84B.1 Workforce development centers.

The department of workforce development, in consultation with the departments of economic development, education, elder affairs, human services, and human rights, and the department for the blind, shall establish guidelines for colocating state and federal employment and training programs in centers providing services at the local level. The centers shall be known as workforce development centers. The departments shall also jointly establish an integrated management information system for linking the programs within a local center to the same programs within other local centers and to the state. The guidelines shall provide for local design and operation within the guidelines. The core services available at a center shall include but are not limited to all of the following:

1. Information. Provision of information shall include labor exchange and labor market information as well as career guidance and occupational information. Training and education institutions which receive state or federal funding shall provide to the centers consumer-related information on their programs, graduation rates, wage scales for graduates, and training program prerequisites. Information from local employers, unions, training programs, and educators shall be collected in order to identify demand industries and occupations. Industry and occupation demand information should be published as frequently as possible and be made available through centers.

2. Assessment. Individuals shall receive basic assessment regarding their own skills, interests, and related opportunities for employment and training. Assessments are intended to provide individuals with realistic information in order to guide them into training or employment situations. The basic assessment may be provided by the center or by existing service providers such as community colleges or by a combination of the two.

3. Training accounts. Training accounts may be established for both basic skill development and vocational or technical training. There shall be no training assistance or limited training assistance in those training areas a center has determined are oversupplied or are for general life improvement.

4. Referral to training programs or jobs. Based upon individual assessments, a center shall provide individuals with referrals to other community resources, training programs, and employment opportunities.

5. Job development and job placement. A center shall be responsible for job development activities and job placement services. A center shall seek to create a strong tie to the local job market by working with both business and union representatives.

84B.2 Workforce development centers--location.

A workforce development center, as provided in section 84B.1, shall be located in each service delivery area. Each workforce development center shall also maintain a presence, through satellite offices or electronic means, in each county located within that service delivery area. For purposes of this section, "service delivery area" means the area included within a merged area, as defined in section 260C.2, realigned to the closest county border as determined by the department of workforce development. However, if the state workforce development board determines that an area of the state would be adversely affected by the designation of the service delivery areas by the department, the department may, after consultation with the applicable regional advisory boards and with the approval of the state workforce development board, make accommodations in determining the service delivery areas, including, but not limited to, the creation of a new service delivery area. In no event shall the department create more than sixteen service delivery areas.