the products that meet the criteria defined by this process will be stored in the repository. 

The Wagner‐Peyser 7(b) grant program objectives emphasize innovation in delivering programs and services that increase credential attainment and attachment to employment for youth and populations with special needs. These outcomes will serve as organizing principles for the repository design that will determine how the selected products are stored and maintained and how information about the products will be accessed by system partners and stakeholders. The repository will be made openly accessible online to allow searches that can help applicants identify products that may advance new project objectives and to directly disseminate the products. Once the site specifications for the repository have been determined, a solution for hosting and requirements will be identified and an ongoing process for maintenance will be developed to determine how the repository will be kept up‐to‐date and refreshed at specific intervals.  

The nature of this initiative means that there will necessarily be a long event horizon. Each step is complex and requires a thoughtful decision process to advance the initiative to the next phase. The revisions to the grant application highlight the program’s emphasis on innovation and the performance outcomes of the grants. Implementation of the repository will be contingent upon the nature and quality of the grant products. 

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Texas Skill Standards System 

Preparing workers with the skills and knowledge required for jobs in today’s economy is a major goal of the Texas workforce system. In particular, employers have been struggling to fill middle‐skill occupations, especially those requiring science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Closing the skills gap and hiring qualified employees is one of the key contributors to the success of any organization. But before workers can be prepared with targeted education and training for any job, both the work content and the skills and knowledge needed to 

perform the work must be identified. Such job specifications and worker characteristics are sometimes called competency profiles or skill standards. And facilitating industry to develop skill standards is one of the main functions of the Texas skill standards system, which is legislatively required to encompass middle-skill occupations. Skill standards are a tool for industry to communicate occupational requirements to education and 

training providers.  

History 

In 1995, the 74th Texas Legislature established the Texas Skill Standards Board (TSSB) to develop a statewide system of industry‐defined and industry‐recognized skill standards. TSSB’s role was to facilitate industry to: define the content of major, skilled, high‐demand, high‐wage sub‐baccalaureate (or middle-skill) occupations; and identify the knowledge, skills and proficiency levels required by workers to perform the jobs. TSSB was also charged to:  

recognize standards that meet TSSB‐established validity and reliability criteria,

promote the voluntary system to employers,

assist education and training providers to use the standards in their workforce programs, and

facilitate the portability of skills by recognizing standards and credentials from other states and nations.

Over the next 21 years, TSSB recognized skill standards that met its validity and reliability criteria, whether those standards were developed within the state or endorsed by a national or state industry group or government body. The validity and reliability criteria were documented in TSSB’s Guidelines for the Development, Recognition, and Usage of Skill Standards, which provided guidance and requirements for industry groups developing skill standards for recognition. Currently, skill standards for 43 occupations are posted in the public domain on the Texas skill standards website. A labor market information model was developed to identify those occupations that met the legislative criteria for the skill standards system but also did not conflict with existing industry‐based certifications. The model identified occupations for standards development, mostly for STEM‐related, technician occupations, many of them emerging and evolving, including: fuel cell system technician; nanotechnology technician; biomanufacturing; digital forensics technician; geographic information systems technician; photonics technician; web development and administration; and manufacturing production and logistics technicians.  

In collaboration with its workforce system partner, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, which provided incentive grant funding, TSSB developed an initiative to recognize community and technical college programs that incorporated skill standards into their curriculum. This initiative required colleges to teach and assess students on the standards. TSSB developed a second policy document, Guidelines for the Certification and Credentialing of Skill Attainment, to provide guidance and requirements for colleges applying for program recognition. The program recognition policy included a renewal requirement every three years.  

Transfer under Sunset Legislation 

In 2015, during the 84th Texas legislative session, the Texas Workforce Investment Council underwent Sunset review in accordance with Texas Government Code, Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset Act). The Sunset Advisory Commission noted the following in its final report. TSSB had accomplished most of its key tasks. TSSB’s remaining duties could easily and more efficiently be assumed by the Council, encompassed within its broader directive to promote the development of a well‐educated and highly skilled workforce. The commission concluded that this consolidation would effectively streamline the administration of related workforce development 

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functions under a single entity. Thus, it recommended that TSSB be abolished and its functions be fully integrated into the Council by the end of fiscal year 2015. On September 1, 2015, House Bill 1606 transferred the statutory functions of TSSB to the Council, and charged it with developing and maintaining the skill standards system. In December 2015, the Council adopted both sets of policy documents governing the system, and recognized the skill standards previously recognized by TSSB. 

FY 2017 Progress 

Two colleges initially renewed the Council recognition for four programs, which required them to have assessments in place to measure students’ mastery of all the skill standards’ competencies. An additional 12 colleges, which had previously submitted proof of their assessments at initial renewal, subsequently renewed the recognition for 14 programs. As of the end of FY 2017, there were 50 recognized programs at 28 community and technical colleges in Texas.   

While  the Council  is mandated  to develop and maintain  the Texas skill standards system, participation by industry and colleges  in  the system  is voluntary. Thus, promoting  the development and use of skill standards among  those groups is an important part of meeting the mandates. In FY 2017, the Council considered and endorsed the following strategies to address each mandate in the upcoming year. 

Mandate 1 The  first  mandate  specifies  that  the  Council  shall  “validate  and  recognize  nationally  established  skill standards,”  which is addressed with its conditional recognition policy. According to the development guidelines, this designation relates to standards developed by another state or by a national or international industry group or other stakeholder such  as  a  recognition  authority.  The  second  part  of  the  mandate  directs  that  the  standards  be  used  to  “guide  curriculum development, training, assessment, and certification of workforce skills.” The primary vehicle to address this mandate is program recognition, which provides an incentive for community and technical colleges to use skill standards because the recognition signals to employers that the colleges’ graduates have been prepared with the skills and knowledge specified by industry in the standards. The Council’s FY 2018 strategies to address this mandate include  searching  for  new  and  updated  national  industry  standards  for  conditional  recognition;  storing  and  maintaining  the  standards  in  the  website  repository;  and  promoting  program  recognition  to  community  and  technical colleges. 

Mandate 2 The second mandate refers to recognition of standards developed by industry groups for “industries and occupations in which standards have not been established or adopted.” As indicated  in the Council’s development guidelines, these standards, which are developed in Texas by a Texas industry group, are designated as recognized. The scope of the Texas skill standards system, as defined by the  legislature, encompasses “major skilled sub‐baccalaureate occupations  with  strong  employment  and  earnings  opportunities.”  The  Council  uses  a  labor  market  information  (LMI) model to  identify the occupations that  fit these criteria.  In FY 2018, the Council will use the LMI model to generate  a  list  of  relevant  occupations  from  which  to  consider  skill  standards  for  recognition;  provide  technical  assistance  to  industry  groups  that  want  to  develop  new,  or  review  and  update  existing,  skill  standards  for  recognition; and maintain the standards on the website. 

Mandate 3 This mandate involves two elements: review and recognize standards developed by other states and nations, and enter into agreements for mutual recognition of standards between Texas and those other states and nations. In FY 2018, the Council will continue its initiative to increase the use of industry‐based certifications, which are similar to skill standards, as they contain skills and knowledge required for competent job performance. Certifications may be nationally  recognized.  Thus,  the  promotion  of  industry‐based  certification  meets  the  intent  of  this  mandate.  In  addition, the Council will search for standards from other states and nations for recognition.  

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Mandate 4 This mandate, to promote the use of standards and credentials among employers, is addressed with the Council’s program recognition policy, credential seal strategy, and the Texas skill standards website. Recognized programs are posted  to  the  industry groups  section of  the website, where  they are displayed prominently with a message  to employers. That message explains  the  significance of  the designation and  suggests  that employers consider  the recognized programs first in their recruitment efforts for qualified applicants. In addition, a gold‐embossed seal on the credentials of all recognized programs’ graduates is the visible symbol for employers that those graduates have been prepared with  the skills and knowledge  required by  industry  in  the standards.  In FY 2018,  the Council will facilitate program recognition with community and technical colleges; process renewal applications of colleges with program recognitions scheduled to expire; continue to implement the credential seal strategy with new and existing recognized programs; and post recognized programs to the Texas skill standards website. 

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Texas Workforce Investment Council

System Partners

Economic Development and Tourism Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

Texas Department of Criminal Justice Texas Juvenile Justice Department Texas Education Agency Texas Veterans Commission

Texas Health and Human Services Commission Texas Workforce Commission

Members Representing

Wes Jurey (Chair), Arlington Business and Industry Sharla Hotchkiss (Vice Chair), Midland Community-Based Organizations Mark Barberena, Fort Worth Labor Robert Cross, Houston Labor Mark Dunn, Lufkin Business and Industry Carmen Olivas Graham, El Paso Education Thomas Halbouty, Southlake Business and Industry Richard Hatfield, Austin Labor Robert Hawkins, Bellmead Labor Larry Jeffus, Garland Education Paul Jones, Austin Labor Richard Rhodes, Austin Education Joyce Delores Taylor, Houston Business and Industry Mike Morath, Austin Texas Education Agency Raymund Paredes, Austin Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Charles Smith, Austin Texas Health and Human Services Commission Larry Temple, Austin Texas Workforce Commission Bryan Daniel, Austin Office of the Governor, Economic Development

and Tourism

Texas Workforce Investment Council

Texas Workforce Investment Council1100 San Jacinto, Suite 1.100

Austin, Texas 78701https://gov.texas.gov/organization/twic

EVALUATION 2017ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND OUTCOMES OF THE TEXAS WORKFORCE SYSTEM