The formula, first adopted in 1982 under the Job  Training Partnership Act, was grandfathered into the dislocated worker  program under WIA. With Greater Flexibility, Local Workforce Areas Tailored Services to Meet Dislocated Worker Needs

With the greater flexibility granted by WIA, local workforce areas are  likely to offer services tailored to local needs and services that emphasize  a quick return to employment. Officials from several of the  local areas that we visited confirmed that they viewed WIA as a work-first  program that emphasizes returning dislocated workers to the workforce. Of these areas, nine enrolled fewer dislocated workers and five  enrolled an equal or greater number of dislocated workers in training  under WIA (see fig. WIA Flexibility Allowed States To Use Set-Aside Funds for Various Statewide Activities in Addition to Rapid Response

States used the flexibility under WIA to decide how much of their set-aside  funds to spend on rapid response for dislocated workers and how much to  spend on other statewide activities. In  fact, almost all of the states that had a trigger for state rapid response said  that local staff in their states may have provided rapid response services  for layoffs and plant closings that were too small to trigger rapid response  by the state unit. During program year 2000, the unit responded to 158 events affecting 50 or  more workers and 149 events affecting fewer than 50 workers.
What GAO Found

Under the Workforce Investment Act, local workforce areas are likely to offer dislocated workers services that are tailored to local needs and that emphasize a quick return to employment. Nine of the local workforce areas that GAO visited emphasized a quick return to work and enrolled fewer dislocated workers into training than were enrolled under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). Five local areas enrolled into training an equal or greater number of dislocated workers than were enrolled under JTPA. States used the act's flexibility to decide how much of their set-aside funds to spend on rapid response for dislocated workers and how much to spend on other statewide activities. Most of the 50 states that responded to a GAO survey on rapid response activities said that their state unit provided services when layoffs and plant closings involved 50 or more workers and that the state generally relied on local workforce area officials to provide rapid response services for layoffs affecting fewer workers. Workforce officials in several states expressed concern that the act's dislocated worker funding formula causes dramatic fluctuations in funding that are unrelated to the number of dislocated workers in the state.