§ 974. Special coordinating functions of the council. 1. The council shall have the responsibility to:

a. encourage the efficient and effective use of the entire range of workforce preparation programs in operation in the state by (i) emphasis of this objective as it carries out its responsibilities for the development of the governor's coordination and the special services plan, the review of service delivery area plans, and the establishment of coordination criteria; (ii) serving as a focal point for state efforts to overcome coordination obstacles and to settle interagency disagreements that harm or interfere with a comprehensive approach; (iii) fostering the development of information sharing, communication among interested parties, and effective means for the measurement and publicizing of coordination performance.

b. review and comment on the coordination mechanisms presented in service delivery area plans and in the administrative arrangements employed by state and local agencies administering workforce preparation program;

c. identify barriers to coordination and work to overcome them by such means as recommending coordinative measures to service delivery areas, the governor and, when appropriate, the legislature;

d. identify exemplary coordination practices and successful program models among the service delivery areas and encourage the use of those in other service delivery areas.

2. On or before March first, nineteen hundred eighty-four, the committee shall report to the governor and the legislature on the operation of workforce preparation programs funded under the act. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

a. an analysis of opportunities for improving the effectiveness of workforce preparation programs in the state;

b. an analysis of the performance of workforce preparation programs in the state including comparisons of the effectiveness and efficiency of programs of various types, programs in the various service delivery areas in the state and comparisons of the effectivness and efficiency of New York state programs with those of other states;

c. an analysis of administrative arrangements and coordinative mechanisms currently being utilized in the management of workforce preparation programs in New York state and recommendations for enhancing linkages among business, labor, educational institutions, social services agencies and other service providers;

d. recommendations for statutory or regulatory changes necessary for achieving a coordinated and consolidated statewide vocational, occupational and job skills training program;

e. recommendations for changes in the program performance standards used in evaluating programs funded under the act and suggested performance standards for other workforce preparation program components including methodologies for dealing with difficulties such as the higher costs of serving clients with special placement problems and the different economic conditions in the various regions of the state;

f. recommendations for better utilization of educational resources in the workforce preparation field with specific attention to eliminating duplicative efforts and coordinating programming efforts between boards of cooperative educational services and community colleges;

g. an evaluation of the labor market information system including an assessment of the effectiveness of the state occupational information coordinating committee and the possibility of alternative means of gathering and disseminating labor market information; and

h. a discussion of opportunities for improving the labor exchange mechanisms, including the job service, that are used in workforce preparation programs.