The minutes from the April 28, 2005 meeting are attached: Minutes

WIB approval of the April 28, 2005, minutes, with revisions if needed, as posted.

Governing Board approval of the April 28, 2005, minutes, with revisions if needed, as posted.

WIB approval of the agenda, with revisions if needed, as mailed.

Governing Board approval of the agenda, with revisions if needed, as mailed.

There in one vacancy on the NoRTEC WIB, representing Economic Development. An appropriate nomination will be secured by the October 2005 meeting.

Members of the public will be invited to make brief comments regarding any aspect of NoRTEC business.

M. Piller will present the Program Committee Report.

1. Program Monitoring

   Program monitoring visits have been conducted by staff in all seven programs. An update will be provided at the meeting.

2. State Monitoring

   A state programmatic monitoring visit has been scheduled for August 1-5, 2005. The monitor will be reviewing the MCLAUS II/III program (a special project to serve dislocated workers throughout NoRTEC's nine counties). He will visit the administrative office, and the Service Providers in Lassen, Shasta, and Tehama Counties.

3. Client Numbers
   1. One Stop Centers - Job Seekers Accessing One-Stop Centers
   2. WIA Enrollments - Job Seekers Enrolled in the WIA Program
   3. Client Exits - Outcome Information On Customers Leaving The Programs

   4. Core Service - One Stop Center Utilization Information

   5. Employer Service - One Stop Center Employer Service Information
4. Contract Performance
   1. WIA Service Provider Contract Performance

      As agreed, NoRTEC has not focused a lot of attention on the details of participant performance since WIA was implemented. Initially because we were operating under too many unknowns, and were not sure what to expect. Then we switched from a focus on the job seeker to a focus on meeting local business needs. This is the second year we are looking at individual program performance involving participants (those actually enrolled in the WIA program).

      When reviewing 2004/2005 contract performance, NoRTEC did very well as a Local Workforce Investment area, and will likely meet all State performance standards when they are calculated (calculations will not be complete until late August or early September).

      Four of the seven Service Providers met all of their contract performance goals in the Adult, Youth, and "Allocated" Dislocated Worker programs: AFWD, Shasta PIC, Job Training Center of Tehama County, and TOT.

      The remaining three programs missed one or more goals:

      Butte PIC: (1) Youth Cost Per Enrollment (goal $5,359, actual $6,698)

      Rural Human Services (Del Norte County): (1) Dislocated Worker Entered Employment Rate (goal 65%, actual 56%), (2) Dislocated Worker Credential Attainment Rate (goal 58%, actual 50%), (3) Older Youth Average Wage at Placement (goal $7.75, actual $7.25), (4) Older Youth Credential Attainment Rate (goal 30%, actual 0%)

      Siskiyou Training and Employment Program: (1) Older Youth Average Wage at Placement (goal $7.00, actual $6.75), (2) Older Youth Credential Attainment Rate (goal 30%, actual 0%).

      The goals missed by the three programs will not negatively impact NoRTEC's overall performance. All three programs have submitted acceptable corrective action plans. There are no areas of concern at this time.

      The performance report also includes information on MCLAUS II/III, MCLAUS IV (special project funding for Dislocated Workers), and Northern California Nurse Training Project (NCNTP). These projects have just started, and will end 03/31/2006, 08/31/2006, and 03/31/200, respectively. Consequently, cost per enrollment figures are very high because these "cost per" figures are based on the allocation amount, not actual expenditures. In addition, not many of the participants have actually completed their programs so there is not enough data to accurately measure performance, as of the 06/30/2005 quarter. There are no areas of concern at this time, and NoRTEC staff will continue to monitor the situation via desk review.

   2. WIA Business Services Performance

      This website has training opportunities for local business (Website Initiative, Internet Classroom), and a number of reports on business service usage, events and outcomes (Business Services Usage, Internet Learning Usage, Business Websites, the Community Coordinator Reports, and the most recent Market All showing number of services and market share).

5. NWI

   The sixteen county region of NCEN (NoRTEC's nine counties, plus Colusa, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Sutter, and Yuba Counties) was awarded $2.1 million dollars to provide Registered Nurse (RN) and Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) training to northern California residents. The contract will be effective from October 1, 2002, through December 31, 2005.

   This report shows the award by county and Local Workforce investment Area, the number of enrollments, and placement information:

   NWI

6. Plant Closure Update

   There have been several plant closures in the nine county area of NoRTEC over the past several years. The following web site address is being updated as additional closures occur. Items in red are those additions since the last regularly scheduled WIB and Governing Board meeting.

   Plant Closure Update

7. Community Coordinator Reports

   Following are direct links to the reports received for the quarter ending June 30, 2005:

   (Note: If the link does not take you directly to the report for the April-June quarter, look for a menu selection on the web page entitled Community Coordinator or Community Coordinator Reports.)

   Butte PIC
   Rural Human Services (Del Norte)
   Alliance for Workforce Development (Lassen)
   Alliance for Workforce Development (Modoc)
   Alliance for Workforce Development (Plumas)
   Shasta PIC
   STEP (Siskiyou)
   Job Training Center of Tehama County
   Trinity Occupational Training (Trinity)

   A few highlights from this quarter's reports are:

   • Butte County - The County of Butte Administrative Office has launched a new website, Advantage Butte County. This website is a comprehensive referral, information and access point to government publicly funded economic development services available in Butte County. The address for this site is http://advantagebuttecounty.com

   • Del Norte County - Website development workshops continue in Del Norte County. There are now over 36 web sites that have been created through Rural Human Services for local businesses. To see a listing of websites created by each county, click on the following North State Directory link: http://www.websiteinitiative.org/countyDirectory.html

   • Lassen County - AFWD in Susanville continues with its workshop for employers series. In April, Employee Privacy Issues: Inside and Outside the Workplace was presented. The workshop series was concluded in May with Employee Discipline, Termination, and Documentation. More than 60 businesses attended these workshops.

   • Modoc County - Strategizing the economic future in Modoc County was the goal of the 2005 Modoc Economic Summit, which brought together Modoc County policy makers, agency representatives, business owners, and private citizens to facilitate discussion on issues that will impact the local economy for years to come. The May 4, day-long summit, was sponsored in part by AFWD and featured a number of speakers on topics including Modoc's economic and demographic profile, trends in economic development, real estate, marketing, tourism, and examples of what is happening in nearby counties. The informative event served to motivate and mobilize the community around the common goal of improving the county's economic path.

   • Plumas County - When the Executive Director of the Quincy Chamber of Commerce approached the Work Connection (AFWD) about utilizing the One-Stop for the Monthly Business Exchange Meetings, they said, "Come on down!" The second Wednesday of each month, members of the chamber meet a 8 a.m. where they share information about their business trends, current events, and economic factors within the Quincy community and Plumas County. This is an informal gathering that promotes dialogue between business, non-profits, and government leaders. Over the last few months, topics of discussion have included housing, government policy, downtown rehabilitation, marketing/advertising, technology, and natural resources. AFWD Human Resource Consultant Alisa Marble hosts the monthly meetings and share Work Connection and AFWD information with the group.

   • Shasta County - The Shasta PIC's Job Fairs are gaining popularity, and a number of employer specific fairs were held this past quarter. Norwegian Cruise Lines America used the SMART Center for recruiting prospective employees for the following positions: cooks, assistant cooks, stateroom stewards, laundry people, and utility workers. Other companies using the SMART Center for job fairs were the Knot, Shasta Head Start, and Jack-in-the-Box.

   • Siskiyou County - The Workforce Connection sponsored a Sexual Harrassment Prevention for Managers and Supervisors workshop in June for local employers. More than 20 people attended from several different businesses and agencies in the area.

   • Tehama County - Over the past six months, the Job Training Center Workforce One Crew has been an exciting addition to the Job Training Center's menu of fee-for-service products. Organized in 1997 to allow older youth to gain work experience skills in a supervised work crew environment, the crew used to do projects for various county agencies and local programs. Most recently, the seven-person "crew" started accepting private party projects for pay. With virtually no marketing and word-of-mouth referral only, the crew consistently generates about $1,000 a month doing light landscaping, painting, weed eradication, and more for private parties.

   • Trinity County - TOT's Business 1st Team made several formal presentations to business-related Trinity County organizations to market their services throughout the County. They are making a concerted effort to get their name out in the community and to assure that the business community is aware of the services they are able to provide.

   Please take a few minutes to read the reports from all nine counties. They are informative and fun. Our Community Coordinators are putting a lot of work into keeping you informed. We like to let them know how much we appreciate their efforts.

8. Web Site Technology Initiative (Udate)

   We have a total of 168 websites transferred to the new North State Directory (www.northstatedirectory.com); 23 for Del Norte, 4 for Lassen, 7 for Modoc, 4 for Plumas, 67 for Shasta, 28 for Siskiyou, and 55 for Trinity. The new site organizes the websites by topic, like "Lodging," and "Real Estate." We still have some bugs to work out (too many categories, graphics take too long to load, etc.), but we think this new site will provide a better marketing service to the businesses featured on the site than the former listings by County.

9. One Stop Business Services
   1. Business Service Web Sites - NoRTEC has a number of websites addressing business services:

      NoRTEC Business Services - An overview of the NoRTEC Business Services program.

      The following counties have developed local business services websites that detail their local business services program:

      Shasta
      Siskiyou
      Tehama
      Trinity
      Del Norte
      Lassen
      Modoc
      Plumas

   2. NoRTEC Business Service Presentations - This section will be brief this time to allow some time for Youth Program presentations.

      Bill Finley, Executive Director of the Butte PIC, will show the new "partner" business services website developed for Butte County; "Advantage Butte County." This website is meant to be a comprehensive referral, information and access point to government and publicly-funded economic development services available in Butte County, California.

      AFWD (Lassen, Modoc, Plumas Counties) will present Independent City, a life skills simulation deveveloped as a tool to assist youth that would like to prepare themselves to live independently. This was a collaborative effort between several agencies in Lassen County, including AFWD, private employers, Lassen and Plumas County Independent Living Programs, Lassen Works (Department of Social Services), Lassen Union High School, Lassen County Office of Education, the Workability Program, and Americore/Lassen College Mentor Program.

      The Workforce Connection (Siskiyou County) will present "Partnerships Make a Difference," highlighting their partnerships with Klamath National Forest in Happy Camp, the California Conservation Corps, the Siskiyou County Foster Care Program, and the business community.

      BOSS (Business One Stop Services) and the Job Training Center of Tehama County will present Workforce One, a youth work crew providing services for a fee in Tehama County.

      Rural Human Serivces (Del Norte County) will talk about on-site workshops they provided to Del Norte High School's TPP and Workability classes.

      The SMART Business Resource Center (Shasta County) will provide a brief update on ITOP (Improving Transition Outcomes for Youth with Disabilities, aka the Futures Project), and provide some examples of youth program successes.

      Trinity Occupational Training will show a short video highlighting the last 14 years of their youth employment and training program. It was written, directed, and produced by last summer's academic enrichment instructor, and was shown on Weaverville's local cable television channel.

10. Staff Training (Information)

    Since the last meeting, Betti Austin, NoRTEC Program Services Director, provided in-service training to the staff of the SMART Business Resource Center (Shasta) and Rural Human Services (Del Norte).

11. Youth Council Report (Information)

    M. Piller will provide a brief report on this morning's Youth Council meeting.

The Program Committee recommends approval of the Fourth Quarter Program Committee Report

WIB approval of the Fourth Quarter Program Committee Report.

Governing Board approval of the Fourth Quarter Program Committee Report.

D. Beeson, Finance Committee member, will present the Finance Committee report.

1. PY 2005/2006 Funding (Information)

   Note: The PY 2005/2006 funding amounts include unspent carry-forward funding from the 2004/2005 program year. The carry-forward amounts will not be finalized until service providers submit final 2004/2005 expenditure reports on August 19, 2005. Any differences in the final carry-forward amounts should be minor and should not significantly affect the total available funding for PY 2005/2006.

   NoRTEC currently has $12,629,300 in available funds for the PY 2005/2006 Program Year. This is $2,308,862 more than we had to start the 2004/2005 program year. Even though our allocated funding remained fairly flat this year, we were able to carry forward a greater amount of special project funding from the 2004/2005 program year. This has made it much easier for our local service providers to plan and operate their programs for this upcoming year.

   Project	Funds Available from July 1, 2005	Additional Funds Requested	Total
   Adult	$3,024,651	$0	$3,024,651
   Youth	$3,112,182	$0	$3,112,182
   Dislocated Worker	$1,778,063	$0	$1,778,063
   Rapid Response	$612,225	$0	$612,225
   MCLAUS II/III	$1,711,484	$0	$1,711,484
   MCLAUS IV	$1,347,131	$0	$1,347,131
   Nurse Workforce Initiative	$193,566	$0	$193,566
   NCNPT	$770,151	$0	$770,151
   Disability Navigator	$63,784	$0	$63,784
   Incentive Funds	$16,063	$0	$16,063
   TOTAL	$12,629,300	$0	$12,629,300

2. Program Year 2005/2006 Contracts Summary (Information)

   Note: The PY 2005/2006 funding amounts include unspent carry-forward funding from the 2004/2005 program year. The carry-forward amounts will not be finalized until service providers submit final 2004/2005 expenditure reports on August 19, 2005. Any differences in the final carry-forward amounts should be minor and should not significantly affect the total available funding for PY 2005/2006.

   This report shows the total amount of funding in contracts with the State, the source of that funding and its allocation within NoRTEC for the 2005/2006 program year. As of July 1, 2005, NoRTEC had a total of $12,629,300available in State contracts for the 2005/2006 program year. This report includes only amounts available in the 2005/2006 program year. Amounts expended in prior years are not included.

3. Program Year 2004/2005 Funding (Information)

   For the recently ended 2004/2005 Program Year, NoRTEC had a total of $15,367,908 in available funds. This is a $922,966 increase from the amount of funding available in PY 2003/2004. The increase in funding is primarily due to the receipt of funding for several special projects toward the end of the program year.

   Project	Funds Available from July 1, 2004
   Adult	$3,724,930
   Youth	$3,060,831
   Dislocated Worker	$1,534,820
   Rapid Response	$656,687
   North STARRS II	$505,361
   MCLAUS II	$2,800,000
   Nurse Workforce Initiative	$730,916
   MCLAUS IV	$1,350,000
   NCNTP	$800,000
   HCE YOUTH	$70,000
   Disability Navigator	$106,000
   Incentive	$28,363
   TOTAL	$15,367,908

4. Approval of PY 2004/2005 Four Quarter Financial Reports (Action)
   1. PY 2004/2005 Contracts Summary (Information)

      This report shows the total amount of funding in contracts with the State, the source of that funding and its allocation within NoRTEC for the 2004/2005 program year. As of June 30, 2005, NoRTEC had a total of $15,367,908 available in State contracts for the 2004/2005 program year. This report includes only amounts available in the current year. Amounts expended in prior years are not included.

   2. PY 2004/2005 Service Provider Contract Modifications

      This report shows the changes between March 31, 2005, and June 30, 2005, in the service provider contract amounts available for expenditure in the current program year. This report shows only contract amounts available in the current year. Contract amounts expended in prior years are not included.

      The contract modifications during this period were (1) the allocation of $250,000 in MCLAUS IV funding to Shasta to serve plant closure victims and (2) the allocation of $2,500 of Rapid Response funding to Del Norte.

   3. PY 2004/2005 Program Expenditure Report

      NOTE: This report is preliminary, but is not expected to vary significantly from the final report.

      This report shows each subcontractor's total available balance for the program year (July 1, 2004, to June 30, 2005), the cumulative expenditures for the year ended June 30, 2005, and the remaining balance at June 30, 2005, for each specific funding title and program type. This report shows only contract amounts available in the current year. Contract amounts expended in a prior year are not included.

      All Service Providers met all the NoRTEC required expenditure rates for allocated funds at June 30, 2005. There are no items of concern at this time.

      Background: NoRTEC service providers are generally required to spend 80% of each year's allocation by the end of the program year. For the convenience of monitoring, NoRTEC uses a 20% per quarter expenditure rate as a guide for assessing expenditures throughout the fiscal year (20% first quarter, 40% second quarter, 60% third quarter and 80% final quarter). A corrective action plan (an explanation from the service provider of how they intend to utilize the funds by the end of the funding period) is automatically required from a service provider if quarterly expenditures vary by more than 10% from the quarterly target rate. The required expenditure rates apply to regular funding titles only and do not apply to special projects.

      "Excess" funds may be voluntarily returned by a service provider or recaptured by NoRTEC if it appears that a service provider will not be able to effectively utilize them by the end of the funding period. These funds are then redistributed to other NoRTEC service providers demonstrating a greater need, or returned to the State if they cannot be effectively utilized within the consortium. Early detection and correction of expenditure problems is important because it allows time for the funds to be put to good use by service providers in other consortium counties. In addition, the effective use of funds directly affects NoRTEC's ability to secure additional funding in future years.

   4. PY 2004/2005 NoRTEC Administrative Entity Expenditure Report

      NOTE: This report is preliminary, but is not expected to vary significantly from the final report.

      This report shows the Administrative Entity (AE) expenditures against the annual line item budget for the year ended June 30, 2005. At June 30, 2005, the NoRTEC Administrative Entity had expended 98% of its Operating budget, 95% of its Special Projects budget, 39% of its Capacity Building budget. The budget expenditures are detailed in the attached line item report.

      There are no items of concern at this time.

   5. PY 2004/2005 NoRTEC WIB and Governing Board Expenditure Report

      NOTE: This report is preliminary, but is not expected to vary significantly from the final report.

      This report shows the WIB and Governing Board expenditures against the annual line item budget for the year ended June 30, 2005. At June 30, 2005, the WIB/Governing Board expended 75% of its total budget.
      
      There are no items of concern at this time.

   Recommended Action:

   The Finance Committee recommends approval of the PY 2004/2005 Fourth Quarter Preliminary Finance Report.

   WIB approval of the PY 2004/2005 Fourth Quarter Preliminary Finance Report.

   Governing Board approval of the PY 2004/2005 Fourth Quarter Preliminary Finance Report.

5. State Monitoring of NoRTEC (Information)

   In April, NoRTEC was visited by a State monitor from EDD who reviewed NoRTEC's fiscal and procurement systems. The State monitor was at the NoRTEC administrative office for two days and then visited the offices in Siskiyou and Lassen/Modoc/Plumas Counties during the remainder of the week.

   We received a draft monitoring report from the visit which raised one issue. The State asserts that WIA regulations require a written "price analysis" for every purchase, no matter how small. This would mean that the price of every pencil, bridge toll, and box of toilet paper would have to be analyzed and documented before a purchase could be made with WIA funds.

   NoRTEC currently documents a price analysis for purchases greater than $2,500. But for purchases under $2,500, the cost of documenting a price analysis would more than offset any potential cost savings, so the price analysis is performed but not documented. We do not believe that the Federal regulations require a documented price analysis for small purchases.

   We have responded to the State's draft monitoring letter, but have not received a reply. When the issue has been resolved, the results will be reported to the Board.

6. Fiscal Monitoring of NoRTEC Service Providers By NoRTEC (Information)

   NoRTEC conducted on-site fiscal and procurement reviews of all NoRTEC service providers during April, May and June. The areas under review included accounting systems, allowable costs, cost categories, financial reporting, cost allocation, property management and procurement. The results of the reviews have been communicated to the service providers.

   There were no findings as a result of monitorings. NoRTEC's monitoring letters are available for review by interested WIB and/or Governing Board members. There are no items of concern at this time.

7. Fiscal Monitoring of NoRTEC Service Providers By NoRTEC (Information)

   NoRTEC conducted on-site fiscal and procurement reviews of all NoRTEC service providers during April, May and June. The areas under review included accounting systems, allowable costs, cost categories, financial reporting, cost allocation, property management and procurement. The results of the reviews have been communicated to the service providers.

   There were no findings as a result of monitorings. NoRTEC's monitoring letters are available for review by interested WIB and/or Governing Board members. There are no items of concern at this time.

The Finance Committee recommends approval of the Fourth Quarter Finance Committee Report.

WIB approval of the Fourth Quarter Finance Committee Report.

Governing Board approval of the Fourth Quarter Finance Committee Report.

1. Prior Approval

   Federal NCNTP (Northern California Nurse Training Program) - This application for $825,000 to provide nurse training in five of NoRTEC's counties (Butte, Lassen, Plumas, Siskiyou, and Tehama Counties) never got an official rejection, but is presumed dead by now.

   Business Services Demonstration Project - Staff have not yet submitted this unsolicited application for $2,000,000 to the Department of Labor for a business services demonstration project.

2. New Applications

   Staff is requesting permission to submit an aplication for the funding of a youth construction project that will combine remedial education with construction skill training leading to job placement with the private sector. At this point it appears the requested amount will be approximately $500,000. Any NoRTEC county that can implement a viable project is invited to participate.

   Recommended Action:

   WIB approval for NoRTEC to submit an application for $500,000 for a Youth Construction project.

   Governing Board approval for NoRTEC to submit an application for $500,000 for a Youth Construction project.

The Executive Committee is meeting the day prior to discuss three items; the annual evaluation of the Director, some additional protocols for the WIB/Governing Board Agreement, and the possible addition of counties to the NoRTEC Consortium. T. Cochran, Executive Committee Chair, will report on the meeting. A copy of the Executive Committee Agenda can be found here Executive Committee Agenda

Recommended Action:
WIB approval of adding items F and G to Section 8 of the NoRTEC Workforce Investment Board
and Governing Board Agreement, as presented in the July 27, 2005, NoRTEC Executive Committee Agenda.

Governing Board approval of adding items F and G to Section 8 of the NoRTEC Workforce Investment Board and Governing Board Agreement, as presented in the July 27, 2005, NoRTEC Executive Committee Agenda.

The Committee has not met since the last WIB/Governing Board meeting.

Ginne Mistal will provide a brief update on Small Business California, and her new position as Chair of their Worker's Compensation Committee.

Old Business items may be brought up for discussion, at the pleasure of the NoRTEC WIB/Governing Board members.

1. WIB and Governing Board Annual Planning Day - October 27-28, 2005, at the Holiday Inn in Chico.
2. Additional New Business items may be brought up for discussion, at the pleasure of the NoRTEC WIB/Governing Board members.