2009 Changes to the TAA Program

The 2009 legislation made substantial changes to the TAA program,  including extending eligibility to workers in a greater variety of  circumstances. Training. The 2009 legislation also affected Labor’s operations by, for example,  establishing a new Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance and requiring  Labor to collect additional information on workers who receive TAA  benefits and services, as well as data on service sector workers, including  the service workers’ state, industry, and reason for certification. The agencies assist workers  and employers in filing petitions and can also file petitions on behalf of  workers. Multiple  factors contributed to this increase. Labor’s Processing Timeliness Adversely Affected by Increased Petition Volume and Initial Staff Shortage

Labor initially had insufficient capacity to handle its increased workload,  and thus, lagged in processing petitions. The quarter after the 2009 legislation took effect,  on average, Labor took 153 days to process a petition—nearly four times  as long as the statutory limit (see fig. Moreover, in June 2012,  we reviewed Labor’s petition investigation process and found that it  generally conformed to best practices for internal controls. Nearly All of the Changes Benefited Participants and Some Helped Administrators As Well

Participants benefited from nearly all of the 2009 legislative changes,  some of which also helped administrators better serve the participants,  according to the state officials we interviewed. Both participants and administrators benefited from a simplified and  extended training enrollment deadline—which must be met to qualify for  TAA-based income support—according to officials from all six states. Some state officials noted that the  extension provided case managers with more time to assess participants’  skills and abilities and advise them on employment and training options. Several state  officials said that dedication of these funds allowed case managers to  better serve participants. the possibility of receiving income support for longer than previously  available;  the option to start training while threatened with job loss (prior to  actually losing their jobs);  the flexibility to attend training on a part-time basis; and  According to several officials, the additional 26 weeks of potential income  support while in training allowed program participants to consider longer- term training options, such as health care, a high-demand profession. Over 107,000 Workers Received Benefits and Services, but Little Is Known About Their Outcomes

		About Half of the Participants in the 2009 Program Enrolled in Training, but Other Benefits Were Less Utilized

TAA provides participants with a variety of benefits and services—some  were used more than others. Limited Outcome Data are Available

Little is yet known about the outcomes achieved by participants in the  2009 program largely because nearly two-thirds of the participants were  still enrolled in the program as of September 30, 2011. The study will address the  operation and impacts of the program after the passage of the Trade  Adjustment Assistance Reform Act of 2002 and will include an impact  study on participants’ employment-related outcomes, overall and for key  worker subgroups, and a benefit-cost analysis. Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

We provided officials from the Department of Labor a draft of this report  for review and comment. In its written comments, Labor generally  agreed with our findings. Other contacts and staff acknowledgments are listed in  appendix V.

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives were to determine: (1) what challenges Labor faced in  implementing the 2009 legislation, (2) the effect selected state  government officials say the 2009 legislative changes had on participants  and on state and local administrators, and (3) the extent participants  received TAA benefits and services as established by the 2009 legislation  and what is known about employment outcomes. We also assessed what internal controls were present in Labor’s petition  investigation process as of June 2012. Specifically, we found that the employment status  and earnings information for many participants who had exited the  program was not identified. Enrollment date is not  3.
Why GAO Did This Study

While international trade has benefited Americans in a number of ways, it has also contributed to layoffs in a range of industries. To assist trade-displaced workers, Labor administers the TAA for Workers program, which provides income support, job training, and other benefits. The Trade Globalization and Adjustment Assistance Act of 2009, enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, made substantial changes to the TAA program, such as extending eligibility to workers in the service sector and increasing benefits levels. The Act also required GAO to report on the operation and effectiveness of those changes. Specifically, GAO examined (1) the challenges Labor faced in implementing the 2009 legislation, (2) selected state officials' assessment of the 2009 legislation's effect on participants and state and local administrators, and (3) the extent to which participants received program benefits and services established by the 2009 legislation and achieved employment outcomes. GAO interviewed officials at Labor and in six states, selected for having a high level of TAA activity and geographic diversity. GAO also reviewed Labor's internal controls for investigating petitions, which are filed on behalf of workers and are the starting point for determining their TAA eligibility. GAO analyzed participant data on specific benefits and services received and employment outcomes, as available.

What GAO Found

The Department of Labor (Labor) was challenged to process the substantial increase in petitions filed for the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers program after related legislation was enacted in 2009. Labor initially had insufficient capacity to handle this increased workload, leading to processing delays and data recording errors. For example, in the quarter after the 2009 legislation took effect, Labor took an average of 153 days to process a petition—nearly four times the statutory limit. Labor responded with corrective action, including hiring new staff and adding additional quality control steps for processing petitions. Partly as a result of these efforts, processing times fell substantially. Moreover, GAO found that Labor's petition investigation process, as of June 2012, generally conformed to best practices for internal controls.
According to selected state officials, virtually all of the 2009 changes benefited participants, and some also helped administrators serve participants. Officials in all six states GAO interviewed expressed the view that both participants and administrators benefited from the simplified and extended training enrollment deadline. Some officials said the new deadline was easier for eligible workers to understand and provided administrators with more time to advise participants on their training and employment options. Moreover, officials said participants who enrolled in training benefited from other program changes, including increased training funds, the option to attend training part-time, and a longer period for income support. Some state officials said that the additional weeks of income support allowed participants to consider longer-term training options, such as health care programs.
Over 107,000 participants received benefits and services as established by the 2009 law, but little is yet known about their employment outcomes. Nationally, all the participants received case management and reemployment services and about half enrolled in training, most commonly occupational skills training. Less than 8 percent of participants used other benefits. Little is known about employment outcomes because nearly two-thirds of the participants were still enrolled as of September 30, 2011, and employment and earnings information was often not available for those who had exited the program. While this information will eventually be available, other factors, including the overall state of the economy, affect these outcomes so isolating the effects of the 2009 legislative changes would be difficult.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is not making recommendations in this report. Labor generally agreed with the report's findings.