Sandoval orders more state review of federal job training programs

The U.S. Department of Labor turned down the governor’s request to disband the Southern Nevada Workforce Connections and the Northern Local Workforce Investment Board, he said.

The new order allows the state to monitor the local boards’ spending, provide a report to the Governor’s Board and establish councils to allocate funds for job training in specific industries.

“This executive order will increase oversight and bring workforce development efforts and spending in line with our state’s economic development plan,” Sandoval said in a statement.

The move came after an audit in May found high administrative costs led to only 61.84 percent of funds going to training in Southern Nevada and 70.24 percent in Northern Nevada.

Under his proposal, about 60 jobs would be eliminated and the $5 million in savings could be allocated to job training. The southern board, in particular, was criticized because eight people on its staff earned more than $100,000 a year.

“The order now essentially gives (the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board and the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation) authority to ensure they are complying with requirements in terms of the administrative fees they are charging,” Sandoval said.

Dennis Perea, deputy director of the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, said a 10 percent cap on administrative costs is authorized by federal law. But the act also allows “virtually unlimited dollars” to be spent on program costs outside of that cap, including for certain administrative purposes.

The Department of Labor refused to cap those costs, he added, but the state can oversee that spending and create guidelines. He added the two local boards, particularly the southern board, have made “great strides” in reducing administrative costs.

Job training was provided for 26,000 people last year. The state received
$29.5 million in federal grants for the training, mainly provided by private companies and colleges.