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Archive: November 2007 Minutes

11-28-07  Youth Council Quarterly Meeting  
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Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board, Inc.
Youth Council Quarterly Meeting Minutes
11/28/07
GNB Career Center

Members Present: John Fernandes, Chair; Kathleen Castro, Nancy Feeney, Reverend David A. Lima, Joan Ann Niles, Dianne Rivet, Jarred Rose, Ronald L. Rouillard, Donna Sachs, Dr. John J. Sbrega, Elaine Wilcox, Gloria Williams
Members Absent: Carl Alves, Ansel Duff, Lynn Donohue, Nelson Hockert-Lotz, Michael Longo, Dr. Jean F. MacCormack, Helena S. Marques, Greg Miliote, Pamela Pollock, Ronald F. Rheaume, Ramona C. Silva, Charles R. Simpson, Jr., Cynthia Wallquist

Workforce Development System Staff: Wendy Andrade, Rochelle Andrews, Adam Chapdelaine, Edward Dennehy, Steven Martins

Guests Present: Kristin Almeida, Peg Curro, Lynne Laberge, Zelia LaGarde, Desiree LeClair, Alison Mesquitta

Youth Council Chair, John Fernandes called the meeting to order at 3:40 pm.

Chair then entertained a motion on the consent agenda. Motion made by Gloria Williams, seconded by Joan Ann Niles. Motion passed unanimously.

Chair stated his interest in bringing in new members of the Youth Council based on the large amount of work that needs to be done with limited resources from the State and other funding sources. He described his desire to bring people together to assist and help each other and also his want to bring people to the table that who can provide youth employment. He then asked members to forward the names of potential candidates to either himself or Adam Chapdelaine.

Chair then recognized Adam Chapdelaine to deliver is Youth Council Director’s report. Adam began by commenting that his first three months at the Youth Council have been very exciting and have proved very challenging. He stated that he has worked very closely with Chair Fernandes and that the Chair has done all that he can in order to make the transition as seamless as possible. He then stated that he has worked very closely with all of the staff at the WIB and New Directions and they have all served as great help. Next, he commented on the meeting he along with Chair Fernandes, had with Superintendent Mike Shea of Greater New Bedford Voke Tech in order to get him to consider a program for older out of school youth enrolled in an apprenticeship program to get time in the shop setting at Voke. He noted that Chair Fernandes has been following up on this issue, and that it is an exciting possibility for an expansion of the Pathways that are available to OSY. He then mentioned the time he has spent traveling to other areas of the state in order to meet with others who share his responsibilities in other Workforce Areas. Next, he described how along with Len Coriaty, he has met with Bill Ward and Brad Sperry of the Hampden County REB and Neil Sullivan and Kathy Hamilton of the Boston PIC, and additionally attended a meeting of the Boston PIC’s Youth Council. He then stated how these meetings have helped him broaden his perspective of youth service delivery, but have also expanded his network of resources that he can call on. He noted that he has also traveled in order to meet with several of the Youth Council’s primary funding sources in order to develop those relationships. He mentioned that he has met with a number of CommCorp staff in Boston, and has also met with Keith Westrich from DOE, who is responsible for both Connecting Activities and the Pathways grant programs.

He then spoke to the opportunity to meet and work with a number of Youth Council members, noting that some members he has not yet had the opportunity to work with and he intends to find a way to do so in the upcoming months. He closed in saying that over the next few months, he hopes to continue to learn more and more about the Youth Workforce Development System and also begin to build as many collaborations as make sense with all of the Youth Council members.

Chair Fernandes then spoke about his follow-up meeting with David Ferreira (MA Association of Vocational Administrators) and David Wallace (Department of Labor Apprenticeship Division) in regard to apprenticeship opportunities at Greater New Bedford Voke Tech. Nancy Feeney then asked the Chair for more details about the program and the Chair said that program details are very much undefined. However, he is hoping to gain access to 2-3 slots for youth in such a program. She also said that the amount of zero tolerance youth for this program would a small number, but giving youth a second chance is a good idea and that she supports alternative methods of reconnecting youth.

Gloria Williams then made a motion to accept the Youth Council Director’s report, Jarred Rose seconded. The Motion passed unanimously.

Chair Fernandes then asked Adam Chapdelaine to speak about the new P-21 funding opportunity that the WIB was applying for. Adam explained that CommCorp had issued a non-competitive RFP for Pot D and Pot E of P-21 funding. He stated that Pot D was intended for planning purposes and amounted to $20,000 and that Pot E was intended for implementation and amounted to $84,000. He then noted that the P-21 subcommittee had been working on the grant application and a grant submission was due by December 14th.

Chair Fernandes then recognized Rochelle Andrews to report on current P-21 activity. Rochelle began by introducing Steven Martins as the newly hired P-21 Employment and Training Specialist. She then presented the group with the following numbers regarding youth served via P-21 during the month of November:

  • Met with 38 youth
    • 33 were walk-in youth; 5 were referrals from Northstar
      • 18 youth received job search/resume preparation only
      • 4 youth were referred for occupational training services
      • 16 youth received job search/resume preparation assistance & were referred to the customer service/retail training program
Nancy Feeney then commented on what a vital asset Rochelle has been and stated that she is to be commended for her work. Wendy Andrade also complimented Rochelle Andrews along with complimenting Steven Martins and Heather Frank for their work on the NRF training for youth. Nancy Feeney then asked if employers were hiring the youth participants and Steven Martins said it had been positive so far.

Gloria Williams then asked if the youth will be retained after the busy holiday season and also if employers would terminate a youth following their subsidized employment in order to hire another subsidized youth. Wendy Andrade commented that the employers like to retain trained, experienced youth. Ed Dennehy then noted that Gloria’s point was well taken and that measures were being put in place to deal with her concern. Gloria Williams then asked for a full report on the youth participating in the NRF program at the February Youth Council meeting.

John Fernandes suggested that Career Center resources be used to aid youth who lose positions during retail downtime. Jarred Rose then spoke of the value of customer service training and the need to spread the word about P-21. Wendy Andrade then noted that customer service skills are transferable and thereby valuable. Gloria Williams then reiterated her point that the end goal for these youth is employment beyond the subsidy.

Donna Sachs then suggested that youth get a letter of reference from employers in order to use for future job interviews. Reverend Lima then asked how the program was being marketed to employers and Wendy Andrade said that businesses are recruited based on their hiring needs.

Nancy Feeney then commented on the transportation barrier that faces many youth. Donna Sachs told the group that a Boston based company is currently studying the New Bedford transportation system. Adam Chapdelaine then suggested that the Youth Council set up a meeting with the new SRTA director and Chair Fernandes agreed and told Adam to do so.

Chair Fernandes then recognized Adam Chapdelaine to inform the Youth Council of several other initiatives that he has been involved with over the past three months. Adam began by describing the proposed program applied for in response to a CommCorp RFP designed to serve DYS involved youth that are currently being served through the Community Re-Entry Center. Adam explained to the group that youth who are identified to be a good fit for the program would be provided with a 5-week job readiness and employability training session that will prepare them for a subsidized employment opportunity arranged by New Directions. Following the subsidized employment, the participating youth will be supported in their attempt to acquire unsubsidized employment and therefore begin their full transition back into the community. Adam then told the group that if successful in being awarded this grant, the Youth Council would be notified by December 10, 2007.

Adam next spoke to the RFP issued by CommCorp to provide YouthWorks funding from January to June of 2008. He stated that a letter of intent had been filed with CommCorp stating the Youth Council’s interest in applying for this grant. This letter stated that New Bedford would like to serve 50 youth and would be requesting $92,000 in order to do so. The letter had been received by CommCorp and a response to the RFP is due by December 14th. Adam told the group that a response is currently being developed through a cooperation of the Youth Council, New Directions, the City Of New Bedford, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Greater New Bedford Connecting Activities Partnership.

Next, Adam told the group about the progress of the Shared Youth Vision pilot project funded by CommCorp. He stated that the Youth Council has provided CommCorp with a scope of work for this grant and is now in the process of bringing in a Project Coordinator in order to meet the intended outcomes of the project. Adam stated that the intent of this grant is to establish and institutionalize collaborations between DSS, DYS, DMH and the workforce development system.

Adam then told the group that the Youth Council in cooperation with New Directions has provided the Mayor with a framework for the operation of next year’s summer programming as well as the plan for raising the necessary funds for the program.

Chair Fernandes then commented on the work that had been done on the Summer Jobs framework and emphasized the need to get off to an early start with the fundraising initiative. Ed Dennehy supported this by saying that last year the Mayor’s Pledge Campaign only yielded 6 job pledges and the Youth Expo resulted in 27 jobs. He then spoke about the fundraising model and the need to implement properly in order to be successful. Gloria Williams then said that we needed to have money to leverage employer’s money and Kathy Castro said that was a shame. Chair Fernandes agreed with Kathy and referenced last year’s weak employer effort. He pondered whether or not it was weak employer effort, or poor outreach on the part of the Youth Council. He continued in saying that the Youth Council needs to convince businesses that employing youth is a good idea and that we also needed to access public funds. Gloria Williams then stated that based on the current financial crisis facing the state, the odds of receiving public funds was slim, and that business members of the WIB needed to pledge jobs and money and then use that to solicit the same from other business owners. Nancy Feeney then stated that we should consider opening a youth only business.

Chair Fernandes then told the group of his plan to visit various youth vendors along with Adam Chapdelaine based on Marc Tarpey’s (WIB Program Monitor) schedule beginning early next year.

Chair Fernandes then opened the floor to members for discussion of any other topics, ideas, or opportunities that they might want to discuss. Kathy Castro began by saying that NFTE is a way of implementing Nancy’s idea of a youth operated business. Donna Sachs then said that Junior Achievement model was another possibility for the idea. Chair Fernandes then told the group of the state ABE/ESOL focus shifting to youth and creative ways of eliminating the waiting list. He said that the Lowell model was being used as an example.

Chair asked for other business, and citing none, asked for a motion to adjourn. Motion made by Nancy Feeney, seconded by Ron Rouillard and the meeting adjourned at 4:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,


Dianne Rivet
Clerk

11-19-07  P 21 Subcommittee (of the full YC)
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Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board, Inc.
P 21 Subcommittee (of the full YC)
Meeting Minutes
11/19/07
New Directions Southcoast, Inc. - Quest Center

Members present: Carl Alves, Chair; Nancy Feeney, Jane Jacobsen, Lynne LaBerge
Members absent: Peg Curro, Reverend David A. Lima, Gloria Williams

Workforce Development System staff attending: Wendy Andrade, Rochelle Andrews, Adam Chapdelaine

Guests present: Kristen Almeida, Connecting Activities (CA); Dianne Rivet, Parent

Chairman Carl Alves called the meeting to order at 2:50 pm.

Chair then asked for a motion to approve the consent agenda. Motion made my Nancy Feeney and seconded by Jane Jacobsen, motion passed unanimously.

Adam Chapdelaine told the group that he had contacted CommCorp and in order to determine if they would allow for Pot D of the P 21 funds to be used for Bridge Support Funds. CommCorp had responded in the affirmative.

Adam then presented to the group the draft outline for the P 21 RFP that he had prepared in order to guide the discussion of the subcommittee in regard to the grant application.

Chair Alves facilitated a discussion of the draft outline for the response to the new P 21 RFP. The group discussed various aspects of the outline and made several suggestions in regard to additions that should be made to application. Wendy Andrade and Rochelle Andrews discussed the current role of the P 21 staff and the outcomes that they have achieved with the current funding and this led into a discussion of intended outcomes for the program going forward. After a discussion in regard to the intended outcomes of the program, the committee agreed to meet again on December 3, at 2:30 in order to review a complete application prepared by Adam.

Chair Alves then recognized Jean Fox in order for her to present to the group the Graduation Summit that she is organizing. Jean described the goals and format of the Summit and announced that it will be held on April 17, 2008 from 3-7 p.m.

The meeting adjourned at 3:45 pm.

Respectfully submitted,


Adam Chapdelaine
Youth Council Director

11-15-07  Executive Committee Meeting  
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Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board, Inc.
Executive Committee Meeting Minutes
11/15/07
First Citizens’ Federal Credit Union – Fairhaven

Members present: Charles R. Simpson, Chair; David DeJesus, Jr., John Fernandes, Michael Kramer, Richard Mello, Bruce Morell, Maria Pinaretta, Anthony Sapienza, Charlie Winterhalter
Members absent: David Ferreira (sent written proxy)

Workforce Development System staff attending: Craig Baker, Adam Chapdelaine, Len Coriaty, Ed Dennehy, Steve Grant, Carl Waal

Chair Simpson called the meeting to order at 4:35 pm.

Consent Agenda:
David DeJesus moved to approve the 10/18/07 Executive Committee Meeting Minutes. The motion was seconded by Bruce Morell and passed unanimously.

Bruce Morell updated the committee on the Treasurer’s Report through 10/31/07 saying that the WIB was solvent. Mr. Morell moved to approve the report. The motion was seconded by Maria Pinarreta and passed unanimously.

Committee Updates:
Chair Simpson said we’re moving forward to try and have the $300K liability removed from the City of New Bedford’s books. There’s a Nov 30 deadline for resolution and although there has been correspondence from the Solicitor’s office, there are still some things that need to be clarified and resolved.

Mr. Simpson added that we would probably never use a $300K line of credit and that we need at least a four (4) year deal for repayment and that many of the repayment dollars would go into replenishing the performance fund. There will be a definitive void and recapture strategy that would not allow for risk of exposure and that should ensure no disruption in services to our customers.

The Executive Committee will be notified via e-mail when the deal is consummated.

Other Business
Membership Participation Campaign: Len Coriaty reviewed the letter that was sent to board members, along with the WIB Reorganization chart. He said each committee should soon have a chair and vice chair. Board members have been urged to sign up and notify Annie Massicotte by 11/30/07 on a committee or working group of preference.

Nominating Committee: Charles Simpson discussed the Nominating Committee, saying that it’s difficult to get participation. He said he considered each person present at the Executive Committee meeting to be on the nominating committee and he encouraged each person to discuss what prospects are thought to fill future leadership roles. The idea is to target 4-5 good nominations for Chair by June.

Working Closer with EDC: Len updated the group on the progress with New Bedford Economic Development Council, saying that an e-mail was sent to Matt Morrissey and Tony Sapienza at the EDC suggesting ways the WIB can collaborate with EDC (see letter). Richard Mello cautioned that the EDC has typically only looked at New Bedford and not our entire region. Tony Sapienza said that Matt is trying to be more inclusive.

With regard to a planned EDC Workforce Development Task Force, Mr. Sapienza said that EDC is not trying to replace the WIB. The EDC is thinking back three years ago down on Cape Cod when everyone agreed that economic development and workforce development needed to work more closely together. There is now a more public process around economic development. The Mayor has many people engaged in discussions on the creative economy. We need to find the right blue prints that are out there to do this well. We’re hoping we can bring economic development; workforce development and education into the same room and look at things differently.

Michael Kramer said there are a number of successful models down south. Perhaps we should look into these. What is the model we will use?

Mr. Simpson said that if we look at the letter that was sent, we see that a number of activities are staff things. Mr. Coriaty added that some of these things have already started as was the case with a recent solar power company that was looking to come to New Bedford where information was presented by economic development and workforce development.

eNewsletter: Len announced that the eNewsletter went out yesterday and requested a count of who had or had not yet received it. Only 2 of the committee members present had received it.

Dates:
Mr. Coriaty announced the following dates:
  1. The December quarterly meeting is moved from 7:30am (networking) to 3:00pm (networking) with a 3:30pm meeting start on Wednesday, December 19, 2007. The agenda will include former Mayor of Fall River, Ed Lambert who now works with the Urban Institute at UMD. Dr. Clyde Barrow of UMD’s Center for Policy Analysis will discuss the latest research around the Casino legislation.

  2. The holiday social will immediately follow the December quarterly meeting, from 5:00 – 6:30 pm.

  3. The GNBWIB’s Legislative Breakfast will be on Thursday, Feb 14th

  4. Details will be available next week for the MA Workforce Board Association’s Quarterly Meeting, Dec 17th, 1:00pm, at the Broad Institute, a forum on Life Sciences, with a holiday reception to follow at 3:00pm.
The Chair announced that on 11/13 and 11/14, Secretary Bump had intended to meet with CEO’s throughout the state to discuss high performing boards, however only a couple showed. Our CEO was unable to attend.

The Chair has a meeting scheduled with Director Mackley and David Manning on November 28th. One discussion will be around including Chairs and Executive Directors in the high performance board discussions by the Secretary with CEO’s.

Committee Chairs: Mr. Simpson announced that Charlie Winterhalter agreed to chair the Business Development committee, John Fernandes to chair the Youth Council, and Bruce Morell to Co-Chair the Finance and Performance Measurement Committee. There will also be a conversation with Michael Kramer to discuss his continued involvement with the WIB.

Old Business John Fernandes urged the committee to consider what we are doing with incorporating the Baldrige framework into our operations. Should we abandon it or resurrect it? We have trained a couple of people, but the idea never really took and now the individuals are no longer employed with us.

Len said the state is in the process of developing criteria that defines high performance workforce boards. It is expected to be adopted by the MA WIB at their December Quarterly Meeting. Plans are underway to determine our needs to meet the criteria and then select a course of action to achieve HPB status, thereby qualifying for a substantial financial incentive under the state model.

Adjourn
Bruce Morell moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:47pm. The motion was seconded by David DeJesus and passed unanimously.
Next meeting: 12/06/07 – 4:30 pm – First Citizens’ Federal CU in Fairhaven
Respectfully submitted,


Craig Baker
Resource Development and Planning Director

11-15-07  Finance Committee Meeting  
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Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board, Inc.
Finance Committee
11/15/07
First Citizens’ Federal Credit Union – Fairhaven

Finance Committee members present: Bruce Morell, Chair; David A. Pelletier, Susan Peterson, Maria O. Pinarreta, Charles R. Simpson, Jr., Carl Waal
Finance Committee members absent: (all present)

WIB members in attendance: David DeJesus, Richard Mello

Workforce Development System staff in attendance: Len Coriaty, Ed Dennehy, Steven Grant

Chair Bruce Morell called the meeting to order at 3:37pm.

  1. Consent Agenda:
    The Minutes of the 10/18/07 Finance Committee meeting, and the Treasurer’s Reports through 10/31/07 were approved unanimously on a motion by Susan Peterson, seconded by Dave Pelletier.

    Bruce Morell questioned the negative cash balance from the treasurer’s report. Steve Grant explained that due to an issue on unemployment compliance there was a delay in releasing funds therefore many checks were written but held. The issue was resolved and money finally received in October.

  2. Fiscal Reports / Updates:
    1. WIB - Steve Grant reported that the cash position was much better than it was in September after the receipt of over $1Million in October. The finance report also stated that spending for salaries is on track compared to the modified plan and that the only issue of concern remains the balance for ITA training dollars. The Adult ITA are committed up to 68% of the limit while Dislocated Worker ITA’s are already at 84% of the limit compared to the modified budget. It was also reported that variances for group contract spending was mainly due to timing since most programs picked up activity in September and invoices are yet to be submitted.

      A motion to accept the financial reports was made by Dave Pelletier, seconded by Maria Pinarreta, and carried unanimously.

    2. DCS - Nothing to report on the DCS side for spending update but Carl Waal brought up a problem reported at the state level that could impact fiscal ’07 and will definitely impact ’08. The state has a shortfall in the Retirement Health Plan and Holly Hill-Batiste reported that it could affect the Salary/Fringe line item by up to 9% if addressed this year. This could mean the loss of one or two positions locally as well as reduce the DCS support for overhead expenses. The issue was discussed but no further actions proposed at this time.

  3. Updates
    1. Integrated Budget Mod - Steve Grant stated that the budget has been updated and all that remains is to complete the integrated budget form and that could be completed next week. Audit results are due in soon and it was hoped they would be available to support the carry-in figures used for the budget. He stated that submission of the Integrated Budget could be delayed since there is no impact on current funding requirement, but it would most likely go out by Nov. 23rd.
    2. Quest Center Lease / Line of Credit - Discussion was lead by Chuck Simpson who stated that the WIB has done everything needed to complete the transaction with the City but there are changes needed to the lease document prepared by the Solicitor. Len Coriaty confirmed that the drafts of the MOA and Lease were picked up just yesterday and that the changes needed would be highlighted to the Original lease and brought to the attention of the Solicitor by phone or through a meeting tomorrow. Chuck stated the WIB is prepared to make the payment of $300,000 to the City before the end of November that Mayor Lang requested and stressed that he just wanted the documents to reflect everything that he and Mayor Lang agreed to. Chuck said that only 3 changes to the original lease are needed.
    3. Audits - Steve Grant reported the WIB review for FY ’07 was just received and the audit for DWDA should be in by the end of the month. Both should be available for the committee for the December meeting.

  4. Other Business:
    1. Bruce Morell mentioned that he received a letter from Ed Dennehy relating to the New Directions Southcoast business plan and ability to meet the WIB mandate of achieving solvency. Bruce asked for and received permission from Ed to read the letter, as follows:

      From: Ed Dennehy, New Directions Southcoast, Inc.
      To: Bruce Morell, Chair, WIB Finance Committee
      Subject: New Directions Southcoast, Inc. Fiscal Self Sufficiency

      The WIB has tasked New Directions Southcoast, Inc. to develop a business plan that will identify how it will quickly become financially self sufficient and therefore not reliant on the WIB for forward funding of Career Center and other workforce programs operated by New Directions, or dependent on the WIB for funding its accrued vacation.

      While we are currently engaged in a Strategic Business Plan development process, it has become very clear that our current options to become financially self sufficient are very limited and none involve accomplishment of this goal in a short timeframe. Our options include:

      1. Obtain additional grants (both government and Foundation grants). Grant opportunities are very competitive and the average industry success rate means limited success for New Directions. This effort will not allow us to build capacity as most grants are only to accomplish the objective of the grant, and administrative and capacity building fees are not allowed or are severely restricted. In addition, we need grant writing resources which we currently do not have and we cannot charge WIA funds to support this effort. We need less restrictive funds.
      2. Obtain a line of credit sufficient to cover forward funding needs (estimate $150,000 - $200,000 required). We are investigating this option but require the WIB to finalize contract(s) with us that make the Career Center Charter and other programs operated by New Directions for the WIB meet the contract requirements required by the banks. The WIB staff is currently engaged in this process. However, while an LOC will allow us to forward fund our operations, it will not build financial independence.
      3. Engage in fundraising activities. While still being considered, we see no realistic success here that would result in significant amounts of money. Workforce development is not a “charitable” type activity. Even the WIB has abandoned plans to engage in this process.
      4. Earned income through Fee for Service activities. We are seriously exploring this option but there are significant legal restrictions that have to do with how our current resources are tied to WIA funds and therefore this option is limited. Regardless, this will not generate any significant income over a short timeframe.
      5. Engage in performance based contracts – The only one around is the DTA performance contract which New Directions now performs and where all of the income goes entirely to the WIB.
      6. Develop new partnerships with other organizations with deeper pockets. While this may allow us to be more successful in our grant pursuits, it will not have a significant impact on building financial independence and in fact could possibly result in a loss of our identity.

      Given the above, I request any other ideas from the Finance Committee as to how we might meet the WIB’s mandate. In the absence of anything substantial, I respectively request to re-visit the issue of future Performance Funds, as I see them as the only source of revenue that will produce the desired results. My position is that New Directions does the work and therefore should receive at least a majority of the income from this source!

      Bruce said he agrees with Ed. There is no easy way for NDSC to become self sufficient and they should be entitled to more of the performance money. He stated “we have made the contractor structurally insolvent.” He also said that as soon as New Directions ceased existence the employees were entitled to be paid for unused vacation time and the liability should not have gone to the new entity.

      Chuck Simpson said he is not prepared to go to the Mayor to try to get him to change his position on the performance funds. He suggested NDSC complete the business plan and if that document does show that success is not attainable he would be prepared to discuss that with the mayor. He said there was no means to give more of the performance money to NDCSC.

      Steve Grant suggested that since the performance money would be paid to the WIB by DTA per outcome, the WIB could possibly contract with NDSC to pay them a dollar figure per outcome that would essentially give them some unrestricted money. That suggestion was dismissed.

    2. Sue Peterson inquired about the report the committee had received in the past relating to grant application and funding activities. Len Coriaty responded that is now addressed to some extent in the eNewsletter.

  5. Adjourn:
    The meeting adjourned at 4:40 pm on a motion by Chuck Simpson, seconded by Susan Peterson.
Next meeting: 12/06/07 – 3:30 pm – First Citizens’ Federal CU in Fairhaven
Respectfully submitted,


Steve Grant
Director of Finance

11-05-07  Performance Measurement Committee Meeting
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Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board, Inc.
Performance Measurement Committee
Meeting Minutes
11/05/07
GNB Career Center

Members in attendance: Mike Kramer, Chair, John Fernandes, Roger Masson, Carl Waal
Members absent: David Maher (called)

WIB Member attending: Charles Simpson, Chair

Workforce Development System staff attending: Joan Branton, Ed Dennehy, Brenda Francis, Marc Tarpey

Chair Kramer opened the meeting at 1:05, calling for a vote on the minutes of the October 15th PMC meeting. Minutes were accepted with one change noted: Page 2 under Member Survey heading, second line should read Performance Measures Committee, not Executive Committee. Approved with change.

Operations Report
Ed Dennehy reported out the following:

  1. Work Cert. The grant was scheduled to end at the end of October. However, we have submitted a request to extend the contract through January 08 to allow us to conduct one more class in January. Sufficient funds remain in the grant to cover expenses through January. The WIB also set aside $14,000 for Work Cert that will allow us to take job seekers from other area towns and the City of New Bedford into the training program in the future.

  2. Quaker Fabric – we now have 67 former employees from Quaker enrolled at the CC. The NEG has been approved for Fall River and we have access to those monies for funding our assessments, counseling, case management and job placement services for this group. We have a signed contract with Bristol County Training who is managing the NEG and will receive $1500 per enrolled employee which will be used to fund a case manager with Trade training to assist our one other Trade case manager, and free up WIA funds for more ITA’s.

  3. Multi-Layer (Polaroid) – Plant closing. 168 layoffs began on Nov 2nd and all will be gone by the end of the calendar year. This is in addition to the 60 layoffs that occurred in July. We have met with all of the employees together with the Rapid Response team and so far 95 have indicated an interest in training. The current Set Aside has been extended through December to fund our job developer and we have about $42,000 for ITA’s. We will go forward with another Set-Aside request once assessments of this latest group have been completed. Assessments began last week and there is an opportunity for up to 10 who are interested/qualified to attend biotech training by WPI. We are exploring the possibility of having a biotech training program in our area in January for this group should the interest and probability of future jobs be sufficient to justify the costs.

  4. Our Vendors meeting on October 30th was well attended and very meaningful feedback and discussion took place. Attached are the results of the survey taken during the meeting. Action items from the meeting include:

    1. Improve how customers are being “prepped” for training (Pell Grants; encouraging better listening skills, etc.)
    2. Review trainee questionnaires for appropriate wording of questions.
    3. Prepare and distribute (to MY TURN, Inc. and others) a Vendor List
    4. Assemble and distribute Career Center marketing materials
    5. Look at other area youth summer jobs programs (e.g., the Fall River summer employment effort)
    6. Explore other training programs that provide enhancements and certifications
    7. Secure additional information on paraprofessional training requirements from Ms. Benedetti.
Carl Waal then reported that for the third year in a row, New Bedford has lead the state in performance, exceeding 14 of the 15 performance standards for FY ’07. There is a good possibility of receiving performance funds as a result, but there has been nothing out in writing yet.

Charter Review Discussion:
Part I

Chair Kramer asked, after a review of the training selection process used by CC customers, if there is a way to make this easier for the customer. Brenda Francis answered that on-site interviews have been useful to get the customer comfortable with the setting of a structured environment, and gives the opportunity for customer and counselor to review the completed document.

Chair Kramer then reviewed the Vendor meeting action steps, and thought the meeting was very good, especially compared to prior years. He said the dialogue is getting much better; vendors know so much more about the CC and the staff. Chair Kramer encouraged everyone to read the Vendor Meeting report (handed out at meeting). John Fernandes asked the group who is responsible for acting on the action steps. Brenda Francis responded that the CC was and gave a bit more detail. Chair Kramer asked for an expansion on action step #5, which references looking at a Fall River summer jobs program for youth. Ed Dennehy responded that Fall River had solicited employers to provide summer jobs—actual numbers unknown. New Bedford plans to look into to seeing if the details are replicable here.

Board Chair Simpson said the Fall River program was similar to the Quincy program. The Quincy Mayor had a breakfast with employers to solicit openings and those employers were asked to approach other employers to pledge jobs. A similar model was suggested in New Bedford, last year however, it did not happen. We are working on making it happen here for next year.

Chair Kramer then asked the group to review the Vendor/Partner definitions prepared by Brenda Francis, and handed out at the meeting. John F. asked is some partners/vendors could be one and the same…. answer yes. John F. moved to accept definitions, Roger Masson seconded and the motion passed.

ITAs:

Chair Kramer then led a discussion on ITA usage since 2003. Ed D. had prepared a report showing the number of ITAs and the amount spent from 2003 to 2007. Chair Kramer had prepared charts to show the yearly use of ITA dollars, and handed those out at the meeting. After a review of the charts, Chair Simpson asked if this means that we are providing lesser programs because of less funds? Ed D. answered not necessarily; it depends on the particular need of the clients at any given time. Chair Simpson reiterated concern between numbers of programs or clients served vs quality of training. Chair Kramer stated his goal is to determine a more definitive report on ITA dollar needs to present to the ExCommittee. Chair Simpson asked if the Career Center tracks people waiting for training related to available dollars. Brenda F. responded affirmatively.

Roger Masson asked what happened on 2005; the cost went way up and less people were served. Chairs Kramer and Simpson both commented on the need to see what kinds of training took place each year to really determine what is behind the dollar numbers.

John Fernandes brought up the issue of the ABE/ESOL needs of the workforce and the support necessary for program completion. Chair Kramer stated that we do not have a lot of vendors, and John F. agreed. Brenda F. then said that it clearly matters who is being laid off; that they might just need upgrade training, so to predict the need is very difficult. Ed D. then said, after the issue of support services was brought up, that everyone in an ITA is provided support services and tracked for one year. John F. said his point was “I don’t know proportionality”; we don’t know if you are providing or spending the right level of support. Another issue raised was, are we getting the right industry and jobs in this area to match the training provided?

Charter Review Discussion:
Part II

Chair Kramer asked Joan Branton to report out on her suggested closure activities regarding the Charter Review process this year. Joan B. reported that the PMC members would participate in on-site interviews of 2 or 3 vendors and 2 or 3 partners to complete the loop on the Charter Review. Joan B. will draft letters to go out to the selected partners/vendors for Chair Kramer’s signature. We anticipate having the interviews completed by the first part of December with a plan to prepare final Charter Review reports by the end of the year.

Monitoring:

Marc Tarpey reported on his most recent monitoring activity of the vendors. He reported that SouthCoast HealthCare was not happy with the referrals received from the Career Center, but that the CC had their own problems with SCHC. The most serious monitoring result was the fact that SCHC has been scheduling classes and then cancelling them at the last minute when the class is not full. One issue brought up by SCHC is a request that CORIs be done prior to the referral to their training…has become a problem for their externships. Brenda F. said the CC cannot view CORIs, but they address CORI type issues with the client during counseling prior to referral. This vendor has had problems in the past during monitoring. Much discussion ensued about the monitoring process, and Joan B. informed the group that the monitoring process has just been tightened up by the WIB with a new monitoring manual. The next step in the case of SCHS is a letter from the Executive Director of the WIB requesting corrective action related to their class cancellations.

Marc T. then told the group that he is part of a team to conduct ABE program monitoring with DOE staff. They will be monitoring UMass and the New Bedford Public Schools. Marc will be monitoring the academic portions of the contracts.

Charter Review
Part III

Ed D. then stated that normally NDSI and the CC make a presentation to the PMC related to the Charter Review, however, stated that the monthly reports he has been preparing for the PMC are a clear review of performance. And, in light of this year’s emphasis on Partners and Vendors, could we skip the larger presentation? Chair Kramer felt that the larger presentation gave an opportunity to present areas of information that are not normally presented each month. John F. suggested maybe a report that just shows categories and the highlights and problem areas. The presentation will go on as in the past, and is scheduled for sometime in late January.

Veteran’s Expo:

Carl Waal handed out the announcement on the Veteran Employment and Benefit Expo to be held on November 14, 2007. It is a major event, and the New Bedford event has been recognized by the Dept. of Labor. Carl K. asked that the notice of the event be sent to all WIB members encouraging them to pay a visit on November 14th, and bring other employers with them. Tom Kelly has been asked to be a guest speaker.

Chair Chuck Simpson:

Chair Simpson talked about visiting Committees and knows that the PMC work is colossal. Participation is key, and unfortunately he sees the same faces at all meetings, and not a broad representation of the Board. He referenced the document that went out from the Mayor to all new members, saying that they should indicate what Committee on which they wanted to serve. Not much response. He and Len Coriaty are going to be calling all WIB members to encourage participation on the Committees and the full Board. He then stated that he did not understand why people join the Board and do not participate.

Next PMC meeting is scheduled for December 3, 2007.

There being no other business before the committee, upon motion made by John Fernandes, the meeting was adjourned at 2:30pm.

Respectfully submitted,


Joan I. Branton
Interim Director of Operations
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