Report 2021-101 Recommendation 1 Responses

Report 2021-101: K-12 Strong Workforce Program: State and Regional Administrative Shortcomings Limit the Program's Effectiveness in Supporting Grant Applicants (Release Date: February 2022)

Recommendation #1 To: Community Colleges Chancellor's Office

To enhance the quality of information the selection committees have available when determining whether applications best meet the workforce program's goals, beginning with the fiscal year 2022-23 grant application period, the Chancellor's Office should specify in the RFA that applicants should include detailed information addressing all eligibility criteria, including information about the wage rates and demand for skilled workers in industries aligned with their CTE programs.

1-Year Agency Response

Implementation is complete.

The recommendation that applicants should include detailed information can be found in the K12 Scoring Rubric and online NOVA application for Round 5. The scoring rubric that is used to evaluate the applications at the regional level includes all required eligibility criteria. Each section in the RFA details the requirements that are inclusive of wage rates and the alignment with CTE programs. The online NOVA platform instructs the applicant that in order to receive the highest possible score and to prevent disqualification, the instructions in NOVA must be followed, all questions must be answered, and all requested information must be supplied.

Scoring Rubric https://www.cccco.edu/-/media/CCCCO-Website/Files/Workforce-and-Economic-Development/K12-RFAs/2022-2023/Round-5/k12swpround5scoringrubric81222a11y.pdf?la=en&hash=5B76DC4D5962EDE764AF0ABA4A15324469F4B291

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

The Round 5 RFA provides more specific directions to applicants. Specifically, it directs applicants to include information on how a project will lead to high-wage, high-demand career opportunities. This additional direction, in conjunction with the RFA's general guidance that applicants must answer all questions and supply all requested information, should enhance the quality of information available to selection committees when they are making award decisions.

6-Month Agency Response

This recommendation will be fully implemented and available in the Round 5 Request for Applications to be released at the end of August 2022

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

The Chancellor's Office stated that it will implement this change in the next grant application period, as recommended.

60-Day Agency Response

As stated in the Chancellor's Office response dated January 24, 2022, the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office does include eligibility criteria in the RFA as well as web links to each region's Strong Workforce Plan which includes regional wage rate and skilled workers demand. While the RFA has been explicit that applicants must describe how they will address the eligibility criteria, going forward the RFA can be more explicit that applicants that do not address all of the eligibility criteria in their proposal may not be considered. However, given that Selection Committees are ultimately responsible for determining local awards, the weight of the applicants' responses to the full range of eligibility criteria is a local decision.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: No Action Taken

The Chancellor's Office's response does not align with our recommendation. We recommended the Chancellor's Office direct applicants to address all of the eligibility criteria, not that it state that applications that do not do so may not be considered. Although the Chancellor's Office is correct that regional selection committees are responsible for determining awards, they must evaluate applications according to the statewide eligibility criteria the Chancellor's Office establishes in the Request for Applications (RFA). Therefore, we encourage the Chancellor's Office to provide guidance in the RFA that encourages applicants to include information that improves the competitiveness of their applications and the information available to selection committees.

All Recommendations in 2021-101

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.