A. The Legislature hereby encourages the establishment of One-stop Career/Employment Centers that link federal, state and local resources and programs and that create collaborative and interorganizational partnerships between state governmental agencies and private and nonprofit entities. Such agencies and private and nonprofit entities shall include, but not be limited to:

1. The Department of Human Services;

2. The State Department of Education;

3. The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education;

4. The Oklahoma Department of Commerce;

5. The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission;

6. The Oklahoma Health Care Authority;

7. The State Department of Health;

8. The State Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services;

9. The Oklahoma Department of Corrections;

10. The Office of Management and Enterprise Services;

11. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education;

12. Community action agencies;

13. Local and municipal groups;

14. Substate planning groups; and

15. Religious and charitable organizations.

B. 1. The purpose of the collaborative and interorganizational partnership shall be to assist persons receiving temporary assistance, persons who are employed in low-wage jobs, underemployed persons, and persons who are unemployed to obtain employment preparation; to explore career, employment and job referral opportunities; to improve skills through education and training; and to obtain information on various services and programs in the state.

2. Employment preparation includes, but is not limited to:

a.education, training, or retraining for specified time limits,

b.private and public work experience, and

c.development of certain career/job training and retraining skills and apprenticeships.

C. The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, in consultation with entities desiring to form such partnerships, shall develop a local implementation plan for use by all parties desiring to enter into a plan for a one-stop career and employment center. The plan shall be signed by all partnership entities and shall be submitted to the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission for review and recommendation.

D. The local implementation plan shall include, but not be limited to, the names, addresses, and phone numbers of parties and organizational entities; specific goals, objectives, and plans for implementation of the initiative; the signature of all parties agreeing to the initiative; and the beginning date of the initiative as agreed upon by the parties.

E. Until such time as the collaborative and interorganizational partnerships encouraged by this legislation are fully implemented, the state agencies listed in subsection A of this section which provide services shall each maintain an Internet web site upon which application forms for the services they provide may be accessed and downloaded by individuals wishing to make application for the services provided. Each agency shall also provide a link to the other agencies required by this legislation to provide their application forms on their websites.

Added by Laws 1997, c. 414, § 24, eff. Sept. 1, 1997. Amended by Laws 2001, c. 33, § 40, eff. July 1, 2001; Laws 2006, c. 220, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2006; Laws 2012, c. 304, § 238.