This guidance notice is intended to encourage the effective use of assessment instruments within the workforce investment system to promote efficient investment in talent development that will drive regional economic competitiveness; provide guidance to the workforce investment system and its partners on effective use of assessment instruments; and release and transmit a new technical assistance resource, Testing and Assessment: A Guide to Good Practices for Workforce Investment Professionals (the Guide). This is the third in a series of Testing and Assessment Guides (see Section 2. References), which was initiated based on requests from workforce investment officials. This guidance notice and the attached new technical assistance guide are designed to support the workforce investment system in promoting talent development by ensuring that individuals served are able to make well-informed education and career choices.

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is pleased to announce the commencement of a non-experimental net impact evaluation of the formula programs established under title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). ETA has contracted with IMPAQ International, LLC (IMPAQ), of Columbia, Maryland to conduct the evaluation. The evaluation will focus on the Adult and Dislocated Worker formula programs. This evaluation will utilize a rigorous, non-experimental design to assess the impact of core and intensive services, and the incremental impact of WIA training on participant outcomes. As such, the evaluation will compare outcomes of WIA participants to the outcomes of similar individuals drawn from a comparison group. This 12-month project will utilize existing and newly-acquired administrative data from a representative sample of states. Throughout the life of the research effort, state workforce agencies, partners, and stakeholders will receive continuing updates on the study’s progress.

To share the Department of Labor’s vision for the public workforce system’s role in developing the talent needed for high growth industries requiring science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills.

To announce the schedule of the FY 2003 BTQ Nonmonetary Determination Evaluation Training Seminars.

To inform states of the availability of online information about basic Federal law requirements for the federal-state unemployment compensation (UC) program.

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is pleased to announce the opening of the Recognition of Excellence (ROE) application process for 2008. This initiative was established in 2004 to recognize high performance employment and training-related programs and superior or improved system performance by entities administering and partnering with ETA-funded programs. The ROE is an important opportunity to honor programs that have achieved commendable outcomes as well as facilitate the exponential replication of innovative practices throughout the workforce investment system.

To increase awareness of potential threats to Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and other types of data stored in state job bank data systems and inform states and local areas about resources for job bank fraud prevention and reporting.

To announce the Workforce Innovations 2008 Conference and the Call for Presentations for “learning lab” (workshop) submissions.

To provide a summary of selected ETA 581 data with associated charts and tables for CY 2006.

To inform state workforce agencies (SWAs) about the UI Integrity Professional Development Conference scheduled for April 21-23, 2008, in Salt Lake City, Utah, and to encourage staff participation at the conference.