WIA also  requires that many federal programs work together to provide  employment and training services through the one-stop system. To implement these measures, states and localities  had to change the way they collected and reported performance data. States and  localities also faced challenges in implementing the measures due to their  complexity and the resource demands they created, and some had to  develop new procedures to obtain UI wage records. Supplemental data cannot be used to measure earnings change and  replacement. Local staff are reluctant to provide WIA-funded services to job seekers  who may be less likely to get and keep a job. Performance Measures May Not Accurately Assess Performance of the Three WIA-Funded Programs

Even when fully implemented, WIA performance measures may still not  provide an accurate picture of performance for the three WIA-funded  programs largely because data are neither comparable across states nor  timely. State and local officials generally supported many of the  performance measures as relevant indicators of the success of an  employment and training program. Thus, at least 23 states have not used additional data to help them  meet their performance levels. Existing Performance Measures Fail to Gauge Overall One- Stop Performance

Although there are performance measures for the three WIA-funded  programs and most of the programs required to provide services in the  one-stop, no measures exist to assess how well the overall one-stop  systems are working. In this way, Florida has attempted to  measure the system overall as well as outcomes for individual programs.
Why GAO Did This Study

Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in 1998 to bring most federally funded employment and training services into a single, one one-stop center system. GAO assessed three programs that provide service through this system.

What GAO Found

States and localities have begun to implement the new performance measurement system for the three WIA-funded programs but report several challenges. States had to change the way they collected and reported performance data. They also faced challenges in implementing these measures due to their complexity and the resource demands created by new measures. Some developed new procedures to obtain access to sensitive records. The performance levels are of particular concern to state and local officials because failure to meet them can result in financial sanctions. As a result, states may be choosing to serve only those job seekers who are most likely to be successful. Even when fully implemented, performance measures may not provide a true picture of WIA-funded program performance because data are neither comparable across states nor timely. The measures include many of the indicators relevant to an employment and training program, such as getting and keeping jobs and increasing wages and skills. Although measures exist to gauge the performance of the three WIA-funded programs, there are no measures to gauge the performance of the one-stop system as a whole. At least 17 programs provide services through the one-stop system, and most have their own performance measures. Although these performance measures may be used for assessing outcomes for individual programs, they cannot be used to measure the success of the overall system.