§2200. Board duties

A. The purpose of the local workforce development board is to convene and align high-level stakeholders, enhance cooperative assessment of workforce intelligence, and develop unified strategic planning and activities designed to meet the region's current and future workforce needs. These strategic purposes are in addition to the service delivery and partner system roles required in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, 29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.

B. A board shall:

(1) Convene community stakeholders and build workforce development alliances for strategic planning and action.

(2) Collect and distribute workforce intelligence, and facilitate joint analysis among stakeholders and alliances based on multiple data sources.

(3) Identify communities' target industry sectors and those sectors' skill and human resource requirements.

(4) Identify critical human resource challenges that must be addressed for sectors to succeed.

(5) Map career pathways and talent pipelines to help workers advance and businesses find qualified workers.

(6) Develop, invest, align, and influence community, financial, board, and other resources based on cooperative agreements and partner assets.

(7) Evaluate and ensure impact of strategies and operations of workforce development activities; adjust as appropriate.

(8) Serve as a single point of contact for local businesses to communicate their employment needs and to influence the direction of all workforce development programs in the workforce development area.

(9) Promote the participation of private sector employers in the local workforce development delivery system.

(10) Conduct program oversight for workforce development activities in the workforce development area, including those involving child care, transportation assistance, work skills and job readiness training, and job placement.

(11) Direct the activities of its secretary.

(12) Award grants or contracts to eligible providers of workforce education or training and services in the workforce development area on a competitive basis, consistent with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, 29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq. and to the extent allowed under other local, state, or federal law.

(13) Develop a local plan to address the workforce development needs of the workforce development area that:

(a) Is responsive to the goals, objectives, and performance standards established by the council.

(b) Targets services to meet local needs, including the identification of industries and employers likely to employ workers who complete job training programs.

(c) Ensures that the workforce development system, including the educational system, has the flexibility to meet the current and future needs of existing and emerging business.

(14) Designate the board or another entity as the board's fiscal agent to be responsible and accountable for the management of all workforce development funds available to the board.

(15) Oversee the management of local one-stop delivery systems pursuant to R.S. 23:2203 including the selection of system operators and staffing.

(16) Review plans for workforce education to ensure that the plans address the current and future needs of existing and emerging businesses and recommend appropriate changes in the delivery of education services, to which the service provider must respond no later than the thirtieth day after receipt of the recommendation.

(17) Assume the functions and responsibilities of local workforce development advisory boards, councils, and committees authorized by federal or state law.

(18) Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the one-stop delivery system, state agencies, and other contractors providing workforce training and services, and vocational and technical education programs operated by local education agencies and institutions of higher education to ensure that performance is consistent with state and local goals and objectives.

(19) Promote cooperation and coordination among public organizations, community organizations, charitable organizations, religious organizations, private businesses providing workforce development services, and private education and training providers in a manner consistent with the nondiscrimination principles and safeguards stated in 42 U.S.C. 604a.

(20) Serve as a local workforce development board under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, 29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.

C. The board shall ensure that employment services are provided for persons seeking employment in the local workforce development area. The board shall contract with an appropriate entity for the provision of services, or, if all necessary waivers are granted, the board may provide the services directly.

D. In performing its duties under this Section, a board shall provide to the office of workforce development labor market information and information regarding the availability of existing workforce development services, and shall assist in the maintenance of a statewide employment statistics system, which shall utilize, to the fullest extent possible, the commission's labor market information system. A board shall review, verify, modify, and use local labor market information developed through the state's labor market information system to identify, by occupation, the labor demand of existing and emerging businesses in each workforce development area.

E. The board may solicit and accept contributions and grant funds from other sources.

Acts 2008, No. 743, §2, eff. July 1, 2008; Acts 2015, No. 426, §2.