Legislation was passed in May 1996 to create a new
state department, Iowa Workforce Development, and a State Board to
streamline employment and training programs. The Regional
Workforce Investment Boards were also created by the legislation to give communities direct
input and decision making ability to address local workforce-related
priorities. The boards work closely with Iowa Workforce
Development and the Iowa Workforce Development Board to create a system
to help Iowans respond to the rapid changes occurring in today's
workplace.
"Cultivating a sound economy requires
partnerships with not only Democrats and Republicans, but between
educators, lawmakers, workers, and business people across the
state," said Governor Thomas J. Vilsack. "If we intend to pass
legislation that is efficient and effective in reaching our economic
goals, leaders from both parties must reach out to our community leaders
for their input and ideas."
The boards' responsibilities include identifying
local workforce development needs, assisting in the award of local
service provider contracts and monitoring their performance, and
providing an annual report and recommendations to the Iowa Workforce
Development Board.
Each board consists of a total of 14 members
including representatives from the following groups: five-business,
five-labor, one-city official, one-county elected official, one-school district representative, and
one-community college
representative. The Region 8 Board has 28 members.
Careful consideration is made to include bi-partisan
representation with a balance of gender and rural/urban populations
representing Iowans from all 99 counties. The boards include a number of
individuals experienced in employment and training issues as well as
those with less experience to bring in fresh ideas. Local service
providers and Iowa Workforce Development staff are generally not
selected for the board roles in order to avoid any conflict of interest.
In 1999 the Regional Advisory Boards assumed the
responsibilities of the Regional Workforce Investment Boards under the
federal Workforce Investment Act signed into law in August, 1998.
The list of Regional Workforce Investment Boards by area
includes:
REGION
1
(Counties include: Howard, Winneshiek, Allamakee, Chickasaw, Fayette,
Clayton, Delaware, and Dubuque)
REGION
2
(Counties include: Winnebago, Worth, Mitchell, Hancock, Cerro Gordo,
Floyd, and Franklin)
REGION
3&4
(Counties include: Dickinson, Emmet, Kossuth, Clay, Palo Alto, Lyon,
Osceola, Sioux, and O'Brien)
REGION
5
(Counties include: Buena Vista, Pocahontas, Humboldt, Wright, Calhoun,
Webster and Hamilton)
REGION
6
(Counties include: Hardin, Marshall, Tama, and Poweshiek)
REGION
7
(Counties include: Butler, Bremer, Grundy, Black Hawk, and Buchanan)
REGION
8
(Counties include: Audubon, Carroll, Crawford, Greene. Guthrie and Sac)
REGION
9
(Counties include: Jackson, Clinton, Scott, and Muscatine)
REGION
10
(Counties include: Benton, Linn, Jones, Iowa, Johnson, Cedar, and
Washington)
REGION
11
(Counties include: Boone, Story, Dallas,
Polk, Jasper, Madison, Warren, and Marion)
REGION
12
(Counties include: Plymouth, Cherokee, Woodbury, Ida and Monona)
REGION
13
(Counties include: Harrison, Shelby, Pottawattamie, Cass, Mills,
Fremont, and Page)
REGION
14
(Counties include: Adair, Montgomery, Adams, Union, Clark, Taylor,
Ringgold, and Decatur)
REGION
15
(Counties include: Mahaska, Keokuk, Lucas, Monroe, Wapello, Jefferson,
Wayne, Appanoose, Davis, and Van Buren)
REGION
16
(Counties include: Louisa, Henry, Des Moines, and Lee)
Iowa
Workforce Development
