On March 23, 2018, President Trump signed the omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 (H.R. 1625), which passed Congress with bipartisan support. This document provides an overview of Department of Labor and Department of Education appropriations for its skills and workforce development-related responsibilities and compares the amounts to those appropriated for FY 2017.
Department of Labor (DOL)
Employment and Training: Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth Employment and Training Programs under Title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA): $3.486 billion [FY 2017 Omnibus Enacted $3.339 billion; 4 percent increase]. These programs provide eligible adults and youth, including immigrants, with employment and training services through nearly 2,500 One-Stop Career Centers located in communities throughout the country. The request is at the WIOA-authorized levels. This includes all the following:
- Adult Program: $846 million [FY 2017 Omnibus Enacted: $816 million; 4 percent increase]. This program assists disadvantaged, low-skilled, unemployed and underemployed eligible adults to gain the skills and credentials needed to successfully compete in the workforce.
- Youth Program: $903 million [FY 2017 Omnibus Enacted: $873 million; 4 percent increase]. This program prepares eligible youth and young adults for jobs or post-secondary education through career guidance, support for educational attainment, training assistance, and other related services.
- Dislocated Worker Program: $262 billion [FY 2017 Omnibus Enacted: $1.242 billion; 2 percent increase]. This program prepares eligible displaced workers for new jobs and careers, including individuals who have been terminated or laid off, recipients of unemployment insurance, and displaced homemakers.
- Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Program: $88 million [FY 2017 Omnibus Enacted: $82 million; 7 percent increase]. This program provides employment, job training, and housing assistance to migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the United States and Puerto Rico.
- Apprenticeship Program: $145 million [FY 2017 Omnibus Enacted: $95 million; 53 percent increase]. Apprenticeship is an “earn and learn” model that allows participants to gain academic knowledge and on-the-job skills while earning a paycheck and meeting the workforce needs of This expanded funding will be used to support apprenticeship grants across the country.
- Workforce Data Quality Initiative: $6 million [FY 2017 Omnibus Enacted: $6 million; No change]. These grants are aimed at helping states build integrated data systems to streamline WIOA performance reporting and support states’ efforts to create wage data matching infrastructure.
- State Set-Aside: Not to exceed 15 percent Governors use these flexible funds to implement state-led job training initiatives and to perform statutorily required administrative functions to manage the state’s public workforce system. This set-aside is also known as the Governor’s Reserve.
Employment Service (ES): $666 million [FY 2017 Omnibus Enacted: $671 million; 1 percent decrease]. These grants to states fund a universal access program that provides job seekers with virtual and in-person employment services, while providing employers with a range of services to help them access a qualified workforce.
Foreign Labor Certification (TF): $62 million [FY 2017 Omnibus Enacted: $62 million; No change]. This funding supports federal foreign labor certification programs, including placing job orders and conducting required housing inspections for H-2A workers, and includes State Grants.
- State Grants: $14 million for state grants [FY 2017 Omnibus Enacted: $14 million; No change]. These grants fund state employment services that support federal labor certification programs.
One Stop Career Centers/Labor Market Information: $ 63 million [FY 2017 Omnibus Enacted: $68 million; 7 percent decrease]. These grants, electronic tools, and other products assist job seekers with making informed career decisions by providing data on careers, skill requirements, employment projections and other workforce information. Other activities include technical assistance and grants to increase the capacity of the public workforce system and to help it meet the needs of job seekers and employers.
Department of Education
Career and Technical Education: $1.2 billion [FY 2017 Omnibus Enacted: $1.1 billion; 7 percent increase]. Programs under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act prepare youth and adults to succeed in the workforce through secondary and post-secondary career and technical education programs. This includes State Grants.
- State Grants: $1.193 billion [FY 2017 Omnibus Enacted: $1.118 billion; 7 percent increase]. These grants fund state career and technical education programs.
Adult Education: $631 million [FY 2017 Omnibus Enacted: $596 million; 6 percent increase]. Programs under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act assist adults who do not have a high school diploma or equivalent to become literate and obtain the knowledge and skills necessary for postsecondary education, employment and economic self-sufficiency. This includes State Grants.
- State Grants: $617 million [FY 2017 Omnibus Enacted: $582 million; 6 percent increase]. These grants fund state adult basic and literacy education programs, including English Literacy/Civics Education services, which support access to English literacy programs linked to civics education.
English Language Acquisition: $737 million [FY 2017 Omnibus Enacted: $737 million; No change]. These grants to states aim to help English learners in U.S. schools attain English language proficiency and become ready for post-secondary education and careers.
Author: Dan Kosten