In enacting the Employment Development Act of 1973, the Legislature further finds and declares that it is essential to the health and welfare of the people of this state that action be taken by local, state and federal governments to effectively and economically utilize public funds for job training and placement services. To achieve this, it is necessary that:

(a) Explicit priorities be established for the allocation of these funds to ensure that they are first used to assist those in greatest need for job training and placement services;

(b) Definitive goals be established for the total system of job training and placement services to maximize the effectiveness of the system in assisting individuals to find and maintain gainful, competitive employment;

(c) Efforts be made to enlist the full support of private industry in securing jobs for enrollees of training programs, and a closer, more integrated and coordinated effort be established with the federal government as well as state and local public and private agencies involved in performing job training and placement services; and

(d) New approaches involving improved services and changes in traditional organization structures be used to assist persons in economically disadvantaged areas.

It is hereby declared to be the intent of the Legislature to concentrate and account for the funds available for job training and placement services in one state agency whose functions shall be subject to periodic review by the Legislature and appropriate federal agencies, and to which is assigned the responsibility for the efficient administration of job training and placement services in this state and the allocation of these funds to the end that such funds will be more effectively utilized and will be directed primarily to those areas of the state with the largest concentrations of chronically unemployed persons.

It is the further intent of the Legislature (a) to maintain policy control over all job training and placement programs administered by the department pursuant to this part to the maximum extent feasible, consistent with effective program operations, (b) to organize existing job training and placement programs now operating in the state into a coordinated system designed to remove employable persons from dependency on public assistance, and to enlist the full support of private industry in securing jobs, (c) to use funds for job training and placement services in a flexible manner to provide needed services for individuals through contractual arrangements with public and private agencies, (d) to provide a unified system for timely delivery of improved job training placement and related services to eligible persons including individual case responsibility, an outreach effort to seek out those persons who need but do not apply for services, followup to insure that the needs of eligible persons and their families are met, dissemination of information and knowledge to residents of the economically disadvantaged area about available services, and location of services in areas readily accessible to those who need them, and (e) to involve members of each community in identifying the needs to be met and relating them to the services available in order to reduce the isolation of the disadvantaged from their government and the community as a whole and to improve their confidence in government at all levels.

(Amended by Stats. 1973, Ch. 1207.)