Congressional Action Needed to Ensure Low-Income Adults Receive Critical Employment and Training Services Under the Workforce Investment Act


 

Publication Date: June 2008

Publisher: Center for Law and Social Policy

Author(s): Allegra Baider

Research Area: Labor; Social conditions

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) authorizes the nation’s federally funded workforce development system, which provides critical employment and training services to individuals and employers. However, since the enactment of WIA, the share of low-income adults receiving intensive and training services has steadily declined.

This paper provides an analysis of the structural issues within the law that are contributing to these declines and offers recommendations on how Congress can reverse these trends by reinvesting in workforce development and transforming WIA through reauthorization.