Recommendation: The Secretary of Labor should ensure that DOL has a procedure to help the agency analyze reasons for delays in processing National Dislocated Worker Grant applications and grant modifications. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Labor
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Labor should identify and implement additional mechanisms to allow EAA grantees to share information about innovative and best practices with each other, such as DOL hosting an in-person or virtual national convening for grantees. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Labor
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Labor should work with the Federal Co-Chair of the ARC to identify and implement mechanisms that allow for information sharing between the two agencies regarding their EAA programs, including sharing grant decisions. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Labor
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Federal Co-Chair of the ARC should work with the Secretary of Labor to identify and implement mechanisms that allow for information sharing between the two agencies regarding their EAA programs, including sharing grant decisions. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Appalachian Regional Commission
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Federal Co-Chair of the ARC should develop a plan for addressing issues related to performance data for POWER Initiative grants. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Appalachian Regional Commission
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Labor should, as part of the Department's evidence building processes, prioritize improving the quality of evidence on the impact of job training for dislocated workers. (Recommendation 6)

Agency: Department of Labor
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Labor should identify the expected time frame for providing the first report to Congress that is responsive to the WIOA requirement for an annual report that includes research and evaluation findings. In addition, the agency should communicate this time frame to relevant congressional committees. (Recommendation 7)

Agency: Department of Labor
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Labor should systematically collect sufficient information on state profiling systems, possibly through DOL's new UI state self-assessment process, to identify states at risk of poor profiling system performance. For instance, DOL could collect information on challenges states have experienced using and maintaining their profiling systems, planned changes to the systems, or state processes for assessing the systems' performance. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Labor
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Labor agreed with this recommendation and said it would take action to address it. In June 2020, DOL reported that agency staff and a contractor had made significant progress in implementing plans to revise the self-assessment tool. First, staff and the contractor gathered feedback and recommendations for improvements to the tool through focus group sessions with states in each region. DOL also reported that the contractor has been developing revised questions for inclusion in the updated self-assessment tool. While agency work on the project was temporarily halted due to the agency's focus on issuing guidance and providing technical assistance to states concerning various new UI programs of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Pub. L. 116-136), officials said the contract has been extended to November 2020, and staff plan to resume work on the project soon. GAO will monitor the agency's progress and update the status of this recommendation, as appropriate.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Labor should develop a process to use information on state risks of poor profiling system performance to provide technical assistance to states that need to improve their systems. DOL may also wish to tailor its technical assistance based on state service delivery goals and technical capacity. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Labor
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Labor agreed with this recommendation and said it would take action to address it. In June 2020, DOL said that it was committed to using the information collected by the new self-assessment tool to develop standard operating procedures for capturing and maintaining the profiling assessment tracking information. These activities are dependent on the revisions to the self-assessment tool discussed in DOL's update for recommendation 1. We will monitor the agency's progress and update this recommendation as appropriate.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Labor should update agency guidance to ensure that it clearly informs states about the range of allowable profiling approaches. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Labor
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Labor agreed with this recommendation and committed to publishing an Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) regarding the implementation and maintenance of acceptable state profiling systems. In June 2020, DOL reported that efforts to develop the UIPL had been delayed, due in part to the intersection of the Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services (WPRS) program and the now permanent Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) program. Agency officials said they remain committed to publishing the UIPL and noted that they were developing an analysis of statistical modeling approaches that states can consider using and providing a framework for a simplified and low-cost approach to testing these different modeling techniques using their own state data. While agency officials said they were not able to devote the needed time to completing the UIPL due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UI program, officials said their goal was to publish the UIPL by the end of 2020. We will monitor the agency's progress in implementing this recommendation, and update its status, as appropriate.