Article 1 - California Workforce Development Board

California Unemployment Insurance Code — §§ 14010-14017.2

Sections (9)

Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 94, Sec. 10. (AB 1270) Effective January 1, 2016. See conditional termination clause in Section 14007.

The California Workforce Development Board is the body responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California’s workforce investment system and the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century economy and workforce.

§ 14011

Added by Stats. 2006, Ch. 630, Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 2007. See conditional termination clause in Section 14007.

The board shall report, through its executive director, to the Secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

§ 14012

Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 332, Sec. 2. (AB 2207) Effective January 1, 2025. See conditional termination clause in Section 14007.

The board shall be appointed by the Governor to assist in the development of the State Plan and to carry out other functions, as described in Section 14103. The board shall be comprised of the Governor and representatives from the following categories:

(a)Two members of each house of the Legislature, appointed by the appropriate presiding officer of each house.

(b)A majority of board members shall be representatives of business who:

(1)Are owners of businesses, chief executives or operating officers of businesses, and other business executives or employers with optimum

policymaking or hiring authority, who, in addition, may be members of a local board described in Section 3122(b)(2)(A)(i) of Title 29 of the United States Code.

(2)Represent businesses, including small businesses, or organizations representing businesses that include high-quality, work-relevant training and development in in-demand industry sectors or occupations in the state.

(3)Are appointed from a group of individuals nominated by state business organizations and business trade associations.

(c)(1) Not less than 20 percent of board members shall be representatives of the workforce within the state, including representatives of labor organizations nominated by state labor federations, who shall

not be less than 15 percent of the board membership and who shall include at least one representative that is a member of a labor organization or a training director, from a joint labor-management apprenticeship program, or if no such joint program exists in the state, such a representative of an apprenticeship program in the state.

(2)Representatives appointed pursuant to this subdivision may include:

(A)Representatives of community-based organizations that have demonstrated experience and expertise in addressing the employment, training, or education needs of individuals with barriers to employment, including organizations that serve veterans, organizations that provide or support competitive, integrated employment for individuals with disabilities, organizations that

serve transgender and gender nonconforming individuals, and organizations that represent or serve older adults.

(B)Representatives of organizations that have demonstrated experience and expertise in addressing the employment, training, or education needs of eligible youth, including representatives of organizations that serve out-of-school youth.

(d)The balance of board members:

(1)Shall include representatives of government that are lead state officials with primary responsibility for the core programs and shall include chief elected officials, collectively representing cities, counties, and cities and counties where appropriate.

(2)May include

other representatives and officials as the Governor may designate, like any of the following:

(A)State agency officials from agencies that are one-stop partners, not specified in paragraph (1), including additional one-stop partners whose programs are covered by the State Plan, if any.

(B)State agency officials responsible for economic development or juvenile justice programs in the state.

(C)Individuals who represent an Indian tribe or tribal organization, as those terms are defined in Section 3221(b) of Title 29 of the United States Code.

(D)State agency officials responsible for education programs in the state, including chief executive officers, or

their designees, of institutions of higher education, including, but not limited to, the California Community College system, the California State University system, the University of California system, and their respective individual campuses.

(E)State agency officials responsible for administering programs that serve, and state commission officials that advocate on behalf of, older adults or their designees.

(e)Other requirements of board membership shall include:

(1)The Governor shall select a chairperson for the board from among the representatives described in subdivision (b).

(2)The members of the board shall represent diverse geographic areas of the

state, including urban, rural, and suburban areas.

(f)For purposes of this section, “older adults” means persons 60 years of age or older.

§ 14013

Amended (as amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 78, Sec. 15) by Stats. 2021, Ch. 550, Sec. 2. (SB 753) Effective January 1, 2022. See conditional termination clause in Section 14007.

The board shall assist the Governor in the following:

(a)Promoting the development of a well-educated and highly skilled 21st century workforce, and the development of a high road economy that offers an educated and skilled workforce with fair compensation and treatment in the workplace.

(b)Developing, implementing, and modifying the State Plan. The State Plan shall serve as the comprehensive framework and coordinated plan for the aligned investment of all federal and state workforce training and employment services funding streams and programs. To the extent feasible and when appropriate, the State Plan should reinforce and work with adult education and career technical education efforts that are responsive to labor

market trends, as well as economic trends that impact the labor market and workforce, including, but not limited to, climate change, automation of work, and employment.

(c)The review and technical assistance of statewide policies, of statewide programs, and of recommendations on actions that should be taken by the state to align workforce, education, training, and employment funding programs in the state in a manner that supports a comprehensive, high-quality, and streamlined workforce development system in the state, including the review and provision of comments on the State Plan, if any, for programs and activities of one-stop partners that are not core programs.

(d)Developing and continuously improving the statewide workforce investment system, including:

(1)The identification of barriers and means for

removing barriers to better coordinate, align, and avoid duplication among the programs and activities carried out through the system.

(2)The development, promotion, and implementation of strategies, as well as the administration of, an field assistance for, programs to advance the use of career pathways for the purpose of providing individuals, including low-skilled adults, youth, and individuals with barriers to employment, and including individuals with disabilities, with workforce investment activities, education, and supportive services to enter or retain high-quality employment. To the extent permissible under state and federal laws, these policies and strategies should support linkages between kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and community college educational systems in order to help secure educational and career advancement. These policies and strategies may be implemented using a sector strategies framework and should

ultimately lead to placement in a job providing economic security or job placement in an entry-level job that has a well-articulated career pathway or career ladder to a job providing economic security.

(3)The development, promotion, and implementation of strategies for providing effective outreach to and improved access for individuals and employers who could benefit from services provided through the workforce development system.

(4)The development, promotion, and implementation of strategies, as well as the administration of, and field assistance for, programs that meet the needs of employers, workers, and jobseekers, particularly through industry or sector partnerships related to in-demand industry sectors and occupations, including policies targeting resources to competitive and emerging industry sectors and industry clusters that provide economic security and are either

high-growth sectors or critical to California’s economy, or both. These industry sectors and clusters shall have significant economic impacts on the state and its regional and workforce development needs, including, but not limited to, California’s transition to a carbon neutral economy, and have documented career opportunities.

(5)Consistent with the definitions in Section 14005, developing standards, procedures, and criteria for defining high road employers, high road jobs, high road workforce development, and high road training partnerships in California, in accordance with lessons learned from the board’s ongoing high road workforce development initiatives.

(6)The administration, promotion, and expansions of, as well as field assistance for, high road training partnerships, as defined in Section 14005.

(7)The

administration, promotion, and expansion of, as well as field assistance for, high road construction careers, as defined in Section 14005.

(8)Recommending adult and dislocated worker training policies and investments that offer a variety of career opportunities while upgrading the skills of California’s workforce. These may include training policies and investments pertaining to any of the following:

(A)Occupational skills training, including training for nontraditional employment.

(B)On-the-job training.

(C)Incumbent worker training in accordance with Section 3174(d)(4) of Title 29 of the United States Code.

(D)Programs that combine workplace training with related instruction, which

may include cooperative education programs.

(E)Training programs operated by the private sector.

(F)Skill upgrading and retraining.

(G)Entrepreneurial training.

(H)Transitional jobs in accordance with Section 3174(d)(5) of Title 29 of the United States Code.

(I)Job readiness training provided in combination with any of the services described in subparagraphs (A) to (H), inclusive.

(J)Adult education and literacy activities provided in combination with any of the services described in subparagraphs (A) to (G), inclusive.

(K)Customized training conducted

with a commitment by an employer or group of employers to employ an individual upon successful completion of the training.

(e)The identification of regions, including planning regions, for the purposes of Section 3121(a) of Title 29 of the United States Code, and the designation of local areas under Section 3121 of Title 29 of the United States Code, after consultation with local boards and chief elected officials.

(f)The development and continuous improvement of the one-stop delivery system in local areas, including providing assistance to local boards, one-stop operators, one-stop partners, and providers with planning and delivering services, including training services and supportive services, to support effective delivery of services to workers, job seekers, and employers.

(g)Recommending strategies to the

Governor for strategic training investments of the Governor’s 15-percent discretionary funds.

(h)Developing strategies to support staff training and awareness across programs supported under the workforce development system.

(i)The development and updating of comprehensive state performance accountability measures, including state-adjusted levels of performance, to assess the effectiveness of the core programs in the state as required under Section 3141(b) of Title 29 of the United States Code. As part of this process the board shall do all of the following:

(1)Develop a workforce metrics dashboard, to be updated annually, that measures the state’s human capital investments in workforce development to better understand the collective impact of these investments on the labor market. The board shall determine the

approach for measuring labor market impacts, provided that, to the extent feasible, the board uses statistically rigorous methodologies to estimate, assess, and isolate the impact of programs on participant outcomes. The workforce metrics dashboard shall be produced, to the extent feasible, using existing available data and resources that are currently collected and accessible to state agencies. The board shall convene workforce program partners to develop a standardized set of inputs and outputs for the workforce metrics dashboard. The workforce metrics dashboard shall do all of the following:

(A)Provide a status report on credential attainment, training completion, degree attainment, and participant earnings from workforce education and training programs. The board shall publish and distribute the final report.

(B)Provide demographic breakdowns, including, to the extent

possible, race, ethnicity, age, gender, veteran status, wage and credential or degree outcomes, and information on workforce outcomes in different industry sectors.

(C)Measure, at a minimum and to the extent feasible with existing resources, the performance of the following workforce programs: community college career technical education, the Employment Training Panel, Title I and Title II of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-220), Title I and Title II of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-128), Trade Adjustment Assistance, and state apprenticeship programs.

(D)Measure participant earnings in California, and to the extent feasible, in other states. The Employment Development Department shall assist the board by calculating aggregated participant earnings using unemployment insurance wage records, without

violating any applicable confidentiality requirements.

(2)The State Department of Education is hereby authorized to collect the social security numbers of adults participating in adult education programs so that accurate participation in those programs can be represented in the workforce metrics dashboard. However, an individual shall not be denied program participation if the individual refuses to provide a social security number. The State Department of Education shall keep this information confidential, except, the State Department of Education is authorized to share this information, unless prohibited by federal law, with the Employment Development Department, the board, or the board’s designee, who shall keep the information confidential and use it only to track the labor market and other outcomes described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of program participants in compliance with all applicable state and federal laws and mandates,

including all performance reporting requirements under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

(3)(A) Participating workforce programs, including, but not limited to, those specified in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1), shall provide participant data in a standardized format to the Employment Development Department, the board, or the board’s designee.

(B)The Employment Development Department, the board, or the board’s designee, shall aggregate data provided by participating workforce programs and shall report the data, organized by demographics, earnings, and industry of employment, to the board to assist the board in producing the annual workforce metrics dashboard.

(4)The board shall ensure that a designee has the technical and operational capability of meeting appropriate privacy

and security requirements.

(j)The identification and dissemination of information on best practices, including best practices for all of the following:

(1)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.

(2)The development of effective local boards, which may include information on factors that contribute to enabling local boards to exceed negotiated local levels of performance, sustain fiscal integrity, and achieve other measures of effectiveness.

(3)Effective training programs that respond to real-time labor market analysis, that effectively use direct assessment and prior learning

assessment to measure an individual’s prior knowledge, skills, competencies, and experiences, and that evaluate such skills, and competencies for adaptability, to support efficient placement into employment or career pathways.

(k)The development and review of statewide policies affecting the coordinated provision of services through the state’s one-stop delivery system described in Section 3151(e) of Title 29 of the United States Code, including the development of all of the following:

(1)Objective criteria and procedures for use by local boards in assessing the effectiveness and continuous improvement of one-stop centers described in Section 3151(e) of Title 29 of the United States Code.

(2)Guidance for the allocation of one-stop center infrastructure funds under Section 3151(h) of Title 29 of the United States

Code.

(3)Policies relating to the appropriate roles and contributions of entities carrying out one-stop partner programs within the one-stop delivery system, including approaches to facilitating equitable and efficient cost allocation in such a system.

(l)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, including such improvements to all of the following:

(1)Enhance digital literacy skills, as defined in Section 9101 of Title 20 of the United States Code, referred to in this division as “digital literacy skills.”

(2)Accelerate the acquisition of skills and recognized postsecondary credentials by participants.

(3)Strengthen the professional development of providers and workforce professionals.

(4)Ensure the technology is accessible to individuals with disabilities and individuals residing in remote areas.

(m)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 measures, including the design and implementation of common intake, data collection, case management information, and performance accountability measurement and reporting processes and the incorporation of local input into such design and implementation, to improve coordination of services across one-stop partner programs.

(n)The development of allocation

formulas for the distribution of funds for employment and training activities for adults, and youth workforce investment activities, to local areas as permitted under Sections 3163(b)(3) and 3173(b)(3) of Title 29 of the United States Code.

(o)The preparation of the annual reports described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of Section 3141(d) of Title 29 of the United States Code.

(p)The development of the statewide workforce and labor market information system described in Section 49l–2(e) of Title 29 of the United States Code.

(q)By July 1, 2020, the development, in conjunction with the Employment Development Department and with input from local workforce development boards, of a policy regarding mutual aid agreements between and among local workforce development boards to enable them to effectively respond to disasters

and that is consistent with applicable state and federal law.

(r)The development of other policies as may promote statewide objectives for, and enhance the performance of, the workforce development system in the state.

(s)Helping individuals with barriers to employment, including low-skill, low-wage workers, the long-term unemployed, and members of single-parent households, achieve economic security and upward mobility by implementing policies that encourage the attainment of marketable skills relevant to current labor market trends.

(t)Evaluating program outcomes, including program participant outcomes for all grant programs administered by the California Workforce Development Board, regardless of funding source.

§ 14014

Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 78, Sec. 16. (AB 138) Effective July 16, 2021.

(a)Consistent with the intent of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 14000, the California Workforce Development Board shall collect and report program and outcome data for its high road workforce programs.

(b)Pursuant to subdivision (a), all of the following shall apply:

(1)The Employment Development Department shall make available to the board any and all wage and employment data necessary to evaluate all relevant programs and grants.

(2)All grant applicants and program beneficiaries participating in a high road training partnership program shall provide any and all necessary information to the state

to facilitate public transparency, accountability, and grant and program performance evaluation, including any relevant data needed to determine the outcomes and benefits of programing and grants funded for program participants, high road training partnerships, industry, and the workforce system.

(3)All grants and programming shall be evaluated using criteria, metrics, and data that include, but are not limited to, information pertaining to the ability of grantees and program administrators to conduct and complete relevant programming as demonstrated through appropriate quantitative and qualitative analysis, including the use of appropriate outcome metrics.

(4)For funds and grants providing direct workforce, training, and education services to individuals, the board shall report all of the following:

(A)Who is

receiving the services, including data on the demographics of the individuals receiving services.

(B)The nature of the services received collected at the individual level.

(C)Data pertaining to participant program and employment outcomes of individuals receiving services including:

(i)The employment rates of individuals served to measure initial job placement and retention over time.

(ii) The wages and wage growth of individuals served during and after program participation.

(5)Recognizing that the outcome data specified in this section frequently lags program implementation activities, progress reports and interim evaluation reports consistent with the requirements of this section

shall be provided to the Legislature by the board, after it receives and administers funding under the relevant budget allocations, by October 1 of even-numbered years utilizing whatever program participant and outcome data is available. The report shall also include, but not be limited to, the number of grants awarded, the average award amounts, geographic distribution of awards, and types of industries awarded.

(6)Final evaluation reports for all grants and programs shall be provided to the Legislature 18 months after all available labor market outcome data specified in this section becomes available.

§ 14015

Added by Stats. 2006, Ch. 630, Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 2007. See conditional termination clause in Section 14007.

Members of the board may receive up to one hundred dollars ($100) for each day’s actual attendance at meetings and other official business of the board, not to exceed three hundred dollars ($300) per month, and shall receive their necessary and actual expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties.

§ 14017

Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 78, Sec. 17. (AB 138) Effective July 16, 2021. See conditional termination clause in Section 14007.

(a)In efforts to expand job training and employment for allied health professions, the California Workforce Development Board, in consultation with the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, shall do the following:

(1)Identify opportunities for “earn and learn” job training opportunities that meet the industry’s workforce demands and that are in high road, high-demand jobs.

(2)Identify and develop specific requirements and qualifications for entry into “earn and learn” job training models.

(3)Establish standards for “earn and learn” job training programs that are outcome oriented and accountable. The standards shall measure the results from program participation, including a measurement of how many complete the program with an industry-recognized credential that certifies that the individual is ready to enter the specific allied health profession for which the individual has been trained.

(4)Develop means to identify, assess, and prepare a pool of qualified candidates seeking to enter “earn and learn” job training models.

(b)(1) The board, on or before December 1, 2015, shall

prepare and submit to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature a report on the findings and recommendations of the board.

(2)The requirement for submitting a report imposed pursuant to this subdivision is inoperative on January 1, 2019, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.

(c)(1) The Department of Consumer Affairs shall engage in a stakeholder process to update policies and remove barriers to facilitate the development of earn and learn training programs in the allied health professions, including barriers identified in the report prepared by the board pursuant to subdivision (b), entitled Expanding Earn and Learn Models in the California Health Care Industry. The stakeholder process shall include all of the following:

(A) The department convening allied health

workforce stakeholders, which shall include, but are not limited to, the department’s relevant licensure boards, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, representatives appointed by the board of governors from the California community college system, the California Workforce Development Board, and the State Department of Public Health, and which may include other relevant entities such as the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, employer and worker representatives, and community-based organizations.

(B) Addressing issues that include, but are not limited to, prelicensure classifications in allied health occupations that would allow students, in a supervised setting, to gain experience in their chosen field before obtaining licensure, and the payment of wages while in a workplace-based training program.

consumer protection are maintained.

(D) Sharing any statutory barriers identified through this process with the relevant committees of the Legislature.

(2)The process described in paragraph (1) shall be completed by, and this subdivision shall be inoperative on, January 1, 2020.

§ 14017.1

Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 815, Sec. 2. (SB 755) Effective January 1, 2023. See conditional termination clause in Section 14007.

(a)To ensure that job training services investments are linked to regional labor market demand and provide opportunities for upward mobility, the board and the Employment Development Department shall work collaboratively to measure and report on training-related job placement outcomes for individuals receiving job training services provided through the workforce system, including all job training services funded by Title I of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (Pub. L. 113-128) and through grants administered by the board, regardless of the source of the moneys.

(b)For purposes of measuring training-related job placement outcomes, gathering data to report, and otherwise fulfilling subdivision (a), the board and the

Employment Development Department shall work collaboratively to create a plan to use the existing unemployment insurance tax data collection infrastructure used to secure quarterly wage data from employers, to match relevant employee occupational data, employee place of employment data, and employee hours worked data, to persons who enroll in job training services. The plan shall include timelines, budget, funding constraints, and an outline of any additional recommended or necessary statutory changes to collect relevant data. The plan shall also outline the means for all of the following:

(1)Requiring local workforce development boards and grantees of board-administered grants to collect and report industry and occupation-specific data for all persons who enroll in job training services, including through the use of case management and performance reporting systems deployed for state and federal data collection and reporting.

(2)Developing and implementing a method to measure the second- and fourth-quarter prior earnings of a person, who is enrolled in a job training service, for purposes of measuring the person’s increase in earnings following their participation in and exit from a program.

(3)Developing and implementing a means to measure wage and employment outcomes for a person following that person’s participation in a job training service during the second, fourth, eighth, and twelfth quarters following participation in and exit from a program for purposes of measuring the person’s increase in earnings over time.

(4)Calculating, by region, industry, occupation, and job training service provider, the wages, wage gains, employment rates, and training-related job placement rates at the second, fourth, eighth, and twelfth quarters

following a person’s participation in and exit from a program.

(5)Calculating, by region, industry, occupation, and job training service provider, the rate of persons who participated in a job training service and who became employed at a wage at or above a living wage for the region. This calculation shall take into account the cost of living in the regional labor market where the person works or lives. The employment rate calculation shall be calculated at the second, fourth, eighth, and twelfth quarters following a person’s participation in and exit from a program.

(6)Calculating program completion, credential attainment, and measurable skills gains rates by job training service provider, industry, occupation, and region.

(7)Determining, by region, industry, occupation, and job training service provider,

whether participation in a job training service, completion of a job training service, credential attainment, and measurable skills gains have an empirically verifiable impact on assisting persons in achieving employment, training-related job placement, wages, and wage gain that places those persons at or above a living wage for the region. This determination shall take into account the cost of living in the regional labor market where the person works or lives.

(8)Developing and implementing a means of working with the local workforce development boards to notify, prior to their enrollment in a job training service, a person seeking to enroll in those services of the board’s and Employment Development Department’s findings on the efficacy of those services, particularly with respect to the likelihood of training related job placement, the likelihood of job placement at or above a regional living wage, and the likelihood of wage gains at the

second, fourth, eighth, and twelfth quarters following a person’s participation in and exit from a program. Those findings shall be disaggregated by region, job training services provider, industry, and occupation.

(9)The board and the Employment Development Department shall, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, submit the plan to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2024.

(c)(1) Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Employment Development Department and the board shall implement the plan developed pursuant to subdivision (b) to meet the reporting requirements of this chapter. Two years after the appropriation, the Employment Development Department and the board shall summarize and provide to the Legislature an initial report on the status of the implementation plan and the initial findings using the available data in alignment

with subdivision (b).

(2)The report and findings required by paragraph (1) shall be provided to the Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development, Assembly Committee on Business and Professions, Senate Committee on Education, Assembly Committee on Education, Senate Committee on Labor, Public Employment and Retirement, and Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment. The report shall not include any personally identifiable information.

(3)Following the initial report in paragraph (1), the board and Employment Development Department shall annually update and include their findings in the report required to be submitted to the Legislature by subdivision (c) of Section 14211.

(4)If any portion of the reporting requirements of this section cannot be implemented absent further statutory change, the

remaining requirements shall continue to be in effect.

(d)For purposes of this section, both of the following definitions shall apply:

(1)“Job training services” has the same meaning as “training services,” as that term is defined in Section 3174(c)(3)(D) of Title 29 of the United States Code and the corresponding sections of the Code of Federal Regulations, and as that term is expanded on in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 14211.

(2)“Local workforce development board” means a local workforce development board formed pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 14200) of Chapter 4.

(3)“Participation in a job training service” shall mean participation in, but not necessarily completion of, the service.

(4)“Program” means a program under Title I of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act or a grant program administered by the California Workforce Development Board.

(5)“Training-related job placement” means employment in an occupation or occupations directly related to the occupation or occupations for which the job training curricula is designed.

§ 14017.2

Added by Stats. 2025, Ch. 532, Sec. 1. (AB 338) Effective October 10, 2025. See conditional termination clause in Section 14007.

(a)The California Workforce Development Board shall allocate the funds appropriated to the board pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) of Section 19.56 of the Budget Act of 2025, as amended by Assembly Bill 102 of the 2025–26 Regular Session,

to the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity for workforce development strategies, such as education, high-road training partnerships, and other job training programs, preapprenticeships, transitional jobs, or supportive services, including stipends, for underemployed and unemployed low- to moderate-income individuals to ensure a skilled and sufficient workforce for the scale of rebuilding and recovery of areas in the Counties of Los Angeles and Ventura impacted by the 2025 wildfires and to support underemployed and unemployed low- to moderate-income workers affected by the fires. This also includes rapid response and layoff aversion, recruitment services, financial incentives, and customized training opportunities for businesses impacted by the fires and those hiring impacted workers as part of the rebuild and recovery. The funds are also for new or expanded job

and business centers and operations near the fire zones to ensure close proximity of programs and services for dislocated and impacted workers and businesses.

(b)The Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity shall reallocate six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) to the Economic Development Collaborative to be used for the purposes specified in this section.

(c)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the California Workforce Development Board may use up to 5 percent of the total allocation for state administration.

(d)The California Workforce Development Board

shall allow the Los Angeles County Department of Economic

Opportunity to subcontract with other entities to fulfill the provisions and intent of subdivision (a).

(e)The California Workforce Development Board shall require quality standards and practices, as defined in subdivisions (s) and (t) of Section 14005.

(f)In developing and implementing workforce development strategies funded pursuant to this section, the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity

shall focus on employment in public and private sector jobs in construction, utilities, firefighting, health care, social services, education, childcare, housing, and shelter assistance, or other areas essential to emergency response, disaster relief, recovery, rebuilding, and regional economic development and resilience.

(g)To ensure there is a direct pipeline into the workforce, individuals participating in workforce programs funded pursuant to this section shall have access to expedited licensing and certification, if feasible.