Description of the Operating Principles

Description of the Operating Principles:

The following is a brief description of each principle along with a site to the Workforce Investment Act or regulations that relates to each.

Multiple WorkNet Center–WIA Regulations Sec. 662.100(d),(d1,d2, d3); Act Sec 134(c):
Multiple centers will assure a convenient avenue for job seekers and employers to access core, intensive and training services. Full-service or Satellite service WorkNet Centers may be located in central areas of the county’s larger cities, on the campuses of education institutions, at CalWORKs and Welfare-to-Work service centers, within the facilities of community based organizations, in business centers, public housing sites, and other places convenient to customers. WorkNet Entry Points, which will offer many of the same services as WorkNet Centers, will be located in a variety of community agencies, libraries, chambers of commerce and other sites where access to information is of importance, and specific staff provided services is less important.
Universal Access to Core Services– WIA Regulations Sec 662.100(c); Act Sec 134(d)(2):
Core services are designed to provide job seekers with the information and services necessary to find and retain first jobs, new jobs, and better jobs. Core services will also assist economic developers and business operators to maintain, expand, create and attract employment in or to San Joaquin County.

Universal access is not a function of available information and services, but is also a function of proximity. A single WorkNet Center, located in downtown Stockton could provide the entire array of services, but might not be considered "universally accessible" to individuals living some distance away or individuals without needed transportation.
Internet Centered– WIA Regulations Sec 662.100(2):
By placing core service on the Internet, they will be available anywhere in the world on a 24 hour a day, 365 day per year basis. This approach increases the universal accessibility of core services by making them available, via computers with Internet connections, to anyone, anywhere, at anytime.

WorkNet Center staff will use these tools to assist job seekers and employers at all WorkNet Centers. The same tools and services will be available throughout the system to allow customers to begin receiving services (such as job club and resume writing) at one center, and continue their participation (such as job search and job matching) at another center.

Primary and secondary school teachers and counselors may use these tools to assist students, including those in School-to-Career programs, with vocational exploration, understanding the world of work, the selection of occupations and relevant courses of study, and to seek employment opportunities.

CalWORKs and Welfare-to-Work service center staffs will be able to use the tools, without referral to other facilities, to assist their clients with job search, job match, labor market information, training availability, community resource availability, eligibility determination, and other core services. Conversely, CalWORKs and Welfare-to-Work participants may receive the same services from any WorkNet Center or WorkNet Entry Point without the need to travel to distant welfare service centers.

Post-secondary education institutions, including community colleges, 4 year colleges, and universities will be able to use these tools to assist students and others to choose or change courses of study, to plan careers, make contacts with placement specialists, and find and obtain employment.

Business operators and employers will be able to use the system to find: assistance with zoning and permitting issues, business technical assistance needs, business financing sources, employee training, and a source of finding qualified employment applicants. Business men and women will be able to access these services, if they have an Internet connected computer, from their own offices. They will be able to access these services beyond normal working hours, on holidays, and weekends. The service is available when business is doing business.

Economic Developers, from anywhere in the world, will be able to access information about San Joaquin County to assist them in their expansion and/or relocation deliberations and decisions.

Community Based Organizations will be able to assist their clients to seek and understand labor market issues and information, find needed supportive services, find employment training schools, find employment opportunities, and use the tools to assist their clients to prepare for employment interviews.

This Internet Centered system will provide true self-service for those who are able to help themselves, be used by staff to provide "assisted self-service" to those who need a bit more help, and provide stable, consistent, dependable information to all job seekers and employers anywhere at anytime.
Service Driven System– WIA Regulations Sec 662.100(c); 662.230; WIA Act 134(c):
A service driven system assures that the WorkNet system is both integrated and comprehensive. The goal of each WorkNet Center, and the WorkNet System overall, is to deliver core and intensive services to all customers at all sites. This goal can be attained without the need to arrange for the co-location of agency staff at each of the centers. All WorkNet Center personnel will be trained to provide core and intensive services to all customers regardless of the staff’s official employer. This design will allow CBO staff, educators, EDD staff, Housing Authority personnel and others to deliver all services without the need to depend on the presence of personnel from other organizations.

This design will assure the availability of all services at all centers during all business hours regardless of which organizations are present. This will also allow services to be made available by properly trained staff at facilities, such as libraries and community centers, beyond normal working hours for customers who can only access the services during these non-working hours.

Integration: This structure not only assures that a "...broad array of employment and training programs will be integrated into a single system..." as envisioned by the California One-Stop Vision, but allows for the employment and training programs to be integrated into a single center. This integration will occur in all San Joaquin County WorkNet Centers.

Comprehensive: The structure of the San Joaquin County WorkNet System will also assure that the entire array of core and intensive services are available at each center to, as stated in California One-Stop Vision, "...meet the employment and training needs of [all] local customers...".
Customer Focused– WIA Regulations Sec 666.300(a) and Sec 666(a)(4); WIA Act Sec134(d)(F) and (G) and Sec136(b)(2)(B) :
A customer focused system will incorporate the three elements necessary to assure that the Workforce Investment System is driven by customer driven choices. The three elements of the system are:

Performance reporting is the issuance of report cards to customers on the placement rate, retention rate, and initial earnings of individuals who have completed training or education at approved training sites.

Customer Choice is the action taken by customers based on the information included in the report card. This information will allow customers to choose training courses and institutions based on the results of others who have participated in the same training have enjoyed.

Customer Satisfaction is a process used, including but not limited to customer focus groups and surveys, to determine which services, and to what extent each service, tended to satisfy or failed to satisfy both the job seeker and employer customers.
Performance Driven and Outcome Based System– WIA Regulations Sec 136(c)(2)(A) and (b)(2)(A):
The outcome measures of the San Joaquin County Workforce Investment System will include but not be limited to: entry and retention in unsubsidized employment, earnings 6 months after entry into unsubsidized employment, attainment of a recognized credential such as a high school diploma or equivalent, basic skill achievement, or occupational skills attainment.
Performance Excellence Based:
The Malcolm Baldrige performance excellence criteria are built on a powerful set of 11 common or core values. Constant pursuit by the San Joaquin County Workforce Investment System policy makers, staff and vendors will assure an ever-improving and responsive service delivery system. To make this happen, the San Joaquin County Workforce Investment System must be built, managed and improved in accordance with the following values: The system will: be customer-driven; embrace continuous improvement and learning; be managed by fact; provide fast response to customer requirements; be guided by a common set of measurable goals and a long-range view of the future; pursue internal and external partnership development; measure success on results; and be guided by constantly improving leadership.
Chartered WorkNet Centers:

Similar to a franchise, it is essential that customers of the San Joaquin County WorkNet System be able to access the same services from each WorkNet Center. These services should be predictable (the same service from each center) and dependable (the same quality of service from each center).

To assure the predictability, each WorkNet Center must be chartered in accordance with approved chartering criteria. To become a fully chartered WorkNet Center, an organization must offer a specific list of services as determined appropriate by the San Joaquin County Workforce Investment Board.

To assure the dependability, each fully chartered WorkNet Center must include WorkNet certified staff. Certified staff will have completed and passed a competency based training program.