W-2 COMMUNITY STEERING COMMITTEE

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

MINUTES

Members Present:  Jan Lehrer, Sarah Heinrich, Marilyn Herman, Gretchen Gerrits, Paul Shrode

Others Present:    Amy Larsen (for Vicki Basar, Goodwill), Danielle Gerrits—FSC, Courtney Windorski—FSC, Nicole Davis—FSC, Chris Machamer

Call To Order:  The meeting was called to order by Chris Machamer, in place of Tony VanKampen, Chair.

Open Meeting Statement:  The Open Meeting Statement was read by Machamer.

Agenda:  Moved by Marilyn Herman, seconded by Gretchen Gerrits, Motion carried to accept the agenda with no changes.

Minutes:  Moved by Jan Lehrer, seconded by Gerrits, to accept the minutes from the July 11 meeting with the correction of one typo (changing “the” to “they” in the W-2 Updates section).

Job Center Report and Job Seeking Skills Report:  Dick Turner was not in attendance due to medical leave for an injury.  In the absence of Dick Turner, Machamer reported that Al Hesse, Director of the Workforce Development Board, said that LETC will be taking over for Workforce Economics and will be keeping the Waupaca Job Center open on the same schedule.  They will be hiring for case management and the Help Desk position.  They have posted the positions internally first and may be accepting applications from the outside as well.  They have a contingency plan to be sure that there is continuation of service in the event that they do not have someone hired or trained immediately.  Outagamie County will be leaving the Fox Valley WDB and joining the Bay Lake WDB in October. 

Machamer had discussed with Hesse that the W-2 Steering Committee also serves as the Job Center Advisory Committee.  Hesse indicated that he will have to determine whether he continues that arrangement, or forms a separate committee.  Courtney Windorski said that she is not sure if the state is going to require a W-2 Steering Committee in each county, or one for the 17-county geographic region.  Current members are encouraged to give some thought as to whether they would be willing to continue to serve in some capacity.  Marilyn Herman recommended that written job descriptions and expectations be shared at the November meeting if they are going to be asked to continue on either committee. 

No Job Seeking Skills classes have been arranged by the Job Center recently.  Sylvia Carter from the Wautoma office has had some assessment sessions here.  There have been some employers doing recruitment sessions.  The W-2 staff have held employment workshops for their clients at the Job Center and will continue to do so on Friday mornings.

W-2 Updates: 

· RFP:  Windorski reported that Forward Services won all 3 areas that they bid on, including North Central Region, Northeast Region and Southwestern Region.  They are expanding from serving 17 counties to serving 47 counties.  Some changes they will be making will include more group-level case management instead of one-on-one.  The Performance Standards will be changing to 4 standards, including job entry, high wage earner, SSI eligibility, and one other.  Eligibility requirements will remain the same.  Nicole Davis will continue as case manager for Waupaca County.  FSC is looking into renting space at Waupaca Co. DHHS.  FSC is hiring many new positions.  Davis is developing workshops, and wants to set up an employer panel for participants to attend, and also employers to do mock interviews.  She requested that Steering Committee members help her find employers. A discussion was held about what training programs employers are using, including apprenticeships through FVTC, and what employers are looking for in job applicants.  The W-2 Program could work with employers by placing people in Work Experience and combining that with a once-a-week workshop where soft skills and workplace values are discussed to enhance the learning that takes place in the program. 

· Performance Standards:  Windorski provided handouts of the current Performance Standards levels, showing what the trends have been over the past months.  Most need some improvement.  Discussions were held on ways to improve job entry, earnings stabilization, and educational attainment.  Davis will be getting certified in TABE testing so that she can administer and track testing for participants, and hopefully show improvement.  Customer Satisfaction scores are at satisfactory levels. 

· Job Development:  Davis is taking over the workshops on Friday mornings from Danielle Gerrits.  She will be teaching a topic the first hour and having participants put the concepts into practice the second hour.  Gerrits will be working on meeting one-on-one with participants who are job ready and doing job placements.  Davis is also starting a group on dealing with Criminal Backgrounds in the job search. 

Next meeting  is November 14.  Agenda items can be submitted to Machamer or Windorski.

Moved by Shrode, seconded by Herman, to adjourn. 

Recorded by:

___________________________________________                             _____________

Chris Machamer                                                                                               Date

Coordinator, Economic & Employment Support

Approved by:

_____________________________________________                        ____________

Tony VanKampen, Chair                                                                                               Date