Attendees: Chairman John McMahon, Romain Alexander, Pete Booker, Jeff Bross, Ed Capodanno , Sen. Charles Copeland, Craig Crouch, Pat DiEmedio, Bruce Fitzgerald, Dr. Orlando George, Stacy Griggs, Richard Howard, Hon. James Hutchison, Hon. Saundra Johnson, Robert Lau, Joseph Letnaunchyn , Sen. Robert Marshall, William McCloskey, James Randall, Fred Sears, Ben Shaw, Dana Shreve, Debra Singletary, Dr. Diane Sole, Sec. Harold Stafford, Dave Tanner, Duane Wayman
Guests: Stephanie Beaudet, Janet Edwards , Christine Greloch, Helen Groft, Andrea Guest, Edward Ratledge, Ed Toss, Ed Simon
DWIB Staff: Patty Cannon, Gwen Jones, Lisa Brack, Merle Murray, Anthony Francioni, Robert Watkins
DOL-DET Staff: Anne Farley, Todd Chappelle, Tom Smith, Bob Clarkin
Welcome, Introductions & Call for Quorum - John McMahon, Chairman
Approval of Previous Board Meeting Minutes - Motion by Duane Wayman to approve minutes from the October 21, 2003 Board meeting. Seconded by Ed Capodanno . Motion carried.
New Board Members: Chairman John McMahon welcomed new members to the Board: Romain Alexander (City of Wilmington ) and Robert Lau (INGdirect).
Strategic Planning Session – Chairman McMahon stated that he was very pleased with the strategic planning meeting held on 10/21/03 . The Executive Committee is planning to hold a retreat. We are going to focus on the top five objectives for the next year. We hope to target 10% of WIA funds to High Growth Training, including Delaware Economic Development Offices initiatives. We will begin to incorporate the research of other agencies to assist us in planning and making better funding decisions going forward.
Letter to Governor – Chairman McMahon talked about the letter he has written to Governor Minner regarding performance measures and potential sanction for PY02.
Chairman McMahon talked briefly about the negotiation process and thanked the Performance Measures Committee for their work negotiating measures.
Meeting with Providers – Board members met with providers initially on November 11, 2003 , where we received quite a few complaints. Staff was not in attendance. We then held a meeting on February 13, 2004 to examine the complaints which fell into four categories (Fiscal, Communication, MIS, Process). We met with staff and put together a path forward that will improve processes and that we believe will improve relationships with our providers.
Policy Updates - There is a strong possibility that legislation will mandate 50% of the Youth funds go to out of school youth. We have voted to move 40% this year so that the jump won’t be so great next year. It was agreed upon by members to let the providers know this change may be coming. Tom Smith and Patty Cannon will work on communication to providers.
RFP Presentations February 24, 2004 . – Chairman McMahon thanked those who participated on the Proposal Review Committees at Clayton Hall on February 24, 2004 .
Special Presentation – Ed Ratledge, Center for Applied Demography & Survey Research, University of Delaware – Ed Ratledge gave an analysis of the Literacy and WIA programs and outcomes by gender, race, labor market activity, retention and wage gains. Ed mentioned that Adult Basic Education programs may show a larger increase in wages versus the hard skill employment training. Some members questioned the findings and reminded everyone that programs have many variables such as different goals, intensity, length, curriculum, etc.
Performance and Customer Satisfaction Committee – Jeff Bross, Chairman reported that we are still not meeting our measure with regard to earnings. A focus group will be held to give every provider a chance to participate. Then a technical work group will be formed to work on how to make the MIS system provider friendly so that providers can submit data directly into the system. We are calling for membership to this committee and the goal is to have some improvements in place within a year.
LEHD Program - Ed Simon, Department of Labor gave an overview of the LEHD Program. Delaware specific data will be available in about 3 months.
Financial Oversight Committee - Joe Letnaunchyn, Chairman reported from the July 1, 2003 through January 31, 2004 DWIB, DET and ITA budget reports. Joe reviewed the new payment procedures/policies document. He also shared the monthly financial report for providers which will enable them to submit their paperwork electronically.
Public Relations and Community Outreach Committee - Pete Booker reported that we are working to consolidate some of our processes and also to make it easy for anyone to connect with DWIB or DET-DOL. We are giving critical contact information to our providers and are initiating more contact to create circular communication with our providers.
Proposal Review and Certification Committee - Duane Wayman, Chairman thanked the Board members, The DWIB staff and DOL-DET staff for their participation in the Proposal Presentation process. He explained the rating and ranking process which lead to how funding decisions are made. Bruce Fitzgerald asked whether the quality of the presentations is improving. Duane responded that by and large we are looking at a high quality of presenters. Copies of the funding recommendations were provided to Board members.
Duane Wayman called for a motion to approve funding recommendations for Blue Collar funds. Moved by Fred Sears and seconded by Bill McCloskey. Motion carried. Dr. Orlando George, Pres. DTCC and Dr. Diane Sole, Superintendent, Polytech, abstained from voting.
Duane Wayman called for a motion to approve funding recommendations for Federal WIA funds be approved. Moved by Ed Capodanno and seconded by Pete Booker. Motion carried. Dr. Orlando George and Dr. Diane Sole abstained from voting.
Motion by Duane Wayman to adjourn meeting. Bruce Fitzgerald seconded the motion. Motion unanimously carried.