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Workforce Services Interim Committee

MINUTES OF THE

WORKFORCE SERVICES INTERIM COMMITTEE

            July 16, 1997 - 2:00 p.m. - Room 414 State Capitol


Members Present:
    Sen. Robert F. Montgomery, Chair
    Rep. Orville D. Carnahan, Chair
    Sen. Lorin V. Jones
    Sen. Robert M. Muhlestein
    Sen. Millie M. Peterson
    Sen. Blaze D. Wharton
    
     Members Excused:
    Rep. Sheryl L. Allen

    Members Absent:
    Rep. J. Brent Haymond
    Rep. Jeff Alexander
    



    Rep. Steve Barth
    Rep. Duane Bourdeaux
    Rep. Margaret Dayton
    Rep. Lloyd W. Frandsen
    Rep. Brent H. Goodfellow
    Rep. Bryan D. Holladay
    Rep. Nora B. Stephens
         
    Staff Present:
    Arthur L. Hunsaker, Research Analyst
    R. Chet Loftis, Associate General Counsel
    Barbara A. Teuscher, Legislative Secretary

Note:    A list of others present and a copy of materials distributed in the meeting is on file in the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.

1.    Call to Order and Approval of Minutes of June 18, 1997
    
    Chair Montgomery called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m.

     MOTION: Rep. Goodfellow moved to approve the minutes of June 18, 1997. The motion passed unanimously.             

2.    Presentation: Local Service Delivery via Employment Centers -

    Mr. Curtis Johnson, Deputy Director, and Jan Hansen, Director, Division of Employment Development, Department of Workforce Services, discussed unified case management. The goals of the department are to make sure individuals do not have to go to a number of places to receive the services they need. Mr. Johnson explained the employment counselor's position. He said there are approximately 50 employment centers in the state and all are co-located. Mr. Johnson explained that placement strategies and incentive programs for employees have been developed.
        Ms. Billie Smith, Employment Center Manager, South County Employment Center, discussed benefits to customers by having the centers co-located. She addressed the challenges the division has faced in organizing employment centers.

        Mr. Ken Serre, Department of Workforce Services, Midvale Office, addressed rural versus urban issues and said his perspective is from Salt Lake and Tooele Counties which is basically a mix of urban and rural. Mr. Serre explained the functions of the Midvale center.

3. Job Placement Priority for Family Employment Customers -- Ms. Hansen distributed a handout from which she gave her presentation. She discussed characteristics of participants receiving financial assistance and job placement strategies. Ms. Hansen informed the committee what the division is doing in the area of job placement for individuals. She focused on the Family Employment Program participants and discussed the Federal Supplemental Security Income Program (SSI) for disabled individuals. The Citizen Children of Alien Parents program was discussed. She said that because others besides Family Employment participants receive cash assistance, only 9,500 cases of the 12,000 total cases are subject to the work requirement. Ms. Hansen informed the committee of job placement strategies used in job readiness.

        Mr. Stan Parrish presented background information on placement of people on the Family Employment Program. The Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce has identified, through a process of meetings with their Board of Governors and others, that one of the workforce issues is low employment. He said the change in welfare reform, based on the act that was passed by Congress, recognized that AFDC recipients needed to have training or they would loose their benefits. In looking at that and finding that there are approximately 12,000 people in this area, he looked at the possibility of getting some of these people into the workforce to fill some of those jobs. Mr. Parrish approached businesses and asked them if they would be interested in a partnership with the state and their reply was that they would. He met with Mr. Robert Gross, Executive Director of Workforce Services, to explore the possibility of the partnership. There is a possibility to save the state money if the training time could be compressed and more workforce driven. Mr. Parrish informed the committee of concerns of the employers. He mentioned that partnership efforts have focused on four industry segments: 1) hospitality industry; 2) healthcare industry; 3) the food industry; and 4) matrix marketing. Committee Discussion followed.

        Sen. Peterson, Rep. Frandsen, Chair Montgomery, and Sen. Jones directed questions to Mr. Parrish.

        Mr. Steve Goodrich, United Parcel Services, discussed his past relationship with the state in job placement and indicated what UPS has come to expect. He expressed that he would like to continue with the new Department of Workforce Services. Committee Discussion followed.
            
        Ms. Karen Silver, Salt Lake Community Action Program, said that child care is not mentioned in the Department of Workforce Services's report. She urged the committee and the agency to look at child care job readiness.

        Mr. Mason Bishop, Department of Workforce Services, expressed that there were two Job Service offices in the valley previously and four family support offices making a total of six employment centers.

         MOTION: Rep. Frandsen moved for staff to research options such as disclosure statements, a ranking system, and how to deal with the quality issue of daycare in anticipation of legislation to be presented in the 1998 General Session. The motion passed. Rep. Dayton voted against the motion.

4.         Benefits for Grandparents -- Introduction - Rep. Pat Larson _

        Rep. Patricia Larson distributed a handout and discussed grandparents raising grandchildren and the difficulties they face such as health insurance and incomes. She emphasized the importance of the state recognizing these difficulties and continuing programs that allow them to provide for this care.

Note: A copy of Rep. Larson's presentation is filed in the Office of Legislative Research and      General.
    
        Ms. Karmen Sanone, Advocacy Specialist, Salt Lake County Aging Services, presented background information on the non-custodial grandparents issues. She expressed concern with TANF. After looking at the federal interpretation, it raises questions such as lifetime benefits and do they apply to children and grandparents or can they be exempted? Rep. Larson and Ms. Sanone would like the committee to help them focus on these issues in protecting programs to enable grandparents to have access to them without an unfair burden. Rep. Larson said legislation has been started and that other issues need to be addressed.

        In response to Ms. Sanone's questions, Ms. Hansen referred to the third page of her handout and addressed the issues raised.     

     Committee Business _ In the interest of time, committee business was not discussed.

5.     Adjourn - Sen. Jones moved to adjourn the meeting at 4:46 p.m. The motion passed
unanimously.
                    
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