Region 4 Workforce Board Meeting
Meeting Minutes of June 11, 2015
Location: MatchBOX Coworking Studio
17 S 6th St. Suite X
Lafayette, IN 47901
NEXT MEETING
September 16, 2015
Location TBD
Directors Present: Chair, Deb Close; Vice Chair, Mike Godlove; Treasurer, Arden Cramer; Richard
Bradshaw; Dennis Carson; Roger Feldhaus; Ruth Hooker; Mitch Morrow; Mike Smith; Randy
Vernon; Linda Warner; Larry West; Fred Williams; and Randy Williams
Directors Present via Electronic Means: N/A
Directors Absent: Andrew Ball; Becky Goings; Jim Hardison; Secretary, John Schneider; Michelle
Simmons; Bob Taylor; Greg Thoennes; and Dennis Wimer
Staff and Guests Present: Deb Waymire, WIB COO; Tara Bradley, WIB CFO; Lauren Davis, WIB
Manager of Administrative & Board Services; Strategic Plan Facilitator and AHA Consulting
Owner, Ricki Kozumplik; and Rene Reshkus, WDC Director designate.
Call to Order and Welcome
Attendees were welcomed and the meeting was called to order by Chair, Deb Close, at 9:05 a.m. A
quorum of the voting members was present.
Consent Agenda Items
A motion to accept the consent agenda items as presented was made by Larry West.
Motion: Larry West
Second: Dennis Carson
Action: Unanimous approval
New Business
TAP Staff and Workforce Board Directorship Changes
Roger Feldhaus reported that Brooklyn Burton has moved into her new position as the Ready to
Work Grant Program Manager. Lauren Davis was hired as the new Manger of Administrative &
Board Services to fill the position Brooklyn vacated. Jen Edwards was hired as the Ready to Work
Grant Career Coach. Jen will be serving participants from the western part of Region 4, while
another new hire, Hunter Perry, will serve those from the eastern part beginning on June 15.
We also lost one employee, Kara Webb, Business & Employer Services Manager. Kara began
employment with Greater Lafayette Commerce on May 22. Roger noted that we have received
internal and external applications for the Business & Employer Services Manager position and will
be filling that position soon.
Regarding changes in the Board directorship, Roger reported that once the Workforce Innovation &
Opportunity Act (WIOA) takes effect on July1, we will no longer be known as a Workforce
Investment Board (WIB), but will be considered a Workforce Development Board (WDB). Board
member changes include: Steve Daily (Ivy Tech) has retired; Michelle Simmons has taken his seat
on the Board. Rene Reshkus will be replacing Dennis Wimer. Rene previously worked as the
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Kokomo WorkOne Manager and is now a Regional Director of Field Operations for DWD. Sara
Ridenour, Montgomery County business representative, has stepped down from her position due to
increased work responsibilities and scheduling conflicts. John Schneider will be vacating his
position due to his retirement from Purdue. Dr. Schneider’s position will not need to be filled;
Michelle Simmons fills the one required postsecondary education representative seat.
Under WIOA some positions on the current board are no longer required. All current members will
be contacted regarding their membership status. When the current WIB was established in 2011
there were 31 members. As vacancies have occurred over the past year, only those that were to be
required by WIOA have been filled. As few as 19 WDC Directors may be needed to fulfill federal
and state membership requirements. As was true for the WIB, a majority of WDC members must be
business representatives.
Program Year 2015 Projected Revenue
Tara Bradley reviewed the projected revenue for PY 15. She noted that we had about an 18%
decrease in state pass-through funding for the new Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act
(WIOA) programs compared to PY14 funding for Workforce Investment Act (WIA) programs.
Some of this is due to the relatively low Indiana and Region 4 unemployment rates. We are currently
working with our service providers to discuss plans to deal with the cuts in funding allocations
through WIOA.
It was also mentioned that there has been discussion with DWD about the future of the Kokomo
REACH Center. We will be evaluating how we continue to support and staff the REACH Center in
Kokomo moving forward. We feel there could be many negative implications should the Center be
closed, effecting, for example, economic and/or workforce development initiatives and community
relationships.
Grant Funding Matrix
Lauren Davis reported on the grant funding matrix draft and distributed the draft to board members.
The matrix includes not only grants from which the Board directly receives funds, but also grants
administered by partner organizations that indirectly benefit us. Some initial comments from board
members indicated that they would like to be able to see how many participants were served through
each grant. Lauren indicated she would send the grant matrix electronically to all board members
and give them a month to review and respond with any other additions or revisions they would like
to see. Deb Close also suggested that a list of all of the workforce development abbreviations be sent
out. Lauren agreed to send that out to all board members as well.
WIOA Action Items
The first item of discussion was the current Youth Council. Deb Waymire reported that under
WIOA the Youth Council is no longer required. It can become a Standing Committee, however. Deb
suggested that the Board consider transitioning the current Youth Council to a Youth Standing
Committee.
A motion was made to transition the current Youth Council to a Youth Standing Committee.
Motion: Larry West
Second: Arden Cramer
Action: Unanimous approval
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Deb indicated that she has a document outlining information on youth standing committees that we
will include in the meeting minutes.
Another action item concerns the provision of priority of services under the WIOA Adult program.
We currently have three categories of priority that must be served: 1) public assistance recipients, 2)
other low-income individuals, and 3) individuals who are basic skills deficient. Deb voiced that she
would like to add long-term unemployed and underemployed categories to our priority of service
list. The definitions we would use for long-term unemployed and underemployed are included in
our Ready to Work grant with USDOL. Many underemployed and unemployed individuals likely fit
into one of the three areas of priority currently in place; but to ensure that more of the individuals in
need are served, we would like to add them to the priority of service list as well. There was
discussion on whether or not age should play a factor when it comes to allocating funds for training.
A motion to add the long-term unemployed and underemployed categories to our priority of service
list.
Motion: Larry West
Second: Randy Williams
Action: Unanimous approval
Updates on Initiatives
U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) H-1B Ready to Work Partnership (RTW) Grant
Deb reported that the first class has begun. The Rapid Reemployment for Advanced Manufacturing
Positions (RAMP) orientation helps the RTW team gauge the willingness of the participants to
commit to the program. The RAMP curriculum was developed by the RTW employer advisory
group.
As each training cohort moves through the program they will have a 14-week internship experience,
including a five-week period of classroom training followed by a nine-week work assignment with
one of the RTW partner companies. The optimal result will be a job offer from the internship
employer. While in an internship activity the trainees are paid $10 an hour. The employer may pay
more, but the grant will reimburse the employer only up to $10 an hour. Each participant must pass
a WorkKeys assessment at the required level and pass a drug screen before enrollment in a RAMP
internship
.
Innovative Career & Technical Education (CTE) Curriculum Grant
Lauren reported that we have 14 Region 4 companies employing a total of 43 interns this summer.
These internships will be funded through an Innovative CTE Curriculum grant being administered
by Indiana Conexus, with whom we are a partner. We hope to learn a lot from our involvement with
this program that we can use to implement similar initiatives in the future.
Hardware/Software Procurement
Tara stated that we are working with Abstract Technology as we continue our technology upgrade.
So far we have upgraded four WorkOne centers/sites. We are working through the prioritized list of
needed computer lab and workshop room upgrades and will move on to staff computers next.
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Marketing & Creative Services
Lauren reported that we have contracted with creative group, TreeFrog Marketing, to redesign the
Region 4 Workforce Board website by making it more user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing. We
are currently working on design aspects and priorities. The new site should be live by the next board
meeting in September.
Old Business
National Association of Workforce Boards Forum 2015 (NAWB)
Deb Close reported that she found the forum very innovative and thought it encouraged “thinking
outside of the box”. Depending on the budget, she hopes we can send a group again in 2016.
Committee Reports (Minutes may be accessed at www.region4workforceboard.org.)
• Executive and Finance Committees met June 8.
• Youth Council met April 15.
Adjournment to Strategic Planning Session
The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 AM.
Motion: Dennis Carson
Second: Arden Cramer
Action: Unanimous approval
Respectfully submitted,
Lauren Davis
Manager, Administrative & Board Services
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