The Florida Senate

414.028  Local WAGES coalitions.--The WAGES Program State Board of Directors shall create and charter local WAGES coalitions to plan and coordinate the delivery of services under the WAGES Program at the local level. The boundaries of the service area for a local WAGES coalition shall conform to the boundaries of the service area for the regional workforce development board established under the Enterprise Florida workforce development board. The local delivery of services under the WAGES Program shall be coordinated, to the maximum extent possible, with the local services and activities of the local service providers designated by the regional workforce development boards.

(1)(a)  Each local WAGES coalition must have a minimum of 11 members, of which at least one-half must be from the business community. The composition of the coalition membership must generally reflect the racial, gender, and ethnic diversity of the community as a whole. All members shall be appointed to 3-year terms. The membership of each coalition must include:

1.  Representatives of the principal entities that provide funding for the employment, education, training, and social service programs that are operated in the service area, including, but not limited to, representatives of local government, the regional workforce development board, and the United Way.

2.  A representative of the health and human services board.

3.  A representative of a community development board.

4.  Three representatives of the business community who represent a diversity of sizes of businesses.

5.  Representatives of other local planning, coordinating, or service-delivery entities.

6.  A representative of a grassroots community or economic development organization that serves the poor of the community.

(b)  A person may be a member of a local WAGES coalition or a combined WAGES coalition as provided in subsection (2) regardless of whether the member, or an organization represented by a member, could benefit financially from transactions of the coalition. However, if the coalition enters into a contract with an organization or individual represented on the coalition, the contract must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the entire board, and the board member who could benefit financially from the transaction must abstain from voting. A board member must disclose any such conflict in a manner that is approved by the WAGES Program State Board of Directors and is consistent with the procedures outlined in s. 112.3143.

(c)  A member of the board of a public or private educational institution may not serve as a member of a local WAGES coalition.

(d)  A representative of any county or municipal governing body that elects to provide services through the local WAGES coalition shall be an ex officio, nonvoting member of the coalition.

(e)  A representative of a county health department or a representative of a healthy start coalition shall serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the coalition.

(f)  This subsection does not prevent a local WAGES coalition from extending regular, voting membership to not more than one representative of a county health department and not more than one representative of a healthy start coalition.

(2)  A local WAGES coalition and a regional workforce development board may be combined into one board if the membership complies with subsection (1), and if the membership of the combined board meets the requirements of Pub. L. No. 97-300, the federal Job Training Partnership Act, as amended, and with any law delineating the membership requirements for the regional workforce development boards.

(3)  The statewide implementation plan prepared by the WAGES Program State Board of Directors shall prescribe and publish the process for chartering the local WAGES coalitions.

(4)  Each local WAGES coalition shall perform the planning, coordination, and oversight functions specified in the statewide implementation plan, including, but not limited to:

(a)  Developing a program and financial plan to achieve the performance outcomes specified by the WAGES Program State Board of Directors for current and potential program participants in the service area. The plan must reflect the needs of service areas for seed money to create programs that assist children of WAGES participants. The plan must also include provisions for providing services for victims of domestic violence.

(b)  Developing a funding strategy to implement the program and financial plan which incorporates resources from all principal funding sources.

(c)  Identifying employment, service, and support resources in the community which may be used to fulfill the performance outcomes of the WAGES Program.

(d)  In cooperation with the regional workforce development board, coordinating the implementation of one-stop career centers.

(e)  Advising the Department of Children and Family Services and the Department of Labor and Employment Security with respect to the competitive procurement of services under the WAGES Program.

(f)  Selecting an entity to administer the program and financial plan, such as a unit of a political subdivision within the service area, a not-for-profit private organization or corporation, or any other entity agreed upon by the local WAGES coalition.

(g)  Developing a plan for services for victims of domestic violence.

1.  The WAGES Program State Board of Directors shall specify requirements for the local plan, including:

a.  Criteria for determining eligibility for exceptions to state work requirements;

b.  The programs and services to be offered to victims of domestic violence;

c.  Time limits for exceptions to program requirements, which may not result in an adult participant exceeding the federal time limit for exceptions or the state lifetime benefit limit that the participant would otherwise be entitled to receive; and

d.  An annual report on domestic violence, including the progress made in reducing domestic violence as a barrier to self-sufficiency among WAGES participants, local policies and procedures for granting exceptions and exemptions from program requirements due to domestic violence, and the number and percentage of cases in which such exceptions and exemptions are granted.

2.  Each local WAGES coalition plan must specify provisions for coordinating and, where appropriate, delivering services, including:

a.  Provisions for the local coalition to coordinate with law enforcement agencies and social service agencies and organizations that provide services and protection to victims of domestic violence;

b.  Provisions for allowing participants access to domestic violence support services and ensuring that WAGES participants are aware of domestic violence shelters, hotlines, and other domestic violence services and policies;

c.  Designation of the agency that is responsible for determining eligibility for exceptions from program requirements due to domestic violence;

d.  Provisions that require each individual who is granted an exemption from program requirements due to domestic violence to participate in a program that prepares the individual for self-sufficiency and safety; and

e.  Where possible and necessary, provisions for job assignments and transportation arrangements that take maximum advantage of opportunities to preserve the safety of the victim of domestic violence and the victim's dependents.

(5)  By October 1, 1998, local WAGES coalitions shall deliver through one-stop career centers, the full continuum of services provided under the WAGES Program, including services that are provided at the point of application. The State WAGES Board may direct the Department of Labor and Employment Security to provide such services to WAGES participants if a local WAGES coalition is unable to provide services due to decertification. Local WAGES coalitions may not determine an individual's eligibility for temporary cash assistance, and all education and training shall be provided through agreements with regional workforce development boards. The local WAGES coalitions shall develop a transition plan to be approved by the WAGES Program State Board of Directors. Should career service employees of the Department of Labor and Employment Security be subject to layoff due to the local WAGES coalitions taking over the delivery of such services, such employees shall be given priority consideration for employment by the local WAGES coalitions. The local coalition's transition plan shall provide for the utilization of space leased by the Department of Labor and Employment Security for WAGES service functions. By October 1, 1998, the coalition may have negotiated and entered into new lease agreements or subleased for said space from the Department of Labor and Employment Security. In the event the coalition does not utilize the Department of Labor and Employment Security leased space, the Department of Labor and Employment Security shall not be obligated to pay under any lease agreement for WAGES services entered into by the department since July 1, 1996.

(6)  The WAGES Program State Board of Directors may not approve the program and financial plan of a local coalition unless the plan provides a teen pregnancy prevention component that includes, but is not necessarily limited to, a plan for implementing the Florida Education Now and Babies Later (ENABL) program under s. 411.242 and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Community Initiative within each county of the service area in which the teen birth rate is higher than the state average. Each local WAGES coalition is authorized to fund community-based welfare prevention and reduction initiatives that increase the support provided by noncustodial parents to their welfare-dependent children and are consistent with program and financial guidelines developed by the WAGES Program State Board of Directors and the Commission on Responsible Fatherhood. These initiatives may include, but are not limited to, improved paternity establishment, work activities for noncustodial parents, and programs aimed at decreasing out-of-wedlock pregnancies, encouraging the involvement of fathers with their children, and increasing child-support payments.

(7)  At the option of the local WAGES coalition, local employees of the department and the Department of Labor and Employment Security shall provide staff support for the local WAGES coalitions. Staff support may be provided by another agency, entity, or by contract.

(8)  There shall be no liability on the part of, and no cause of action of any nature shall arise against, any member of a local WAGES coalition or its employees or agents for any lawful action taken by them in the performance of their powers and duties under this section and s. 414.029.

History.--s. 8, ch. 96-175; s. 45, ch. 97-98; s. 208, ch. 97-101; s. 60, ch. 97-170; s. 4, ch. 97-173; s. 2, ch. 98-57; s. 22, ch. 98-191.