NEWSLETTER | January 2017 | Volume 2 | Issue 1

Driving the national workforce agenda and providing value-added member services
January 2017 - In This Issue:
Upcoming Meetings and Conferences
January 19-20 Veterans Affairs Committee Meeting (Charleston, SC) 
January 25-26 Technology Committee Meeting (Albuquerque, NM)
January 25-26 A&F Committee Meeting (Albuquerque, NM)
February 22-24   2017 Winter Policy Forum  (Washington, D.C.)
February 28- March 1   UI Interstate Benefits Subcommittee Meeting   (Charleston, SC) 
March 2-3   Unemployment Insurance Committee Meeting  (Charleston, SC)
March 30-31    ITSC Steering Committee Meeting  (Washington, D.C.)
March 30-31 Equal Opportunity Committee Meeting  (Kansas City, Missouri)
Save the Date 
Sponsorship Opportunities Available Now for NASWA 2017 Conferences

Contact Jeff Becker, NASWA Meeting and Conference Manager, with any questions and to make your sponsorship reservations.

*There are also a limited number of  Winter Policy Forum Sponsorship Opportunities
NASWA 2017 Affiliate Program Kicks Off
The 2017 NASWA Affiliate program  forges alliances between NASWA and organizations that operate within the workforce system, and provides collaboration opportunities with NASWA members on key issues. 
Register now
 
 to lock in new year pricing! Rates will increase 2/1/2017. 

Contact Brooke Higdon, NASWA Creative Solutions Coordinator, for questions.
2017 Legislative Priorities Announced

At the beginning of this month, NASWA released its first set of legislative priorities, outlining actions to a dvance states' efforts to ensure our nation's workforce system meets employers' needs for a qualified workforce and promotes high-quality employment and careers for workers. The agenda is comprised of five main categories with 10 specific points for congressional action.  

NASWA is sharing this document on the Hill, with the incoming administration transition team, federal agency representatives, partner intergovernmental organizations and other key policy makers. 

Follow us on Twitter  @NASWAORG and join the conversation 
#2017NASWAPriorities
Register for the
  Register  |   See working agenda  |   Reserve Hotel (deadline of Feb. 7th)

**New Speakers have been announced and more to come**
 
  • CHARLIE MAHTESIAN,  national politics editor for Politico, will be providing the national political overview. Previously, he was the editor of National Journal's Almanac of American Politics, the biennial book often referred to as "the bible of American politics."
  • PAUL HARRINGTON, PhD, professor and Director of the Center for Labor Markets and Policy at Drexel University, will be providing the economic outlook for 2017. He has studied workforce development and human resource policy for several states and organizations, written over 14 books and received two workforce awards.
  • SUSAN LUND, partner of McKinsey & Company and a leader of the McKinsey Global Institute, will be providing an overview of her most recent research on independent work and the gig economy. She conducts economic research on financial markets, labor markets, and the global growth outlook.
SCHEDULE:
  • Wednesday, Feb. 22nd: The Board of Directors' meeting (all administrators welcome to attend) will begin at 8:30am, with the Winter Policy Forum starting that afternoon at 1:30pm.
  • Thursday, Feb. 23rd: National Governors' Association (NGA) State Workforce Liaisons will join the Winter Policy Forum that afternoon with meeting adjourning at 5:30pm. Cocktail Reception following.
  • Friday, February 24th: This will be a day set aside for visiting Congressional offices. NASWA will be sending informational material out shortly to assist in these efforts.
Attendance at this year's Forum will be limited to NASWA members only (state workforce/labor agency personnel), in order to focus specifically on policy and upcoming changes for the national workforce landscape.  

While the 2017 Winter Policy Forum attendance is limited to NASWA members only, there are still a select number of sponsorship opportunities available
NASWA In Action...
Best Practices Webinar Series Continues 
NASWA's new webinar series on
Making UI and Job Search Mobile Friendly continues with a third session:

>Session #3: Mobile Focus in Mississippi: 

January 19, 2017 | 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm ET |   REGISTER NOW

If your state would like to participate in this webinar series or if you have suggestions for future webinar series, please contact John Quichocho. 

Stay tuned for announcements of upcoming sessions!
Data-Sharing Proposals Approved By Board of Directors

Two data-sharing proposals submitted by the Labor Market Information (LMI) Committee to the NASWA Board of Directors were approved during their December meeting.  The first proposal recommends the development and voluntary testing of a "common" multi-state UI wage record data exchange agreement. The second recommendation advocates for expanded state workforce agency access to state driver's information records.
What's Happening in the States
Washington State Employment Security Department Wins 2016 Monster Innovation Award
The Washington Employment Security Department was recognized by Monster for their collaboration to develop WorkSourceWA.com, an online job-match platform that transforms the way job seekers and employers connect, and also deployed an integrated case management system used in more than 60 WorkSource Centers across the state. Read More ...
Washington Welcomes Trump...to Alabama

Fitzgerald Washington, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Labor (ADOL) and NASWA Board of Directors alternate, was invited by U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions to welcome President-Elect Donald Trump to Alabama during his 'Thank You' tour.  It was the President-elect's last tour stop before this week's inauguration. 

Commissioner Washington and President-elect Trump had a brief discussion about initiatives ADOL launched to connect job seekers with jobs.
Nebraska Receives Award for Reemployment

The Nebraska Department of Labor recently received the 2016 Full Employment Award from the American Institute for Full Employment. They were awarded because of improvement made in reemployment services to Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants. The Department of Labor demonstrated exceptional commitment to and innovation in helping UI claimants return to work and avoid long-term unemployment.
Workforce Connectivity Grants & Social Media Strategies:

USDOL released two research papers last month . The first is a review of NASWA ITSC's Workforce Connect and and the workforce connectivity grants in Mississippi and NY. The second focuses on social media strategies.
UI Integrity Corner
State Integrity Spotlights Available

The Integ rity Center recently released information on three states utilizing promising practices in UI integrity: 
  • Utah's weekly queries schedule to identify potentially fraudulent claims within their UI system
  • Wisconsin's specialized investigation unit to support UI integrity efforts
  • Florida's Fraud Initiative Rating and Rules Engine (FIRRE) that screens every filed claim for indications of identity theft 
  • Texas' incarceration cross match process for initial and continue claims
You can access these spotlights at:   https://www.workforcegps.org/  (requires login information for the UI Community of Practice   site)

The Integrity Cen ter is also working on an integrity database, which will be an online information exchange tool of state integrity practices. This database will be housed in the UI Digital Library and should be available by mid-summer 2017 through the UI Community of Practice's Integrity Tab on the Integrity Center's website. 
Please send relevant content for the newsletter to the NASWA Director of Communications, Michelle Marshel at   [email protected]
       www.naswa.org