The Workforce Development Board (WDB) accomplishes its work primarily through committees – Executive, Finance & Audit, Operations, Disability and Youth. Each board member is strongly encouraged to participate on at least one committee. Below is an outline of each committee’s responsibilities.Executive
The Executive Committee may confer to carry on routine business of the Board and shall at all times have full authority to act in the absence of a quorum at regularly scheduled and publicized meetings.
The committee is responsible for:
- developing/updating the annual strategic plan;
- recommending candidates to fill board vacancies and proposing a slate of candidates for officers;
- recruiting and nominating to the Board, the hiring of the Executive Director, and personnel items relevant to staff; and
- reviewing and recommending amendments of the WDB By-Laws for approval as needed or as suggested by the Board or committees.
Finance & Audit
The Finance & Audit Committee is responsible for advising the WDB on matters relating to the organization’s finances. The committee works with the WDB staff and accountants to direct their work and reviews finance reports so one part of the board is knowledgeable about the income, expenses, assets and liabilities.
The committee is responsible for:
- oversight and monitoring of the fiscal integrity of all funds under the control of the Board;
- reviewing and approving the annual budget, reviewing purchases and expenses and authorizing expenditures by the Executive Director;
- seeking and developing funds necessary to achieve the goals of the Cattaraugus-Allegany Workforce Development System Plan; and
- proposing the appointment of an independent auditor for full Board approval.
Operations Oversight
The Operations Oversight Committee is responsible for advising the WDB on matters relating to the delivery of services through the One Stop Career Centers. The Operations Oversight Committee shall also provide policy guidance as it relates to the overall services available to all customers of the local workforce system.
The committee is responsible for:
- certification of training providers and oversight of training outcomes;
- insuring that the interests of job seekers and employers are equally;
- insuring that the One Stop system provides quality comprehensive services in a seamless, integrated, effective and efficient manner;
- insuring that the One Stop system meets or exceeds performance standards;
- identifying and monitoring the flow of services;
- overseeing the One Stop management team;
- identifying and implementing effective employment and training strategies;
- recommending funding allocations for program services, and;
- conducting oversight of program operations, including development and review of program policies.
Special Populations Committee
The Special Populations Committee is responsible for advising the LWDB on matters relating to the delivery of an integrated workforce/employment program for special populations such as youth, ex-offenders, migrant and seasonal farmworkers, individuals with disabilities, etc. The Committee shall provide policy guidance as it relates to services to these populations.
The Committee:
- advocates on behalf of workforce development services for these populations
- advises on the administration of funds to deliver program services to improve the training, literacy, and job readiness skills of special populations;
- works to develop a more comprehensive and integrated system of workforce development programs and services for special populations;
- develops portions of the Local Plan pertaining to special populations programs/services;
- recommends providers of services to be awarded grants or contracts on a competitive basis by the local board;
- conducts oversight with respect to providers of special populations services;
- advocates for customers;
- raises awareness of special populations as a civil rights and diversity issue;
- is responsible to ensure that training for staff on providing supports for or accommodations to, finding employment opportunities for, individuals from special populations;
- seeks ways to increase competitive integrated employment opportunities; and
- provides the leadership and the public relations link between the LWDB and the Business community for financial contributions, career shadowing, internships, and job opportunities.
Members of the committee shall include:
- LWDB members;
- Representative from WIOA Title IV;
- representatives of community-based organizations with a demonstrated record of success in special populations;
- representatives of and advocates for special populations such as individuals with disabilities;
- representatives of juvenile justice programs, such as probation;
- representatives of secondary and post-secondary education, such as BOCES, colleges/universities, and school districts;
- providers of employment services, including those who employ individuals from special populations in competitive integrated employment; and
- other individuals or representatives of organizations with expertise on increasing opportunities for competitive integrated employment for special populations.
One Stop Operator Committee
As the LWDB is serving as the One Stop Operator itself, 20 CFR 678.615(b) requires the LWDB to have appropriate firewalls and conflict of interest policies and procedures in place that must conform to 20 CFR 679.430. The purpose of the One Stop Operator Committee is to serve as that firewall to ensure there are no conflicts of interest.
The responsibility of the One Stop Operator Committee is to oversee the development and continuous improvement of the workforce development system, including providing assistance to one-stop operators, one-stop partners, and providers with planning and delivering services and supportive services, to support effective delivery of services to workers, jobseekers and employers. The Committee:
- Shall recommend to the Board an entity (which may be a consortium of entities) that shall be designated or certified as a one-stop operator through a competitive process consistent with WIOA Sec. 121 (d) and make recommendations to terminate for cause the eligibility of such operators.
- Is responsible to ensure compliance with the physical and programmatic accessibility of the one-stop centers, in accordance with WIOA Sec. 188 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
- Shall assess and certify at least once annually the effectiveness, physical and programmatic accessibility, and continuous improvement in the one-stop centers and the one-stop delivery system.
- Is responsible to identify and disseminate information on best practices for the effective operation of one-stop centers, relating to the use of business outreach, partnerships, and service delivery strategies, including strategies for serving individuals with barriers to employment.
- Is responsible for the development and review of policies affecting the coordinated provision of services through the one-stop delivery system.
- Is responsible for the development of strategies for technological improvements to facilitate access to and improve the quality of services and activities provided through the one-stop delivery system.
- Is responsible for the development of strategies for aligning technology and data systems across one-stop partner programs to enhance service delivery and improve efficiencies in reporting on performance accountability.
- Is responsible to maximize the accessibility and effectiveness of the local workforce development system for employers, and workers and jobseekers
- Is responsible to provide program oversight and ensure the appropriate use and management of funds for the one-stop delivery system.
Members of the committee shall only include:
- Board members who are “independent directors,” as that term is defined in these bylaws.