Abstract
On July 16, 2009, Dr. William E. Kiernan provided testimony to the U.S. Senate HELP Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety addressing ‘Modernizing the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 to Help Workers and Employers Meet the Changing Demands of a Global Market’. The purpose of the hearing was to investigate how best to streamline a decision-making process that respects the necessary and complementary roles of the state, local areas, state legislatures and the federal government, and encourage regional arrangements: to explore how to ensure a dual customer approach that supports the needs of workers, jobseekers and employers; to discuss how to fully engage education partners, including community colleges and community-based organizations; and to explore the need for professional development for workforce system staff and partners. The panel was asked to address what works and should be preserved and refined in the current workforce system and what should be eliminated and, second, what innovative policy recommendations would modernize WIA. His testimony is provided in its entirety.