96 STAT. 1382 29 USC 1733. Applications. PUBLIC LAW 97-300-OCT. 13, 1982 employment and training problems. The program under this section may include studies concerning the development or improvement of Federal, State, local, and privately supported employment and training programs; labor market processes and outcomes; policies and programs to reduce unemployment and the relationships thereof with price stability and other national goals; productivity of labor; improved means of forecasting and using forecasts of labor supply and demand at the national and subnational levels; methods of improving the wages and employment opportunities of low-skilled and disadvantaged workers; measuring and developing policies to eliminate worker shortages; and easing the transition from school to work, from transfer payment receipt to self-sufficiency, from one job to another, and from work to retirement. (b) The Secretary shall establish a program of experimental, developmental, and demonstration projects, through grants or contracts, for the purpose of improving techniques and demonstrating the effectiveness of specialized methods in meeting employment and training problems. Research activities may include studies, experiments, demonstrations, and pilot projects in such areas as easing the transition from school to work, assessing the changing demographics of the American work-force and addressing the short-term and longterm impact of the changes, increasing employment of skilled workers critical to defense readiness, and, subject to the last sentence of this subsection, projects developed in conjunction with the Secretary of Defense to meet civilian manpower needs on military installations and in the private sector, and eliminating artificial barriers to employment. The Secretary may pay not to exceed 60 percent of the costs of projects developed in conjunction with the Secretary of Defense described in the preceding sentence, and the contributions of the Department of Defense may be in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, or services. PILOT PROJECTS SEC. 453. (a) From funds made available under this part, the Secretary may provide financial assistance for pilot projects which meet the employment-related needs of persons including the handicapped and displaced homemakers who face particular disadvantages in specific and general labor markets or occupations and other persons whom the Secretary determines require special assistance, and projects designed to address skill shortages that affect other critical national objectives, including national security. (b) Each pilot project assisted under this section shall be designed to assist in eliminating artificial and other employment barriers faced by such persons. (c) No project under this section shall be financially assisted for more than three years under this Act. (d) In selecting recipients under this section, the Secretary shall give special consideration to applications submitted by communitybased organizations of demonstrated effectiveness, as well as to labor unions, and trade associations and their affiliates that address nationwide concerns through programs operating in more than one State. PUBLIC LAW 97-300-OCT. 13, 1982 EVALUATION SEC. 454. (a) The Secretary shall provide for the continuing evaluation of all programs, activities, and research and demonstration projects conducted pursuant to this Act, including their cost-effectiveness in achieving the purposes of this Act, their impact on communities and participants, their implication for related programs, the extent to which they meet the needs of persons by age, sex, race, and national origin, and the adequacy of the mechanism for the delivery of services. 96 STAT. 1383 29 USC 1734. (b) The Secretary shall evaluate the effectiveness of programs authorized under this Act and part C of title II of the Social Security Act with respect to the statutory goals, the performance standards 42 USC 401. established by the Secretary, and of increases in employment and earnings for participants, reduced income support costs, increased tax revenues, duration in training and employment situations, information on the post-enrollment labor market experience of program participants for at least a year following their termination from such programs, and comparable information on other employees or trainees of participating employers. TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SEC. 455. (a) The Secretary, in consultation with appropriate 29 USC 1735. officials, shall provide directly or through grants, contracts, or other arrangements, appropriate preservice and inservice training for specialized, supportive, supervisory, or other personnel, including job skills teachers, and appropriate technical assistance (including technical assistance to training programs for housing for migrant and seasonal farmworkers) with respect to programs under this Act, including the development and attainment of performance goals. Such activities may include the utilization of training and technical assistance capabilities which exist at the State and service delivery area level. (b) The Secretary shall establish a national clearinghouse to disseminate materials and information gained from exemplary program experience which may be of use in the innovation or improvement of other programs conducted pursuant to this Act. PART E-LABOR MARKET INFORMATION LABOR MARKET INFORMATION; AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS SEC. 461. (a) The Secretary shall set aside, out of sums available to the Department for any fiscal year including sums available for this title, such sums as may be necessary to maintain a comprehensive system of labor market information on a national, regional, State, local, or other appropriate basis, which shall be made publicly available in a timely fashion. (b) Funds available for purposes of this part shall also be available for purposes of section 125 (relating to State labor market information). Information disclosure. 29 USC 1751. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds available to other Federal agencies for carrying out chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, the Vocational Education Act of 1963, and the Act of 44 USC 3501 et June 6, 1933 (popularly known as the Wagner-Peyser Act), may be seq.; 29 USC 49 note. 96 STAT. 1384 29 USC 1752. 44 USC 3501 et seq. Report. 29 USC 1753. 20 USC 2391. PUBLIC LAW 97-300-OCT. 13, 1982 made available by the head of each such agency to assist in carrying out the provisions of this part. COOPERATIVE LABOR MARKET INFORMATION PROGRAM SEC. 462. (a) The Secretary shall develop and maintain for the Nation, State, and local areas, current employment data by occupation and industry, based on the occupational employment statistics program, including selected sample surveys, and projections by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of employment and openings by occupation. (b) The Secretary shall maintain descriptions of job duties, training and education requirements, working conditions, and characteristics of occupations. (c) In carrying out the provisions of this section, the Secretary shall assure that (1) departmental data collecting and processing systems are consolidated to eliminate overlap and duplication; (2) the criteria of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, are met; and (3) standards of statistical reliability and national standardized definitions of employment, unemployment, and industrial . and occupational definitions are used. (d)(1) The Secretary is authorized to develop data for an annual statistical measure of labor market related economic hardship in the Nation. Among the factors to be considered in developing such a measure are unemployment, labor force participation, involuntary part-time employment, and full-time employment at wages less than the poverty level. (2) The Secretary is authorized to develop and maintain, on national, State, local, and other appropriate bases, household budget data at different levels of living, including a level of adequacy, to reflect the differences of household living costs in regions and localities, both urban and rural. (3) The Secretary shall publish, at least annually, a report relating labor force status to earnings and income. (e) The Secretary shall develop and maintain statistical data relating to permanent lay-offs and plant closings. The Secretary shall publish a report based upon such data, as soon as practicable, after the end of each calendar year. Among the data to be included are (1) the number of such closings; (2) the number of workers displaced; (3) the location of the affected facilities; and (4) the types of industries involved. SPECIAL FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITIES SEC. 463. (a) The Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Education, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, through the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee established under section 161(b) of the Vocational Education Act of 1963, shall— (1) review the need for and the application of all operating national data collection and processing systems in order to identify gaps, overlap, and duplications, and integrate at the PUBLIC LAW 97-300-OCT. 13, 1982 national level currently available data sources in order to improve the management of information systems; (2) maintain, assure timely review, and implement national standardized definitions with respect to terms, geographic areas, timing of collection, and coding measures, to the maximum extent feasible; and (3) provide technical assistance to the States in the development, maintenance, and utilization of labor market/occupational supply and demand information systems and projections of supply and demand as described in section 125, with special emphasis on assistance in the utilization of cost-efficient automated systems and improving access of individuals to career opportunities information in local and State labor markets. (b) The Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of Defense, shall assure the development of an integrated occupational supply and demand information system to be used by States and, in particular, in secondary and postsecondary educational institutions in order to assure young persons adequate information on career opportunities in the Armed Forces. (c) The Secretary and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall assure that, from the funds reserved for this part, sufficient funds are available to provide staff at the Federal level to assure the coordination functions described in this section. NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL INFORMATION COORDINATING COMMITTEE SEC. 464. (a)(1) Of the amounts available for this part, not more than $5,000,000 is authorized to be reserved for the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (established pursuant to section 161(b) of the Vocational Education Act of 1963). (2) In addition to the members required by such Act, the Committee shall include the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics. (3) Not less than 75 percent of the funds transferred by the Secretary to the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee shall be used to support State occupational information coordinating committees and other organizational units designated under section 125 for carrying out State labor market information programs. (b) In addition to its responsibilities under the Vocational Education Act of 1963, the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee shall (1) carry out the provisions of section 463; 96 STAT. 1385 (2) give special attention to the labor market information needs of youth and adults, including activities such as (A) assisting and encouraging States to adopt methods of translating national occupational outlook information into State and local terms; (B) assisting and encouraging the development of State occupational information systems, including career information delivery systems and the provision of technical assistance for programs of on-line computer systems and other facilities to provide career information at sites such as local schools, public employment service offices, and job training programs authorized under this Act; (C) in cooperation with educational agencies and institutions, encouraging programs providing career information, counseling, and employment services for 29 USC 1754. 20 USC 2391. 96 STAT. 1386 Report. 20 USC 2391. 29 USC 1755. PUBLIC LAW 97-300-OCT. 13, 1982 postsecondary youth; and (D) in cooperation with State and local correctional agencies, encouraging programs of counseling and employment services for youth and adults in correctional institutions; (3) provide training and technical assistance, and continuing support to State occupational information coordinating committees, in the development, maintenance, and use of occupational supply and demand information systems, with special emphasis on the use of cost efficient automated systems for delivering occupational information to planners and administrators of education and training programs and on improving the access of such planners and administrators to occupational information systems; (4) publish at least annually a report on the status of occupational information capabilities at the State and national levels, which may include recommendations for improvement of occupational information production and dissemination capabilities; (5) conduct research and demonstration projects designed to improve any aspect of occupational and career information systems; (6) provide technical assistance for programs designed to encourage public and private employers to list all available job opportunities with occupational information and career counseling programs conducted by administrative entities and with local public employment service offices and to encourage cooperation and contact among such employers and such administrative entities and public employment service offices; and (7) providing assistance to units of general local government and private industry councils to familiarize them with labor market information resources available to meet their needs. (c) All funds available to the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee under this Act, under section 161 of the Vocational Education Act of 1963, and under section 12 of the Career Education Act may be used by the Committee to carry out any of its functions and responsibilities authorized by law. JOB BANK PROGRAM SEC. 465. The Secretary is authorized to establish and carry out a nationwide computerized job bank and matching program (including the listing of all suitable employment openings with local offices of the State employment service agencies by Federal contractors and subcontractors and providing for the affirmative action as required by section 2012(a) of title 38, United States Code, on a regional, State, and local basis, using electronic data processing and telecommunications systems to the maximum extent possible for the purpose of identifying sources of available individuals and job vacancies, providing an expeditious means of matching the qualifications of unemployed, underemployed, and economically disadvantaged individuals with employer requirements and job opportunities, and referring and placing such individuals in jobs. An occupational information file may be developed, containing occupational projections of the numbers and types of jobs on regional, State, local, and other appropriate bases, as well as labor supply information by occupation. |