PACT Act Would Provide Needed Funding to DH & NonTrad Programs

A new bill, the PACT (Pathways Advancing Career Training) Act, will soon be introduced in the House of Representatives. Sponsored by Congresswomen Melissa Hart (R-PA) and Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA), the bill would provide federal funding to displaced homemaker, single parent, and nontraditional training programs. The PACT Act represents an opportunity for programs to regain funding that was eliminated under Perkins II.

If passed, the PACT Act would authorize $200 million in grants to States during FY 2005 for training programs serving women in transition. States would use a competitive grant process to fund community-based organizations and educational entities with proven effectiveness in assisting women in transition.

PACT Act grants could fund a variety of services, including tuition assistance, educational materials, career guidance, support services, life skills development and outreach. NonTrad programs would provide exposure to careers including high-wage, high-skill employment, and jobs in the information technology sectors and other growing industries. A portion of funds granted to States would also be used to provide a career and technical education expert at the State level to administer programs.

It is critical that Representatives sign on to support this important bipartisan legislation. We need to send a clear message to Congress that the PACT Act will provide needed funds to train women in transition for the in-demand jobs of the 21st century. To read further information about the bill and obtain draft letters, please visit www.womenwork.org/issues/pact.htm

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Senate Committee Passes WIA

On October 2^nd, the Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) Committee approved a bipartisan bill, S. 1627, to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act. The legislation represents months of collaboration between committee members on both sides of the aisle, as well as stakeholders in the workforce investment system of the nation.

Women Work!, as co-chair of the National Coalition on Women and Job Training, was asked to submit comments and recommendations on the legislation. As a result, positive provisions in current law were maintained and several new provisions were added to help WIA better serve women in transition. Following are highlights from the bill that affect displaced homemakers, women training for nontraditional occupations and other women in transition.

Purpose
The purpose of S. 1627 has expanded to include a long list of objectives. One is to increase the employment, retention, self-sufficiency, occupational skills, and earnings of participants. Another is to reduce welfare dependency and increase self-sufficiency of the nation's workforce. Eliminating training disincentives for hard-to-serve populations is also on the list.

Definitions
A new category of individuals, called "hard-to-serve populations", was added to the Senate bill. This definition includes displaced homemakers, low-income individuals, Native Americans, people with disabilities, older individuals, ex-offenders, the homeless, those with limited English proficiency or illiteracy, individuals facing substantial cultural barriers, migrant and seasonal farm workers, welfare recipients within two years of exhausting lifetime limits, and other groups that the Governor of a state may determine. The term "hard-to-serve" is used throughout the bill in a way that strengthens provisions that would provide services to these groups.

DH Provisions
The definition of displaced homemaker has also been expanded. A person whose spouse was killed or disabled while serving in the Armed forces is considered a displaced homemaker. In addition, if a military family has experienced a loss of income due to a deployment, transfer or activation, then the spouse of the serviceperson is considered a displaced homemaker.

S. 1627 maintains the current law's provision that Governors' may use discretionary funds to implement innovative programs for displaced homemakers. However, it also allows local areas to fund training programs for displaced homemakers and individuals training for nontraditional employment, in conjunction with existing programs in the local area.

NonTrad Provisions
As in current law, the State Plan must include a description of how the State will serve the employment and training needs of individuals training for nontraditional employment. Mandatory statewide funds must be used to disseminate the State list of eligible training providers, which must include providers of nontraditional training services. States have the option of using funds to implement programs that would increase the number of individuals training for and placed in nontraditional employment.

In S. 1627, States must also use funds to provide technical assistance to local areas; this technical assistance can include the development and training of staff to help hard-to-serve populations pursue high-wage, high-skill and nontraditional employment.

Economic Self-Sufficiency
S. 1627 adds provisions that allow States and local areas to calculate, adopt or commission a self-sufficiency standard. A participant's inability to obtain or retain employment that leads to self-sufficiency is one of the eligibility criteria for access to both intensive and training services.

Supportive Services
S.1627 requires that information about supportive services -- childcare, child support, health care, food stamps, the EITC, and transportation -- must be presented in a format that is usable and understandable to the participant. Under current law, One-Stops are only required to provide referrals to such services.

State & Local Planning
The State Board must develop effective outreach strategies for hard-to-serve populations and disseminate best practices for serving these groups. Both the State and Local WIBS must outline how they will expand access to education and training services for eligible individuals. Notably, the State plan must also include a description of the State strategy for ensuring that male and female WIA participants are being placed in jobs and/or education that lead to comparable pay.

Training Providers
In the Senate bill, the process for determining eligible training providers has been streamlined. The eligibility criteria must take into account, among other factors, the ability of a training provider to serve hard-to-serve populations and the characteristics of the local area's population. These changes may allow more programs serving displaced homemakers and welfare recipients to become WIA training providers.

Sequential Services
For the most part, the three-tiered sequential structure of core, intensive, and training services is maintained. However, WIA participants receiving core services may also receive career counseling, which includes exposure to high-wage, high-skill jobs and nontraditional employment.

Funding
Unlike both the Administration's proposal and the House bill (HR. 1261), the Senate bill does not block grant WIA funding, and maintains the separate adult, dislocated worker and employment services funding streams. Although the FY04 Labor appropriations bill has not yet been signed into law, both the House and the Senate recommend $900 million for adult and $1.4 billion for dislocated worker funding.

What's Next?
It is unclear when S. 1627 will be scheduled for a vote on the Senate floor. However, it is likely that this bipartisan bill will pass with few amendments. Subsequent to a floor vote, the Senate and House will hold a conference, where they will reconcile S. 1627 and HR. 1261, the House-passed WIA reauthorization bill that is comparable to the Administration's proposal. (For an analysis of HR. 1261, please see the April 2003 issue of the Insider).

The Administration has recently announced its plans to oppose key provisions in the Senate bill. The Administration will continue to push for block granting of WIA funding, which would pit various groups of workers against one another in competition for funds. House and Senate Democrats are prepared to hold their ground against the Administration and block the passage of HR 1261. They have made it clear that they would support a continuation of current WIA law over the passage of a bill that would be detrimental to workers.

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Senate Moves One Step Closer to TANF Reauthorization

The Senate Finance Committee passed the Personal Responsibility and Individual Development for Everyone Act (PRIDE) on September 10^th. As expected, the bill closely resembles the House bill passed last February.

Work Requirements
PRIDE increases weekly work requirements for TANF recipients to 24 hours for a single parent with children under six; 34 hours for a single parent with children age six and older; and 39 hours for a two-parent family. Beginning in FY 2005, state work participation rates will increase incrementally by 5% from the current rate of 50% to 70% by FY 2008.

Countable Activities
The current list of "direct work" activities is maintained and includes 12 months of vocational education training. States are also allowed to count barrier-removal activities as direct work activities for six months in a two-year period. This would include education and training.

Additionally, the committee passed the Parents as Scholars amendment introduced by Senator Snowe (R-ME). This amendment would allow TANF recipients to pursue a two- or four-year degree and count class and study time as a work activity. The amendment also provides childcare and transportation supports and subsidies for textbooks. Participation in theprogram is capped at 10% of state caseload.

Next Steps
It is not clear when the PRIDE bill will go to the Senate floor for a vote. There are still many contentious issues in the bill -- including childcare funding, access to education and training, marriage provisions, and supports for families with multiple barriers to work -- which could stall the final passage of the bill. Congress recently extended current welfare law to March 2004, providing the Senate with more time to work out their bill.

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Senate Passes FYO4 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations

On September 10^th the Senate passed the FY 2004 Labor- HHS-Education Appropriations bill. The House previously passed its Appropriations bill in July.

The Labor-HHS-Education bill is typically the most expensive and most contentious of all domestic spending bills. Therefore, it is usually the last of the 13 appropriations bills to get passed. This year, however, both chambers spent significant time on the bill.

Currently, the Senate and House are in conference to hammer out a final bill. While the bills are very similar, the Senate bill includes an amendment that blocks the Administration's proposed changes in overtime pay (see WW! website: www.womenwork.org/issues/legnews.htm). This amendment could delay the final passage of the bill and possibly prompt a veto by President Bush. Previously, the House voted against including a similar amendment in with their appropriations bill. Additionally, the pending threat of an omnibus-spending package, which would group at least six different appropriations bills together, could force lawmakers to drop the amendment. Congressional leadership is considering creating an omnibus bill because prolonged attention on the President’s budget request for Iraq has caused a backlog of other bills. The government is currently operating on a continuing resolution that expires October 31, 2003. Both the Senate and the House are hoping to wrap up the spending bills quickly so the chambers can adjourn in early November.

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Leaving Women Out: Report finds Women are often excluded from UI benefits

A new report from the National Employment Law Project (NELP) finds a gender gap in states' unemployment insurance systems. Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Confronting the Failure of State Unemployment Insurance Systems to Serve Women and Working Families details problems with state qualification standards that leave many women without benefits.

NELP found that in 41 states men are more likely to receive benefits than women. Additionally, women who quit their jobs are 32% less likely to qualify for UI benefits. These discrepancies arise from inadequate state rules that are built on a "male breadwinner model." Many state rules do not take into account the full spectrum of reasons women leave jobs, including sexual or other types of harassment on the job, pregnancy, domestic violence, or to care for a sick family member. Only 13 states provide UI coverage for women who leave their jobs due to harassment. Eighteen states provide coverage to women who quit their jobs because of domestic violence.

Many women are also left out of the system because they work part time or are classified as temporary and contract workers. Forty-three states determine benefits differently for part-time and full-time workers, leaving many part-time workers unqualified.

The NELP report pushes states to adopt "good cause" language that would allow workers who leave their jobs for "compelling family and personal reasons" to obtain UI benefits and for states to provide part-time eligibility and dependent benefits.

While UI is primarily a state issue, Congress is assessing legislation. Currently, the Keep America Working Act of 2003 (HR 1802) addresses many of the issues NELP cites in its report. The bill compels states to include sexual harassment, domestic violence and loss of childcare for children under the age of 13 as qualifying reasons for leaving jobs. Additionally, it requires that eligibility rules be altered to enable workers seeking part-time work to have access to benefits, and prevents states from arbitrarily excluding temporary and contract workers from the program. The bill is currently in the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources.

For a copy of the report, contact NELP at (212) 285-3025 or www.nelp.org. To help women in your programs better understand the UI system, Women Work! recently included an article on UI in the Summer 2003 issue of Transitions and Triumphs. To receive a copy of the article, contact Karen Swift at kswift@womenwork.org

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