Plans & Goals

Executive Summary

Our objectives remain relatively unchanged in that we continue to work on helping adults in our communities meet their career and educational goals while providing the kind of holistic case management and navigation support that increases the likelihood of successful outcomes. An ongoing example of this is that at the consortium level we continue to provide that holistic navigation support even after they enter post-secondary education and training. While our college partners provide academic support, the consortium staff are able to help manage individual pathway plans that include a wider range of services - from financial support (oft en through our WIOA Title I contract) to mental/behavioral health support(thorough a licensing partnership with LTCC and Timely Care) to housing and transportation. These supports are especially important for the majority of our clients who enter post-secondary as part-time students and so oft en don't qualify for the more robust college support usually reserved for full-time students. The impact of that support can be seen in the continued success of clients after enrollment and with our college partners has also started to translate into significant work around credit-for-prior learning which the consortium plays a key role in.

One last note on success and funding impacts. Based on the success of ongoing work with several of our partners, we continue to see increases in contract services from Golden Sierra Job Training Agency and the California Conservation Corps among others,. This allows us to expand services to our general community, those partners targeted populations, and our consortium members. This included securing the GSJTA contract to provide WIOA Title I services for another four years (one of our 22-23 strategies).

Regional Planning Overview

The provision of holistic navigation and case management services remains our communities priority. In addition, we continue to provide access to direct instruction and high school credential programs (including HSE testing), WIOA Title I services through our service delivery subcontract with Golden Sierra Job Training Agency, as well as providing access to supportive and instructional resources for all members - these include Burlington English and EnGen for ESL support, ACT Workkeys, Traitify, NorthStar Digital Literacy and the Essential Skills Program curriculum for general support. Employment outcomes represent a significant amount of our work but the "requirement" of "two years after exit" is somewhat problematic given that we oft en continue to provide holistic case management even aft er someone gets or improves a job. That not only delays measuring that impact but also ignores the value of ongoing support to maintain employment, especially in a mountain resort community with a high percentage of part-time service industry jobs as well as inadequate housing, child-care, or other services. We will continue to expand use of resources, like our integrated case management system to help us monitor and assess program impact and effectiveness.

Maintaining, strengthening, and expanding our community/consortium partnerships will continue to play a critical role in helping us implement the current three-year plan. Well established relationships with the Tahoe Prosperity Center (a basin-wide economic development organization) and JOIN, Inc. (our Nevada partners in WIOA Title I work) ensure we are not operating in an isolated segment of our larger Basin ecosystem. Our outreach to, and integration with, local employers through an ongoing MOA with the Tahoe Chamber continues to allow for increased communication with, and service to, a wide range of employer partners. A similar relationship with the Alpine County Economic Development Advisory Committee helps us stay connected to our rural neighbor and consortium member to our south.

Fiscal Management

A narrative justifying how the planned allocations are consistent with the annual adult education plan which is based on your CAEP 3-year plan.

As stated previously, our unique structure, where much of the work is done by the consortium, on behalf of the consortium, members, and the community, means that we are more consistently aligned to the annual plan than other consortia may be. Staffing for our intensive case management services, supporting the personalized needs and education/career goals of our clients/students remains the largest single expenditure and we were able to add a fourth full-time Navigator (bi-lingual) to the team in 22-23. Our structure/approach also assists with full alignment of spending/budget with the annual plan, the three-year plan, and ultimately, the consortium vision in serving our local community.

An approach to incorporating remaining carry-over funds from prior year(s) into strategies planned for 2023-24.

Carry-over funds will continue to be used for one time expenses that have longer term impact on program impact and effectiveness. This may be equipment, temporary staffing for new or pilot programs as we explore the sustainability of new offerings, or other needs that arise over the course of the program year. We have continued to decrease the amount of carry-over each of the past few years and expect that to continue as our program matures and operational costs become more predictable.