NEW ANALYSIS: Charting a Path to Increased Federal Accountability Through WIOA Reauthorization

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies released “Charting a Path to Increased Federal Accountability Through WIOA Reauthorization,” which explores how the reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) can enhance federal accountability to ensure equitable outcomes for Black workers and learners in workforce training and higher education.

Our nation’s federal accountability laws for workforce training providers and higher education institutions fail to create accountability for Black workers’ and learners’ access to good jobs and economic mobility. Accountability laws enhance transparency, measure how well training providers and higher education institutions provide access and produce outcomes, and provide support or enact sanctions when programmatic outcomes are not a good investment of public funding. Current congressional momentum towards reauthorizing WIOA offers a path to collect the high-quality data necessary to improve accountability. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the A Stronger Workforce for America Act (H.R. 6655 in the 118th Congress) in April 2024ii and the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP Committee) recently circulated a discussion draft of proposed amendments to seal the reauthorization. With adequate funding and implementation, WIOA could make great strides toward ensuring training providers and higher education institutions are held accountable for preparing Black workers and learners for jobs that are high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand.