Senate Appropriations Update (information provided by the National Association of Workforce Boards).

On July 17, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $142.8 billion for FY’07 health, labor and education programs. Funding for the Workforce Investment Act programs was $5.062 billion, a $55 million reduction from the FY’06 level of $5.117 billion. The Senate bill does not include any rescission of FY’06 WIA funds unlike the House Appropriations Committee’s bill. The House Committee’s reported bill now contains a $325 million rescission of WIA funds proposed to be taken from ’06 carry-over funds. The full House vote on this bill stalled before the July 4th recess due to the success of an amendment to the bill that increases the minimum wage by $2.10/hr. This issue continues to be an obstacle to bringing the Labor-HHS-Education bill to the House floor for the final vote, although there is also the need to find $3 billion more to fund these programs.

The Senate Appropriations bill does result in a $60 million decrease to WIA from FY’06 funding levels, relatively modest in the light of the current funding challenges that continue to confront the Committee in seeking to find another $2 billion to reach their desired $7 billion level called for by the Senate Budget Committee’s resolution. It appears there is not much chance that the bill will see final passage by the full Senate before the August recess.

Overall, it is expected that most appropriations bills will not be acted on until after the November elections. Time is running out on the Congressional calendar.

House and Senate Reported Appropriations Bills (in millions)

Program	FY 2006	FY 2007 President’s Budget	FY 07 Senate Bill (reported)	FY’07 House Bill(reported)
Total WIA	$5.117billion	$4.412billion	$5.062billion	$4.967 billion
Employment Service	$715,883	$688,769	$721,000	$689,000
WIA Adult Training	$864,199	$712,000	$800,000	$847,000
Youth Formula	$941,000	$841,000	$935,000	$936,000
Dislocated Workers	$1.461 billion	$1.114 billion	$1.476 billion	$1.476 billion
Community College Initiative	$125,000	$150,000	$125,000	$125,000
Job Corps	$1.592 billion	$1.526 billion	$1.629billion	$1.523 billion

WIA Reauthorization Update

There is no indication yet when the Conference Committee will be appointed to work out the differences in the WIA reauthorization bills, although the Congressional work calendar does not leave much time for Congress to finish all they want to accomplishment before adjournment of the 109th Congress at the end of September. All appropriations bills, as well as several controversial bills, like the immigration bill, are on the docket to be finalized in September. It is very likely, and expected that a lame duck session will occur right after the election to finish business before the new Congress is seated in January.

For a brief comparison of the recently passed Senate bill, the House-passed bill, and key elements of the Administration’s proposal: http://www.workforceatm.org/articles/template.cfm?results_art_filename=WIAReport.htm

Powers Steps Down from NAWB

Stephanie Powers has resigned as CEO of the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB), effective July 31, 2006. Ms. Powers has accepted an offer from the National Apartment Association (NAA) in Alexandria, VA to become the Executive Vice-President of their newly-formed Education Institute (NAAEI). Mark Schultz, NAWB's current COO, will take over as Acting CEO on August 1.

ETA Announced Second Round of NBLP Opportunities

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has announced that it will be taking “Expressions of Interest” through August 21, 2006, for the second round of National Business Learning Partnership (NBLP). The NBLP is a national peer-to-peer technical assistance and training project that links workforce boards across the country. Local workforce investment boards, state workforce investment boards, or workforce and economic-development focused entities are encouraged to apply for consideration. A Training and Employment Notice (TEN 1-06) provides more information on the NBLP Project. To access the TEN, go to: http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2241

State/Local Issues

Acting Commissioner Appointed to Fill Recent Vacancy (Information provided by the Department of Human Services)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty named Cal Ludeman as Acting Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

Gov. Pawlenty appointed Ludeman commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employee Relations (DOER) in January 2003. DOER is the human resource management agency of Minnesota state government, administering labor agreements and compensation plans for the 36,250 state executive branch employees. Ludeman also serves as the Chair of Gov. Pawlenty's Health Cabinet. Ludeman, 55, served in the Minnesota Legislature from 1979 to 1985, serving as Minority Whip in 1983-1984.

The Department of Human Services is the state's largest department with a biennial budget of $17.8 billion and about 7,000 employees. The department serves more than one million Minnesotans each year by providing or administering a broad range of services, including health care, economic assistance, child welfare services, and services for the elderly and people with disabilities.

Kids Not On Math, Science Career Path (Minneapolis Star Tribune, by Norman Draper)

Minnesota's kids have delivered their verdict on the importance of math and science in the state's future.

They're not interested.

According to interest assessments given for the first time to more than 91,000 eighth- and 10th-graders last year, only 11 percent of eighth-graders and 21 percent of 10th-graders have enough interest to make them suitable candidates for careers in math, science and technology.

That's disturbing news for state officials, who have been hammering away at the importance of tougher math and science requirements in schools, and getting more students onto career tracks leading to jobs in those areas.

"The [technology] pipeline needs to be filled, and our students aren't necessarily gravitating toward that," said Education Commissioner Alice Seagren, who released the survey results Tuesday. "It does show us we have a big job to do building interest in those areas."

According to state projections, there will be an increase of between 20 to 33 percent in the number of technical jobs in Minnesota over the next decade. But with signs that kids' interests lie elsewhere, there are concerns that there won't be enough Minnesotans to fill those jobs.

Last year was the first time that the ACT Educational Planning and Assessment System survey was used to measure students' interests. Funding for the survey has been approved by the Legislature for two years, which means the test is authorized to be given this year, too. It was approved as part of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's "Get Ready, Get Credit" plan to improve students' access to more demanding college-level credits while still in high school.

Schools were not required to participate in the survey. But according to Department of Education assessment and testing director Tim Vansickle, 90 percent of the state's districts did. Sixty percent of the state's eighth-graders and 93 percent of the 10th-graders took the survey. Vansickle said the survey posed 90 questions about students' interests. They could answer "like," "dislike" or "not sure" to the questions.

From those responses, researchers figured out the types of careers that might attract the students.

About half of the eighth-graders and a third of the 10th-graders listed interests that researchers say point them in the direction of "social service" jobs, which could include jobs in the health care, education, community service and hospitality fields, among others. Nineteen percent of 10th-graders have interests pointing them toward "artistic" jobs, and 26 percent of eighth-graders are aimed at "enterprising" jobs, which could include such work as marketing and sales.

MWCA Annual Meeting in Duluth

MWCA will be holding its annual summer meeting in Duluth on August 8, 9 and 10. New this year will be MWCA Best Practices Recognitions, Keynote speaker Jim Drake, and two interactive panel discussions. Draft agendas and additional information will be e-mailed to participants early next week.

Save the Date!

Minnesota Development Conference – October 4-5, 2006 www.positivelyminnesota.com/events/devConf.htm

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