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Gov. Jim Justice’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Aligning the Roles and Missions of the State Community and Technical College System and Workforce Development System met today and heard reports from its subcommittees, which are working to create greater efficiencies across state government for West Virginians.

• The Data Sharing Subcommittee and Cross Training Subcommittee reported progress in meeting with companies toward the goal of creating a single-point web system that would allow West Virginians to access career, education, and social services in one location. Next steps include developing a Request for Proposals (RFP) that outlines services to be included.
• The Co-Enrollment Subcommittee continues completing its work on analyzing wraparound services and how they are applied in different situations. In particular, the group is looking more closely at the “cliff effect” of benefits and potential policy options for smoothing out transitions for clients.
• The Agency Integration Subcommittee met with a consultant to review Utah’s model for integrated planning, service delivery, and financing. The group reported that this model has been very effective in serving people filing for unemployment by connecting them with jobs first, and then determining wraparound services to keep them in those jobs.
• The Employer Engagement Subcommittee is emphasizing the importance of finding a way to sustain the Task Force’s work, particularly as it relates to utilizing existing resources – such as the Secretary of State and Development Office websites – to reach employers where they are already looking. The group is also considering how to make programs like Learn and Earn more of a commonality, weaving in wraparound services for students and helping employers get the workforce they need.

Gov. Justice established the Blue Ribbon Task Force by Executive Order in June to open the door to better employment opportunities by more strongly aligning credentialed training programs at community and technical colleges with the state’s workforce development programs.

The Blue Ribbon Task Force is meeting every three weeks through the end of the year, at which time it plans to present final findings and recommendations to the Governor.

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