The state of California is envisioning a shared, interoperable data system capable of measuring and assessing outcomes for workforce, education and human services programs.
The project, dubbed "CAAL-Skills," is known as Cross-System Analytics and Assessment for Learning and Skills Attainment. It would combine information that's currently held in silos, using shared data standards and performance measures — such as wages and employment. The system would track program outcomes by region, provider, service, demographics, industry and occupation, according to an outline of the project presented at a California Workforce Development Board meeting earlier this month.
California spends at least $6 billion each year on workforce, career technical education and related training programs, according to the presentation, and is subject to mandated federal and state reporting requirements. In a nutshell, CAAL-Skills would be able to report on which training programs are getting results and which ones aren't.
The shared data system would conceivably build upon a variety of existing initiatives, such as an effort to build a workforce metrics dashboard, which was required by legislation that Gov. Jerry Brown signed in 2014.
Stakeholders for the CAAL-Skills system could include several departments, including Economic Development, Education, Industrial Relations, Rehabilitation, Social Services, the California Community Colleges, and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency.
The State Workforce Board is recommending to build the system using existing staff and resources, through shared system specs developed through a governance process developed by the stakeholders. CAAL-Skills is still in the formative stage, but the participants have proposed a steering committee and are discussing the parameters of a project pilot and a data sharing charter.
In an August 2016 report, the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) recommended the state explore the development of a "statewide, streamlined data-linking system for all workforce programs in the state" that could help inform budget and policy decisions.
"With programs administered by so many agencies and providers, data housed in so many places, data requirements varying by program, and key data elements linked only in limited situations, policymakers routinely struggle to assess whether individual workforce programs and the system overall are effective," LAO said.
