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Employment and Training Program Grants: Evaluating Impact and Enhancing Monitoring Would Improve Accountability

GAO-08-486 Published: May 07, 2008. Publicly Released: May 07, 2008.
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Highlights

Since 2001, Labor has spent nearly $900 million on three workforce employment and training grant initiatives: High Growth Job Training Initiative (High Growth), Community-Based Job Training Initiative (Community Based), and the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED). GAO was asked to examine (1) the intent of the grant initiatives and the extent to which Labor will be able to assess their effects, (2) the extent to which the process used competition, was adequately documented, and included key players, and (3) what Labor is doing to monitor individual grantee compliance with grant requirements. To answer these questions, GAO obtained from Labor a list of grants for fiscal years 2001 through 2007, and reviewed relevant laws and Labor's internal grant award procedures. GAO interviewed grantees, and state and local workforce officials in seven states where grantees were located, Labor officials, and subject matter experts.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Labor To determine the impact of the three grant initiatives, ensure that the best possible projects are selected, and improve accountability of grant funds, the Secretary of Labor should take steps to ensure that the department can evaluate the impact of the initiatives so that it can draw strong conclusions based on its evaluations, such as following through with plans to collect consistent data, integrating the initiatives into its overall research agenda with relevant performance goals and indicators, and including these initiatives in its assessment of the impact of Workforce Investment Act services.
Closed – Not Implemented
The Department of Labor continues to be unable to draw strong conclusions based on its evaluations of the three initiatives. In FY2012, Labor reported that a number of studies have been completed. Each evaluation was tailored to the initiative, and each had a different set of conditions with regard to data available for the analysis and outcomes observed. However, the types of studies Labor performed did not allow it to know program outcomes. For example, in a 2011 GAO report (GAO-11-285), we used the WIRED evaluations as an example of this. Similarly, the High Growth and Community Based evaluations, for which Labor issued final reports in 2011, for the most part, did not evaluate their impact. (High growth evaluated impact based on only a very few grants that had sufficient participants to ensure a statistically valid evaluation.) Labor reported that they learned several key lessons that are shared across the evaluations of the three initiatives, which are summarized in the June 2010 HGJTI report (released in 2011). Although these lessons may help Labor better evaluate future initiatives, the agency was unable to ensure that it could evaluate the impact of the initiative so that it could draw strong conclusions based on its evaluations.
Department of Labor To determine the impact of the three grant initiatives, ensure that the best possible projects are selected, and improve accountability of grant funds, the Secretary of Labor should direct the Employment and Training Administration to identify the statutory program requirements for which compliance must be documented when awarding noncompetitive grants.
Closed – Implemented
In July 2008, Labor reported that the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) had modified its "Sole Source Grants Office Check List" and "Unsolicited Proposal Sole Source Review Form" to include statutory program requirements sections. The agency provided forms that require ETA staff to confirm that proposed noncompetitive grants are in compliance with relevant statutory program requirements--specifically (1) the authorizing act, such as WIA, that permits the issuing of such grants, (2) the appropriations act that provided the financial resources to fund the grant, and (3) any pertinent Congressional report language that provides further guidance or clarification of Congressional intent. These additional requirements will help ensure that ETA's noncompetitive grants comply with relevant statutory requirements.
Department of Labor To determine the impact of the three grant initiatives, ensure that the best possible projects are selected, and improve accountability of grant funds, the Secretary of Labor should develop and implement a risk-based monitoring approach for WIRED and a schedule for its use.
Closed – Implemented
In July 2008, Labor stated that the agency had developed a monitoring guide for Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grants, was developing a schedule for monitoring, and had trained four monitoring teams. In September 2008, Labor provided its monitoring schedule and guide and stated that it had monitored eight out of the initial set of 13 WIRED grantees. This new monitoring system will help ensure that Labor's grantees are held accountable and attain their performance goals.

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Topics

AccountabilityCompetitionDocumentationEmployee developmentEmployee trainingEmploymentEmployment assistance programsEmployment requirementsFund auditsFunds managementGrant administrationGrant monitoringGrantsGrants to statesInformation managementInternal controlsLabor forceProgram evaluationStrategic planningTraining utilizationCommunity and supportive services programsProgram coordinationProgram implementation