These provide employment and training assistance to  workers who lost their jobs because of layoffs and plant closings. States and local areas submit an application via  mail or fax. Delays in Grant Awards Hampered Services to Dislocated Workers

Labor’s grant process is not as effective as it could be because most grants  are not awarded in a timely manner, and as a result, services to workers in  some states have been delayed, interrupted, or denied. During program  years 2000-2002, Labor’s goal was to approve national emergency grants  within 30 calendar days of receiving a complete application. Nearly 90 percent of  the regular grants awarded from July 1, 2000, to June 30, 2003 took more  than 30 days to award. On average, Labor took 83 days to award incremental payments,  which is 9 days quicker than the average number of days Labor took to  make initial regular grant awards. Twenty-five states said that because of the delays in receiving grant funds,  local areas had to delay or deny services to dislocated workers. Finally, Labor is planning to issue guidelines that document its timeliness  goal. Additional Actions Needed to Better Manage Grant Award Process

Some weaknesses still remain in Labor’s planned changes that could  prevent Labor from accurately assessing how long it takes to make grant  awards and incremental payments. First, the way Labor has defined its 30- day goal allows the agency to stop counting the number of days elapsed if  it finds problems with the grant application. Little Is Known about How Grant Funds Are Used because of Weaknesses in Data Collection

Little is known on a national level about how national emergency grant  funds are used because of weaknesses in two data sources, and although  Labor is taking steps to improve the data collected, these steps may not go  far enough to ensure the data’s reliability. In addition, although Labor has  checked states’ most recent submissions to the national participant  database to identify whether data are missing, Labor does not have  specific plans to check states’ future submissions to ensure that data are  complete. Labor does not have a timeliness  goal for the full award process or for incremental payments. In addition, to ensure that information relating to national emergency  grants is accurate and complete, we recommend that Labor    develop specific reporting guidance on progress reports to ensure that  grantees define data elements consistently, and    ensure that all states submit WIASRD data on participants exiting from  services provided with national emergency grants (for grantees that are  not states, ensure that they submit WIASRD data on national  emergency grants to states for submission to Labor). Delays in  grant awards have had effects on the ability of local areas to provide  services to workers who have lost their jobs, as reported by 25 states that  responded to our survey on national emergency grants. Other major contributors to this report are listed in  appendix V.

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

We were asked to determine (1) the effectiveness of the overall process  for awarding national emergency grant funds, (2) whether Labor’s  proposed changes will improve the grant award process, and (3) what is  known about how grant funds are being used.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Department of Labor (Labor) awards national emergency grants to states and local areas to provide assistance to workers who lose their jobs because of major economic dislocations or disasters. Most grants awarded are regular grants to assist workers affected by plant closings or mass layoffs. Questions have been raised about whether grant funds are getting to states and local areas quickly enough. GAO was asked to assess the effectiveness of the process for awarding national emergency grants, whether Labor is planning changes that will improve the grant award process, and what is known about how grant funds are used.

What GAO Found

Labor does not award most national emergency grants in a timely manner, and as a result, services to workers have been delayed, interrupted, or denied. Labor's goal is to make award decisions within 30 calendar days of receiving a complete application. However, nearly 90 percent of regular grants took longer than 30 days to award. On average, Labor took 92 days to award regular grants. For grants disbursed in more than one payment, Labor took on average 83 days to award the additional increments. Twenty-five of 38 states responding to our survey reported that because of grant award delays, local areas had to delay or deny services to workers. Labor is taking some steps, such as implementing an electronic system to better manage its award process and incorporating its 30-day goal in new guidelines, that may improve the timeliness of grant awards. However, some weaknesses still remain in Labor's planned changes that could prevent Labor from accurately assessing how long it takes to make grant awards and incremental payments. For example, Labor plans to stop counting the days elapsed if it finds problems with an application, and Labor's proposed guidelines do not establish a timeliness goal for incremental payments. Little is known on a national level about how national emergency grant funds are used because of weaknesses in two primary data sources. Because of the lack of clear guidance, states report inconsistent data in progress reports, and some states have not reported data on national emergency grants to a national database covering Workforce Investment Act (WIA) programs. To address these problems, Labor is implementing a standardized electronic form for grantees to submit progress reports, issued guidance requiring states to submit data on national emergency grant participants to the national WIA database, and checked states' latest submissions to identify if data were missing. However, Labor's guidance still is not sufficiently clear to ensure that states will report data in progress reports consistently, and Labor does not have specific plans to continue checking states' data submissions to ensure that data are complete.