By HEATHER DESART

How many of us have been driving through traffic on our way to or from work and heard angry callers on local talk radio shows demanding to know what happened to the stimulus money? "Where are all the jobs!" they demand.

Well, there actually is a story to be told in response to that question. It's a winding bedtime story that will take the listener through a maze of regulation, bureaucracy, a little lunacy and the eventual intended impact of those nebulous federal funds.

So, please, read on and consider this a "WIA 101: Where are all the jobs?" informational opportunity.

Our story begins in 1998 when the Clinton administration wrote the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The intention of the legislation was to end, or at lease mitigate, generational welfare dependency in our country; to get our citizens trained and empowered to earn a livable wage; and eliminate the need for long-term public assistance. It seems like a simple concept, right?

Unfortunately, the resulting legislation was anything but simple. The act called for funds to be allocated to each state, so that the states could decide how best to train their people. In other words, it didn't make sense to have bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., deciding which industries were in demand in urban and rural areas throughout the various 50 states. For that matter, it didn't make sense for folks in the regional office (San Francisco in our case) or the state office (Carson City) to be making those decisions either.

The intent was to give the various local areas control in deciding which jobs were in demand and which industries were growing, and hence where the training dollars should go. Thus, every state in the country receives an allocation from the U.S. Department of Labor to fund employment and training services for its unique local needs.

There are three measures for which the state and local Workforce Investment Boards are held accountable to the Department of Labor in demonstrating the success of their programs. On the adult side: entered employment, employment retention and average earnings. The funds are intended to get people employed and includes making sure they stay employed for at least six months after they exit the program, and that they earn a "livable wage" during those six months. For youth, there are three performance measures as well: entered employment or post-secondary education, attainment of a degree, certificate or diploma, and literacy and numeracy gains.

Department of Labor wants to see young people enter an educational environment, receive a degree or certificate as a result, and show an improvement in their reading and math skills. These performance percentages are negotiated annually between the state and Department of Labor.

Here's where it gets a little tricky. The states were charged with forming Workforce Investment Boards to administer these funds. The states were given some flexibility regarding this endeavor, so the landscape of local boards around the country can look very different.

California, for example, has approximately 50 local boards spread across the state. Nevada has two: one in the north, Nevadaworks, and one in the south, Workforce Connections. Workforce Connections is responsible for serving the counties of Clark, Lincoln, Nye and Esmeralda. Nevadaworks looks after the remaining 13 counties.

Then there is a mandate on the composition of the board. It must have 50 percent plus one (a majority) representation from the private business community, then a certain percentage of representation from the education community, labor organizations, local government, social services and the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR), etc. On top of that, there is a consortium of local elected officials from each of the represented municipalities.

Workforce Connections has eight local elected officials, one from each of the four counties mentioned earlier, and one from the cities of Henderson, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Boulder City. The local elected officials have the ultimate fiduciary responsibility for board activities.

In regards to the money, the Department of Labor decides how much to award each state based on a variety of factors, some of which include state and local unemployment rates, population, labor market data, etc. Department of Labor allocates the money then passes it to the state agency (in our case DETR), which keeps a portion for oversight and administration purposes. The money then flows to the local Workforce Investment Boards.

The Workforce Investment Boards, however, can't just spend the money however they want; it must be procured -- meaning it must be put out to the community in a competitive bidding process. The Workforce Investment Boards issue a request for proposal inviting local service organizations to suggest their plans for providing the programs that get Nevadans trained and back to work. Workforce Connections calls those who bid successfully our funded partners.

So now it gets easy, right? This is where we start creating jobs and putting people back to work immediately, right? Wrong. The regulations around Workforce Investment Act funds are extremely restrictive. They were not designed to allow for the creation of jobs. In fact, the act was written during a strong economic climate, where unemployment was low and jobs were plentiful.

The intent of the funding was for such activities as putting people through occupational skills training (classroom training) for the attainment of a certificate of some kind or to subsidize a portion of someone's wage during an on-the-job training opportunity with a local employer.

Although there are a lot of things the money can be spent on, there are also a ton of things the money can't be spent on, including any kind of capital investment. These funds can be spent on supportive services to eliminate barriers to employment, such as child care assistance, transportation assistance, work cards, work tools or clothing, etc. They cannot be spent on start-up costs for businesses.

So it's impossible right? How on Earth can any of the funded partners succeed in getting Nevadans back to work if the money can only serve in a limited way?

Well, the good news is, during the toughest economic times our country, and specifically our community, has seen in decades, our funded partners are actually succeeding. They are thinking outside of the "Workforce Investment Act box." They are being innovative in their approach to service delivery. Above is a table with a look at Workforce Connections' performance numbers from 2007 to 2010.

Workforce Connections is doing its part to think outside of the box as well. Across the country, local Workforce Investment Boards have been targeting their funds toward high demand sectors or occupations that are showing a growth trend for future hiring.

DETR has identified health care and the green economy as two areas showing strong growth in the next few years. When Workforce Connections released the request for proposal for the current fiscal year, the intent was to maximize Nevada's return on investment by targeting these two sectors through the competitive bid process. The bidders were asked to present proposals that focused on employment and training in these two fields. A list of our funded partners for both the adult and the youth program can be found on the Workforce Connections website at www.nvwork
forceconnections.org under the "Partners" link.

Workforce Connections has also started to diversify its portfolio. Here are just a couple of the things happening:

n Workforce Connections is partnering with several local chambers of commerce to host a series of paneled discussions intended for business owners, managers and professionals. Business Roundtable Series: Grassroots Economic Development will focus on issues important to the Southern Nevada business community. Included in each event is a panel of economic and business experts who will share their thoughts on the current state of affairs and future economic outlook of Southern Nevada followed by a dialogue with attendees to develop actionable projects intended to provide positive and enterprising benefits to local business. Information about these events can also be found on the website.

n YouthBuild Las Vegas is a comprehensive youth development program. It simultaneously addresses several core issues facing low-income communities: education, housing, jobs, leadership development and community involvement. Furthermore, the program uniquely addresses the status of unemployed young men and women who have dropped out of school and empowers them to a productive future on local constructions projects.

YouthBuild participants also are offered assistance with the design and development of a resume, mock interviews and are counseled on growth and development in overcoming personal barriers to success. For more information about YouthBuild Las Vegas, contact Jennifer Padilla at 702-636-2351.

So who can access these services? Anyone. Individuals who are receiving unemployment benefits now or have received them in the past; individuals who need a skills upgrade in order to keep their current job or stay competitive in their field; employers who would like to hire someone and could benefit from a wage subsidy for that employee; and young people (16-21) who just need some direction with their future education and employment goals. Our mission at Workforce Connections is to develop a world-class workforce through innovative market driven strategies that are relevant to Southern Nevada's employers and job seekers.

The story doesn't end here, of course. As long as there are job seekers and employers who have workforce needs, Workforce Connections is committed to the task of assisting. Visit its website at www.nvworkforceconnections.org, and contact a member of the staff for more information.