The Senate Labor and Industry Committee recently advanced bipartisan legislation that would give work force development boards greater data access.
Senate Bill 101 would amend the Workforce Development Act to instruct the Department of Labor and Industry and the Center for Workforce Information and Analysis to share data on wages, new hires and unemployment claimants with Pennsylvania’s 22 local work force development boards. The goal is to allow for greater analysis of work force development programs and policy.
The bill also makes provisions to ensure the data is also useful to local work force development boards by providing technical assistance and support.
“It’s a no-brainer to maximize the benefit of information that is already collected for Pennsylvanians who are pursuing career pathways to financial stability,” state Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-Greene/Washington), who introduced the bill, said. “Sharing the information will highlight the parts of the program that have been successful and those that have been less so. Using that information to guide program changes allows us to help more people and promotes the responsible use of tax dollars.”
State Sens. Cris Dush (R-Cameron), Art Haywood (D-Montgomery/Philadelphia), John Kane (D-Chester/Delaware), Greg Rothman (R-Perry) and Judith Schwank (D-Berks) co-sponsored the bill, which now moves to the full Senate for consideration.